Personal Philosophies

[And]

For me it starts with myself. If you define yourself, you have a reference point with which you may compare and locate against. The better one understands the self, the better one understands others, for example.

This meets with a bit of frustration from some people, since a lot of common folk have a tendancy to judge by what they perceive or are taught. While this information is necessary and vital to making sound decisions, it is also potentially unreliable. One's self is also unreliable, though. You may falter on a quick decision. You might do something you think you want, but haven't explored yet, and find that you don't want it after all.

It's possible that nothing may be totally understood in every aspect of existance. There's always one more detail not yet encountered. But like scientific theory, if you eliminate the impossible, the improbable becomes more reasonable. So, in myself, I consider all things carefully, especially my personal view of myself and my wants and choices. By eliminating the things I know I don't want or think, I make the next choice easier. As I lay out a definition of myself, I find my thoughts are more sure and direct.

Once a body has a reasonably good definition of what and who they are, they will have a comparison, an example, or a guide to follow through life with. To make a trivial example using food, if somebody asks you, "You want to eat some of this octopus?" and you don't know what you like, you have to make your decision on the spot without anything to go on. Your chances of making the right choice (ie, you try it and find it good) could be no more than half. However, if you have a dislike of other seafood, you have a good basis to decide wether or not you will like trying a piece of octopus. You may say no on a unilateral opposition to eating any seafood, but then again, you may experiment and try it. If you do, then in the future if someone offers you something similar, like a bite of squid, you will have an even clearer idea of wether or not you will like eating it.

You have to experiment and try new ideas and things. By testing your boundaries, you set down points of reference. I like sushi, but I'm not fond of bagels & lox. I'll eat asparagus and collard greens, but lima beans bore me. I would like to try a bowl of udon sometime. I want to learn how to cook, so that by cooking, I can try new foods I have made myself, and thereby refine my tastes. Failures are part of life in all experimentation. It's up to you (and what you've learned about yourself and your perceptions) to experiment intelligently.

So, when you know yourself (not just what you like to eat), when someone confronts you with an issue or a decision, you can decide how you stand quickly and with confidence. While I am not well-read on philosophy, religion, sociology, or psychology, I know my personality well enough that were someone to bring up a situation involving such things that I can make an educated guess on how I feel and think of the topic. And by knowing myself, I find that I can read other people rather easily. My friends occasionally get irritated at me for finishing thier sentences for them. (knee jerk habit, mostly to prove to myself that I can follow another's train of thought closely.)

I'm told that this philosphy, which I came upon on my own, is very close to, if not exactly, existentialism. Frankly, I haven't read anything about existentialism, so I wouldn't know. I am quite proud (though not arrogant) of my ability to adapt and improve on my outlook.

My choice of philosophies has led me to become agnostic, and though I don't hold a belief in any particular religion, I feel that if some deity were to give me some irrefutable sign, I would immediately follow that deity. I keep an open mind to thing supernatural, but I am also a cynical critic, and I'll debunk a dozen ghost stories, but if I find something I cannot reason out, I'll take it with a certain amount of awe and respect.

When people ask me how I stand on some issue, I'll tell them the truth without fear, even if what I say is directly against what they preach. It is my choice, my self I define with this choice, and by denying that choice, I deny my self. I cannot lie to myself, as that is the worst thing I can do in regards to myself. Jus as you can't trust someone who lies to you, how can you trust yourself if you are not truthful with yourself?

Holy crap, I'm writin' a book here... sorry. I'll stop now.