How To Discover What's True - A Deep Inquiry

https://youtu.be/BdrmdMhf_sY

"If you are unable to find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?" - Dogen

• Existential Inquiry and Personal Investigation: Leo emphasizes the importance of conducting a personal investigation into the nature of reality, not just accepting truths delivered by authority figures. This investigation involves deep philosophical questioning and using one's own contemplative process to discern truth.
• What is truth and why seek it: Leo starts the inquiry by pondering the necessity of truth for understanding reality. He addresses the imperative of not being content with a false model of the world but seeking a model that reflects reality as it is.
• The danger of preconceived notions: The inquiry process requires shedding biases and approaching the investigation without attachment to specific outcomes, whether they align with personal desires or established worldviews.
• Science and its limitations: Leo discusses the complexities of science, acknowledging that science is made up of a multitude of theories and that what is considered true today might be disproven in the future. He raises the question of which scientific theories to trust while considering the possibility that science might not have all the answers.
• Denying external authorities: Leo stresses the importance of skepticism towards external authorities and the responsibility of the individual to assume the role of their own authority in the journey for truth, without blindly accepting hearsay.
• Valid methods of inquiry and starting without prejudice: Leo talks about approaching the truth-seeking process without bias towards methods like reason, intuition, experience, or even voodoo and witchcraft—staying open to all possibilities when beginning the inquiry from scratch.
• Cultural and personal biases: He warns against allowing cultural and personal biases to predetermine the dismissal of non-mainstream methods like witchcraft in seeking truth. This stance requires questioning everything, including deep-rooted cultural beliefs.
• Challenges of distinguishing truth from falsehood: When confronted with different methods of truth discovery, such as witchcraft or academic study at a place like Harvard, the difficulty lies in the need for direct experience with each method to compare their veracity. Most people bypass such a thorough comparative process, often dismissing unfamiliar methods as nonsense without proper investigation.
• Cultural biases affecting truth-seeking: Leo highlights the influence of one's upbringing on the approach to seeking truth. Whether one grows up in a Christian, atheistic, or any other type of household can significantly steer them towards seeking truth through the lens of that specific worldview, despite the fact that being born into a particular belief system is purely accidental and not an assurance of its truthfulness.
• Critical introspection in truth inquiry: The inquiry into truth isn't merely a rational or scientific process devoid of emotion. Personal biases and emotional attachments heavily influence one's pursuit of truth. Leo stresses the need for self-awareness and critical examination of one's own preferences and early cultural programming that can distort the quest for truth.
• Psychological and emotional intricacies: Leo sheds light on the complex psychological and emotional landscape that can complicate efforts to uncover truth. Personal resistances, manipulability, indoctrination, and various societal delusions contribute to the challenge, necessitating a deeply introspective and conscious approach.
• Impact of vested interests on truth: The pursuit of truth is further complicated by the influence of vested interests across different sectors, such as business or medicine, where economic agendas can shape beliefs and suppress certain truths, as evidenced by historical accounts of false scientific theories, medical malpractices, and corporate deceptions.
• Starting the investigation with inherent biases: Leo makes it clear that chasing truth does not start from a blank slate. Pre-existing theories, biases, and cultural conditioning skew the process. Deciding where to start investigating amongst thousands of philosophies and worldviews is shaped by subjective preferences, often culturally ingrained, which could misguide the pursuit altogether.
• Importance of self-awareness and honesty in the process: Leo underlines that self-awareness and honesty are crucial in this work. Recognizing the culturally conditioned preference for certain methods of investigation, like science, requires skepticism to ensure a genuine search for truth devoid of external influence.
• Foundational assumptions of truth: To ground the search for truth, Leo acknowledges that some assumptions are necessary to begin; however, he urges caution. These assumptions must be critically revisited because early errors can lead to severe deviations in the inquiry process, much like a poorly laid foundation can doom a skyscraper.
• The complexity of the truth-seeking journey: The inquiry into truth quickly spirals into complexity, with myriad directions and possibilities to consider. This inherent difficulty is why few people engage deeply in this type of existential investigation, despite its profound importance for understanding life and reality.
• Reliability of reason: Leo questions the assumption that reason automatically leads to truth. He challenges viewers to ponder whether they have really proven that reason leads to truth, or if they're simply accepting a cultural belief without critical analysis.