Principles of reading/thinking

Philosophy Forums Philosophy
1

In my thinking, I always return to
the Kantian questions…
''What am I/we to do?" ‘‘What can I/we know’’ and of course,
''What can I/we believe in?"

In facing philosophical questions, I prioritize those
three statements…I am reading the ""The Life Divine’’
and with every page, I ask myself, ‘‘Does this page answer
any of my Kantian questions’’…

I view all of Philosophy in terms of the Kantian questions…
When you read philosophy, or anything for that matter, do
you have some sort of principle that guides you as you
read? what are you looking for when reading or thinking
about some facet of existence? I judge its value by
how it answers one of the three Kantian questions…

how do you judge what you are reading/thinking and why that
why, and not another?

Kropotkin

2

Theology, science, and Philosophy are all
attempts to answer the Kantian questions…
If this is a no god universe, the questions
and answers will be much different than a
universe with a god…

If this is a god universe, then my answers
are different… for example, ''What am I/we to do?"
in a god universe is vastly different than a no god universe…
and my answers to the question, ‘‘What am I/we to believe in?’’
become very different in a god universe, as opposed to
a no god universe…

and of course, my question, ‘‘What can I/we know’’ changes
in a god vs a no god universe…for in a god universe,
only god knows everything, and we beings, we limited
beings can barely know anything… and what we do know,
has little value in a god universe…

But in a no god universe, we can, in theory,
learn to know everything… the question of
''What am I/we to do?" in a no god universe becomes
to know/learn what it means to be a human in a no
god universe…for the very definition of being human
changes from a god universe to a no god universe…
In a no god universe, our programming, what makes
a human being, a human being, changes in a no god
universe… in a god universe, god has already
coded, programmed us to be a certain way…
in a no god universe, our programming, our code
comes from evolution and evolution, as we know,
is not only open ended, at least for human beings,
we aren’t coded, programmed like animals, for
reasons unknown… In a no god universe, there doesn’t seem to
be a limit to our actions, to our behavior… in a god universe,
there are limits, thou shall not… for whatever reason…
in a no god universe, we set the limits,
but those limits are also guided by evolution…
by evolution random/chance limits…
an example of this is given by ancient history…
the ancient Greek playwright, Aeschylus, was
killed by a tortoise dropped on his head by an
Eagle… in a god universe, there is a god based
reason for that death, in a no god universe,
that event was random, chance…
and every single event, every one, can
be looked at in a no god universe or
a god universe… There is a reason for
everything happening, that is a god universe…
a random universe is a no god universe…

So, what school of thought do you belong to?

I hold to a random, chaotic universe… because I
don’t believe in a god universe… and in a no god universe,
I hold to different questions and answers… what
answers the Kantian questions?

the very assumptions of a god universe vs a no god
universe, changes, because the bottom line beliefs
of a no god vs a god universe changes…

And that is why we must, must challenged our fundamental
beliefs and values… the very starting point changes,
in a god universe vs a no god universe…
We must challenge our indoctrinations of childhood…
to provide a starting point that isn’t, by its very starting
point, change what we hold to be true… because
what changes the entire process of our beliefs is
the starting point of a god universe, vs a no god universe…

Just as our starting point changes if we are born into
a wealthy family as opposed to being born in a poor family..
the very starting point changes everything…or if we are born in
a family in the US as opposed to being born in France or the
UK… the very starting point changes our entire life…
but the nature of the questions also changes depending
on the assumptions of a god universe vs a no god universe…
in a god universe, the answer to the question, ''What am I/we to do?"
changes because what I am to do in a god universe is seek out
god, whereas in a no god universe, I have a different answer
to the question, ''What am I/we to do?"

but there are implications in this god universe vs
a no god universe that hasn’t really be explored…
so, next post…

Kropotkin

3

in a god universe, we are limited in our choices
of ''What am I/we to do?" the limitations come from
the fact in a god universe, god and his laws limit
us… the thou shall not and the seeking of heaven
become the primary starting point of ''What am I/we to do?"
the question of ''What am I/we to do?" becomes a religious
starting point in a god universe… we are asking theological
questions in a god universe…

Whereas in a no god universe, we are asking philosophical
or scientific questions… not theological questions…
and our very existence changes by the nature of the
questions we ask… ''What am I/we to do?" in a
god universe changes the nature of the question,
as opposed to a no god universe… where the nature
of the question changes…

and that is, in a major way, how we approach these
questions… a god universe is a more orderly universe
than a no god universe… because in a god universe,
the path to follow narrows, the road itself has been directed
toward a set goal… to reach god/heaven… whereas in a no
god universe, there doesn’t seem to be a set, fixed goal to
reach… we create the path and the goal… and that is,
for many people, a scary thought…
that is why today, religion has fought back…
trying to put the Ten Commandments into schools
for example, is an example of the failure to examine
the starting points of our childhood indoctrinations…

In a no god universe, we don’t just put the Ten Commandments
into schools, we put the Buddhist text and the Hindi texts
and the statement… ‘‘there is no god’’ the Atheist texts
in schools…we offer up choices as to which god or gods
we decide to follow… or as the choice of no god, suggests,
there is no god, thus there is no religious path for us to follow…
in a god universe, the few try to decide what the many should
believe in… That is America today… where the few decide
what the many shall believe in, act upon, have faith in…
in a no god universe, there is no effort put into forcing
people to hold the belief in a god, why should there be
that forcing if there is no god?
That is, in part, why I hold to a no god universe…it brings
the choices of existence to me… I don’t have to
lay out my choices in terms of going to heaven or
following the Ten Commandments… I can simply
chase my own possibilities, to the end that I choose,
not chosen for me, as in a god universe…

so, the choice, as it were, lies with you…
what do you want? a god universe where
your choices are limited by god, or
a no god universe where your choices
are limited by the rules of the universe…
the law of nature as it were… that your choices
are limited by forces such as thermodynamics
and gravity… rather impersonal choices, but ones
that don’t play favorites… believe or don’t believe in
gravity… it doesn’t matter to gravity, for gravity won’t make
judgments or doom one to hell for holding a contrary
belief…

Kropotkin

4

For me, if I had to choose what guides my valuation of writing, whether it be a historical academic thesis, philosophical treatise, or a novel, or a fairytale, flow and coherence of the writing is everything really. The ideas or themes being communicated have to have a well ordered, sensible flow, one sentence into another. Reading isn’t only an intellectual thought process, but also an experience to be savored and enjoyed.

Schopenhauer made a point in regards to this about how genius art is best expressed in simplicity. Keeping ideas simple, yet with enough depth to inspire and move. No matter what the challenge of the subject matter is, as long as its coherent, it flows, it makes sense, ill get something out of it. Way too much medicore, discursive garbage writing out there today, so this element really does make all the difference to prevent wasting hours or days of your life on garbage. The real learning experience comes from the reward of the effect of that coherence when you reflect on it all afterwards and it opens your mind to new perspectives. Simple and coherent writing is the best to make that happen.

5

:+1:

Very well put.

1 Like
6

Actually, you oddly chose a poor choice of words.

I often wondered if hell exists, not because of Ecto-spasm, not because of Ecto-spam’em, or the Bible, says so, but if gravity drags souls down into the molten pits of the planet. As scientists we have a duty to prevent hell. Right now scientists are clueless clowns that have no clue what a soul is or anything about the afterlife. We are in a primitive and ignorant state of science.

As for forcing kids to go to church and shit, it should be illegal, it causes kids PTSD. Preachers are almost as damaging to kids as pedophile priests. Circumcising kids should be banned as well.