Philosophy and religion

First posted 2008 June 15 as a personal page linked from my facebook profile.

This description is a cartoon of my religion, in part, because it is a goal rather than an achievement, and, in part, because I simplified the philosophy and psychology for brevity. My religion looks in some ways like what secular humanism would become if it were modified in the way that Christianity was modified to bring forth liberal Episcopalian and Unitarian Universalist practices or in the way that Judaism was modified to become Reform Judaism. See also Gould's nonoverlapping magisteria, a related, but distinct philosophy http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/gould_noma.html

Person

I would like to use the word religion to collect some attempts to describe, prescribe, and practice "sustaining personhood." To the degree that an entity displays intelligence, sentience, and communicates a will, I say that the entity is a person.

Mindfulness

Don't panic -- Constructive interactions with reality often depend on surrendering immediate eruptions of grasping, struggling, and urgent concern. A mental anchor, I like to use the rise and fall of the breath or a dead stare, helps focus quiet attention upon the present. Other mental anchors in common use include schedules of rituals, fasts, and feasts.

Social contract

Exercise wisdom -- the discipline to focus, despite immediate desire and concern, proficient intent upon actions the foresight of intelligence and responsibility recommend Account for responsibilities honestly -- no person may demand another person's obligation by mere wish. We agree to make clear expectations and commitments in written contract and an intentionally sincere reflection of such records in oral memory. Exercise intelligence -- the ability to describe perception accurately, completely, and with productive brevity. Practice science -- the practice of describing perception accurately, completely, and with maximum brevity gives a coordinating language for government and social discussions

Affirm faith and reason

In human languages I speak, the word "truth" describes propositions in logic and faith, but the meaning of the word shifts with context. There is similar sloppiness in computer programming. In MatLab, I could declare a variable a = 1; equal to the integer unity. I could also declare a variable b = boolean(1); equal to the boolean value "truth" with binary representation 1. These variables are distinct. MatLab reports that a == b; a and b are labeled by the same binary value, 1, but the contents of these variable include their type, not just their number, and a and b are distinct because the integer 1 is not the boolean 1. I emphasize a similar distinction between the labels "reasoned truth/knowledge" and "truth/knowledge in conviction" despite their interchangeability in human speech. In the context of reason, I say that a proposition is "true" or "knowledge" when it is consistent with the scientific method, including the almost-aesthetic criterion of Occam's razor. In context of faith, I say that a proposition is "true," "knowledge," or "known with complete conviction," when its proposition raises within my gut a vibrant expectation and sense of presence or reality. Believing in a personal god while evaluating the proposition of god as scientifically false are compatible expressions. Such simultaneous expressions do not render a person internally inconsistent or cognitively dissonant.

Value of faith and skepticism

Sentience is finite. We do not witness during the performance of logic the atomic psychological processes that sustain our consciousness. You don't speak fluently by contracting and relaxing consciously each pair of muscles that control your breath, tongue, and lips. You "intend" the words and sentences, and underlying circuitry manifests the motions of your mouth. To sing, I sometimes conjure images of acoustic space and energy sources. I can hold that physics disproves the literal interpretation of these images while at the same time devoting to the images sincere trust, and by such feeling coordinate the production of sound otherwise impossible. While results vary by person, most people summon some degree of emotional communication to coordinate within themselves and with their peers the actions required for cooperation. I affirm in logic the value of faith for such coordination, and I affirm in logic that valuable practices include the practices of faith and skepticism.

Value the search for dispassionate logic

I have met no person divorced from passion, but the professional pursuit of dispassionate logic is nevertheless fruitful. We use the fruits of scientific analysis and engineering each day: information technology, electricity, etc.

I use frequently the label "atheist"

My personal philosophy is agnostic, my logical model of the world is atheistic, and my taste in faith is mixed. I like using nihilistic language as a reminder not to take things too seriously, but I don't like rehearsing it exclusively. Mere logical affirmation is sometimes insufficient for enabling wisdom that follows through with proposals for social cooperation. Sometimes a person more effectively focuses consideration on others or brings forth courage for tasks of magnitude by envisioning and trusting spectacular images historically described as "spiritual." I feel that two people who hold philosophies similar to the one described on this page, with the exception of the issues in the preceding paragraph, differ on issues of taste. They're kneading similar dough, differing primarily when choosing cutters they use to sculpt their goods. The joys, well-wishes, and attention invested in preparation and the good works and community built by sharing and enjoying these pastries are robust to changes in outward form. Many members of the church of my childhood were fundamentalist Protestants. The responses I received for revealing my agnosticism and coming out gay hurt. The philosophy on this page allowed me gradually over the last year to participate with the New Jersey Gay Men's Chorus in singing at congregation services. I share in the feast of those liturgical practices that resonate with my philosophy, and I leave on the plate others that don't match my tastes.

Acknowledgments and influences

Fundamental Protestant Christianity Secular humanism and atheism Agnosticism Episcopalian Christianity (Spong) Unitarian Universalism Reform Judaism New Jersey Gay Men's Chorus Nihilism and existentialism Mindfulness and Eastern meditation Lockean social contract theory Hume Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics Family and friends