My Personal Philosophy

My personal philosophy can be summarized with two words: critical inquiry. To put it succinctly, I’m not as concerned about what you believe as I am at how you arrive at your beliefs. Or quoting Bertrand Russell:

The question is how to arrive at your opinions and not what your opinions are. The thing in which we believe is the supremacy of reason. If reason should lead you to orthodox conclusions, well and good; you are still a Rationalist. To my mind the essential thing is that one should base one's arguments upon the kind of grounds that are accepted in science, and one should not regard anything that one accepts as quite certain, but only as probable in a greater or a less degree. Not to be absolutely certain is, I think, one of the essential things in rationality.

In addition, is my personal opinion that no matter or belief is exempt from honest and critical inquiry (this includes my own beliefs). Too often certain beliefs seem to be immune from honest inquiry, and at the top of this list would be religion. Or, quoting Isaac Asimov:

To rebel against a powerful political, economic, religious, or social establishment is very dangerous and very few people do it, except, perhaps, as part of a mob. To rebel against the "scientific" establishment, however, is the easiest thing in the world, and anyone can do it and feel enormously brave, without risking as much as a hangnail. Thus, the vast majority, who believe in astrology and think that the planets have nothing better to do than form a code that will tell them whether tomorrow is a good day to close a business deal or not, become all the more excited and enthusiastic about the bilge when a group of astronomers denounces it.

For an expanded account of my philosophy please see Respect and Tolerance and the FAQ.

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