Summary

The idea of grasping an ultimate truth is found in a variety of cultural sources. Buddhism, the CIA, and the Matrix all refer to it. Out of the three, Buddhism makes the truth seem the most abstract and difficult to grasp. Neo’s situation in the Matrix, for example, had a clear antagonist— robot overlords. Thus, discovering the truth meant fostering a rebellion against evil. In secular Buddhism, there is no clear evil.

Wright introduces a suggestion of a source for evil in general life, however. Meditation helps one overcome a non-traditional enemy— natural selection. Natural selection has one clear goal, to propagate our genes through survival and reproduction. However, a rational person may have goals outside of that, which those can conflict with. Thus, through mindfulness meditation, one can overcome the feelings-led choices that are the result of natural selection. Additionally...