From: Jason Joel Thompson (jasonjthompson@home.com)
Date: Fri Nov 17 2000 - 13:27:31 MST
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nicq MacDonald" <namacdonald@stthomas.edu>
I guess, when
> it comes down to it, I'm just a centrist- I believe in whatever doesn't
mess
> things up, and I don't believe in right wing or left wing utopian
scenarios.
> I side with whoever offers me a little temporary meaning in my life, until
I
> grow disillusioned and sick of the idea (and promptly move on). Sorry,
the
> only thing I'm a true believer in is relativism- I'm a skeptic that has
> taken his skepticism to an absurd level for the sheer absurdity of it (and
> I'm a philosophy student, no less!).
I wouldn't say that's absurd Nicq. I myself practice very fluid
philosophy-- I personally find it confers tremendous advantages, but keep in
mind I have a very high tolerance for ambiguity.
It -can- be frustrating at times (for myself, and others: much potential for
ideological conflict, dogmatism is ceaselessly annoying) but less so for the
nimble relativist: there are many paths and many truths.
I'm sure there are many advantages as well to having a concrete belief
structure, some of them (comfort in the universe) I'm not particularly
interested in, others (ideological structure bringing focus to real world
actions,) can be manufactured out of logical thin air.
Skepticism is actually quite interesting when taken to an absurd level-- it
must necessarily be applied to itself.
Challenge everything, wipe the canvass clean, and then create a functional
and optimal reality matrix for yourself. If you don't have anything better
to do, here's what you should be doing:
1) Strip away limiting ideological garbage.
2) Understand your personal power.
3) Understand your environment.
4) Do.
(What works for me: "You are a human on planet Earth, and you kick ass.
There *is* a way. Do it now.")
Others will disagree, but: reality is, after all, a game. There are some
rules you have to follow, but -many- you don't: try to recognize all the
rules that you or your society have manufactured that arbitrarily restrict
your behavior and start erasing them to your advantage.
One pearl of wisdom: In the face of meaninglessness, and when in doubt,
employ compassion. Other game players will come to your rescue.
--
::jason.joel.thompson::
::founder::
www.wildghost.com
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