The constraints into which we are born or those that become the circumstances of our life ground our freedom to choose. This freedom is the foundation of our being. (photo on Pixabay) Coming into being without a purpose or as part of a grand design-- a master plan, humans enter and live this life in … Continue reading Second Principle- Freedom in Being
Why are we here? Why is there something rather than nothing? And does knowing the answers to these crucial questions change anything? (Photo by Hadija Saidi on Unsplash) For many, the answer to the question of why we exist, beyond "just because", begins at the very beginning. That is, the very very beginning as we … Continue reading Second Principle- What About The Why Question
No plan, no purpose, just because--and that makes it all the more incredible. (photo by Jesse Gardner on Unsplash) When I was 24, I was living in the woods in a rural area outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. There were several small, cheap rental houses clustered together in a narrow clearing surrounded by a pine … Continue reading Second Principle- Just Because
Our everyday stories provide explanations for understanding, create meaning and agreement, validate the truth of our worldview, and also cause us pain and suffering. Historian Arthur Herman points out that the Allegory of the Cave “reveals a bitter truth: Most people prefer life in the cave.” In our modern technology-centric world, we receive a daily barrage of stories … Continue reading First Principle- Part 4
Many great scientists were interested in some form of art before, or simultaneous to, their interest in science. Many of the greatest among them also studied philosophy. In art, science, and philosophy, we experience a wonder at the aesthetics of both nature and that which humans imagine and produce. The beauty permeates our awareness and we are left … Continue reading Science and Beauty- Reimagining and Undoing
Stories in Everyday Life As we grow up and move out into the world, we do so with a partially-formed worldview. We try it out, operationalizing in our newly independent lives this set of mental pictures and narratives that explain what we are encountering and how we should engage within these encounters. Trial and error further develop … Continue reading First Principle- Part 3
The pragmatists understood truth to be what it is good for us to believe. Truths are beliefs confirmed or denied by further experience. Thus, a truth can be found ultimately to be false. Intersubjective agreement is the appropriate objective of scientific inquiry. Scientist, mathematician, and philosopher, Charles Sanders Pierce, suggested that concepts of knowledge, truth, and … Continue reading First Principle- Part 2
The perennial first principle, that we make our world from stories, applies to all domains of our life. I want to explore this first principle as it applies to both science and everyday life. Both deal with issues of truth and knowledge but we encounter them somewhat differently in science than we do in everyday … Continue reading First Principle- Part 1
The nine perennial first principles I propose here are the foundational ones that come from my studies in philosophy, religion, expressed wisdom from cultures including but also going beyond our modern Western ones, and world history. They are perennial because they are enduring, coming up over and over again throughout history and across cultures. They are … Continue reading Introduction to the Principles
The concepts I want to explore regarding a set of "principles of being" may not always seem to be self-evident but they are timeless and universal. They appear repeatedly across cultures and epochs, across disparate religious traditions and philosophical schools of thought, across social science disciplines and diverse historical analyses throughout the ages. It is … Continue reading Welcome
The Principles of Being 