Category: Malebranche
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Idolatry, Desire, Buddha, Causation, and Malebranche
Substack latest. Does causation have a moral dimension? This upload was 'occasioned' (all puns intended) by my meeting with the amazing Steven Nemes yesterday at Joe's Real BBQ in charming old town Gilbert. Among the topics we discussed were idolatry, desire, and Buddhism. He strode up, gave me a hug, and handed me three books…
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Idolatry, Desire, Buddha, Causation, and Malebranche
What is idolatry? I suggest that the essence of idolatry lies in the illicit absolutizing of the relative. A finite good becomes an idol when it is treated as if it were an infinite good, i.e., one capable of satisfying our infinite desire. But is our desire infinite? That our desire is infinite is shown…