Second Principle- What About The Why Question

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

First Principle- Part 4

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

Science and Beauty- Reimagining and Undoing

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

First Principle- Part 2

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

Introduction to the Principles

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

Welcome

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