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Methodological Solipsism
2 years ago
General
I have my own set of ideals that don't require religion, and they were formed in relation to my analysis of belief systems, "shamanism", and cults - having been raised in a cult myself. Teaching them in a way that would help others might be easier said than done, but I would argue that I am much more resilient and free than any religion or single philosophy can provide. That's not to say that they won't provide, but they have glaring weaknesses. Stoicism and Taoism come close in many regards, but such a thing can only truly be understood on one's own. If I could offer any advice, it would be to be guard against magical thinking and to hold fast to an effort to understand everything - to never stop asking why. Not just about your social and mental habits but also in your exploration of such philosophies and religions.
In this way, I suppose you could say that what I have is a methodology, in the form of empiricism, but with everything... And if you run everything you know through the filter of empiricism, you end up with solipsism.
Ah yes. That is what it is: methodological solipsism - the idea that your mind is the only thing that can verifiably exist. But, I will say that solipsism is not an endpoint - it's a building block, a process. For me solipsism is a window into how I see the world. It is not lonely as I once thought. The fact is that taking anything else for granted or anyone else's word - for literally anything - requires belief, and I don't need to believe in myself. I am. Whether I want it or not, whether the world wants me or not. You could tell me that you believe that this isn't true, but who am I to take your word for it? I'm the one steering this meatmech. And yet, that is not a claim that I exist - if I made that claim you'd have to take my word for it too (though ultimately I'd prefer if you believed that). Internally I feel I know that I am, but does that make me "right" in that belief? Who knows? This quandary won't change whether or not or in which way I will live, and from there I can choose to believe (albeit cautiously) whatever I desire.
I see abstract concepts within other religions and moralities (e.g. "the grace of God," "Wu Wei," or "evil") as labels for intricate ideals and psychosocial mechanisms that can only be known personally. They were known clearly by the person who wrote about those things thousands of years ago; they gave them a label, perhaps so that they could talk about it with greater ease and help others relate. I might say, that's a very romantic usage of language, but inevitably incomprehensible to most of the people who use those terms willy nilly after their true meaning was long lost in translation to time.
Belief without understanding is arrogance. And it is destroying this world. That's the bottom line. Once you truly understand this, your anxiety and depression are destined for extinction and you'll be able to live freely, even if it is death you face. And then maybe you'll better pay attention to what's happening. This is how humanity as a species will escape 1984 and their unfortunately near extinction. Fear extinction is your friend.
You owe this to yourself. Be humble, but... be inevitable. For all of us. And once you're free, spread this.
In this way, I suppose you could say that what I have is a methodology, in the form of empiricism, but with everything... And if you run everything you know through the filter of empiricism, you end up with solipsism.
Ah yes. That is what it is: methodological solipsism - the idea that your mind is the only thing that can verifiably exist. But, I will say that solipsism is not an endpoint - it's a building block, a process. For me solipsism is a window into how I see the world. It is not lonely as I once thought. The fact is that taking anything else for granted or anyone else's word - for literally anything - requires belief, and I don't need to believe in myself. I am. Whether I want it or not, whether the world wants me or not. You could tell me that you believe that this isn't true, but who am I to take your word for it? I'm the one steering this meatmech. And yet, that is not a claim that I exist - if I made that claim you'd have to take my word for it too (though ultimately I'd prefer if you believed that). Internally I feel I know that I am, but does that make me "right" in that belief? Who knows? This quandary won't change whether or not or in which way I will live, and from there I can choose to believe (albeit cautiously) whatever I desire.
I see abstract concepts within other religions and moralities (e.g. "the grace of God," "Wu Wei," or "evil") as labels for intricate ideals and psychosocial mechanisms that can only be known personally. They were known clearly by the person who wrote about those things thousands of years ago; they gave them a label, perhaps so that they could talk about it with greater ease and help others relate. I might say, that's a very romantic usage of language, but inevitably incomprehensible to most of the people who use those terms willy nilly after their true meaning was long lost in translation to time.
Belief without understanding is arrogance. And it is destroying this world. That's the bottom line. Once you truly understand this, your anxiety and depression are destined for extinction and you'll be able to live freely, even if it is death you face. And then maybe you'll better pay attention to what's happening. This is how humanity as a species will escape 1984 and their unfortunately near extinction. Fear extinction is your friend.
You owe this to yourself. Be humble, but... be inevitable. For all of us. And once you're free, spread this.
However, guarding against "magical thinking" would then challenge all thoughts that cannot be empirically proven.
An example is shamanism; there is as much faith in the spirits as there is in faith in the spirit. Neither can be proven, nor disproven. Yet, to pray or to "manifest" by the use of tokens or amulets given to the person by the shaman is,, in essence,, magical thinking. All religion has some element of magical thinking to it, or else it would not be religion but science.
So the bigger question is can science and religion co-exist, and I think it can because we do not understand everything about the natural world, and for some faith and religion is comforting in that it pads out that ignorance with a feeling of hope either in our own ability to change the course of the future, to change our life, or that some "other" force is at work.
Likewise, we may think we understand the way of an animal, but we only know part of the picture. We only know what can be observed, measured, and notated. We do not know motivations, we may make hypotheses about an animal's motivation, but we do not truly know, and our ability to test such things is limited due to communication barriers.
It is magical thinking then to presume to know an animal.
There are no abstract concepts in religion, just lack of understanding for many. The "grace" of God in this context can be the "grace" of Athena or the "grace of a wolf" where the one should be dealt a consequence and instead is given a second chance. The grace of a wolf is seen when a foreign wolf enters pack territory and the pack elect not to attack that wolf and kill it, but let it move on with a warning.
Wu Wei is about balance, when you should act, and when you should refrain from action. It allows the practitioner time to consider the options to think, the problem or issue through. Again not an abstract concept, it is rather pragmatic.
Evil has been a problem that philosophy has been wrestling with for lifetimes. What is "evil"? Why does "evil" exist? If God is so good, why does He allow it it continue? Bigger question is if God is real, why did He allow for evil? Likewise, if God is not real, why does evil persist? What is evil then?
Belief in yourself is beyond what you are, it is attributing worth to who you are. How do you identify yourself? How do you see yourself in this world? For many, sadly, this question has devastating consequences as they see very little value in themselves, and therefore, they remove themselves from the world entirely. When we say "Who am I?" the question is just that. Who are you? Where is your worth? How do you define your value?
Nietzsche posits that we are to look ahead to a better version of ourselves, the "super-person," that since we killed God by killing magical thinking, we must remove excuses and behave, live, and think better. This is supported by stoicism that says while we are given a set time in life, good or bad, we must strive to be humble, courteous, honest, and fair to ourselves and to others. Much of our ethics can be attributed to stoicism, however we are also moving into the more self-centered, sensory world of Hedonism where our values and morals are now based more on what is self-serving.
The ironic thing, is I see fundamentalists behave like this all the time, but they try to justify it as being "blessed" or being "better" than those who disagree. They are tied up in fear of the unknown but also lack faith due to years of watered-down and weak teachers who focus more on immediate gratification, than self-reflection and study. I digress.
Thank you for sharing this. While we may not disagree I hope you consider my side.
Good, evil, ideals like "we must strive to be humble, courteous, etc." - all of it is entirely subjective. A behavior you believe is virtuous could easily have horrible repercussions for someone else. And if it does, does that make you evil? Maybe in their eyes, but that is entirely preferential. There is no law governing this universe that says we are inherently one or the other.
I am wary of belief, especially beliefs that are unfalsifiable, but that does not mean I do not engage in it. I am highly selective. Belief can be comforting in the absence of concrete data and often necessary to get by. A certain level of restrained, yet focused magical thinking can yield fantastic results. However, belief in religion is not the same. Religion requires dogma - the firsthand experiences or ideas of another person written down and passed down through generations, retranslated and reinterpreted countless times, often modified to fit the current societal understanding of things and then repeated by people so many times that they don't even understand what they're actually saying anymore. By accepting dogma in this way, one places their trust in an experience they have not had, and in doing so can delude their own ability to analyze data that challenges their beliefs and empathize with people who do not believe the same. This kind of magical thinking is unrestrained and dangerous to society. This is what causes wars. Humanity's perpetuation of this behavior is part of why everything is so fucked up right now. Everyone's operating on heuristics to get by, passing the buck when it doesn't work. This will largely become unsustainable long-term. And worst of all, it might as well make you powerless compared to the alternative.
The truth is that we don't need to do or believe anything. There is no fundamental law that says I need to be a good and respectful citizen or what have you. If you believe that there is (e.g. the universe is made of love, we're inherently good or evil, etc.), you are still a fundamentalist and probably just a pawn. Those laws were made by humans. These beliefs cannot be tested. And while I heed them when it is required for my continued survival, I am not bound by the fragile laws philosophers have constructed nor the moral compass of any religion or societal code. My consciousness is ungovernable by anyone else but me.
If you peel back the layers of your ego, you will just find more layers...until there is nothing. I know this because I have experienced ego death. If you break reality down to the quantum level, you will find that we are made of nothing. We are nothing that somehow became conscious enough to be aware of itself. But that too is speculation - everything we know is based on a mere fraction of the data present in reality. Our brains filter out over 99% of it so that we can function. And while that's probably for the best, the full picture cannot be perceived, so in some weird way, we also know next to nothing. It is possible to reduce how much filtering your brain does, but that is only achievable through meditation or with the help of psychedelics, which are unfortunately illegal in most places.
I am nothing. And if I reel back the filter that is my brain, I am everything. I am everchanging. I cannot be defined, and if I ever am, I outgrow the definition. I am no one's pawn. The only constant in this universe is entropy. The only order I follow is chaos. The path I follow has not been blazed and I will not allow another to tread it for me. Dogma will change with the wind and even science will be updated as new studies are completed. The only thing I can ever truly say or know intimately is that...I am. And I will do what I will. I will speak my mind, create from my heart, and lift up and protect those I call my friends. Not even because I believe it's good to do so, but because I want to. I don't need any other reason. Why do I need a reason? Why on earth would I need such chains?
Everything else is up in the air.
Relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_5yUXjXizQ