Sonnet

Belief in the system of fate,
trusting in the product of chance,
lifting from yourself the great weight:
"You are culpable for Life's dance."
Cast your guilt off from your shoulders,
free your limbs from their heavy chains!
Stoke the fire where it smoulders -
forget the superstitious banes.
It's unknown on what cause depends;
trusting providence, that's the key.
For, of course, you can't see all ends
and whatever will be, will be.
Exhaustion ever is sweet pleasure's leech.
Why be a slave to things beyond your reach?

Reincarnation

Matter and energy in this universe are conserved, according to current scientific law. Why shouldn't this apply to souls as well? So far science doesn't explain the presence of souls, but at the rate they're going that will probably change sometime in the not-so-distant future. I think the law of conservation applies to souls as well. Meaning reincarnation. Why shouldn't they be used again?

Self-Worth

3. One should value oneself at least as much as one values other people.

This concept may sound like the traditional Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, however, it doesn't seem that way to me.

You cannot expect to be able to value other people if you don't even value yourself.

Souls

2. Humans have souls that exist after the death of the physical body.

However, the precise definition of a 'soul' may be rather hard to come by. Here I use the word only to mean a non-physical spirit or sense of self. The general idea of a 'conscience' may actually be part of this soul, but then again, maybe not.

>>>This soul is the only common denominator between all humans of all times and all places.

I'm not yet sure if I think that the souls exist before their joining with the human body.


I do like some aspects of the Platonic view of two worlds with a mediating soul:

~There are two worlds, the real world and the shadow world. The real world is eternal and unchanging, and the Forms exist in this world. The Forms are absolute and eternal. Souls not joined with bodies are in this world also. The world in which humans exist is the shadow world. Here we can grasp the basic concepts of the Forms, but we cannot know them fully. The knowledge of the Forms come from our souls. Before joining with our bodies, they knew everything about the forms but forgot this knowledge when joined with a human body. Therefore everything we come to realize about the Forms is simply the memory of our souls returning to us. After the death of the body, the soul will either return to the real world (as it desires very much to do) or it may need to endure another round of human life, if it for some reason has not attained the privilege of returning the perfect eternal real world.

There are some rammifications on the issue of suicide with respect to Plato's view of the worlds and the soul, but I will discuss that in another post.

The Universe

1. The universe came into existence through a creative force.

There are several ways in which this can be fleshed out.

>>>This creative force brought everything into existence, set the absolute laws of nature into play, then left the laws to run everything, and every apparent deviation from natural law is simply because of a lack of knowledge on our part.

>>>This creative force brought everything into existence, is - in effect - in everything, therefore the observable laws of nature can partly be understood as extensions of its rational and logical will, and there is no single deity to appeal to because the Creator is in everything. (this rather corresponds at least partly to transcendentalism)

>>>This creative force brought everything into existence, set up the general laws of nature and sometimes finds it prudent to deviate from them from time to time, at will. (this rather corresponds to the Christian Father-God)


I am rather inclined, at this point, to believe the second of these three extensions of the principal statement.

Purpose of credoergosum

This blog is for philosophical musings. Of mine. I have several other personal blogs that deal with the goings-on of my everyday life and the types of things I will dicuss here have no place with those rather petty and frivolous entries. Also, the persons who read my other blogs may take offense at the sorts of ideas I will present here and I would hate to shun some interesting theories or realizations I come to because of a need for censorship.

Inaugural Post

Philosophy is to be studied, not for the sake of any definite answers to its questions, since no definite answers can, as a rule, be known to be true, but rather for the sake of the questions themselves; because these questions enlarge our conception of what is possible, enrich our intellectual imagination and diminish the dogmatic assurance which closes the mind against speculation; but above all because, through the greatness of the universe which philosophy contemplates, the mind also is rendered great, and becomes capable of that union with the universe which constitutes its highest good.

~Bertrand Russell