The Quintessential Corrigible Professions

of a Reasonable Way: The Tenets of Global Beliefs.

Version 1.9, October 2011

·         quintessential (the most essential, the best, and, incidentally, 5 major points),

·         corrigible (they may need correction based on more reason, evidence or insight)

·         professions (statements we can make, what we profess)

·         reasonable (based on reason, evidence and insight, in open discussion)

·         way (path, lifestyle)

·         tenets (beliefs we can hold, even if we hold these tentatively as working hypotheses)

·         global (covering life’s most fundamental issues, which can be held by everyone)

·         beliefs (guides to choices and action we have to make, even if we hold these tentatively)

This is a work in progress.  Some parts still need improvement.  Previous version is here.  To send comments click on “Feedback”.

SHORTER VERSION (about 450 words)                                                                                               Version 1.11, May 2012

It is a reasonable leap of faith to say:

1. Mystery:

I know all things are really collections of inter-related events, and none are permanent;

But I cling to classification and inferences because they help me understand my experience,

Knowing that some concepts are misleading and sometimes words fail completely,

I wonder, in awe, unknowing.

We cannot sensibly speak of what is outside this reality - even its mystery is part of it.

I learn from philosophy, religion and art ways to discuss these issues.

2. Self and Truth:

I accept my self as an impermanent, immanent, collection of events;

And that other selves exist, somehow similar to me, but different;

I live with the pervasive dilemma intrinsic in ‘chaos or causality’;

But I yearn to be whole, acknowledging reason, faith, emotion and intellect.

Knowing the uncertainty, I make choices, to be aware, to be authentic and seek the truth.

I learn from science and history how things came to be as they are.

3. Struggle and Compassion:

I choose to live, to feel, to discover, to be connected, to love, to experience this struggle;

I feel compassion;

So I choose to be fair, respecting others, and myself;

though I sometimes fail to act as I think I should;

I look to philosophy, science, history, religion and art to provide guidance.

4. Responsibility, Liberty, Equality, Justice and Mercy:

I choose to treat others as if they have some choice and bear responsibility

where an intervention is potentially effective;

to strive to be part of the struggle for what is good, to alleviate suffering,

and to participate in society, based on security, accountability, liberty, diversity, equality and justice;

acknowledging others come to these realizations via diverse means and provide additional insights.

I learn from science and history what is possible and effective and when to show forgiveness and mercy.

5. Hope

Appreciating beauty when I can, I choose to live in hope;

for here on Earth at least, life and love are everywhere, ubiquitous.

The choices I make reflect what I value, what I glory in:

wonder, unknowing, reality, mystery, reason, uncertainty, awareness, authenticity, truth,

 life, love, struggle, compassion, respect, responsibility,

security, accountability, liberty, diversity, equality, justice, mercy, democracy,

beauty, hope.

I learn from science what motivates me thus.

I choose this path, tentatively, reverently,

with some small degree of faith, not despite reason and the evidence, but because of it;

And knowing this is the best I can do,

Most times, I have a measure of content.

 

 

I am aware of the mystery of existence, of self, will and truth, and I choose life, love, struggle, compassion, responsibility, justice and mercy, and act in hope, knowing that I am.

1300 WORD VERSION                                              Version 1.9 March 2012

 

It is a reasonable leap of faith to say:

1. I am aware of the mystery of existence:

a)      I accept my sensory experiences, including my inner experiences, are the basis of my reality,

and that this reality is a changing continuum, over time and space

which I partition and classify and I impose some order on, and I imagine parts of it;

- I know all things are really collections of events, and nothing is permanent;

b)      And using various principles to guide my choices,

I infer relationships between these concepts, things and events;

- so I cling to classification and inferences because they help me understand my experience;

c)      And though some experiences occur before any words come and some seem to be beyond words,

I use language to describe some of this,

- knowing that sometimes words fail;

d)      And things that are beyond experience or comprehension are not useful to guide my choices,

- we cannot sensibly speak of what is outside this reality, even its mystery is part of it.

e)      And I can only continue to experience wonder at the mystery of existence itself, the All,

which can’t be explained by any religion or philosophy,

And I am amazed and awed by its unity, its immensity, its intricacy, its power and its glory;

- and I learn from philosophy, religion and art ways to discuss these issues

 

2. I am aware of the mystery of existence, of self, will and truth:

a)      I am mindful of consciousness, the collection of events I call me,

and accept that there is no self or identity apart from these events,

an,

- so I accept my self as an impermanent, immanent collection of events;

b)      And I am mindful of the perception of free will and the belief in truth,

and I acknowledge that these are based on chaos or causality and hence unfree and untrue,

but are illusions emerging out of our complex system natures;

- I live with the dilemma of chaos or causality, but I make choices, and seek the truth;

c)      And rather than faith, emotion, reason and intellect being in conflict,

I understand they are just different aspects of mind and all can be reasonable or reasoned about;

- I must be whole, integrating reason, faith, emotion and intellect;

d)      And I accept my essence, my spirit, is part of reality, not separate from it, and will defuse in time,

and this gives rise to the alienation and aloneness that is the human condition;

- And  I learn from science and history how things got to be as they are.

 

3.  I am aware of the mystery of existence, of self, will and truth, and I choose life and love:

a)      Even though I cannot discern whether ultimately there is a point to it all,

I am part of the narrative of the universe, the All;

And understanding from science what drives this choice;

- I choose to live;

b)      And acknowledging other conscious beings, the rest of humanity,

And knowing I undertake this path to avoid loneliness and despair;

And understanding from science what drives this choice and why it feels right to me;

- I choose to be connected, to feel, to struggle, to discover and to love;

c)      And knowing goodness (or love), such as it is, cannot come from outside but must be within,

and acknowledging the limits of my will and humble of my understanding of the truth,

and understanding from science what drives this choice and why it feels right to me;

- I choose to be good, to strive to be part of the struggle for what is good;

d)      And being good is acting to minimise suffering and promote happiness and contentment,

to satisfy preferences, to practice non-violence, in ways to maximise this good for all,

and such principles can conflict with each other so must be applied reasonably in each situation,

- so I choose this following principles based on reason and evidence;

e)      And simple negative principles are to not murder, torture, rape, enslave, deceive or steal;

but we should positively support Security, Liberty, Respect, Honesty, Control, Sexuality, Parenthood, Property, Generosity, Fairness, Equality, Curiosity, Wonder and Enjoyment,

- and I look to philosophy, science, history, religion and art to provide guidance.

 

4.       I am aware of the mystery of existence, of self, will and truth, and I choose life and love, and compassion and mercy:

a)      Knowing that others face these dilemmas, and their choices arise from chaos or causality,

and knowing they suffer consequences, and given my various and variable limitations,

- I feel compassion and mercy,

towards others in an expanding circle, with varying intensity,

from those I cherish, to my neighbours, to those who are humane,

to all humans, to other conscious animals, to all sentient beings, to all of life;

b)      And I acknowledge that acting to knowingly or negligently cause suffering, or, worse, not caring,

in myself  and in others, can be a result of

fear, desperation, stupidity, ignorance,

thoughtlessness, insanity or selfishness,

and my reaction to these should be

empowerment, equity, support, education,

self control and discipline, medical help and forgiveness;

- though I often struggle to react as I should;

c)      And, knowing the dilemma (of chaos or causality affecting free will and truth),

Which means justice must be mixed with mercy,

- I choose to treat others as if they have some choice and responsibility,

to modify the environment of the complex systems that we are and that we form,

but only to the extent this is effective to promote the common good;

d)      And, knowing the risks, the uncertainty, the complexity,

I choose to join with others in my communities, from local to global,

to protect and help me, those I love, others who are humane, and life generally,

to promote good governance of this reality: the environment and its people;

and I hope to be treated fairly as part of such communities;

- and I learn from science and history what is possible and effective.

 

5.  I am aware of the mystery of existence, of self, will and truth, and I choose life and love, and compassion and mercy, and act in reasonable hope and faith, knowing that I am.

a)      And life and love are to be valued even more because they are ephemeral,

And it is even more satisfying that they are a natural part of, intrinsic, to the world;

- Here on Earth at least, life and caring are everywhere, ubiquitous;

b)      And despite the ever present causes of suffering,

I learn from science that we have the technology (if not the will) to make major changes,

and I learn from history of advances (and set backs) in human rights and social justice,

though they also tell me of the many systems we still need to improve;

- so I choose to live in hope,

c)      And given the dilemmas and the uncertainty,

being aware the absolute – the All – does not impose these on me,

and conscientiously and confidently as it is possible to be;

- I hold these values,  life, love, compassion, mercy and hope, to be sacred.

d)      And I do this knowingly,

not because of à priori assumptions or unreasonable faith in any persons or books,

not because science or history can describe the process that occurs,

not because religion threatens various consequences,

not because philosophy says it is logically inevitabl;

- I choose this path, cautiously, tentatively, with faith in reason, based on the available evidence;

e)      And these choices guide me,

In what may be called spiritual awareness: the sense of awe, mystery, beauty, connectedness,

and the indescribable experiences before or beyond words; and

In the choices I inevitably make as I act or don’t act

in my personal life or in the political arena;

- And knowing this is the best I can do,

I have a measure of content.

 

 

I am aware of the mystery of existence, of self, will and truth, and I choose life and love, and compassion and mercy, and act in reasonable hope and faith, knowing that I am.

 

 

Our choices demonstrate the values that we hold.  Our values guide our choices.

The core choices I make value:

• Wonder / mystery /beauty,
• Truth in uncertainty,
• Life’s struggle,
• Love and compassion,
• Responsibility and mercy,
• Reasonable hope and faith.

The simple negative principles are to

not murder, torture, rape, enslave, deceive or steal;

but we should positively support

Security, Liberty, Respect, Honesty, Control, Sexuality, Parenthood, Property,

Generosity, Fairness, Equality, Curiosity, Wonder and Enjoyment,

 

The positive principles listed above can be explained further as follows:

Security:          providing a safe, unthreatening, tolerant social environment for all people - peace;

Liberty:            impeding others pursuit of happiness as little as possible, consistent with other goals;

Respect;           consideration, politeness, dignity: treating others with empathy;

Honesty:          acknowledging to myself and speaking the truth to others, when appropriate;

Control:           avoiding rash actions due to bad passions such as anger or intoxication;

Sexuality:        which may be expressed in many ways, by consent, with full relevant disclosure;

Parenthood:    being responsible for children, with fair, firm, constantly caring connections;

Property:         accepting some goods are justly owned or controlled; acknowledging owners duties to husband their resources;

Generosity:      from each according to their ability, without imposing my superficial preferences;

Fairness:         providing to each according to their need as well as their industry (especially the young, old and infirm, especially basic rights to food, water, clothing, shelter, education, medical and legal aid);

Equality:          in law and business, regardless of age, sex, sexuality, ethnicity, class, caste, tribe, religion, nationality, rank;

Curiosity:        seeking and learning the truth about reality, for being unrealistic leads to error;

Wonder:          at the mystery of life, at the complex interrelationships that maintain our biosphere;

Enjoyment:      contentment, happiness, pleasure, love, enlightenment.

 

 

 

The next page  has a few additional explanations of these Corrigible Professions of a Reasonable Way, the Tenets of ‘Global Beliefs’.