Ray Peat Political Views

[Asimov]

Do you need evidence that the sun rises in the morning also? It's called "common knowledge". I'm not going to waste my time teaching you things you should have learned by the time you were 18. Read a book.

I appreciate your attempts at psychoanalysis, but you couldn't be more wrong about my past. The attempt is a little silly.

 

[gretchen]

What impact would you like to see your research make on society? Reaching the largest amount of people? or a certain type of person? Or are you completely detached from the outcome?

“I’d like to see it lead to the disestablishment of medicine. The same general outcomes Ivan Illich worked for. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDr71LHO ... re=related) ”

I think its fair to say Peat is anti-authority, the medical establishment being a sort of 'authority'. Wants people to think for themselves, asking the right questions, engaging in life actively rather than depending on authority figures for orders about how to act, what to believe, etc.

Yes, and he is the only one who says this. Many people in the U.S., particularly so-called educated types believe we "should" get most of our information/help from trained professionals when the evidence is that doctors (and the medical establishment in general) have no vested interest in health.

 

[Dorito Loyalist]

I'm pretty sure Peat is some kind of old-school socialist.

For all those attacking each other for supporting various authoritarian governments, let me note that I'm quite partial to FRANCO and SALAZAR.

 

[CellularIconoclast]

I think Ray Peat is a left anarchist (anti-authoritarian) in the style of Henry David Thoreau. If you read Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" you will see an almost identical attitude towards politics and society. He believes individual action, deep understanding of reality, and personal responsibility are key to improving society- and that bureaucracy and dogma are not effective tools for this purpose.

I think this is difficult for people to recognize, as common American discussion on politics is one dimensional (left vs right) and both sides are strongly authoritarian. The political compass idea is illustrative. I think in this plot, Ray Peat would fall directly below the Dalai Lama, but all the way at the very bottom edge of the plot:

I find this somewhat ironic, in the context of this forum. Peatatarianism seems to be extremely authoritarian- for example it's considered acceptable to cite Ray Peat's opinion on an issue while omitting the empirical evidence. I think Ray Peat would find this very disappointing, as his main goal is to encourage critical independent thought, rather than specific behaviors. However it is much easier to drink a gallon of orange juice than to spend years studying 100 year old laboratory experiments.

 

[Blossom]

For me personally it's taking a bit of time to get my brain up and running at full speed to even fairly be able to evaluate many things outside my comfort zone. I can't help but give Peat credit and respect because his work helped me figure out how to save my own life. I know he would be pleased with that. I also know that I will now continue to move forward and do much better things in the world because of this second chance at healing. It's an imperfect world and ironic that someone like Peat who could probably care less about the spot light has received so much adoration for his work. I'm grateful nonetheless and happy to dialogue with others about their healing experience. You sure won't find true healing like this anywhere else imo.

 

[CellularIconoclast]

For me personally it's taking a bit of time to get my brain up and running at full speed to even fairly be able to evaluate many things outside my comfort zone.

That's a good point, it can be a 'boostrap problem' that is hard to overcome.

I apologize for the unnecessarily rude way I worded my post. I don't mean to insult anyone who is following these methods to improve their health.

 

[Blossom]

For me personally it's taking a bit of time to get my brain up and running at full speed to even fairly be able to evaluate many things outside my comfort zone.

That's a good point, it can be a 'boostrap problem' that is hard to overcome.

I apologize for the unnecessarily rude way I worded my post. I don't mean to insult anyone who is following these methods to improve their health.

No apology necessary! It's probably hard for some to imagine that there are others literally coming back into their own due to healing as a result of Peat's work. My brain/mental capacity hasn't been this great since I was a teen. I'm so glad for all of the people who have found his work who did not have to get to the low point I did. To me that is part of what he meant by ' restoring the fullness of life'. There are a lot of sharp minds out in the Peat community and I'm just happy to be able to join them! I enjoyed your post. I'm also enjoying using my recovered abilities.

 

[Anonymous]

I can't believe no one has posted these quotes here by Ray:

"The Occupy movement was manipulated away from making any demands that would have had the possibility to turn it into a party and gain broad support—much of the 99%, maybe half of the voters—could have seen it as their representative, leaving the other parties to divide the other half. The requirement for consensus allowed many special issues to be heard, but it kept the essential mass demands from being made. The FBI papers that were released under FOIA showed that the powers had identified the leaders at the beginning of the demonstrations, and had snipers ready to eliminate them if they became a threat, but the government organized the police to suppress the movement without having to kill the leaders, and the lack of specific political demands kept it from spreading. Organized action is essential, but I think it has to work like an organism, with learning and thinking integrated with action. Dissent has to be accepted within the movement, to permit the bulk of it to take action, while the dissenters keep working on their issues. Several groups with several demands wouldn’t keep the larger group from succeeding with the goals they have in common, such things as eliminating the absolute power of the ruling class. Julian Assange said “Parties should be fun. They should put the word party back into politics.” The political party should be something integral to life." - Ray Peat

And I think this quote shows some aspect of him not being religious:

"Progesterone's normal effects include maintenance of pregnancy, and that requires the prevention of additional pregnancies during the course of an established one Its presence in the vagina during intercourse causes the cells to react as if there were already an established pregnancy. There are various reasons that this method of contraception hasn't been generally accepted; for example, progesterone's very name suggests that it promotes pregnancy, and the bureaucratic mentality sees things in simplistic ways. Incidentally, I think the evidence is absolutely clear that the estrogen pills are not contraceptives. They don't prevent conception, they prevent implantation of the embryo into the uterus. That is abortion, so the industry had to make up a theory in which the pills could be marketed as a contraceptive, to avoid the religious reaction to the abortion pill. This theoretical gimmick took nearly twenty years to develop. " - Ray Peat

 

[haidut]

I can't believe no one has posted these quotes here by Ray:

"The Occupy movement was manipulated away from making any demands that would have had the possibility to turn it into a party and gain broad support—much of the 99%, maybe half of the voters—could have seen it as their representative, leaving the other parties to divide the other half. The requirement for consensus allowed many special issues to be heard, but it kept the essential mass demands from being made. The FBI papers that were released under FOIA showed that the powers had identified the leaders at the beginning of the demonstrations, and had snipers ready to eliminate them if they became a threat, but the government organized the police to suppress the movement without having to kill the leaders, and the lack of specific political demands kept it from spreading. Organized action is essential, but I think it has to work like an organism, with learning and thinking integrated with action. Dissent has to be accepted within the movement, to permit the bulk of it to take action, while the dissenters keep working on their issues. Several groups with several demands wouldn’t keep the larger group from succeeding with the goals they have in common, such things as eliminating the absolute power of the ruling class. Julian Assange said “Parties should be fun. They should put the word party back into politics.” The political party should be something integral to life." - Ray Peat

And I think this quote shows some aspect of him not being religious:

"Progesterone's normal effects include maintenance of pregnancy, and that requires the prevention of additional pregnancies during the course of an established one Its presence in the vagina during intercourse causes the cells to react as if there were already an established pregnancy. There are various reasons that this method of contraception hasn't been generally accepted; for example, progesterone's very name suggests that it promotes pregnancy, and the bureaucratic mentality sees things in simplistic ways. Incidentally, I think the evidence is absolutely clear that the estrogen pills are not contraceptives. They don't prevent conception, they prevent implantation of the embryo into the uterus. That is abortion, so the industry had to make up a theory in which the pills could be marketed as a contraceptive, to avoid the religious reaction to the abortion pill. This theoretical gimmick took nearly twenty years to develop. " - Ray Peat

I think Peat has written many articles showing he is not religious in the traditional sense. In fact, I think he despises organized religion. However, he does come across as "theistic" in some sense of seeing an order in the universe and a universal consciousness present in every bit of matter. That is more in line with Hinduistic teachings than Western religions. Also, in his book "Mind and Tissue" he talks more about those aspects, but never says anything directly about his own beliefs.
Maybe somebody can ask him directly. I would be very curious to hear his response, even though I suspect he will not answer the direct question

 

[fyo]

Given the chance, I think it would be easier than people often think, to do without governors.

http://www.visionandacceptance.com/orga ... -ray-peat/

 

[montmorency]

I would guess that Ray would hate to be labelled as an "anything-ist".
He's an independently-minded free-thinker.
I was going to say an original thinker, which he partly is, but of course he also builds on the work of others (e.g. Broda Barnes) and is not afraid to give them due credit.

 

[No_Energy]

I always had Ray as a Libertarian. He is all about Individual Freedom, Free Thought and Speech, the absolute Opposite of all the Socialist gargabe, Collective stupidity. If Ray believed the dumb low level Socialist Marxist pseudo-scientific garbage, I would be very disappointed and question his intellectual brilliance (or consider that he hasn't put much of his time and intellect into Philosophy, Economics, etc.. as he has done with Biology, physiology..). Marxism/Socialism appeals to false "intellectuals", low IQ types, and young ignorant people who haven't lived, don't know sh*t, but think they do..

 

[PolishSun]

Ray Peat is not a communist; he is a frommist (see books of Erich Fromm).

 

[burtlancast]

Ray Peat is not a communist; he is a frommist (see books of Erich Fromm).

The same thing.

"Fromm contended that Freud was one of the "architects of the modern age", alongside Albert Einstein and Karl Marx, but emphasized that he considered Marx both far more historically important than Freud and a finer thinker.[16]"

 

[PolishSun]

Thats not true.

The same thing.

"Fromm contended that Freud was one of the "architects of the modern age", alongside Albert Einstein and Karl Marx, but emphasized that he considered Marx both far more historically important than Freud and a finer thinker.[16]"

 

[Daniil]

I think Ray Peat is a left anarchist (anti-authoritarian) in the style of Henry David Thoreau. If you read Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" you will see an almost identical attitude towards politics and society. He believes individual action, deep understanding of reality, and personal responsibility are key to improving society- and that bureaucracy and dogma are not effective tools for this purpose.

I think this is difficult for people to recognize, as common American discussion on politics is one dimensional (left vs right) and both sides are strongly authoritarian. The political compass idea is illustrative. I think in this plot, Ray Peat would fall directly below the Dalai Lama, but all the way at the very bottom edge of the plot:

I find this somewhat ironic, in the context of this forum. Peatatarianism seems to be extremely authoritarian- for example it's considered acceptable to cite Ray Peat's opinion on an issue while omitting the empirical evidence. I think Ray Peat would find this very disappointing, as his main goal is to encourage critical independent thought, rather than specific behaviors. However it is much easier to drink a gallon of orange juice than to spend years studying 100 year old laboratory experiments.

I should note that I look at this "compass" and I don't understand anything. I think it should be three-dimensional. In Russia, I met quite a few people of National Bolshevik views. So are the globalist capitalists.

 

[Daniil]

As for individualism, I consider it a harmful concept. People teach to think only about themselves, and then we are wondering why the state and business handles people as with livestock. "Что посеешь то и пожнёшь".

I do not perceive the serious of various ideas of anarchy and libertarianism, because it's just utopia imho, unfortunately

 

[Karlx]

Ray has never been forthright on his religious beliefs. I suspect his trait individualism biases him away from organized religion. Of course, while there have been lousy modern religions, 'organized religion' is a tautology. There's no such thing as an individualist religion, which is also to say there is no such thing as religion without authority.

In my view, people are distrustful of religions today for different reasons. Some are actively or unconsciously rebelling against God. Others are merely cynical due to the prevalence of evil and the casual lying culture that we live in. Perhaps Ray fits into this latter category. I wouldn't call him an atheist but he does have a modernist attitude toward such things. I personally can't find a thing wrong with authority in and of itself. Being subject to righteous authority is a good feeling. To be free of authority, or subject to malevolent authority is a kind of perdition.

'Pantheism' in one form or another seems more palatable to modern minds, whether it be someone like Ray or a hippie type, both being some form of anti-authoritarian. On a strictly logical basis I find the idea of pantheism indigestible. Given that everything is informational, reality itself points to a singular creative agent. Man suggests his own creator. We always invariably try to deal in mind-independent truth, or truth that is not of a human origin, and the moral principle of justice implies that one ought to overcome his individual subjectivity. Whence comes this truth if we live in a Godless universe? You can see why past societies would've had trouble even forming such a question as 'does God really exist?'

 

[Pistachio]

Is Ray Peat a communist/socialist?

Maybe Fabian Socialist.

 

[Dean]

left-libertarian decentralist?