Speak Softly, Teddy

It's been well over a month since my last post. I hope you didn't miss me too much.

Have you thought much about this last assumption that I stated? In case you forgot:

The measure of the life of a man is equivalent to the power with which the components of his existence that he controls touches and effects the remainder of reality.

It's all about power. What does it mean to have power? What does it mean to wield power? Well, we may have been condition to believe a number of things. My guess is that the greater majority of people out there believe it to be primarily displayed through physical manifestations of power. Let's take a look at a few of these examples.

1. Individual Physical Might - Whether it's the ability to carry the largest stick or hit another entity the hardest, individual physical might is one of the most common manifestations of power. A number of our most distant relatives in the animal kingdom began out this way. Think of the ancient beasts of old: dinosaurs. Their dominion over the Earth wasn't challenged for quite some time. Their sheer size would certainly have been something to behold. At least, for those few moments before you began running in the other direction. They're gone. What's more is that the largest land carnivore in the world today is now the Polar Bear. Seriously? At least according to Wikipedia, it's true. Although I'm not going to formally state it, I think we could probably take a cue from nature, which has forced its largest predators to the outskirts of the world but that's neither here nor there.
   
2. Collective Physical Might - What's better than having the biggest stick? Having two large sticks and a friend to help you out. Not to be cliche but there is strength in numbers. Animals that live in collectives can be seen throughout nature. Beehives, wolf packs, schools of fish, flocks of geese, and so many other examples show how well things work when things work together. Nations and empires have been built upon the premise of collective physical might ruling with an iron fist over the masses. Countless millions have been conquered through these means. I would argue that this way of life will cause, at best, stagnation and, at worst, demise if it were not for another kind of power.
   
3. Knowledge - It's great to learn, cause knowledge is power! I love Saturday morning cartoons. Well, I used to. Now, they're way too involved. I remember when I could turn on the TV on Saturday morning, watch some Looney Tunes followed by Schoolhouse Rock and, hey, learning was fun! Conjunction Junction, what's your function? If you can't answer that question, you need to be schooled! How about this one: what's better than having two large sticks and a friend to help you out? In most circumstances, the answer would be having a gun. Even better, having two guns and a friend to help you out. Better technology leads to more efficient ways of killing things which, as we all know, leads to personal prosperity, right?

Whoa, what? Hold on a second here. Are we making a connection between power and the ability to make other things die? That seems a little backwards, don't you think? If we could find a way to optimize power as well as the other entities that witness our power, that would be the greatest power, wouldn't it? That's a nugget that I would like to plant into your mind but this brings up another assumption that I want to get out there.

Man seeks, and should seek, to predict how to maximize the measure of his life.

That seems like somewhat of an obvious statement to me but it's something that I want to make sure is understood. I won't go as far as to say that it is a "good" thing to seek to maximize the measure of one's life since it would bring up a debate on good vs evil (we'll save that for another time) but, as far as life pursuits are concerned, I feel that it's one that should rank above others. Call it foolish idealism or what you like but there's a certain purpose, a certain drive, that maximizing one's life gives to a man that, I would argue, is the best because if life is something to cherish deeply, then immortality is invaluable. I won't beat that point too much but let me tie it back into my previous points.

If we want to maximize the measure of our lives, we need to maximize the power with which the components that we control effect the remainder of existence. Destruction certainly will leave ripples but will it create the largest waves?

Think on it. With luck, I'll be back to discuss within a short while instead of a long one this time.

Drops in the Ocean

I have a confession to make. The previous assumptions that I have blogged about are actually rewrites on entries I have in my journal for the year. I'm not quoting myself verbatim or even use the same stories but a lot of the concepts I've developed in my previous posts have been written about before by me... until now. I'm starting in uncharted territory here so, if I start going astray, I apologize. It's my first crack at these topics.

The following concept is not new. It was developed probably closer to just shy of 2000 years ago and, in Western Culture, particularly Texan culture, it would be a little difficult to escape Biblical passages. The one on my mind tonight is James 4:14.

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

Not exactly an uplifting verse and I won't speak to the theological implications of it but what I will say is this.  I agree with James when he says that we are mists. We are only around for a short stretch of time before we are gone, wiped off the face of the world to be heard from no more. We are a drop in the bucket. To paint a more accurate picture, we are a drop in an eternal ocean.

Depressed yet? You shouldn't be.

In chaos theory, there's a concept known as the Butterfly Effect. This may invoke images of a terrible movie with Ashton Kutcher in it but, let me assure you, the two are unrelated, as far as I can tell. In chaos theory, the Butterfly Effect refers to an idea that the flap of the wing of a butterfly can cause a small change in the atmosphere which, potentially, could hinder or give birth to a tornado somewhere in the world. Now, quite obviously, there are other factors involved in making or breaking that tornado but it may be the case that this small creature doing this minor action is the key component to such a drastic event in the history of the world.

In a similar way, the actions a man takes create ripples in the eternal ocean. These ripples can join together to make waves. These waves can join together to make greater waves and so on. In the same way, mighty waves, in isolation, will disperse as there energy is lost and become nothing. This eternal ocean is a great equalizer. It can make the mighty fall and uplift the weak. It raises empires and then desolates them. And where the waves will culminate next? It would be nearly impossible to tell unless you had a grasp on all of the energy in the system. However, that's another topic for another time.

What am I getting at? This is what I'm getting at, my next assumption:


The measure of the life of a man is equivalent to the power with which the components of his existence that he controls touches and effects the remainder of reality.

That's a bold statement. And I'm not just referring to the font-weight property of the text. (CSS guys, you with me? No? Ok, moving on.) That statement is so bold that I'm going to have to stop this post and let that sink in.

I would encourage you, dear reader, to think on this statement and probe it as much as you can. If this were true, what would it mean? How would you live if you felt this were true? Or how do you live if you already believe it to be true? What does it mean to have an effect upon eternity, to be able to stretch beyond the life of a man to effect the remainder of reality? How do Western concepts of good and evil play into this?

If you have anything to say, please share it in the comments section. I built up the crux of my thought / theory in the last post and now I have given you the key to my understanding of life as I know it so I cannot stress enough how important this is to take seriously.

Next time, I will expound upon this idea and, hopefully, get into my next assumption. I only have a handful of them left and they may be used up within the next one or two blog posts so stay tuned. So, until next time!

Self-Determination

This is somewhat of an important post. It's the crux of the practical portion of my argument so I hope I don't screw it up. I apologize for it taking so long but I want to make sure that my thoughts were all here. It all begins with a question.

When you think of what defines a man, what do you think of?


From a historical perspective, it's the actions a man takes and the consequences these actions have therein. From a spiritual/metaphysical perspective, it's the passions he has and the thoughts that drive him to achieve a more definitive state of being. From a biological perspective, it's flesh, bones, tissues and memories imprinted upon others. All of these things and more can describe what a man is.

Yet, I would like to take this a step further and, with my next assumption, claim a relation between the definition of a man from all of these perspectives to the constitution of reality.

Events in a man's life, thoughts that he has, actions he takes can all be considered as some of the components of reality.

Within out definition of existence, we can take not to the fact that other entities can and do observe these components of a man's existence. As a refresher, our definition of existence is relative between an entity (the existor) that perceives the existence of an entity (existee). I would go as far as to say that these components of a man can, and do, trigger additional components within reality as a whole. This is observable but, as I must state, assumed. It is one thing to claim that components interact on their own and are observed / perceived by other components and a whole other matter to say that, through these interactions, effect the components to which they exist. I feel this is, however, a necessary but minor assumption.

Moreover, these components can go beyond the finitude of a man's biological existence. This, I feel, is not so much of an assumption but a logical conclusion to a chain reaction of existence upon existors but, again, I must say, in good faith, it is an assumption I use.

On a related note, fairly recently, I watched a lecture on TED talks about quantum mechanics entitled Making sense of a visible quantum object and it made an interesting point that I wanted to share.

You hear a lot of talk about how quantum mechanics says that everything is all interconnected. Well, that's not quite right; it's more than that, it's deeper. It's that those connections, your connections to all the things around you, literally define who you are.

I realize that I may be bending O'Connell's words at this point but I do see a parallel between his words and my philosophy. Seemingly, an entity (existor) that perceives an existing entity (existee) and therefore has defines the existence of the existee in such a way. If you begin to remove the existors from the picture, the existee becomes a little more ambiguous, a little less well-defined. Add existors to the picture and the existee becomes bounded to the existor's definition.

I know, I'm reading into this a little much but it brings me to my next important assumption.

Regardless of free will or lack thereof, man can control these components within some capacity of his abilities.

A man is made of stuff. We've established that. This stuff includes events in his life, actions he takes, and thoughts he has. It's not too difficult to make the leap to him being able to control the components within some capacity of his abilities. Some of the objections that may be raised, in my experience, have been: What about free will? If he doesn't have free will, how is he really in control, in any capacity, of these components that make up his being? To that I say, doesn't matter.

This is somewhat of a brash statement. I mean, we encounter this idea of "free will" in philosophy and theology all the time. However, from a practical perspective, whether we truly choose what we do or if we are controller by a set of determinable components, we still interact with the reality in which we exist. Whether the components that we see ourselves as controlling are controlled by some movement of a mysteriously unknowable force called free will or by a knowable albeit complex sequence called logic, the components in our reality that make us up effect the remainder of reality.

And so it is. A man is bounded by the definition given to him by the existors. A definition which he can help mold with his actions and thoughts to some capacity of his abilities. This is a measure for him. Let me leave you with that hint about my next post, which, hopefully, will come soon.

Temporary lapse

This is a bit of a tangent from the serious posts I've indulged in lately. I've tried to not get too personal but I'm afraid I'll have to break that trend in this post. I want to throw this out there before it's too late, before I lose these thoughts. Ignore this posts emotional content, if it begins to show.

I was the best man in a bachelor party last weekend for my best friend. He's a guy I've known since seventh grade and I really couldn't ask for a better friend. It happened a long way from home and I was pretty much disconnected from my life, as it is, from Wednesday night to Monday evening. This pretty much sets the stage. 4ish days filled with time spent solely preparing my best friend to, well, take another person as his best friend (that last bit isn't completely fair, I got married almost a year ago so I got my new best friend first). Every experience is a learning experience and I learned a number of things.

1. I hate how I've become so cut-off from my friends and, yet, I do nothing about it. That's not anything really new. I've known that for quite some time but this past weekend really brought to light how much I don't know about my friends when that distance begins to form. I become sad for the wasted time. I become jealous of the new relationships that form to take my place. I become estranged from this person that I've known for so long.
   
   It's so strange going back to people you've known but fallen out of touch with. It's like watching a movie that has the exact same cast as a movie I've seen before but the entire plot has changed and the characters, though similar because of the directors choice in typecasting the roles, have changed but only to fit with the plot itself. It doesn't feel right. It feels like I relive the same moments but, since I myself have changed so much since I saw the last film, I know that I can't relate in the same way as I did to those characters the first time around.
2. I take life way too seriously sometimes. After getting home and talking with my wife about this, I've come to the conclusion that I think way too much and I really need to start doing instead of thinking. I won't be the next Socrates or Kierkegaard or MLK but, while it's noble to die for a cause you believe in, I really don't need to be that guy who dies for it. I'm not saying that it's good to be completely lax in one's morals but, at the same time, if you don't have any fun, if you get no pleasure out of life, then, how have you lived? In all seriousness, how have I lived? I'll have to think about that question a little more.
3. I need to live more without preconceived judgments. There are times that I remember people for being saints and they're very much sinners. There are time that I remember people for the wrong they've caused me and they're actually very nice people. There are times that I remember people being really annoying and, after all these years, they've changed.
4. I am very self-destructive person. I internalize my anger and turn it into something that would destroy me before it hurt anyone else. While it's better than lashing out, it leads to inappropriate responses on my part.
    
5. I am fat and a lot less charming than I once was. I really need to do something about that. Also, I've been a big jerk to a number of people that I need to apologize for.
    
6. I am getting older. I'm not saying that I'm about to die. Hopefully, I still have some years ahead of me but I am getting older. Just seeing the wedding makes me think about how far things have come and what left there still is to do, what's still even possible. Things kinds of events put life into perspective.

Some great stuff did happen, don't get me wrong. These lessons aren't negative. At least, I don't view them as such. They're motivation to be a better person, which is something that I strive for.

At any rate, I began writing my next blog topic so that should be out within the next few days. I hope you like what comes of it.

PS. I now have a love/hate relationship with the phrase "Everyday, I'm shufflin'!"

Clockwork

I was unable to post last weekend because I was on a retreat and the weekend before that because I was sick but I'm sure all of my readers out there will understand. It was, however, a fortunate thing that I didn't write immediately because I was listening to Radio Lab a few days ago on KERA (Yes, I'm name dropping for the cause of public radio) and they had a program on about stochasticity, which my text editor is claiming to be a word that does not exist in the English language but, let me assure you, stochasticity is a word which means, essentially, randomness. Within the program, they began talking about what makes up our bodies, breaking it down to the microscopic level of genes that make protein and what scientists expected to find, but didn't (much to their chagrin), was that the genes would output protein in a relatively stable manner.

Even though this can be seen as destroying their original hypothesis, it brings up a good point. We, as humans, tend to put things in nice little packages. There are electrons, neutrons and protons, which are a part of atoms, which are a part molecules, which are a part of proteins, which are a part of humans, which are a part of civilizations, which are a part of the universe. It all scales up and down, seamlessly... well, almost. Asking the question "What makes up a human?" and expecting a full answer is a little far-fetched in our day and age. Similarly, asking "What makes up an atom?" won't probably get you the full answer you expect when you take into account the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. This leads me to my next assumption:

Reality is constructed of arbitrarily definable but, possibly, not completely indivisible components that interact with each other.

That's a mouthful.

Regardless, what I mean is this. Reality, as a whole, is constructed of components that make up larger entities and, even though at times we may not be able to see all the gears that make up this clockwork, we can definitely count on the fact that there are parts to it that will make it tick. Some parts we would label to be distinct from others. We may say that gear itself is a unique part of the framework but, in the end, it is arbitrarily chosen through our conscious belief in similarity and, probably more important, dissimilarity. Half of the gear is not seen as it's own component. No, the entire gear is seen as the component. The gear and a shaft are not seen as one component. No, these two are easily taken apart, one replaced without the other if the need arises and it is not seen as replacing part of a whole. Even it was, that would be arbitrarily defined. So, you see, in this way, I see our reality as being constructed by arbitrarily defined, but, potentially, not completely indivisible parts.

Furthermore, I would venture to say, as we have looked at in a previous post, the mere existence of an entity (existor) to another entity (existee) can have an effect upon the existee and, therefore, any form that the existor takes with its existence, sometimes denoted as an action or state, may have an effect upon the existee. We commonly perceive this in the temporal realm of existence to denote change and, through the assumption I have stated, this is implied to be possible. The existor interacts with the existee and, potentially, vice-versa. To go back to the clockwork example, the gears themselves will turn, making other gears turn within the clock, making not only the existee (the primary mover) change but also the existor (the reactor to the primary mover) change as well.

Finally, I want to make sure that I go back to my original paragraph in this post, in case you are starting to think that I consider the universe to be clockwork. That's not what I'm saying at all and I would rather not box myself into that assumption given the results of that scientific study. In a later post, we will actually see that the question of free will has little relevance in the grand scheme of things but that's for another time.

Until then, I wish you the best in your philosophical inquiries and please post any comments or questions you may have about what's in here. I would love any feedback.

To be or not to be

Ever since I was young, I had this feeling that I wouldn't live to be very old.  It's not that I have a death wish, I really don't, but my life for a long time felt like a story playing out and, somehow, I've gotten past the end of it.  Now, it seems I'm living nebulously.  Every moment that I live is borrowed time, stolen from some other poor sap.  That reminds me of a movie that's coming out soon with Justin Timberlake where, instead of money, people earn a living, literally.  Interesting concept but not my topic of choice at the moment.

What I really want to talk about is not death but life.  What is it all about?  Don't expect me to answer that question but I will spout off a few assumptions I've made thus far about it and, hopefully, you'll agree with me. If not, well, tell me why I'm wrong and maybe, just maybe, I'll change my mind!

I think the first and most basic assumption that I need to make is that existence is not only possible, it's actual and anything that I claim to be must take on the attribute of existence. That's a mouthful but let me take this reasoning step-by-step.

Assumption 1: Existence is possible

It has come to my attention that it is quite possible that I exist. Not shocking in the least given my circumstances, the potentially random recollections I have of what I may have lived previously, the seemingly steady nature of what seems to have come in the past that would help me come to grasps on the reliability of the very ambiguous "future."  Yes, these things point to my existence being possible.  I may be a little bias though.  Empirical evidence is very persuasive but to say that it points to truth is to make an entirely separate assumption.  I feel that it relies heavily on the assumption that these recollections actually happened and that my thoughts and experiences point to some form of a reality.  At the same time, this could be a lie.

I have had a number of unfinished debates about how existence is even possible and, maybe it's due to not asking the right questions, as Heidegger would have us believe, or maybe it's due to a lack of understanding on my part of the basic tenants of philosophical inquiry but it seems to me that one thing is truly certain without assumption and that is I cannot be certain of anything.


I cannot let this stop me. There seems to be a reality around me and through me. I seem to be a part of something that truly is, whether it be a fantasy or the only possible world. I see no other route than to make an assumption and that is...


Assumption 2: Existence is actual

This is is to say that I believe there must be something.  From things like Star Trek, we get this notion that people could be living in a simulated world.  There could be an absolute reality around us and we have no idea of what that reality is. However, my point here is not to claim a higher ground of one absolute reality and it's not to claim that there are alternate realities that may exist. It is simply to say that there is a reality we observe, there are things that are true to that reality, whether we are aware of them or not. All this being said and, yet, I still don't feel this goes far enough. I need another assumption.


Assumption 3: That which I claim to be takes on the attribute of existence

This is madness. (I can hear someone out there saying, "No, this is Sparta!" but I digress) At first glance, the phrase may seem a little tautological but once you understand my intent behind the phrase, I assure you, it's far from being a rephrasing of a statement. What I perceive and think to be real is real. It may be a bit of an odd thought when encountered, especially since a good number of people would associate it with a relativistic approach to understanding reality but I am, in no way, attempting to push forth such an idea. It might as well be the case that there is some absolute reality that underpins all of reality but I find it difficult to distinguish between the reality which we can "know" (I use that loosely to mean more along lines of perception or imagination) and the reality that truly is. To say that there is something that exists but cannot be perceived in any way (through the senses or, if you so choose, divinely laid upon the observe otherwise), is the same as saying that there exists something that has no baring upon the reality in which we exist. To me, this is nonsense.


To me, the true meaning of existence is, in essence, some state of being that has some effect upon the reality in which it exists. In this manner, every fantasy that has happened, even if it does not match with the plausible absolute reality or the set of plausible absolute realities, still has an effect upon the absolute reality in which it is claimed to not exist in. In this way, it exists. Possible not in a tangible form or from an empirically provable standpoint and, quite possibly, it has not true correlation with the reality that actually is but it touches it. In some way, it strikes a reverberating wave throughout the reality in which it exists.


This one way form of existence, to exists towards something instead of absolutely, is what I would like to explore in my next few blog posts. That is, of course, unless I am totally misled in these thoughts of mine and, if that is the case, please tell me. Otherwise, next time, I want to talk about what makes up reality, through assumptions of course.


Until next time, then.

First!

This is my first post to a blog.  I used to use LiveJournal a while back but I really want to separate myself from that, simply because I was a lot more naive then.  I'm sure that I still am but I'd like to think not as much.

This is the note that I would like to start this blog on.  As most people who do puzzles know, it's easiest to begin with the corner piece so that's what I've named this blog.  I want to start piecing together my puzzle and this is a good as any spot to start.  I don't have all the answers and I would like to think that I will never have them.  I would like to think that I will always see my puzzle as being incomplete.  However, that doesn't give me the right to not at least try to start putting the pieces together.  It would simply be lazy of me to think that since my puzzle will never truly be finished, that I shouldn't start it at all.  On the contrary, if I want anything to be meaningful, I must begin.

Why am I here?  Not specifically the grand scheme "Why am I here?" but why am I writing a blog about it?  Because there's a few things that I have learned that will make it evident that I need to do this.  At least, I think I have learned them.

1. If I do charge myself with putting the pieces together, I need to figure out what pieces go where and, honestly, a lot of times, I try to fit the wrong pieces into the wrong places.  I need a forum to get other people's opinion on where I'm going wrong and where I'm going right.
2. Others need to know.  I don't assume that what I have to say is fundamentally true and it is possible that it can change over time but other people need to know what I think.  I am not expert but, contrary to popular belief, I don't think they're the only ones who can deal with the problems and questions I have.  At some point, they weren't experts and eventually became them.  In short, help me to help you think about these things.
3. I do this for posterity sake.  I am just a man.  I cannot remember everything, as much as my wife would love it.  I cannot live forever, as much as I would love it.  I don't expect to memorialized but I would like to live on in the lives that I touch.

This is why I'm doing this blog. I hope someone out there is affected for the better because of it.