{"id":8136,"date":"2014-02-11T14:48:05","date_gmt":"2014-02-11T14:48:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2014\/02\/11\/time-apportionment-as-between-athens-and-benares-2\/"},"modified":"2014-02-11T14:48:05","modified_gmt":"2014-02-11T14:48:05","slug":"time-apportionment-as-between-athens-and-benares-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maverickphilosopher.blog\/index.php\/2014\/02\/11\/time-apportionment-as-between-athens-and-benares-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Time Apportionment as Between Athens and Benares"},"content":{"rendered":"

If a philosopher who meditates spends five hours per day on philosophy, how many hours should he spend on meditation?  One corresondent of mine, a retired philosophy professor and Buddhist, told me that if x hours are spent on philosophy, then x hours should be spent on meditation.  So five hours of philosophy ought to be balanced by five hours of meditation.  A hard saying!<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the possible views on this topic?<\/span><\/p>\n

1. No time should be wasted on philosophy. Pascal famously remarked that philosophy is not worth an hour's trouble.  But he didn't say that in defense of Benares, but of Jerusalem.  Time apportionment as between Athens and Jerusalem is a separate topic.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. No time should be wasted on meditation.  Judging by their behavior, the vast majority of academic philosophers seem committed to some such proposition.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Time spent on either is wasted.  The view of the ordinary cave-dweller.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. More time ought to be devoted to philosophy.  But why?<\/span><\/p>\n

5. The two 'cities' deserve equal time.  The view of my Buddhist correspondent.<\/span><\/p>\n

6.  More time ought to be devoted to meditation than to philosophy.
<\/span><\/p>\n

What could be said in defense of (6)?  Three quotations from Paul Brunton (Notebooks<\/strong>,  vol. II,  The Quest<\/em>, Larson, 1986, p. 13):<\/span><\/p>\n