Left Hand Path

[eudaimonia]

What does "left hand path" mean? What counts as a left hand path?


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[ChrisP]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_hand_path

kind of a cop out I know.

Left-hand path to me has no real meaning to me as I believe left and right are the same thing, stated differently. Most Christians I know use it to refer to satanic practises. I"m not really aware of the Wiccan perspective on this. Perhaps Mike or Fluffy can enlighten us

 

[Ðanisty]

Left-Hand Path religions are usually said to share the following properties:

* The belief that some people can, by attaining spiritual insight, themselves become akin to gods.
* The belief that selfless acts do not exist. Fulfilling one's desire is seen as a selfish act bringing the person satisfaction from accomplishing what they want. Altruism is seen as a myth created by conventional religions.
* An exoteric understanding of concepts such as karma, divine retribution, or Threefold Law, resulting in fluid, rather than strict, codes of morality.
* The belief that the individual self is preeminent, and that all decisions should be made with the goal of cultivating the self (though not the ego).
* The belief that each individual is responsible for his/her own happiness, and that no external force will provide salvation to reward actions which do not advance one's happiness in this life.
* The belief that the forces of the universe can be bent to one's personal will by magical means, and that power gained in such a manner is an aid to enlightenment.
* An agnostic view of the existence of deities, or a Platonic view of deities as "first-forms." If deity is perceived as having a consciousness, then all relationships with deity are in the form of a partnership, an alliance which does not require subservience. The prideful deity likes prideful partners.

Actually, I would say this is pretty accurate, especially the last point.

 

[eudaimonia]

Thanks for the link. It was informative.

I find it notable that there isn't a "middle path" mentioned. It seems like there should.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Ðanisty]

I guess when people grow a middle hand, we can have a middle path...

 

[eudaimonia]

I guess when people grow a middle hand, we can have a middle path...

Mine is a both feet path.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[eudaimonia]

* An exoteric understanding of concepts such as karma, divine retribution, or Threefold Law, resulting in fluid, rather than strict, codes of morality.

What does this mean? What is a "fluid" code of morality?

* The belief that the individual self is preeminent, and that all decisions should be made with the goal of cultivating the self (though not the ego).

What is the distinction here between self and ego? How are these defined?


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[FatMan]

I guess when people grow a middle hand, we can have a middle path...

The third leg often takes a path of its own....:yes:

 

[Ðanisty]

What does this mean? What is a "fluid" code of morality?

One that isn't set in stone. One that allows people to use logic to make decisions based on scenarios rather than something always being wrong or always being right. It's a morality that can evolve.

What is the distinction here between self and ego? How are these defined?

Ego is only one part of the self. People often assume that LHP religions are focused on ego alone. I believe the author was just attempting to make clear that we're not more focused on the ego than any other aspect of the self.

 

[eudaimonia]

One that isn't set in stone. One that allows people to use logic to make decisions based on scenarios rather than something always being wrong or always being right. It's a morality that can evolve.

I understand.

Ego is only one part of the self. People often assume that LHP religions are focused on ego alone. I believe the author was just attempting to make clear that we're not more focused on the ego than any other aspect of the self.

Yes, but what are "ego" and "self" in this understanding?


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[eudaimonia]

Just for kicks, I'll compare my Eudaimonistic philosophical path to the descriptions of Right-Hand and Left-Hand Paths found at wikipedia. This isn't really a good comparison, since Eudaimonism is thoroughly nontheistic and naturalistic, and tends to reject dualistic conceptions of ethics and the mind-body distinction.

Right-Hand Path:

• Belief in a higher power, such as a deity.

As Eudaimonism is nontheistic, or apatheistic, this view is absent.

Is the universe a higher power? Not really. We can't change the laws of physics at will, but we can take advantage of them to create amazing technologies.

Is one's daimon (one's highest potentials) a higher power? Not really. It's precisely your power, since a potential is implicit in what is actual as its power. (E.g. the chicken is implicit in the egg as a power that it may exercise with time and the right conditions.)

Conclusion:NO MATCH.

• Obedience to the will of the higher power.

We ought to live in truth to our daimon, but it has no will of its own. You do.

Conclusion: NO MATCH.

• The belief that there is an absolute definition for good and evil that applies to everyone.

While there are certain principles in Eudaimonism that are applicable to all people in virtue of their shared humanity, they adhere only as abstract principles, not as fully fleshed out rules that apply to everyone equally. Eudaimonism recognizes individuality and uniqueness that must always be taken into account by practical judgment when forming ethical judgments.

Conclusion: NO MATCH.

• Esoteric belief in the existence of a supernatural mechanism, such as Karma, divine retribution, or Threefold Law, which causes the moral decisions that an individual makes to be reciprocated upon himself.

This is a tricky one, since it is virtually identical to an opposing view in the Left Hand Path section, with the exception that this one is "esoteric" and supernatural rather than "exoteric". I have to assume that esoteric here means that it is a mystical law of the universe possibly designed to make moral rules apply equally to all human beings.

Eudaimonism recognizes natural cause-and-effect, including how this pertains to personal psychology, and recognizes that evil deeds can lead to all sorts of bad consequences, both external and internal, however, there is nothing supernatural or designed about this. Evil deeds have bad consequences because they are impractical, not because some supernatural force prevents them from being rewarded.

Conclusion: NO MATCH.

• The ultimate goal of having the individual consciousness be absorbed into a greater or cosmic whole.

The ultimate goal of Eudaimonism is the flourishing of the individual, and at death we die.

Conclusion: NO MATCH.

Right-Hand Path score: zero

Left-Hand Path religions are usually said to share the following properties:

• The belief that some people can, by attaining spiritual insight, themselves become akin to gods.

I suppose any match hinges on what is meant by "akin to gods". If this is meant poetically, then it may apply. Consider this quote from Ayn Rand's novel Anthem.

And now I see the face of god, and I
raise this god over the earth, this god whom
men have sought since men came into being,
this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.

This god, this one word:

"I."

And this poetry by Alexandra York also suggests a kind of self-divinity:

I am

That I am

My body a temple my soul enshrines
My reason the light of my mind - divine
Celebration is mine
Hear the clarion chime

Let my laughter rise
Like bells to the skies

Here on earth where I stand
Over all I command
By my will and my hand
I am glad that I am

I am​

But literal divinity is out. Absent technological modification of one's nature, we are always human beings, with merely human powers, as amazing as those can be.

It also may depend on what is meant by "spiritual insight". As long as this doesn't need to be too mystical, it is okay.

Conclusion: MATCH. (Possibly, but maybe not.)

• The belief that selfless acts do not exist. Fulfilling one's desire is seen as a selfish act bringing the person satisfaction from accomplishing what they want. Altruism is seen as a self-deception, created by conventional religions.

Eudaimonism (mine, anyway) rejects the doctrine of psychological egoism. It is possible for people to be self-sacrificing, even if they get warm fuzzy feelings as a result. Warm fuzzies don't necessarily make up for what one gives up. People really can be self-destructive on the whole.

OTOH, altruism may very well be a kind of self-deception that has clouded the self-interested nature of benevolent actions towards the people one loves.

Conclusion: NO MATCH. (Though maybe a partial one.)

• An exoteric understanding of concepts such as karma, divine retribution, or Threefold Law, resulting in fluid, rather than strict, codes of morality.

As explained by Ðanisty, this is almost certainly a match. Eudaimonism recognizes a certain fluidity to morality (although not so fluid as to allow for an "anything goes" type of morality).

Conclusion: MATCH.

• The belief that the individual self is preeminent, and that all decisions should be made with the goal of cultivating the self (though not the ego).

I'll assume here that "ego" is used to mean an inflated sense of self-importance, and self more broadly encompasses one's nature as an individual.

Eudaimonism is ethically egoistic in that the purpose of ethical action is cultivate one's self, which means to flourish as an individual. It might even cultivate the ego in the sense of developing well-earned self-esteem, but not in the sense of an "ego trip" (an arrogant sense of self-importance.)

Conclusion: MATCH.

• The belief that each individual is responsible for his/her own happiness, and that no external force will provide salvation to reward actions which do not advance one's happiness in this life.

Eudaimonism certainly advocates this view. Flourishing (which entails happiness) is always the result of one's own actions, not luck or external forces.

• The belief that the forces of the universe can be bent to one's personal will by magical means, and that power gained in such a manner is an aid to enlightenment.

Bzzzt. Magic is for RPGs and fantasy novels, not the Eudaimonist path.

Conclusion: NO MATCH.

• A Platonic view of deities as "first-forms." If deity is perceived as having a consciousness, then all relationships with deity are in the form of a partnership, an alliance which does not require subservience. The prideful deity likes prideful partners.

There is little that is Platonic about my Eudaimonism, and deities are simply not recogized as having any existence except in the trivial sense that they exist in stories, perhaps as psychological archetypes. They are simply artifacts of natural human psychology.

I can understand the desire to see one as a friend or partner of a deity, however. I have often told Christians that I disapprove of the Christian God precisely because he doesn't seek to make friends of human beings, instead of slaves or servants.

Conclusion: NO MATCH (though perhaps just a little)


I said that this was just for fun. It seems that Eudaimonism has a closer resemblance to the Left-Hand Path, though clearly in a far less mystical and supernatural way.

Yet, it matches so poorly, I have to consider it a separate type of path altogether.

I'm still opting for "both feet path".


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[EnikiBelial]

Greetings
Having read the views of other on this section, indeed there is no left or right path hand. It is the act that makes it one or the other. The word is nothing but a metaphor in my view.
As to the word Ego!
It can be seen as an extention of the Id. That beast that lurks inside in each an everyone of us. The Ego is that part of the Id modified by the direct influence of the external world which is seen through reason and common sense. in contrast to the Id, which contains the passions.

Best wishes

EnikiBelial

 

[Darkwater]

Yet there are so many instances where the fingers on the right are unaware of the fingers left upon the fickle hands of fate.

Namaste

DW.