develop my own philosophy

finally, a philosophy that makes sense. hegel! whaddaya know. maybe my brain is primed for the concept of Weltgeist because i’m such a fan of david brin’s earth

All these philosophers believe in some “higher” concept/being/power. why? aristotle’s makes the most sense. beginning from the proposition that nothing can move unless something moves it, we are left with two possibilities: 1) there are an infinite number of “somethings” (time has no beginning) or 2) there is an original mover, imbued with the power to move itself.

I don’t see how the second proposition can be correct. what sort of power would allow something completely inert to move, sua sponte? I realize that the proposition that it cannot exist because I have never experienced it is a fallacy - i have never experienced sub-saharan Africa, and I’m pretty sure it does exist - but the leap to faith is a bit much for me.

so, back to the first proposition: time has no beginning. it is either an infinitely stretching string, or it is a circle. the circle idea was popular among many cultures, including the maya (el mundo al reves, el mundo al derecho). everything cycles. the seasons cycle, but individual things within the seasons change, grow, die, decompose, are reduced to irreducible bits and become other things. I can accept that. I have seen kittens and foals being born; cats and horses aging and dying. One of the oddest things I ever saw was a fly I had trapped in a small plastic box. It died in the box, and when I opened it several days later, it was crawling with maggots. Its own, most likely.

is that acceptable? tangible “things” exist as finite threads - hello, fates - on an enormous wheel. but i have cobbled this idea together from what I have read. Greek mythology. Indian mythology. The idea of the mandala. damn. let’s start again.

What do I know?

Does knowledge even exist? Or is there simply belief?
Can the mind create, without any “inputs”? Is there a capacity for originality, or is everything we do a reworking of that which we have experienced before?

Building blocks. Original awareness. Does a fetus “think”?

Is there a difference between human “thought” and animal “thought”? How am I different from my cats? Instinct or development of ideas through assumed consequences?
There we go again. The whole idea of consequences comes through observation. If I could observe nothing - feel, see, smell, hear nothing - would I believe that there are “causes” and “effects”?

I don’t see how our reality - that which we believe - can be divorced from our senses.

• i find it difficult to study while wearing shoes.
• i have no trouble accepting the ideas of the philosophers of antiquity as long as i don’t think about them too much.
• i sometimes wonder who’s thinking the thoughts i hear in my head.
• i like dr. brown’s cel-ray soda.
• i believe that morality is subjective.
• i do not understand how aquinas’ theory of natural law can be divorced from his belief in divine law.
• i am adrift.