All of DannyD's Comments + Replies
>By my understanding, a universe with no conscious experiences is the best possible universe by ANU (though there are other equally good universes as well). Would you agree with that?
I'd say that a universe with no conscious experiences (of suffering) is the best possible universe by ANU. If there are neutral, tranquil or pleasant consciousnesses that can't ever possibly suffer (or change to a state of suffering), their existence or non-existence wouldn't matter and an ANU would say that the universe with them is no better/worse than without them.
That is what you meant/thought by equally good universes as well, right?
In a lot of cases today, certain populations are “forced” into a tribalist state in order to survive and prevent s-risks. This usually occurs when a larger tribe subjugates, brutalizes, and terrorizes a smaller and less tribally organized tribe, which forces the smaller tribe to have to act in tribal ways to defend itself from ethnic cleansing or genocide. One can call this effect induced tribalism. It is also something I should make a larger post about.
Examples of this induced Tribal effect includes but is not limited to:
Kurdish & Yezedi people Armeni
...My biggest qualm against most psychedelics is not that they don’t work per say, but that they are kind of redundant and not the most effective long term, when compared to the various meditations we have.
Mindfulness-based practices have been found to reduce anxiety, depression, pain, stress and can help people bounce back faster from negative events. They can be used alongside CBT or be employed when CBT fails to make an impact. The jhanas are highly pleasurable and virtually unknown to most people. The boundless attitudes / viharas may make one feel better
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A Buddhist-inspired answer would be that a classic utilitarian's craving for or grasping after pleasant or "heavenly" states of existence is what causes them to reject NU or at least not be negative leaning. With modern lexicon, that may be likened to a brain's reward function being why they reject NU, with pleasure holding more motivational salience than pain/aversion or tranquility (if the most latter can be attained or sustained).
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