The Making of a Philosopher Wannabe
Since for some reason my “Journal” doesn’t work for me, I thought I’d elaborate on my background here (probably more than anyone is interested), and why I consider myself a full time philosopher (hoping to get paid for it one day). My obsession with philosophy started when I moved to New York City after friends I’d met in Viet Nam told me it was the most awesome place on the planet. If you like lots and lots of concrete, then maybe it’s the place for you!
In my tiny little apartment, living there alone, I started reading Nietzsche, and read almost everything he wrote. I accepted his ideas blindly, believing he was a genius who needed to be understood by the ignorant masses (now there’s an oxymoron). His anti-Christian sentiments appealed to me (being an atheist at the time trying to recover from Baptist upbringing), and I remember irritating the crap out of my friends and customers at the job I had by extolling the profundity of Friedrich.
But soon I moved on to the Greeks (Socrates stopped me in my tracks, still just about my favorite, so much better than Freddie’s ravings), the existentialists (deeeeeepressing), Leibnitz, Hume, Kant, Schopenhauer and other idealists (way out there), Descartes, Spinoza (liked him), Locke (awesome), Ayer (I was starting to believe in science!), Quine (his positivistic views fit my radical outlook perfectly), Peirce (wow, how could anyone make so much sense?) . . . and so on. I was exhausted, but thinking I was getting wiser by the day!
I was heavily involved in drugs, being a “hippie” and all, and managed to get deathly ill on . . . (I’ll leave that one a mystery). While in the hospital, a lady intern came around to check on me. I had been thinking about medicine as a career, so I asked her about it. At some point she said, “anyone can be a student, but few are
good students.” That inspired me to leave NY, return to where I was raised (St. Louis locale), and go back to school.
I started out as a biology major, and managed to get a scholarship to the top university in the area. While in school however, I’d started reading Carlos Castaneda, and then Zen. I regularly took peyote as part of a consciousness exploring method (a couple of hundred times at least before I stopped 15 years later). I began meditating too, and started having a crisis of faith in science (which I thought could reveal every revealable truth). I was having trouble studying, and finally had to give up my scholarship
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I moved to California and took a year off to think about what I wanted to do (plus establish residency, which at the time made state universities almost free). When I returned to college, I started taking philosophy classes. After a year I decided it was boring (too mental, no one ever seemed to decide anything). Empiricism still had the edge in my opinion because they relied on experience and produced results.
About then I learned to meditate in a new way, a way dedicated to “union.” My former science training and empirical leanings made me wonder why the union experience should be possible at all for consciousness. I was so moved by the experience I decided to change my major to World Religions so I could study its history. To my great surprise, there was a history of the practice stretching back 2500 years, and across several cultures, East and West.
After getting my degree, I continued studying and meditating daily. I expanded my studies into the history of the regions where union was practiced. I also decided to study Chinese philosophy, particularly Yin Yang theory, which is probably the most enduring of all Chinese concepts (in particular I focused on the I Ching). I also delved into Indian philosophy and history since that is where the practice of union originated.
I had my own business for a while (a community newpaper), and then decided to go back to school. I got a couple of grad degrees, in the area of psychology, and had an interesting middle life trying out practical application of psychology to business. All the time, however, I kept studying philosophy and the history of union. I got an idea for a book, and started studying specifically for that. Ten years passed.
Then a few years ago I decided to start writing the book, and began working on it full time. In it I employ a new approach to philosophy which I think is more suited to our current understanding of consciousness and reality. The idea is that the closer philosophy stays to facts and evidence, the more realistic it will be. My personal imput to that has been, much of what you hear from me I actually have attempted to try, or at least find some evidence which indicates the possibility. To me, philosophers who aren't experimenting with or seeking evidence for their own theories aren't worth listening to.
I joined PF to test out my ideas for the book, which I hope to publish in the near future. I’ve appreciated the feedback I’ve gotten here immensely. If you do see my book one of these days, and we’ve debated, you can be assured you have contributed to my understanding of things (especially patient science mentors and members who’ve compassionately indulged my wonderings, and guided and corrected me when needed).
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h, yeah! along the way i managed to have a rip-snort'n good time, just wish i remembered all the fun.
. I will send you an autographed copy!
