East and West

The statement by Descartes: "I think therefore I am" epitomizes the western mode of consciousness. It's essentially an assertion by the Thomas Anderson character of "The Matrix" that "he" is "real" and Neo is not.

You can contrast Descartes statement with Socrates, "I know that I know nothing", that is, even after all his reasoning about the world, he reached a conclusion that the essence of the universe is not knowable via rational inquiry. That concept seems to be the core of the Daoist teaching--human reason is limited. I'd add that verbal reason is limited because the symbolic/verbal/algorithmic mode of consciousness is severely limited.

That "I" permeates western philosophy and religion. "I am going to heaven when I die!" some religious person might assert. The "I" is eternal, unchanging, and its entire history is recorded for evaluation by "god", the "I" in the sky. That notion is a delusion. Someone who gets brain damage by mechanical means or a disease or age is not the same "I" anymore. Consciousness is welded to 3D reality.

Daoism is a philosophical system that seems to be aimed at getting to the heart of this problem, at least as far as I understand it. It is an attempt to help get beyond the Socrates conclusion. "I know nothing." That is, the symbolic/verbal understanding of reality is merely a byproduct of one particular mode of consciousness.

The jewish death cults and control freak cult is built on that "I" mode of consciousness and cultivates it in others. The jewish diamond industry for example exploits the foolishness, pride and shame of dopey women and men. The jewish entertainment/fame industry exploits the desire of people to achieve some dope's version of "god" like status. Even the comedy of somebody like Jerry Seinfeld is basically a big long whine about "why am I not a god?" The mentality is all quite limited and extremely childish. It's a nihilist, serial murderer child, though, not a cute and cuddly child.

The "I" consciousness is necessarily on a one way road to nihilism and its associated behaviors, that is by reason alone, the "Thomas Anderson" character realizes "I" actually will die, turn to dust and be nothing. The attempt to achieve fame and glory as a stand-in for immortality is quite interesting. It's the ultimate keeping up with the joneses type behavior, and the essence of the midlife crisis. "Is that all there is?!" The Thomas Anderson character realizes after a life spent chasing dopey goals and scripts.

A different mode of consciousness allows the realization of "this is all there is" to be a moment of understanding and growth rather than childish frustration.