What I Believe In
I've been reading a bit about the history of Western philosophy.
One interesting realization is that every individual, whether intentionally or not, engages--at least to some capacity--with elements studied in philosophy. For example:
- Deciding whether something is true -- Epistemology
- Deciding whether something is just or fair -- Ethics
- Experiencing awe, art, music, and beauty -- Aesthetics
This realization led me to prepare an inventory of where my own beliefs currently stand. I don't mean to be pretentious or claim that I follow these without fault, but these are the core values I agree with and espouse:
- The Scientific Method -- the best available tool for understanding and predicting natural phenomena, while keeping us from fooling ourselves.
- Growth Mindset -- the most useful belief to hold for self-improvement, personal growth, and self-actualization.
- Curiosity -- understanding “why,” questioning explanations, seeking out evidence, asking “what if I'm wrong?” and changing one's mind, are all signs of intellectual honesty.
- Continuity -- gratitude toward those who have shown us the way, while leaving things better than we found them for those yet to come.
Having written these down, I can now hold a “dialogue” between my own beliefs and those held by past philosophers.
Finally, it will be interesting to see how these beliefs prove themselves fruitful--or perhaps evolve--over the course of one's own life.