Laying down a path in walking - Angela & Adam

The chapter begins with a restating of the fundamental circularity of cognitive science and human experience.

It then goes into the problem of Nihilism in contemporary Western culture. Nihilism is rooted in (and is a response to) objectivism. When the grasping mind comes to realization of groundlessness, it can in reaction try to turn that lack into a ground itself, or a positive presence of "the abyss". However, given the need for planetary thinking, this is not a viable course. The authors suggest an alternative in the metaphor of "laying down a path in walking".

The philosophy of Nishitani Keiji is introduced. Keiji describes the "field of consciousness" - referring to the objective/subjective model. When we see the ultimate futility of this view, we come into uncertainty - described as "the Great Doubt" in Zen tradition. This leads us to the "field of nihility" - a negative groundlessness (distinguished from Sunyata, or "emptiness").

Nietzche began to deal with this by recognizing the "collapse of fixed reference points", and suggesting that this could be overcome through his notion of the will to power. Nishitani criticizes this view, as will is still dependent on the grasping mind that gave rise to subjectivism/objectivism in the first place. His view is that the Western philosophers recognized the problem but didn't go far enough in the solution. Since our current culture is scientific, science as well must adopt the idea of groundlessness. The authors propose to do this with their enactive research program.

Traditional Western sociology is also dependent on these ideas of subject/object. Specifically, an example is given of Hobbes' despot, or the unrestrained economic man. Planetary thinking requires an embodiment of concern for others. Buddhist tradition describes how emptiness is "filled with compassion" - a positive to Buddhist thinking often unmentioned in the west. As mindfulness/awareness arises, the individual realizes "compassionate action" as an already-present "skill". Normative societal rules should be "informed by the wisdom that enables them to be dissolved in the demands of reponsivity to the particularity and immediacy of lived situations" (p 252), and "sustained, disciplined practice" of mindfulness/awareness on the part of individuals is necessary.

Science + groundlessness = groovy.