(Originally written July 28, 2006 in Book 7)
Heart not broken, just bruised.
Love will never fail.
A number of short presuppositions
1. What is philosophy?
Philosophy is the process of discovering innate concepts in this world. It is the formulation of opinions, belief and acquisition of knowledge practiced by all human beings. It is speculation, and a way of thinking. It is necessary for all humans to function properly. It is using the limited faculty of reason and rationality that we all have.
2. What is not philosophy?
A) an exact science
B) An inexhaustible and infinite wealth of knowledge
C) A substitution for faith
D) A tool of suppressions or terror
3. Is there a God?
A god (whatever it is) necessarily exists. I turn to cosmological evidence and the first cause for this conclusion. The existence of a god does not demand the existence of God directly.
But through natural theology and scientific observance I would readily infer that some supreme mind must exist to facilitate the creation of such an orderly universe. A supreme mind infers a Supreme Being God (not yet defined by a religion) is the only being that would be able to possess a Supreme Mind.
My faith bridges the chasm between a God (Supreme Being) necessarily existing and the belief in the Christian God. A true Christian who has truly felt God (a prerequisite) cannot be swayed by any argument that God does not exist. Faith can falter or even be undermined totally, but that is an account of the weakness and fallibility of man, not an argument against God's existence.
4. What is my philosophy of philosophy?
It is a process, a means. It is not an end. If it becomes an end it contradicts itself. (A process cannot be the culmination). Philosophy is a road to Truth. Truth is the goal; philosophy is one of many means. But, philosophy or any other means to Truth is hopeless if it is not supplemented by faith.
5. What then is Truth?
Truth is God. Only through God can we grasp the Truth. The truths we grab from God is fragmentary. Thus, Truth is God, truths are man's comprehensions of bits of that Truth.
6. What is knowledge?
Knowledge is not Truth or truth. Truth exists independently, thus any truth that exists, exists as a piece of the Truth. Knowledge is the comprehension of a truth. Knowledge cannot exist independently; it requires a host to comprehend truth. Absolute knowledge is the comprehension of the Truth in its entirety. Only God (the Truth) has full comprehension of the Truth. Absolute knowledge is unattainable for man, but should be strived for.
7. Philosophy of History
History is cyclical. It isn't because of some reincarnation, but because there are similar variables and one constant. God is the constant. Every individual human being that has existed is unique, but has many familiar characteristics that he or she shares with all other humans. The probability of similar things happening in various cultures or ages is likely because they all contain the same constant (God) and similar variables (humans). While history is cyclical it is not identically cyclical.
8. Philosophy of Language
Language is a universal. It has always existed and will always exist. A particular language is a sub-universal. An individual's usage of any sub-universal (i.e. English, Spanish, etc.) is the particular. Thus language, when used becomes purely subjective. Because no human being is perfectly identical, their subjective use of language causes ambiguities and thus, difficulties. Ambiguity is unavoidable, but clarification should always be used to minimize ambiguity.
9. Philosophy of Religion
Religion is the systematized rules surrounding a belief in a supreme being. It is subjective because it involves an individual's belief in God. Religion is also concerned with Ethics and Morality. While any particular set of religious beliefs is subjective and then subjective to any particular individual it does not follow that religion is relative. Relativism does not have any place in this world.
10. Ethics
Ethics are the primary concern of philosophy because they are the core of every individual human being. Ethics precede (or at least ought to precede) every action. It is for this reason that they are of the utmost importance.
The purpose of Ethics are to provide direction to every individual human being. Since Ethics are to be personal guides they are subjective. But, as in the case of religion, subjectivism does not equate relativism. Some Ethical beliefs are better than others and some systems are wrong. The correctness of an Ethical belief is measured by its close relationship to the teachings of Christ and the nature of God. God is Truth, an objective reality. Thus, any subjective set of ethics can be measured against the Objective Truth for accuracy. The measurement is called morality and immorality. An ethical system is mostly moral when it correlates closely to the nature of God, it is immoral when it contradicts the nature of God.
11. I exist
To doubt my existence is absurd. How I exist is another matter completely.
12. Man
Man is distinct from other individual animals because man was created in the image of God. This gives man a unique balance of responsibility and supremacy.
The image of God is a capacity for rationality. This does not mean that man is a rational being. Man is capable of rationality and reason, but often chooses not to follow it. Man is by nature, irrational. Sin is a testament to the irrationality of man.
13. Evil
Evil is a privation of the Good (God). Without the presence of the Good, man is evil.
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