---
title: "Spiritual Rationality, part 11 of 11"
canonical: "https://spiritual-rationality.org"
pages: 13
---

# Spiritual Rationality, part 11 of 11 {#top}

*Part 11 of 11, complete edition — “Goodness” through “Whose Buddha?”. Previous: https://spiritual-rationality.org/llms-full-10.txt. Whole edition in one file: https://spiritual-rationality.org/llms-full.txt. Index: https://spiritual-rationality.org/llms.txt*

## Notation {#notation}

Source notation, not standard markdown:

- `::gloss[…]` — definition of the heading above it. Invisible on the site;
  it is the hover card for links to that heading. Read as a definition.
- `::gloss[…]{#id}` — defines a term holding its own anchor. `#id` is the
  link target; the block below is what it annotates.
- `::nogloss` — heading deliberately has no definition.
- `:::note[…]` / `:::info[…]` — callouts (MyST/Docusaurus admonitions).

Footnotes are GFM. Heading anchors are GitHub-style slugs, written out as
`{#id}` in the combined files.

## Contents {#contents}

- [Goodness](#goodness)
  - [What is Axiology?](#goodness-what-is-axiology)
  - [Metaphysics and Axiology](#goodness-metaphysics-axiology)
  - [Harm](#goodness-harm)
  - [Metaphysical Harms](#goodness-metaphysical-harms)
  - [Sex](#goodness-sex)
- [Conclusion](#conclusion)
  - [Spiritual Rationality](#conclusion-spiritual-rationality)
- [Appendix](#appendix)
  - [Empiricism re Therapy Efficacy](#appendix-therapy-efficacy)
  - [The Garden Of Eden](#appendix-garden-of-eden)
  - [Specific Claims from Specific Traditions](#appendix-specific-claims)
  - [Whose Buddha?](#appendix-whose-buddha-historiography)

---

# Goodness {#goodness}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/goodness — also at `/md/goodness.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `goodness--`.*

*In this chapter:*

- [🔨 What is Axiology?](#goodness-what-is-axiology)
- [🔨 Metaphysics and Axiology](#goodness-metaphysics-axiology)
- [🔨 Harm](#goodness-harm)
- [🔨 Metaphysical Harms](#goodness-metaphysical-harms)
- [🔨 Sex](#goodness-sex)

---

# What is Axiology? {#goodness-what-is-axiology}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/goodness/what-is-axiology — also at `/md/goodness/what-is-axiology.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `goodness-what-is-axiology--`.*



---

# Metaphysics and Axiology {#goodness-metaphysics-axiology}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/goodness/metaphysics-axiology — also at `/md/goodness/metaphysics-axiology.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `goodness-metaphysics-axiology--`.*



---

# Harm {#goodness-harm}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/goodness/harm — also at `/md/goodness/harm.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `goodness-harm--`.*



---

# Metaphysical Harms {#goodness-metaphysical-harms}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/goodness/metaphysical-harms — also at `/md/goodness/metaphysical-harms.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `goodness-metaphysical-harms--`.*



---

# Sex {#goodness-sex}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/goodness/sex — also at `/md/goodness/sex.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `goodness-sex--`.*



---

# Conclusion {#conclusion}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/conclusion — also at `/md/conclusion.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `conclusion--`.*

This chapter reiterates and elaborates on the main thesis of the book.

*In this chapter:*

- [🔨 Spiritual Rationality](#conclusion-spiritual-rationality)

---

# Spiritual Rationality {#conclusion-spiritual-rationality}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/conclusion/spiritual-rationality — also at `/md/conclusion/spiritual-rationality.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `conclusion-spiritual-rationality--`.*

*Spiritual rationality*, in my view, is composed of three main considerations. I want a spirituality which satisfies all of them, and I believe you should too. It should be:

**Sane**: truthful, accurate, not mistaken or false about the world or the contents of our minds, and furthemore conducive to sane communities and sane societies.

**Effective**: able to achieve the goals it advertises, and both calibrated and honest about how successfully it can do that.

**True** (perhaps, **right**, perhaps also just **good**): true to ourselves and to our values, both not denying our values or trying to "transcend" them, but also able to discard chaff, confusion, and ignorance about the nature of experience and value. Moreso, deeply beautiful and aligned with goodness, as best as we yet understand it.

This list is not necessarily comprehensive, and I'm not quite happy with any of these words, but they'll do for now. Once again, as I've said over and over, see also [nebulosity](/md/metaphysics/eternalism-nihilism.md#nebulosity).

***

---

# Appendix {#appendix}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/appendix — also at `/md/appendix.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `appendix--`.*

This chapter has supplementary essays on specific topics which didn't fit in the main body of the book.

- [🔨 Empiricism re Therapy Efficacy](#appendix-therapy-efficacy)
- [🔨 The Garden Of Eden](#appendix-garden-of-eden)
- [🔨 Specific Claims from Specific Traditions](#appendix-specific-claims)
- [🔨 Whose Buddha?](#appendix-whose-buddha-historiography)

---

# Empiricism re Therapy Efficacy {#appendix-therapy-efficacy}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/appendix/therapy-efficacy — also at `/md/appendix/therapy-efficacy.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `appendix-therapy-efficacy--`.*

Oy vey.

2026-08-04 briefly: I did some cursory reading last year and both effect sizes and clinical significance were larger than I was expecting but still much more modest than the advertising. 

I would like to do at least a small literature review here but am not prioritizing it.

---

# The Garden Of Eden {#appendix-garden-of-eden}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/appendix/garden-of-eden — also at `/md/appendix/garden-of-eden.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `appendix-garden-of-eden--`.*

There are a variety of theories, stories, and fantasies which I'll refer to as stories of the *Garden of Eden*. These stories revolve around a reconstructed past which was vastly more spiritually wealthy: more peaceful, wholesome, trusting, integrated with the earth, healthy in diet, etc.

As fantasies or [imaginal](/md/practice/practices.md#imaginal-practice) background, I have no real objection, but as actual depictions of the past, I believe these are broadly false. Furthermore, insofar as we're concerned with actually trying to understand our own species, and especially what ought to be possible for the future, we should not be using stories like these to guide us. 

I have a few claims here:

1. The lives of most humans who have ever lived have been uncomfortable, difficult, vulnerable, and often brutal, much more than we in the 21st century West usually imagine. 
2. The kinds of stories about the history of our species which circulate in pop discourses, especially in hippy circles, are very often based on a combination of sparse anecdotes and fantasy or imaginative elaboration from anthropological and archaeological evidence. 
3. While "traditional societies" are well adapted to their contexts in many ways, many features of their cultures look more like a random hodgepodge--some of them delightful or curious, and many dysfunctional or harmful, but mostly just not particularly well optimized for *anything*.

Beyond these, my claim is that from my (sparse) reading of anthropology, I haven't seen evidence of societies[^appendix-garden-of-eden--contact] which display overwhelming spiritual integrity, righteousness, or robustness. In general, ethnographies feel like they're describing the inheritors of a lineage of adaptation, trauma, dysfunction, ignorance, and authentic human spirit, muddling through with what they have at hand.

[^appendix-garden-of-eden--contact]: Mostly I mean before contact with the West, but largely the same after also.

## How bad was it? {#appendix-garden-of-eden--how-bad-was-it}

## Pop-spiritual pseudoanthropology {#appendix-garden-of-eden--pop-spiritual-pseudoanthropology}

## Adaptation and optimization {#appendix-garden-of-eden--adaptation-and-optimization}

## It is our birthright to adapt and be joyful {#appendix-garden-of-eden--it-is-our-birthright-to-adapt-and-be-joyful}

---

# Specific Claims from Specific Traditions {#appendix-specific-claims}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/appendix/specific-claims — also at `/md/appendix/specific-claims.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `appendix-specific-claims--`.*



---

# Whose Buddha? {#appendix-whose-buddha-historiography}

*Page: https://spiritual-rationality.org/book/appendix/whose-buddha-historiography — also at `/md/appendix/whose-buddha-historiography.md`. Anchors within this section are prefixed `appendix-whose-buddha-historiography--`.*