As we observe the huge social inequality, the disparages of social split in America and more and more so in China, it seems to me that any mentioning of sharing resources/wealth redistribution would triggers fear of authoritarian of socialism or communism, as the western mind hold the individual right/liberty to such lofty height of happiness and freedom, which was further over emphasized by Ann Ryan’s objectivism in the last half century, I suspect the idea of dualism had played a huge part in such mentality, causing a self-feeding of larger than life ego grandeur and selfishness.
The Eastern mind (or Eastern Traditional Philosophy) is centered on the Tao or Divinity. It is Dinvine that give that provision (生死有命，富贵在天），no matter how wealthy you are, it is Dinvine’s provision through you. If you share with others, as taught in the 《了凡四训〉，Divine will bestow you more as it use you more as a conduit, otherwise, your merit account （福报）is limited, and when it is used out, you will start to fall. So be very careful with your merit account for selfish usage, especially in those unwholesom deeds. 天命谓之性，率性谓之道，修道谓之教。 淨空法師：如何得到福報？ 佛教你三個修大福報的方法。什么都是有因果的， 福报也不例外。福報用盡，災禍必來！出現這3個徵兆，就是佛菩薩在提醒：你的福報即將耗盡【佛心福樂】 It is all about the cause(conditions) and effects in work.
Dualism is a deeply entrenched view point in the western mindset. It is closely associated with the thought of René Descartes (1641), which holds that the mind is a nonphysical—and therefore, non-spatial—substance. Descartes clearly identified the mind with consciousness and self-awareness and distinguished this from the brain as the seat of intelligence. As such Descartes is often called The Father of Dualism, due to his proposing the theory of substance dualism, or Cartesian dualism. Dualism is a theory which entails the belief that the mind and the body are two completely separate substances. René Descartes is also often credited with being the “Father of Modern Philosophy.” This title is justified due both to his break with the traditional Scholastic-Aristotelian philosophy prevalent at his time and to his development and promotion of the new, mechanistic sciences.
Dualism can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle, and also to the early Sankhya and Yoga schools of Hindu philosophy. Plato first formulated his famous Theory of Forms, distinct and immaterial substances of which the objects and other phenomena that we perceive in the world are nothing more than mere shadows.
Platonic Dualism: Splitting the Body and Soul. Plato offers the first, oldest argument that one’s physical body and soul are separate entities and that one lives on after the other has died. Dualism holds that reality or existence is divided into two parts. These two parts are often identified as the body and the soul. To dualists, the soul is a real substance that exists independent from the body. Socrates, Plato, and Augustine were all dualists who believed the soul to be immortal.
Nietzsche’s statement, “Man, in his highest, finest powers, is all nature and carries nature’s uncanny dual nature in himself” attempts to deal with the duality of humankind. His viewpoint had influence the mindset of the west for the last century: Within the natural casing of humanity lies the capability for great triumph and, in turn, great degradation.
Belief in the possibility of the soul’s existence separately from the body suffices to make one a dualist, but Aristotle rejects that belief for at least most types of soul. If Aristotle is committed to dualism, he must be committed to a weaker version of it which admits that the soul cannot exist apart from the body.
The Differences Between Plato’s And Descartes’ Views On The Concept Of God is that Descartes believes that his God is omnipotent, and Plato does not give that characteristic to any of his Deities, because he believed that Gods should not have the ability to commit bad actions as nothing that is purely good can be harmful, and ‘nothing that isn’t harmful can cause harm’.
Taking Consciousness Seriously – a Defense of Decartesian Dualism by Frank B. Dilley took a serious discussion of Dualism by state following:
In a more recent paper, A Defense of Dualism, John Foster hold the view that the mind and its contents are radically nonphysical, that is, that they are neither themselves physical, nor the logical product of anything physical, nor, except causally or nomologically, dependent on anything physical.
So what does Buddha teaches us about Nondualism? Read the article Nondualism in Mahayana Buddhism would give you a much clearer sense.
NON-DUALITY AMERICA Twenty Questions with Jeff Foster is a great read together with The Teaching of Emptiness by Greg Goode.
由于历史主义者认为历史和社会是不断进步的，文化也是不断进步的，因此现代政治伦理思想优越 于古代的政治伦理。而儒家政治伦理产生于中国古代的奴隶社会末期至封建社会初期，属于主流的封建伦理思想，是中国落后的封建道德和文化的象征，完全不适合历史发展的进程，应该予以全盘抛弃。
古典政治伦理具有一元性和绝对性的特点，倡导一种形而上学的道德观。古代的东方社会形成了一种以宇宙为中心的世界观，而西方社会则形成了以神学为中心的世界观。但是现代人的道德相对主义则解构了这两种世界观，并最终导致道德的多元主义和虚无主义①。比如存在主义者海德格尔认为存在先于本质，即此在在被抛掷到这个世界之前，并不存在任何先
验的道德，此在的生存并不受某种绝对道德的束缚，而是应该遵从此在的良心和内在自由来自我判断此在在道德上是否有罪（海德格尔，２００６）。道德相对主义解构了古典政治伦理的绝对性和形而上学标准，使得古典政治伦理在现代社会日益式微。
现代民主政治的弊端正在于宗教和道德彻底地退出了政治生活领域，从而带来了现代人的双重丧失：意义丧失———人生价值的丧失和自由的丧失———道德和宗教信仰的缺乏和异化而失去了内在的精神自由（哈贝马斯，２００４：３１１）。
