Your Manifesto

I think my philosophy is what would be called classical philosophy: the study of reality.

More recent philosophies seem to be schools of thought (or ways of thinking); or schools of thought trying to creat shifts in paradigms or values.


*is there a spell-check tool? I can't spot it.*

 

Reality?

That which exists.

The art is in making distinctions - like what kind of existance? Mental (thoughts, concepts etc.), physical, etc.

 

My philosophy: Me First.

 

I guess morals are more decisions than some numinous thing which exists outside the human intellect/will. I think the best 'morals' are those based on reality.

I'm religious and my 'morals' are not a separate list or code from those things which I either know/understand to exist, or believe to exist. My morals are a consequence of what I know/understand/believe.

However, this is a philosophy thread, so belief being left out of it, I think the best morals are those which are the consequent upon reality.

 

My main philosophy I live by could also be called more-or-less an ethical moral code: Treat others as you would like to be treated.

I actually listened to my elders as a child.

I could delve into the deeper meanings of life, but I'm really sleepy right now T_T

 

I've written pages and pages of my personal philosophies. Which one do you want? My ethical, metaphysical, political, or aesthetic philosophy?

 

Hm, I guess I could post some old stuff.

A Metaphysical System I imagined a year ago....

1. There is an objective reality.
2. The objective reality can only be observed through relative means (sensory experiences, human cognition, measurement, etc.) and therefore it can only be known relatively.
3. Our relative understanding of the objective universe (science, philosophy, etc.) is based upon standardized relative measurements (time, length, mass, etc.) and is therefore limited to certain parameters we have defined.
4. Therefore, there is also a relative reality based upon human perception of the objective reality.
5. The objective reality only has relative meaning to us.
6. Every individual experiences the relative reality differently.

1. Reason is only an objective means of interpreting relative reality.

Since reason is limited to understandings and experiences based on perception, it cannot be utilized to understand objective reality.

2. We cannot extrapolate absolute or universal truths from the objective reality.

We can extrapolate absolute or universal truths in relative reality. However, those truths are limited to the parameters by which they were derived. It is only true under all the conditions by which they were defined.

My aesthetic/spiritual philosophy...

To me, a spirit is not a supernatural entity. It could be understood as the energy of a living thing; the spark of life so to speak. Religion may be concerned with transcendence in death and the supernatural, but spirituality is typically more akin to growth in life and the natural force that drives it.

If you ask yourself what all living things ultimately need to survive, then the answer is energy. All life on this planet is possible because of an intricate exchange of energy. Energy which travels from the sun, through the autotrophs, through the heterotrophs, through the decomposers, and back through the food cycle again until it is all eventually lost as heat. Everything we do comes down to energy. We breath air so the mitochondria in our cells can create energy, and we drink water so our cells have a way of transporting the materials needed to make it.

Seeing the energy that exists within a human being, such as that which is stored in the chemical bonds of the molecules that make up their cells, the electrical impulses within their brains, and even the residual heat given off their bodies, as a natural, driving force of their existence as a living being, is part of the essence of my spirituality. In fact, it isn't hard to see how energy within living beings is invested in their growth and continued survival. To me, that is the spirit and within it I find incredible beauty and appreciation for that which that makes life possible, links all life together, and that drives us as individuals and a species to continue living and growing.

The Personal Belief System I invented for fun a year ago....
(names of quoted removed to protect the innocent)

I've decided I'm going to use this post to build up my own personal belief system based upon my own personal values, as well as some of the ideas I gather from other sources such as this forum.

To start out with I suppose I will define what I believe human beings are.

I believe human beings are composed of three parts.

Body - the biological component of human beings. Anatomy and physiology.
Mind - the psychological component of human beings. Thoughts and Feelings.
Spirit - the social component of human beings. Bonds, connections, beliefs, and values.

All three of these components must exist together in order for a person to be truly defined as a human being.

Now I need a catchy name for my belief system.

Quote:
I think I'm extremely relative on a belief basis; but fairly absolute on an ethical basis.

That make sense to me. Everyone has their relative beliefs based upon their culture, upbringing, experiences, etc. However, people also need ethical guidelines to live by so that they can protect their "Spirits". So I'm stealin...er...borrowing this "Relative beliefs, absolute ethics" philosophy and calling it "Rebel Abethics". Catchy name eh? I got the word "Rebel" in the name of my belief system so that makes me . And my awesome new belief system allows me to continue to practice the Christian beliefs I was brought up with, as well as any other beliefs I encounter throughout my life. That will also protect me from being controlled by my beliefs. As ptg said...

Quote:
Beliefs are there to justify behavior, not drive it[...]

So what are some good beliefs to begin building my relative belief structure with...

Quote:
[...]it is IMPOSSIBLE to change everyone's minds to think exactly like you. Nor would they want to. I think people discussed this a little in the 'what if the world was populated only by your type'

There is a good start. The world is filled with different people, with different ideas. The world would be pretty boring if it wasn't. So my first belief will be...

People should be free to believe what they want to believe, regardless of what anyone else believes.

Sweet! One down! Okay, on to the next one.

Quote:
I like asking (non-rhetorical) questions to proceed in a peaceful yet honest and principled manner.

That seems like a mature and common sense approach to understanding other people's beliefs, so I think I will borrow that one as well.

In order to improve upon the "spirit", one should attempt to understand other's beliefs by asking genuine questions.

Yay! I've got two now!

Quote:
A lot of my beliefs are also based on what we call "science", but I have personally replicated very few of the experiments, observations that were claimed to be done. I accept them, due to their self-coherence, and consistency with my other beliefs, and some degree of trust regarding my ability to replicate the experiments and observations implied in literature or theory given appropriate equipment.

Interesting...a belief system that recognizes the subjectivity of much of the world and bases its decisions based on measures of accuracy and consistency. It's also amendable so that it doesn't stagnate.

Since people and times are consistently changing, beliefs must also be free to change in order to ensure the greatest validity and reliability. One must therefore always practice an open "mind".


Quote:
To be blunt - anything other than progress is pointless, least as a society. Progress is, by definition, the continued adaptation to a changing environment. To not embrace it is to become stagnant and eventually be replaced.
But of course, progress for progress sake is stupid - change needs to come with a need for change.

Hm...that seems true enough, but what is needed for progress?

Quote:
That question is addressed in my sig.:
Accept the past. Live for the present. Look forward to the future.
By that, I mean we should accept what has happened as unchangeable, and learn the principles we can from them. We need to make the present moment be where our mind is and where we live and concentrate on. We act now, not earlier, nor sometime later, even if the "action" is contemplation or reading. However, we should always work for a better future to look forward to.

That makes a good deal of sense. We can't really progress if we haven't learned from our past, and we certainly can't progress if we don't compromise so we can move forward in the present.

If you learn from the past and comprehend and compromise in the present; then you will progress into the future. Your "mind" will stagnate if you ignore past mistakes and refuse to understand the current perspectives of others.

Quote:
When I have met someone who KNOWS why they beleive something though- even if they do beleive the opposite from me- I'm willing to accept that, because they have a good reason to think that way.

People will respect your beliefs if you have a good reason for believing the way you do?

Understand why you believe the way you do, and people will respect your "spirit".

I'm doing that right now! I rule!

Quote:
This is the same as adaptation; a belief is only as good as it is functional.

Form should meet function. One of the core beliefs of objectivism if I'm not mistaken. Well that is what I have been doing up to now with relating my new found beliefs to how they improve upon their respected parts of the human being.

Beliefs should function to improve upon the "body", "mind" or "spirit".

Although that belief as it is seems limiting and not adaptable, which violates one of my other beliefs. What if I wanted to protest, which could result in bodily harm, but would ultimately be true to my spirit? What belief makes sense in that case?

Quote:
I am tolerant as long as I can continue to live according to my beliefs..

BINGO!

Beliefs that are true to the "body", "mind", or "spirit" should be protected for the good of the whole being.

I believe I have the fundamental bases covered in the belief portion of my belief system. Now how about some of the absolute ethics that I'm suppose to live by as an Rebel Abethic. In order to find "absolutes" I'll have to look toward the past and tradition for time tested principles of living. Come to think of it, there aren't all that many that have withstood the test of time.

The golden rule exists in just about every religion as a fundamental ethic of altruism, empathy, forgiveness, kindness, and common sense.

"Treat others as you wish to be treated."

I believe that is perhaps the greatest "spiritual" principle I can think of.

What about one for the "mind"? From my earlier beliefs it is clear that my "mind" must remain open, able to adapt, but steadfast and competent. So perhaps the best ethic for the "mind" would be...

"To thine own self be true."

Because obviously it is important to understand and respect you thoughts and feelings, and to be able to change so you are the person you want to be.

But what about an ethical principle for the "body"? Well I know that Aristotle's observation of human desire is still argued in the present. So how about...

"All good things should be practiced in moderation."

That makes sense. It's clear that excess and deficiency are not good for you. I can tell a person who eats too much will get fat and a person who eats too little will starve. So that seems like a good principle with which to rule the appetites.

Alright, now that I have my belief and ethical bases covered, I need to address my value system. What are the things I value most as an individual?

Sincerity, Intimacy, Intelligence, and countless others...

But what are the values that I have as a human being? Well I outlined what I thought were the "universal" values awhile ago.

Liberty: the right to choose
Freedom: to live without restriction
Equality: to have the same opportunities as any human being
Tradition: to protect my way of life

Those are good values, and I suppose the best way to protect them would be to share those them with others as I would expect others to share them with me, live by them so that I can be the kind of person who deserves them, and practice them in moderation so that I can accomplish the previous two ideas.

Wow, I did it! I comprised a brand new belief system. (Yes, I really can be this corny and geeky.)

 

Do what you have to do to die content.

 

Satya:
on your metaphysical system:

Seems sound and logical - but I think it is possible to attain absolute universal truths. T
The problem is that whatever exists comes to our mind through senses, so that what we have is a sense impression, of a real object.

But we can abstract from what is sensible about the objects we come know, so that it is irrelevant by which sense or how the sense came to us.
For example: that we can see geometric proportions in things like rocks, does not interfere with our ability to consider geometery and numbers (mathematics) etc completely apart from what we sense.

In other words, I can understand a triangle, as something real, apart from any particular relationship between three objects.

------------

Maths is possible by the abtraction from sensible qualities about matter - except the qualities of number and size.

But you can abstract further, leaving asside even number and size, so as to consider existence in itself - this is metaphysics proper.

 

Satya,

Your metaphysical system sounds much like Phenomenology.
I myself am a big fan of Maurice Merleau-Ponty.

 

That's the only thing I'm willing to show other people which is close to being my manifesto, until I've completed it.

 

In aesthetics, I love the theme romanticism and I indetify myself with surrealism in art. I'm a humanist and I believe in liberation from pain and the 'insane', which I believe is best done by compassion. I'm not attracted to powers above me as in governments, especially as in socialism, fascism and communism. However, if there are any good ones I gladly welcome it

 

I've actually had long debates about whether reasoning could effectively be used to determine truths of objective reality. Since we can't perceive objective reality outside of our senses, we can't exactly check our work. But abstractions are a complication for which I have no answer.

 

It was actually based on Kant's Transcendental Idealism, but I'll give that one a look.

And that looks interesting as well.

 

I like to keep my manifestos simple and easy to follow. If I can put it into one sentence, I do (and maybe expound on them later). I believe in the essence of things. What/Who am I, at the core?

I believe in "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" at the core, but sometimes I don't always follow my manifesto because I am also a flawed, selfish being at times.

I follow the philosophies and tenets of Christ, at His core. I believe the Bible is accurate to a point, but there are points of contention. But those points of contention don't change my faith because of a combination of personal experiences and supernatural occurrences backing up the Bible's words. I think organized religion and especially westernized Christianity has seriously messed folks up. So I try to follow the core of Christ's teachings and follow what both edifies me, and edifies others, within a group of followers who try to do the same. Am I always on the right path? No. But I do believe that the truth will come to light and I'll adjust as necessary. I don't necessarily ban all religious teachings, either. Some parts of other religions are mutually inclusive with Christianity: Meditation, treat others well, be kind, etc. At the core however I follow Christ because of my personal encounters with His :hippie:grace.

And I guess what I wrote one time that TK stole in her signature line (which I stole/modified from somewhere else) works too: You are who you are, you be who you be; To be is to do, to do is to be. Do be do be do.