Darwin the Buddhist?

[nebula]

**Note: I'm not posting this to prove or disprove anything. I hope we can keep this as a discussion rather than as the normal Prove-Disprove bash-out all these threads tend to become....**

Darwin the Buddhist? Empathy Writings Reveal Parallels

Christine Dell'Amore in Chicago

National Geographic News

February 16, 2009

Charles Darwin probably didn't know it, but he held views on human empathy that mirror Buddhist beliefs, says a pioneer in decoding facial expressions.

Based on his interactions with foreign cultures, Darwin came to define empathy as a desire to end someone's suffering to assuage one's own discomfort.

Buddhist teachings also see empathy as a somewhat selfish motivation, but one that the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, calls the "seed of compassion."

"It's an amazing coincidence that [Darwin's] views on compassion and morality are identical to the Tibetan Buddhist view," said Paul Ekman, a psychologist whose work decoding so-called micro-expressions is the basis for the new Fox television show Lie to Me.

Indeed, after reading Darwin's work on emotions, the Dalai Lama told Ekman he "would consider himself a Darwinian."

The parallel inspired Ekman to study the little-understood trait of compassion, which he discussed this weekend in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Though everyone is capable of compassion, Ekman said, some people seem to manifest it without effort.

(A related study revealed how bullies seem to experience pleasure when they see others suffer.)

Until psychologists figure out why the disparity exists, he said, "the survival of our planet" depends on cultivating compassion.

Universal Trait

Darwin became fascinated with the expression of emotions during his five-year voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle in the 1830s.

Read the rest here

[Botz]

Hi Neb...on top of that I read today the theory that Darwin had no social interaction skills, but the ability to concentrate on given subjects with great intensity, and to pursue them with an all consuming passion...the conclusion of the article was that he suffered from a form of Asberger's Syndrome.

[Botz]

Hi Neb...on top of that I read today the theory that Darwin had no social interaction skills, but the ability to concentrate on given subjects with great intensity, and to pursue them with an all consuming passion...the conclusion of the article was that he suffered from a form of Asberger's Syndrome.

The same claim is made with respect to Socrates, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Andy Warhol and any number of other famous historical figures. Is it possible? Sure, but you can have poor social skills and not have Asperger's Syndrome, you can be focussed and passionate and not have Asperger's Syndrome and you can even be eccentric and not have Asperger's Syndrome. You can have all these things combined and still not have Asperger's Syndrome.

I'd take any of these claims with a grain of salt, often they are what you could term publicity stunts aimed at raising awareness around a particular issue. We can't prove it one way or the other and really, all that matters is the idea that people who are "different" in whatever way still have value and make worthwhile contributions to society.

Yo NC...Being a natural sceptic...I take all of these claims with a grain of salt, and especially in the light of many celebrating the 200 year anniversary of Mr Darwin's birth...it is bound to throw up all sorts of guess work on what made him tick...I find that extremely ironic.

[Shiloh62]

**Note: I'm not posting this to prove or disprove anything. I hope we can keep this as a discussion rather than as the normal Prove-Disprove bash-out all these threads tend to become....**

Darwin the Buddhist? Empathy Writings Reveal Parallels

Christine Dell'Amore in Chicago

National Geographic News

February 16, 2009

Charles Darwin probably didn't know it, but he held views on human empathy that mirror Buddhist beliefs, says a pioneer in decoding facial expressions.

Based on his interactions with foreign cultures, Darwin came to define empathy as a desire to end someone's suffering to assuage one's own discomfort.

Buddhist teachings also see empathy as a somewhat selfish motivation, but one that the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, calls the "seed of compassion."

"It's an amazing coincidence that [Darwin's] views on compassion and morality are identical to the Tibetan Buddhist view," said Paul Ekman, a psychologist whose work decoding so-called micro-expressions is the basis for the new Fox television show Lie to Me.

Indeed, after reading Darwin's work on emotions, the Dalai Lama told Ekman he "would consider himself a Darwinian."

The parallel inspired Ekman to study the little-understood trait of compassion, which he discussed this weekend in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Though everyone is capable of compassion, Ekman said, some people seem to manifest it without effort.

(A related study revealed how bullies seem to experience pleasure when they see others suffer.)

Until psychologists figure out why the disparity exists, he said, "the survival of our planet" depends on cultivating compassion.

Universal Trait

Darwin became fascinated with the expression of emotions during his five-year voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle in the 1830s.

Read the rest here

Darwin rejected the word of God by fabricating his own theory in opposition to the creation-there's no telling what or if he believes in anything other than himself.

[nebula]

Sigh

So much for avoiding the same old tiring arguments....

[pokemaughan]

Not a big deal to me... Darwin is just another blind soul, doing his best (worst?) to find any answer other than God. If he was a Buddhist, Shinto, Pagan, or what have you makes no difference to me.

[Bowap]

Hmmm.... not sure about this.

[OneLight]

Sigh

So much for avoiding the same old tiring arguments....

you tried ...

[sysvr4]

"It's an amazing coincidence that [Darwin's] views on compassion and morality are identical to the Tibetan Buddhist view," said Paul Ekman, a psychologist whose work decoding so-called micro-expressions is the basis for the new Fox television show Lie to Me.

...What?

Buddhist philosophy is inherently esoteric. Darwin's views are not parallel.

[georgesbluegirl]

"It's an amazing coincidence that [Darwin's] views on compassion and morality are identical to the Tibetan Buddhist view," said Paul Ekman, a psychologist whose work decoding so-called micro-expressions is the basis for the new Fox television show Lie to Me.

...What?

Buddhist philosophy is inherently esoteric. Darwin's views are not parallel.

The article is drawing a parallel between how Buddhists view compassion and compassionate practice and Darwin's ideas about the existence of compassion, not likening the entire theory of natural selection to all of Tibetan Buddhist practice. In Tibetan Buddhism, compassion is a keystone -- once you move past the "self" and embrace the idea of emptiness, suffering is no longer "mine" or "yours," it is simply suffering, and thus all suffering is felt by the individual -- so you work to alleviate suffering in general. Darwin was trying to figure out why compassion would be selected for in a population, and so he framed it as action taken to aid another person and thus relieve discomfort in yourself. Hence the comparison. He also recognized the "pre-reflexive" compassionate response, which is something many Tibetan teachers have written about.