A short introduction
Asher Walden received his BA in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and his PhD in Theology from Drew University. His dissertation was a comparative analysis of the moral metaphysics of Schopenhauer and the Neo-Confucian philosopher Zhu Xi. He has published a few scholarly articles and one monograph on comparative themes, and is currently exploring Josiah Royce, and anyone else who can help elucidate the specifically moral implications of the Mind-Only view. Asher taught undergraduate philosophy and religions courses for over ten years, and is currently working in the applied sciences. He lives in the Raleigh-Durham area with his family and some bunnies.Publications:
The symbiotic ecology of the psychedelic realm
The many seemingly autonomous entities encountered in the psychedelic realm suggest that human consciousness is the result of psychic symbiosis, entailing both personal and transpersonal formative principles, argues Dr. Walden in this fascinating essay.
There is no personal self
Today’s Essentia Readings episode challenges our currently held notion of self and how we typically define experience, as well as consciousness itself. It argues that the concept of an isolated self is an illusion, and drawing from the Buddhist teachings, illustrates what constitutes consciousness, and how we actually experience—and relate to—ourselves, the world, and others.
The ethics of Idealism, read and discussed
Today’s article is a fascinating deep dive into the subject of morality and the neurological mechanics of our joint human condition. It is an eye-opening presentation of how we actually relate to each other, and what this could mean for the future of our collective consciousness.
The ethics of idealism
Research suggests that there is a neurological foundation to the experience of social connectivity, and that it is the same as the foundation of consciousness itself: synchronistic alignment appears not only within an individual brain in correlation with experience, but also between people taking part in joint tasks. This can form the basis for an objective ethics, argues Dr. Walden.
There is no self: the periodic table of experience
Theologian Dr. Asher Walden argues that the self can be accounted for purely as a momentary aggregate of mental factors. Although we normally think of experience as some kind of relation between a subject and an object, in truth there is just experience.
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