Thinking for Oneself

The Self has the perspective of a human by oneself concentrating and studying the thoughts of other thinkers. The Self reads many books of past thinkers who have come down in history and are known for their cogent thoughts. The Self gleans from these past thinkers thoughts which form the basis of the Self’s own thoughts. From there the Self thinks for oneself and builds a structure of thoughts which are entirely the Self’s own. Eventually the Self leaves behind the thoughts of all other thinkers and lives according to one’s own thoughts.


The Self needs time by oneself in solitude in order to contemplate the eternal truths. The Self cannot be distracted from deep thought.

Thought is the function of the mind. Mind sets the human life apart from every other form of life in the natural order. The mind is the reason the human thinks itself to be a superior creature and ruler of the natural order.

Since thought is the function of the mind, thought is formed by the use of Reason. Reason is instrumental to well-formed thoughts. Reason is the one and only instrument used by the mind.

  

The Individual and Its Courage

The virtue of the Individual is Courage. Courage is an inborn characteristic. The Individual either has it or doesn’t have it according to one’s nature and DNA. Courage is a Virtue that cannot be learned. It is part and parcel of the Individual’s inborn nervous system and native intelligence.

The Individual has no fear. One is willing to attempt anything which is life-affirming. One is not bound by convention but is eagerly willing to try something new and different.

Since the Individual has Courage one is willful and has a lot of nerve. The Individual is imperious. It is demanding and commanding. The Individual manifests its destiny. Hence, the Individual is a leader. One issues proclamations and manifestoes.

Justice

What's a good working definition of Justice?

From Wikipedia...

Justice, in its broadest context, includes both the attainment of that which is just and the philosophical discussion of that which is just. The concept of justice is based on numerous fields, and many differing viewpoints and perspectives including the concepts of moral correctness based on law, equity, ethics, rationality, religion, and fairness. Often, the general discussion of justice is divided into the realm of societal justice as found in philosophy, theology and religion, and, procedural justice as found in the study and application of the law.
The concept of justice differs in every culture. An early theory of justice was set out by the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic. Throughout history various theories have been established. Advocates of divine command theory argue that justice issues from God. In the 1600s, theorists like John Locke argued for the theory of natural law. Thinkers in the social contract tradition argued that justice is derived from the mutual agreement of everyone concerned. In the 1800s, utilitarian thinkers including John Stuart Mill argued that justice is what has the best consequences. Theories of distributive justice concern what is distributed, between whom they are to be distributed, and what is the proper distribution. Egalitarians argued that justice can only exist within the coordinates of equality. John Rawls used a social contract argument to show that justice, and especially distributive justice, is a form of fairness. Property rights theorists (like Robert Nozick) also take a consequentialist view of distributive justice and argue that property rights-based justice maximizes the overall wealth of an economic system. Theories of retributive justice are concerned with punishment for wrongdoing. Restorative justice (also sometimes called "reparative justice") is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims and offenders.

From the above article, It seems that I mostly agree with the "social contract" theories and restorative Justice.

"An Eye for an Eye..."

Leviticus 24:20

19'If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: 20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him. 21'Thus the one who kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man shall be put to death.…

Deuteronomy 19:21

…20"The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21"Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot

This is called the Law of Retaliation. Generally speaking this is known as Revenge. It is also the basis of the Retributive Justice system.

I am not in favor of this system. I much prefer a Restorative Justice System.

According to my Philosophy of Life, Justice is a balancing act where two sides must reach a compromise and equalize the situation to be good for both sides. This often involves forgiveness and compassion.

The purpose of Justice is to establish good feelings between conflicting parties.

Human Relationships

When it comes to human relationships, I have found that it is good to mind our own business and concern ourselves only with that which is within our control. Basically, this means that it is best to accept other humans as we find them without trying to change them to suit our own likes.

Human relationships are the most important aspect of our life on this earth. It is best to remain on good terms with every human we happen to meet and generally speaking to get along with them.

I just had the experience of being told by another human that he was going to seek revenge on another human because that human would not give him seconds of watermelon when she was the server at today's 4th of July picnic. This was disheartening to me because this human had a warped sense of values. It bothered me that he regarded a few pieces of watermelon as more important than the good relationship with another human.

"Human Nature"

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Whenever I hear someone talk about "Human Nature" it is usually meant to convey a pessimistic feeling and a low opinion of humankind. I usually don't pay any attention to this as I am just the opposite.

I believe that individual humans are capable of great words and deeds and I like to exalt these individuals and the whole human species they represent.

This being said it should be regarded as being a high opinion of these humans and befittingly a high opinion of myself. I have experienced a low opinion when I was depressed and attempted suicide years ago. I can vouch that a high opinion is much better than a low opinion.