Here’s the philosophy in a nutshell…
Welcome! You may now thank yourself for beginning your journey to realizing you are, and always have been, a member of the world’s smallest and most important minority: The Individual.
[Hey, I can see the “smallest” idea, but what makes me so important? I’m just a small time working guy living in the suburbs…]
The Proof: Are you a member of an organization? Let’s say, a church; a softball team; a town; a state; a country; how about a society? If you and other individuals did not exist, neither would any of those groups. To put it another way, If you did not exist, how important would those groups be to you? I suspect not much! (Philosophical point: If there were no individuals to view and experience say, the moon, would the moon still exist? How would you know?) Careful, this could be a trick question if you didn’t know the difference between an object and a concept. To be explained later… remember, I said this philosophy was “in a nutshell”! Let’s get back to the Individual…
(The following can be considered a small introduction to Ethics, Values, and Morality.)
What is the one thing, an individual needs to exist? Answer: Life.
Would it not be fair to say that anything that supports life is good, while anything that supports death and non-existence is bad? How much less complicated would your life be if you just asked the question, “Does this [challenge; question; answer; decision, etc.) ultimately support life, or death (nonexistence)?
For example, “I’m not going to eat that ham sandwich. In fact, I’m not going to eat lunch at all! You know what? I’m not going to eat all day [month; year!]
Question: Where, in this continuum of decisions, does your choice turn from good to bad? Why? (Perhaps you prefer turkey to ham? Hmm.)
What if some other individual tells you, “You’re not going to eat that ham sandwich! Etc.“ How does that change your experience and your relationship with that other individual? When does another person’s opinion turn from “right“ into “wrong“? What about the use of force? (“When I become President, I’ll force everyone to eat ham sandwiches!) Sure, no more starvation, but at what cost? What about the decisions in your life that you let other individuals make for you? (Politicians; parents; police; the Pope?) Right, wrong, good or evil… How do you decide?
To be continued…