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Philosophical Worldview

Philosophical Worldview

I consider myself to be a humanist with a naturalistic worldview.  Moreover, I subscribe to science and Western philosophy and am a former Christian, thus, it naturally follows that I am also a skeptic and a freethinker.

However, thanks to the martial arts, it should be noted that my worldview is also tempered by eastern philosophy.  Eastern philosophies generally are not concerned about questions relating to the existence of a single God or gods.  The distinction between the theistic and the secular tends to be less distinct in Eastern philosophy, and often the same philosophical school contains both theistic and philosophical elements.  Thus, is is possible for some adherents to worship the Taoist deities religiously without exploring the philosophic underpinnings, while others may embrace the Taoist philosophy while ignoring the theistic aspects.  Moreover, Eastern philosophies tend to be very naturalistic in focus.  Although some Eastern traditions have supernatural elements and even gods, these are typically not seen as separate from the universe, but rather as a part of the universe. 

Thus, my worldview is best summarized by a famous Zen story, and a quote from a luminary of Western philosophy:

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master to learn about Zen. While the master quietly served tea, the professor kept interrupting the Zen master. Finally, the master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor exclaimed. "You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

Though a certain level of "open-mindedness" is important, I believe that we should temper our open minds with a modicum of reason.  Or, as Bertrand Russell would say: "It's good to have an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out."

For an explanation of  my view on the existence of gods see the FAQ.

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