RELS 203 First Paper #1 Assignment - Desireless Action - Fall 2023

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University of Calgary *

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203

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Philosophy

Date

Apr 3, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by ProfComputer9714

RELS 203 Paper #1, Question #1 – ***DECLARATION*** The following declaration must be signed before your paper is graded. Simply typing your initials into the signature line below is sufficient. In initialing and submitting my paper, I declare that the work in this document is my own. More specifically, I declare that my paper is written in my own words. It does not reproduce the work of others. I also declare that I have NOT: (a) worked with other people while writing the paper, (b) written my answer before the paper was assigned in collaboration with other people, (c) copied materials from others, (d) posted my paper online in any form (including on facebook, discord, etc.),* (e) done anything else in preparing my answer that is considered plagiarism or academic misconduct under the University of Calgary’s Academic Integrity Guidelines (available at: https://www.ucalgary.ca/live-uc-ucalgary-site/sites/default/files/teams/9/AI- Student-handbook-1.pdf ) * Students are allowed to use facebook, discord, etc. for this course, but not during the paper assignment periods. YOUR INITIALS: ____DH________ (simply typing your initials here is fine)

Instructions: Please answer both part A. and part B. of the question below. Please remember that there are two questions (each with a part A. and part B.) on which you can choose to write for this paper. If you prefer to answer the other question posted for this paper, rather than the one below, you can do this by returning to the Dropbox folder on D2L and entering the folder with the other question. (Please note that different people will grade Part A. and Part B., so do not assume that the person marking A. will have read your part B. or vice versa. If there is information needed to answer both A. and B., state it separately for each part of your answer.) QUESTION #1: Part A. In class, we discussed possible interpretations of the doctrine of desireless action. Most of these interpretations divide desires into two groups: (1) permissible ("good") desires and (2) impermissible ("bad") desires. These kinds of theories might be called "some desires interpretations" since they take the prohibition on desire to prohibit only some desires, but allow some other desires. Why does it seem necessary to draw a distinction between good and bad desires in this context? (State and explain the initial problem or tension that the distinction between good and bad desires is meant to resolve. Put another way: why not think the doctrine of desireless action simply means to prohibit all desires?) Next, state and explain the three some desires interpretations discussed in class. For each interpretation, what are the "good" desires, and what are the "bad" desires? Explain each distinction and offer examples of each side of the distinction. (NOTE: To avoid confusion, I am not asking you here about the three problems with desire in part A. [Those three problems, again, are that desire (1) causes suffering directly, (2) undermines moral agency, and (3) produces karma/merit and demerit.]) Part B. Which of these three interpretations discussed in class seems the most plausible to you in your own life? (In other words, which some desires interpretation seems to draw the most plausible distinction between desires that are problematic and desires that are not problematic for you in your life ?) Explain with clear, plausible examples of "good" desires that do not seem problematic in your life and "bad" desires that do seem problematic. What do all the good desires have in common, if anything? (It might be that they share nothing in common. If so, explain why.) What do all the bad desires have in common, if anything? Lastly, do the "good" desires on your list avoid the first problem with desire - the problem of desire leading to suffering more or less directly? Why or why not? ANSWER QUESTION #1 HERE, ADDING AS MUCH SPACE AS NEEDED: _________________________________________________________________________

Part A. Desire can be categorized into two separate areas, good desires, and bad desires. The idea of having good desires and bad desires allows for people to still have and indulge in their desires rather than completely omitting them all. In Hinduism, the idea of Dharma (duty) is prevalent, and good desires are ones that align with one’s duties and promote moral and ethical decisions. Good desires are often motivated by compassion and care for others, these desires play a positive role in one's life and ultimately help them explore their spirituality. Desireless action omits good desires, which may harm oneself and others as omitting all desires omits compassion, empathy, and love for one another. It is necessary to draw a distinction between good and bad desires as prohibiting all desires can lead to an inability of contributing to one's family, oneself, and community as without good desires one will not have the motivation to fulfill one's moral duties to others. The three interpretations of desires are as follows, unselfish vs selfish desires, calm vs. burning/intense desires, and desires in terms of God vs. desires for worldly things. Selfish desires are considered one of the bad desires, these desires are primarily motivated by oneself interest. When one has a selfish desire, they often completely disregard the impacts their desire may have on other people as they only think about how their desire will impact them. Selfish desires are motivated by one thing, personal gain and satisfaction. Unselfish desires are considered good desires, they are referred to as selfless desires and are often motivated by the well being or interest of others over oneself. When one has unselfish desires, their desire is associated with the happiness or benefit of another, they will not care about how their desire impacts themselves but more about how it impacts others. An example of a selfish desire is when Mary wants to eat ice cream but doesn’t have any at home, so she eats her sister's ice cream. This is an example of a selfish desire because Mary desires ice cream and to fulfill her desire she will steal ice cream without thinking of the impact it may have on her sister. To fulfill Mary’s self desire, she disregards the feelings of her sister and is willing to steal and hurt her. In contrast, an unselfish desire may be a mother’s desire for her daughter to get married. In this situation, a mother will not directly benefit from her daughter getting married, but she desires this for the sake of her daughter as she believes her daughter will be happier if she found someone to care and love her. This unselfish desire is motivated by desire for the well being of others rather than oneself which is why it is a good desire. When comparing calm vs. burning/intense desires, there are key distinctions. A burning or intense desire is an extreme desire that may lead to negative consequences, it is a desire that may completely encompass oneself leading to obsession and the motivation to do whatever necessary to fulfill their desire. An example of this is lust, the desire to obtain a certain person romantically may cause obsession to the point where they can only think of that one person and are willing to do any means necessary to obtain them. This intense desire creates a sense of tunnel vision where fulfilling this desire is the only goal, making it a bad desire. In contrast, a calm desire is a good desire which often does not have any pressure or time constraint to fulfill the desire. It is usually a hope to achieve something, one may simply hope to eventually get a promotion at their job. In this case a calm desire is just something that one may like to have, the key distinction between a calm and burning desire is a calm desire is just hoping or wanting something whereas a burning desire is the need to possess. Worldly desires are considered a bad desire, in Hinduism a worldly desire is seen as part of the material world. It is when one forms a desire to material things associated with earthly pleasure in opposition to spiritual or desires of God. The desire to obtain material wealth is an example of worldly desire, wealth is a worldly possession and the desire to have money is associated with pleasure on earth as money allows for the possession of material things. This idea that one desires money is a bad desire as it creates an attachment to the material world making it difficult to attain moksha. The contrasting good desire is the desire in terms of God, this is the desire that transcends worldly desires and is the desire of spiritual growth and liberation. An example of this is the desire to devotion (Bhakti), the desire to devote oneself to God and create an attachment of divine companionship is a good desire. It transcends material or earthly pleasure and signifies the desire to connect with the divine.

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