Slippery slopes

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Bundokji
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Slippery slopes

Post by Bundokji »

Friends,

A slippery slope is often used to convey a fallacious aspect in our reasoning, that we can easily lose track of our path, and is a call to step back and evaluate evidence before moving forward. Its rationale is based on how we view or understand causality in general as chain of events that can trigger domino effect of some sort. In the teachings of the Buddha, such warnings exist, under different connotations. For example, in terms of good and evil:
Think not lightly of evil, saying, "It will not come to me." Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little, fills himself with evil.

Think not lightly of good, saying, "It will not come to me." Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.
So, falling into slippery slopes is driven by the notion that things happen gradually and that they do not bear fruits immediately. In other words, anything that we do that gives us a sense of direction is a good suspect of being a slippery slope, until proven otherwise.

The flip side of the coin is that most people who fall into slippery slopes rationalize their actions through the same reasoning. Take the idea of "cleansing the mind" as an example and compare it to the slippery slope of germophobia. A germophobe, quite rationally (or irrationally for that matter) would argue that we should not think lightly of germs, because little by little, they might lead you to severe illness unless you are overly aware, hence the incessant and compulsive washing of the hands becomes the right thing to do, and its undesirable side effects can be brushed aside under the notion of preserving the higher good.

Take the whole business of practicing and insight as another example, which is a gradual process, through paying attention to certain aspects of phenomena and developing dispassion, where the slippery slope brings about freedom, eventually:
Just as the ocean has a gradual shelf, a gradual slope, a gradual inclination, with a sudden drop-off only after a long stretch; in the same way this Dhamma & Vinaya has a gradual training, a gradual performance, a gradual practice, with a penetration to gnosis only after a long stretch. The fact that this Dhamma & Vinaya has a gradual training, a gradual performance, a gradual practice, with a penetration to gnosis only after a long stretch: This is the first amazing & astounding quality of this Dhamma & Vinaya because of which, as they see it again & again, the monks take great joy in this Dhamma & Vinaya.
So, what to make of slippery slopes? and how it manifests in your practice and daily life?
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

This was the last word of the Tathagata.
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Sam Vara
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Re: Slippery slopes

Post by Sam Vara »

Bundokji wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 8:05 am
So, what to make of slippery slopes? and how it manifests in your practice and daily life?
Nice point. It reminded me of this sutta:

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html

and I'm sure there are probably others equally apposite. In terms of practice and daily life, I'm thinking about how meditation trains us to note how readily the mind can slip away from the meditation object and get lost in thinking or other sense impressions. If I give in to the urge to follow a thought, then I slip down a slope to where I find myself arguing with a boss or partner of 30 years ago, or fantasising about what I would do if the world were different. And the same applies, of course, to morality off the cushion, although it's normally easier to catch the mind doing this. The "meditation slope" is for me shallower and very slippery; whereas sila involves a short less slippery slope.
Dhammapardon
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Re: Slippery slopes

Post by Dhammapardon »

By that definition, this thread can be a slippery slope of sorts for those who decide to post. Something was grasped which prompted a response which perpetuated thought and behavior which leads to potential future reactions. The outcomes of which may have varying degrees of benefit or detriment in some ways or another. It caught a memory for me which prompted some thinking.

I think as it relates to Buddhism, every leaning or inclination is towards a slope of some sort. You can see it from observing the sankhara volitions of avijja. A same choice repeated leads to a favoritism. Picking green over and over leads to a favorite color becoming green where choices between colors becomes green without much thought. Or to your example, the choice of washing vs not washing the hands presented at each opportunity leads to it being a "no-brainer" when the choice comes up.

An aspect of a person's body being right or left-sided is they have a tendency to lean toward that side and the muscles of that side become stronger from more frequent use than the alternate side. I attempt to use my understanding of kusala as my guide where to lean. Leaning toward the kusala side or kusala slope in the choices available strengthens the behavior and leads to growth in what is wholesome and reveals what's delightful about it. Applying and refining sila is a great way to gain understanding of what's kusala.
https://suttacentral.net/an10.14/en/bodhi?reference=none&highlight=false wrote: “If any bhikkhu or bhikkhunī has abandoned these five kinds of mental barrenness and well eradicated these five bondages of the mind, then, whether night or day comes, only growth in wholesome qualities and not deterioration is to be expected for that person. Just as during the bright fortnight, whether night or day comes, the moon only increases in beauty, roundness, and brightness, in diameter and circumference, so too, if any bhikkhu or bhikkhunī has abandoned these five kinds of mental barrenness and well eradicated these five bondages of the mind, then, whether night or day comes, only growth in wholesome qualities and not deterioration is to be expected for that person.”
Just as a bird, wherever it goes, flies with its wings as its only burden; so too is he content with a set of robes to provide for his body and almsfood to provide for his hunger. Wherever he goes, he takes only his barest necessities along. This is how a monk is content.(DN11)
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Radix
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Re: Slippery slopes

Post by Radix »

Bundokji wrote: Wed May 24, 2023 8:05 amA slippery slope is often used to convey a fallacious aspect in our reasoning, that we can easily lose track of our path, and is a call to step back and evaluate evidence before moving forward. Its rationale is based on how we view or understand causality in general as chain of events that can trigger domino effect of some sort. In the teachings of the Buddha, such warnings exist, under different connotations. For example, in terms of good and evil:
Think not lightly of evil, saying, "It will not come to me." Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the fool, gathering it little by little, fills himself with evil.

Think not lightly of good, saying, "It will not come to me." Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.
A slippery slope fallacy (SSF), in logic, critical thinking, political rhetoric, and caselaw, is a fallacious argument in which a party asserts that a relatively small first step leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant (usually negative) effect.[1] The core of the slippery slope argument is that a specific decision under debate is likely to result in unintended consequences. The strength of such an argument depends on whether the small step really is likely to lead to the effect. This is quantified in terms of what is known as the warrant (in this case, a demonstration of the process that leads to the significant effect). This type of argument is sometimes used as a form of fearmongering in which the probable consequences of a given action are exaggerated in an attempt to scare the audience.

The fallacious sense of "slippery slope" is often used synonymously with continuum fallacy, in that it ignores the possibility of middle ground and assumes a discrete transition from category A to category B.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slippery_slope
Some phenomena are slippery slopes, some are not. A lot depends on the specific context.

For example, lighting a match often will not lead to problems, but if this is done in a room with a gas leak, it most likely will.
Eating a peanut will do no harm to a person not allergic to peanuts, but eating just a tiny piece of a peanut can cause death in a person who is allergic to peanuts.

If you know that you are prone to some bad behavior, then you also probably know that it takes only a tiny misstep and you become a runaway train on the path of destruction. Like some former alcoholics who know that if they drink just a sip of an alcoholic drink, they won't be able to stop themselves anymore and will continue drinking until they pass out (while a normal person can stop).
Western Buddhism is the perfect ideological supplement to rabid consumerist capitalism.
Glenn Wallis
Bundokji
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Re: Slippery slopes

Post by Bundokji »

Talking about slippery slopes, i find the legitimization of lying during wartime to be a clear example of this strange phenomena.

If anyone follows the news about the Ukraine war, would notice that the degeneration of moral values often translates into patently lying. Unlike more peaceful times, where conflicts are presented as "two opposing vantage points" where people can relate or have empathy with both sides, during war times, patent lying seems to preserve and provide consistency or continuum to the overall state of degeneracy. For example, earlier today a dam was blown up in Ukrainian city where both sides accuse each other. In this case, it is no longer a matter of have opposing or conflicting views, but one side is shamelessly lying.

The above example, while relevant to the current political discourse, seems to be a wider phenomena that is driven by the urge to be consistent. For example, it is not uncommon that prostitutes are more likely to break other precepts, as if going all blown out into this direction preserve their sense of identity, while in fact, prostitution can be an honest profession as any other and not necessarily against the precepts.
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus, saying: "Behold now, bhikkhus, I exhort you: All compounded things are subject to vanish. Strive with earnestness!"

This was the last word of the Tathagata.
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