On his blog The Life of Man Qua Man on Earth Mark Plus takes a critical look at Buddhism:
Transhumanists who endorse Buddhism tend to annoy me. Buddhism not only has the problems John Horgan points out, but the empirical evidence doesn’t support its fans’ claims about happiness…The developed countries where Buddhism has had the least presence and influence, with the exception of Japan, now report the highest levels of happiness; while the poorer countries with Buddhist cultures report significantly lower levels of happiness…Ironically the legends about the Buddha show that he depended on others’ dukkha for his subsistence and cult building.
Because Buddhism can be more easily adapted to support secular believes and modern science, its popularity among some transhumanists is not surprising. It has been argued that indeterminism in physics and the currents findings of neuroscience about the existence of “the self” have been anticipated by Buddhism. Of course, there are also metaphysical, epistemological, and moral ideas within the Buddhist tradition that are harder to reconcile with modern science. It is challenging to understand why one should make a conscious effort to reconcile Buddhism and contemporary science. We can embrace the findings of science that are consistent with Buddhism but reject the metaphysical baggage of Buddhism and many other “isms” as obstacles to a proper scientific conception of the world.
Buddhism is not unique in offering guidance about how to live in an increasingly technological world. Contemporary physics and neuroscience leave little room for the existence of “free will.” Living without free will seems disconcerting to many people (including self-identified atheists) but traditional Calvinists have learned how to cope with such a possibility. Considering the long and diverse history of religion, it stands to reason that some of the concerns expressed in various belief systems still hold relevance for humans today. But none of these belief systems can substitute for the skepticism and moderation that a proper understanding of science brings.
