Rational Buddhism

Naval names his own philosophy "Rational Buddhism" — two poles:

• Evolution — binding principle, explains so much about humans.
• Buddhism — oldest, most time-tested spiritual philosophy regarding the internal state.

Naval considers them reconcilable; he'd map non-fanciful Buddhist tenets directly into a virtual-reality simulation of the mind.

The "rational" filter

• Reconcile with science and evolution.
• Reject anything that can't be verified by oneself or through science.
• "Try everything, test it for yourself, be skeptical, keep what's useful, and discard what's not."

What he accepts

• Meditation clears the mind — verified personally.
• A base layer of awareness below monkey mind — verified personally.
• Desire = unhappiness — verified personally.
• Evolution → we are survival/replication machines with an ego that gets us off the ground.

What he rejects

• "There's a past life you're paying off karma for" — never seen it, no memory, won't accept.
• "Your third chakra is opening" — can't verify, not falsifiable, "may be true, may be false, but I cannot view it as fundamental truth."
• No fanciful claims (levitation, meditation superpowers).

Falsifiability

• Source-aligned with Naval's broader epistemology: "if it doesn't make falsifiable predictions, it's not science."
• This is why he distrusts macroeconomics (no counterfactuals) but trusts microeconomics and game theory.

Wisdom definition

"Wisdom is the discarding of vices and the return to virtue, by way of knowledge."

"If wisdom could be imparted through words alone, we'd all be done here."

Related

• The Meaning of Life — Three Answers — Naval's three answers including a thermodynamic frame.
• Desire as Chosen Unhappiness — the central Buddhist insight he carries forward.
• Ego, Identity, and Unconditioning — the practical agenda.

Sources: [Almanack pp198-200]