Short Update

Life has been awash in flux as of late. No, that wasn't a snarky reference to soldering.

I will resume my research in the coming months.

My gut instinct is to pull what I can use from existentialism and focus on fashioning a decidedly humanist philosophy. Much of my existentialist research has seemed fairly esoteric in its language. The subject matter seems to consistently disappoint as periphery skirting around what I see as the metaphysical crux of the subject: a rejection of current systems as the sole arbiters of truth and experience, the value of self-definition, and making every part of life, every accepted belief a conscious choice. Borrowing from Robert Pirsig, my existentialism requires that I move through life with open eyes, pursuing Quality, kicking the tires, challenging even my basest assumptions. Only then will I be living my life and not someone else's conception of it.

Humanist - Atheist - Existentialist Intersections of Belief

I still need to do further research of humanism and existentialism. My goal is to find some point of departure from which to establish some new ideas. As with existentialism, sorting out humanistic beliefs is a difficult process. Both terms function as umbrellas that contain some widely divergent views. My fear is that I will never quite stand on newly discovered ground because of humanism's inclusiveness. In a philosophy known for its diversity, held together by a few common principles, any new idea that adheres to those principles is immediately added to the canon. I am left with two options: to work within the confines of humanism or to borrow the choicest principles for my own applied philosophy. The same can be said of my existentialism research.

One of the key differences between humanism and the singular belief of atheism is the level of social engagement. Atheism is personal. It can even be construed as an anti-social belief in some small respect (church, temple, etc. are communal in nature). The larger point is that the atheist, for the most part, has learned to keep his belief to himself. It requires no social engagement whatsoever. I may be setting up what seems like an apples to oranges comparison. After all, atheism is only one potential unit of belief that may be contained within existentialism and humanism, philosophies with a great number of beliefs. Nevertheless, I will continue.

After a modest amount of research, existentialism still remains a nebulous slurry of ideas; some foreign and archaic. I place it somewhere between the very personal atheism and the very socially aware humanism.

This is what is attractive about humanism: it brings in elements of social justice and the common good. I find it almost serendipitious that I should stumble upon humanism at this point in my life, especially since it coincides so well with my strategic management course. We are discussing exclusively the hows and whys of creating socially responsible businesses and the consequences of letting the shareholder perspective trump the stakeholder perspective.

I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with age and perspective. It has been an interesting journey from becoming a self-centered atheist with a chip on his shoulder to adopting more inclusive and socially conscious attitudes. I could spend another entry altogether on my loss of faith in the religion into which I was born, drifting into agnosticism at a young age. It was never really about religious faith for me. Science and empiricism* ran through my veins since early childhood. There came a point where my growing love for science, my "faith" in it as it were, prevented me from turning a blind eye to all of the inconsistencies and lack of proof.

* - I have since backed away slightly from empiricism, as I have in the case of many absolutes. Existentialism reinforces the idea that rationalism has its limits. Current systems and standards are not the last word on existence, and in their meticulous bean counting, may be missing some subjective element entirely.

Humanism

As my research continues, I find that there may be some overlap in my philosophy with that of humanism (secular and atheist humanism to be exact). This is fascinating as much as it is disappointing. I'd much rather be a pioneer than a follower. And so another dimension of my research begins.

I recently culled rougly fifteen pounds of silly books. I resold about two-thirds of them to two different used bookstores in trade for a handful of books of the cranial variety. I donated the last third to the Bloomington Public Area Library. It was a beautiful thing. I scored Camus, Ortega, Nin, Kafka, two more from Sartre, and a book on Humanism in all its shapes and sizes. That puts my current reading queue up to twelve. I can't wait to graduate so I can afford myself more time to read for pleasure.

Morality Divorced From Religion, The Social Contract, etc.

Scientist Finds the Beginnings of Morality in Primate Behavior.

Speaking of biological imperatives, this and the above is subject matter related to what I aim to discuss. I only wish I had more time to elaborate at present, but other demands currently keep me from going full tilt. Let's just say that the title of this post is where I'd like to be headed. I am interested in advancing the atheist perspective, not in reckless opposition to religion, but in a concerted effort to demonstrate its own merits. When coupled with the concepts of atheist existentialism, humanism, ethical and moral theory, and the social contract, if I ever can properly articulate my omnibus philosophy, I hope to reveal the possibility of an empowered, motivated, socially conscious and responsible human being without a whisper of a supreme being.

Gumption and the Motivated Self

Imagine human philosophy as an immense, multifaceted diamond. I intend to articulate my thoughts; to explain why I think the diamond shines brilliantly at my prescribed angle.

Espousing a world view may be considered by some an exercise in vanity. Ah, but can't the same be said for every word put to the page? We write with an innate self-importance, regardless of the content.  Philosophy provides its own baggage as a completely subjective platform. Each point of view is argued using both objective and subjective reasoning. There is no doubt an objective hierarchy to ideas, but belief, like faith, can manifest with nary a trace of reason. Add to this the notion that we have the freedom to believe anything, even if that means we are objectively 100% wrong. I'm going to contribute to the chaos anyway.

My motivation for delving into this subject matter is three-fold:

1) I have yet to find all of my thoughts articulated in the works of others. Correlations and extensions are left unspoken and I am left wanting.

2) In self-actualized fashion, I want to know myself, know in no uncertain terms what I believe, and live it.

3) I'm a show & tell kind of guy. Like most of us, we seek out the like-minded. Let this be an open letter (book?) to curious parties. (Yes, just like Dante Hicks.)

Welcome aboard.
Don't forget your hat.