What is your philosophy/politics/religion and why?

I want to understand where other people are coming from. So that maybe I can adopt your better views in exchange for the one's that I already hold.

In philosophy there are 5 general branches that are crucial to a well established philosophy.

They are:
Metaphysics (what is out there?)
Epistemology (how do I know about it?)
Ethics (what should I do?)
Politics (what actions are permissible?)
Esthetics (what can life be like? or art)

I hope that you answer all of these questions if you choose to post on this thread.

How and why would your philosophy/politics/religion make the world a better place (or a worse place if that's what you're in to I guess)?

 

Metaphysics (what is out there?): The big picture. Somebody designed the universe (all that exists is based on energy and consciousness and is proof of an extroardinary organizing power and a creative master intelligence). I am more than my physical body; I am becoming whatever is the potential resulting from the growth of consciousness, confident that there is a purpose and destiny behind the relentless pattern of progressive evolution. This world is our kindergarten, but there is no teacher present other than upper classmates and “the higher self” (any one of our past lifetimes) who also help everyone to progress into a single collective class that graduates as a whole by leaving this reality and entering another in the multiverse.

Epistemology (how do I know about it?): Keep digging for possible answers. Forward thinking is essential. Get some doses from those who think outside the box. Upgrade from the narrow scope of perception of those who can think only in terms of objective physical reality; realize the implications of quantum mechanics.

Ethics (what should I do?): Do unto others as….

Politics (what actions are permissible?): Public servants are supposed to be just that, not seekers of wealth and power who grease the wheels of oligarchy.


Esthetics (what can life be like? or art): The rebalancing of the present form of enslavement that facilitates overcompensation of the dominant ruthless sociopaths.

 

You presume I want you to adopt my views over your own.

I think this is too general a set of questions to garner anything especially meaningful. You’re generally better off understanding people’s true worldview by example rather than their own description of it.

Then again, I’m a Cynical Realist Nihilist take my opinion as you will.

 

@Appleo On the point of metaphysics, I'm just basically a materialist, I don't believe in any spiritual world.
Epistemeology : I'm a skeptic. I think we can only learn through methodical doubt.
Ethics : I'm a stoician. After reading Epictetus manual, it's what seems making the most sense for me and it help me slightly in my life. I try to escape the hedonistic tendancy of this time, and it's very hard. The seeking of pleasure is for me evil, even if I recognize that with measure that's beneficial.
Politics : I think that hoping anything from an external personn is wrong. So I distrust any politician, and tend to consider them as unturstworthy.
Esthetics : I just search for this feeling of beauty. I tend to distrust any too much intellectual art, but consider that the more there is skill in art, the better it is.

 

Metaphysics and epistemology: Indirect realism
There is an objective world outside our senses, but we only know about it indirectly.
Ethics: Stoicism
Politics: Classical liberalism/libertarianism
Aesthetics: Pluralism

 

@HonestJoe @VotreAltesse @yardmeat

None of you answered my last question. How and why would your viewpoint make the world a better place???
Give an example of an individual and a society putting this into practice

 

A cynical realist nihilist? Why are you that? And I'm just trying to understand where people are coming from by asking these things. When someone disagrees with me its just, I don't know, shocking, and I just really want to understand why they are saying what they're saying.

 

An odd question for an egoist. Why care about making the world a better place, rather than just focusing on yourself? Individuals putting this into practice would be Epictetus (mentioned by VotreAltesse above), Marcus Aurelius and Seneca. Societies putting this into place would be Classical Greeks and some Romans as well as a good chunk of the Enlightenment.

 

Because it is in my self-interest to ask these questions. I like to know where people are coming from to expand my limited knowledge. And if the world's a better place, it's a better place for me.

 

Sorry, I was being a little sarcastic there. My point is that I don't think defining this kind of overarching personal philosophy is meaningful.

If I ever disagree with you, I try to make sure you know exactly why.

 

I appreciate you telling me why.

But a lot of people don't. For example, a lot of people say that free market capitalism is evil, wrong, or doesn't work when I advocate for it. But they don't tell me what their economic position is and why they think it is better.

 

There isn't much chance of changing the system for the better, but it's worth trying. The system is resistant to change from without, but it can be changed from within as a result of individual changes in perspective, adapting new paradigms. The tools: informative influence and setting an example, such as the original Jesus phenomenon (exclusive of corruptive scriptural modifications, e.g. disempowerment thru dependence on a savior).

Individuation is prone to insecurity, self-protection, and grasping of resources in self-interest. Yet the instinct is there for group perpetuation and group welfare. Thus with creation arising from a dispensing of simple units there is a subtle aim towards increasing coordination, cohesion, complexity, and wholeness (unity), i.e. towards a return to the source.

Life is a learning process. We make mistakes and learn from the consequences. There is hardly any escape from the crudeness of starting low. There will always be troublemakers, the worst cases being the despots, dictators, and other monopolizers of the past and present, until they grow out of such tendencies, a process that requires experiencing more than one lifetime.

The perceptive capacity of such monsters is limited to material/physical objectivity. They have garnered the means to achieve virtual immunity to tangible consequences of their foul play, and see no prospect of intangible consequences, since they downplay the mysteries of consciousness, spirit, and soul. Likewise they have no stock in personal purpose, destiny, or involvement in something beyond single-life physicality.

Nowadays many people still make the mistake of thinking that reality is just a process of nuts and bolts and the known conventional physical laws. Back in the 1920s and 30s some very smart ones determined that it ain't so, and by the 1950s and 60s the monopolizers took advantage of newly acquired technical knowledge and set up politically invulnerable power feeds (black projects budgets) immune to the control and insight of public government. With the devil in the driver's seat (so to speak), the world could be in for a rough ride.

 

This is a very good philosophy. You are already leaps and bounds ahead of many here just by understanding that.

 

yay!

 

why by example whats the point? Isnt religion what you believe?

 

An entire universe that we barely understand is out there. Literally anything could be waiting to be discovered, and it is part of our purpose to discover it all.

We are curious and creative. We see fire, we use it, we figure out how to make it for ourselves. So shall it be with the entire universe. We're still just trying to see it.

Ethics are 'what should we do?' Morals are 'what should I do?' Afaic, both can be answered with 'do whatever you want as long as it doesn't hurt someone else' but 'don't let others hurt you'

All actions should be permissible except those that demonstrably victimize others.

Life can be Utopia. We're not going to find it in government or religion or money or coom-by-a... its not on this planet. Its in space. Infinite resource, infinite energy and infinite room to use it all however we want. We just have to get there and do it. We can eliminate hunger with infinite worlds of food, poverty with infinite star-powered factories and illness with infinite technology. All we need is the time and the Will.

 

There’s a distinction between saying something is bad and offering an alternative. I can tell you not to stick your hand in the fire and I can explain why it’s a bad idea but I don’t need to tell you where you should stick your hand instead.

There’s also a difference between challenging specific ideas and even offering alternatives to them and describing the kind of general socio-political worldview you're asking for.

 

Right.

True

 

The more I learn about philosophy, the less inclined I am to pick a direction and stick with it. Due to our lack of epistemological solutions, I find my metaphysics not to be conclusive. That's not to say there isn't a truth out there, or that I don't have a working philosophy (and I acknowledge that those might be, even probably are, different) but at any point where this matters, it's usually more important to have a broad understanding of different views than to have a correct one oneself.

This in turn boils down to a sort of effective philosophy in practice. I don't judge people's art, so art gets to be that which people view or use as art. Ethics boils down to something close to consensus (although not with the fervour that I'd agree that the Nazis would be right if they had just succeeded in eliminating everyone who disagreed).

 

Metaphysics (what is out there?) I know I do not know, so I keep my eyes and mind open.

Epistemology (how do I know about it?) I keep my eyes an mind open, while reading a lot.

Ethics (what should I do?) No Harm whenever possible.

Politics (what actions are permissible?) No harm whenever possible and as fair to everyone as is logical.

Esthetics (what can life be like? or art) Beautiful ​

 

why by example whats the point? Isnt religion what you believe?

 

I don't believe in the world becoming a better place. I just think that pain, evil and good are all part of life. I believe in changing yourself, I try to become a better man, not let the bitterness invade me too much. And honnestly, I think that changing myself is a big challenge enough. People want to change the world when they don't manage to change themselves. You can't put human nature in a leash. They want to remove the ugliness by changing the system, but the system is just the expression of our human nature.

 

Interesting..... I am of the belief that "Art" may well hold the key to creating something like full employment in the type of world that we are moving into........

I can understand why a high percentage of deeply religious people would find my theory offensive?!

Artistic Hollywood style "Armageddon" could bring world out of recession?!

.......
I guess a lot of Christians would tend to be worried that my ideas might lead to the coming of the "anti-Christ" fellow?!

Could there be two Jerusalem Third Temples?

 

I think there's true wisdom to what you said. Just making yourself a better person is hard enough, yet people are so concerned changing the world. I guess you could say the best way to change the world is to focus on making yourself the best person that you can be.

I think that's a long ways away.

 

Jeeze here we go again. Let me correct you.

Metaphysics -- the chapter of Aristotle's book that comes after physics. It means beyond physics. It is Aristotle's speculation about the nonphysical universe.

Epistemology -- knowing knowledge.

Ethics -- what is the best course to take among various choices. In Greek it means the science of choices.

Politics -- the affairs of cities.

Esthetics -- perceptions.