Whatever phenomena arise from a cause:

Their cause

& their cessation.

Such is the teaching of the Tathagata,

the Great Contemplative.

- Mv I.23.5

My thesis is that non-reductionism is a confusion; and once you realize

that an idea is a confusion, it becomes a tad difficult to envision what the

universe would look like if the confusion were true.

- Excluding the Supernatural, Eliezer Yudkowsky

I should be more grateful. I dug myself into a hole, and coming out would have been excruciatingly painful, had it not been the teacher, the teaching & his disciples.

Once, The teacher exhaustively enumerated all viewpoints that were not his teaching (DN 1). The purpose was assist in abandoning all views that go against the teaching. We will concern ourselves with only one viewpoint category, which reductionism is a part of. Of course, overcoming reductionism will remove a great deal of perplexity. Even better, practice of dhamma in accordance with the dhamma will overcome all perplexity.

The viewpoint category is partial eternalism & partial non-eternalism. Reductionism, is partially eternalist & partially non-eternalist, where:

1) "the laws of the universe" are eternal

2) "universe" is made up of "ontologically basic" things described by "the laws of the universe". These "ontologically basic" things are non-eternal.

3) Thus, by implication, "universe" is as eternal as the "laws of universe". Indeed, they are in some sense implied to be identical.

And, now, to explain the teaching:

The teaching has very limited use of the words "universe" & "laws of universe". Phenomena, origination of phenomena, cessation of phenomena, path of practice leading to cessation of phenomena are much more important concepts.

1) Phenomena can go to an end.

2) Indeed, the origination of phenomena is so labeled because when it goes to an end, phenomena go to an end.

(i) when this is, that is

(ii) with the arising of this, the arising of that

(iii) when this is not, that are not

(iv) with the ending of this, the ending of that.

3) The cessation of phenomena is truth, unborn, unbecome, unmade, unfabricated, aging-less, illness-less, deathless, sorrow-less, undefiled, unexcelled rest from the yoke: unbinding.

(i) If origination & phenomena are destined to go to an end, one is a learner

(i...

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