ARTelevision

As the thread starter, I understand it will be incumbent upon me to answer my own question. I post a lot and you may have intuited I am a skeptic about philosophical beliefs - but by taking some of the positions I do, I reveal something akin to a "belief system." Therefore, I will endeavor to respond to my own question, soon.

It would be cool to see some of the others who've expressed a philosophical bent sharing their core beliefs with us.

Who'll be first?

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WhoaitsZ

The Absolute Truth is there are NO Absolutes.

what i hold dear to me and try my damndest to no be hypocritical about are these:

there is a God.
harming living beings is wrong.
everybody is a hypocrite.
there is no ultimate good or evil and they sure as fuck aren't balanced.

those are a couple of beliefes i have that hold my reality and sanity together. sad, huh?

krwlz

I think of "GOD" as more of a mother nature type of thing...but not quite.

I do not believe "he" is one entity...more like god is the guiding force of the universe...like the force behind spirit, and nature...the reason living things exist., but not a decision making thing that we can pray to... Kinda get it?

Through this I disagree heavily with organized religion..

BBtB

Actully there must be some absolute truths. I think that is the absolute truth. There are a few absolute truths but most of life is a grey area. How can you say there can be no absoulute truths if for that to be true then that statement "There are no absolute truths" IS an absolute truth. Anyway that is all aside the point. My core beliefs... I believe that everyone man has the right to live. That said I do not believe that this life is all we have to live. I believe there are things going on that are simply beyond even our greatest minds. I do believe in God. Not per se the christian god though. But I do believe that there is a loving inteligent being that we can know on a personal level. We can not know him in this life. But we should live this life trying to know him in our next life. The reason I believe this is simple. I am going to use the much quoted Ocums(sp?) razor. Basically its like this. There IS a reason humans exist. I do not think it was by chance. I can not believe that. There for I think the simplest answer (and there for it MUST be the correct, RIGHT?) is that we were created by a supreme being. I think it is foolish for us to think we know said supreme being's will. I am not saying he dosn't want us to go to church on sunday. I am just saying, I do not believe that is the only way. If God is personable then he must understand that everyone is differn't therefore not everyone reaches him the same way. For those who DO and can reach him just by going through church once a week... great. For many of us its not so clear cut. We just have to wake up every day and try our best to be the best we can be. I personally think thats all he wants of us. I think everyone is "programmed" to do something. And in their hearts they know what that is. I think as long as we listen to our hearts, our gut if you will(But NOT our sexual organs. Many people like to follow said organs and claim that it was their heart that told them to do so). Then we will be okay. We will be happy. And eventully we will move on to next life. Were we will always be happy. Were we will have a chance to meet God. Only then will we know why. I think it is frivolous for us to try to understand NOW. I mean we should try but we must accept that we wont truly know why we are obsessed with rock climbing (or whatever) untill God tells us why. I do not believe in hell per se. I do not believe everyone goes to "heaven" though. The people who do go are the ones that pay attention to what is ingrained in them. The truths. The absolutes if you will. Basically the 10 comandments. Which that IS religous doctrine but still. Its my best example of whats truely right. Some words have been changed a bit to better fit what I think they were really going for.Its pretty simple. Don't murder anyone,and I will ask before anyone commints on this please look up the word murder. Don't take whats not yours, Wether it be money or a car or your neighbors wife. Respect other people,your parents,your boss,your friends,your coworkers everyone. You don't have to LIKE them. Just respect them. And one more that I am just going to add, respect the earth and all living creatures on the earth. Again that is not saying we should never kill a cow or cut down a tree but don't rape the land and cause animals to go extinct OR cause them to live a painfilled life just because it makes them more tender. I think that about covers it all.

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Meridae'n once played "death" at a game of chess that lasted for over two years. He finally beat death in a best 34 out of 67 match. At that time he could ask for any one thing and he could wish for the hope of all mankind... he looked death right in the eye and said ...

"I would like about three fiddy"

rogue49

These are just my philosophical beliefs, not my scientific ones

God is the soul of the Universe. (very similiar to krwlz)
There is a duality and balance to everything. (yin & yang)
We are here to survive & experience. (no more to it than that)
We have to exist, in one aspect or another. (nature abhors a void)

My tenents...
There is no meaning but what you give yourself
There are no guarantees and no excuses (don’t expect; hope)
Be prepared and act efficiently
Understand the consequences of your own actions and words
Be responsible for your actions and words
You are responsible for your own happiness
Consider the others’ feelings and opinions
We are all one and individual
Have faith in yourself
Live life to its fullest

Qabbalic principles:
Spirit - Soul/faith
Fire - Energy/passion/desire
Water - Emotion
Air - Intellect/wisdom
Earth - Animal/human
and all the diverse aspects including both masculine & feminine.

A Warrior hunts with Intent
(from the writings of Carlos Casteneda)

And that's just the tip of the iceberg...
I have absorbed too much religion, history, philosophy, mysticism, scientific principles
and so on to place such a background into simple statements.
It's fascinating the complexity of it all, it gives you a sense of awe,
if you really try to comprehend how it really works & the scales involved.
Everytime you've think you've got it down, think again.

And we haven't really started yet...

Antagony

My core belief --

Self-improvement is improving everything and everyone around you.

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On the outside I'm jazz, but my soul is rock and roll.

Sleep is a waste of time. Join the Insomniac Club.
"GYOH GWAH-DAH GREH BLAAA! SROH WIH DIH FLIH RYOHH!!" - The Locust

XenuHubbard

My core beliefs would be:

Take care of your own.
Family and friends comes first.
Once they are "safe", you can try to improve things for others.
Kind of like throwing a rock into a pond.

If you or "your people" are threatened, all rules go out the window.

It is of great importance to recognize what "your people" actually means. They're the ones who see you for what you are, and accept you. Basically the people who don't feel the need to prove anything to you, and who don't need you to prove anything to them.

As for the afterlife; it doesn't matter what or who God is, as long as I don't know the agenda of said being. I have a disturbing feeling that if Satan created the earth, and had more power than God, most people would worship him today.

Proof that God exists is not enough for me, proof that God is good would be essential if I was to worship anything.

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The above was written by a true prophet. Trust me.

"What doesn't kill you, makes you bitter and paranoid". - SB2000

ARTelevision

I think I should post these here, now.
Hopefully we'll get some extended dialogs going.
Thanks for contributing to this thread!

...........................................................
art's core beliefs:

Ontology: I think we complicate this to an unnecessary degree. What is “real” is here and now. What else is real is our delusional minds.

Epistemology: The main fact regarding epistemology is the inability of our minds to grasp the here and now.

Ethics: This is a social and situational issue. It is also a relative and individual/personal thing.

Esthetics: I prefer to drop the initial “A” in this word. “Esthetics” is a valid spelling.

Politics: Most of our lives are experienced in this sphere. It’s everything else human life is besides what is “real.”

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duckznutz

This is an interesting part of the forum which I never noticed before (too busy looking at naked women!).

My contribution : -

1 There is no god (and deep down you all know it!)

2 Truth is all . . .so be HONEST . . especially to yourself (no man is a hypocrite in his pleasures).

3 No person has the right to tell ANY other person how to live their life.

4 The only freedom any of us have is in making our OWN minds up as to what life is all about.



I read a tagline on here (which I cant now find, so apologies to whoever posted it) and it was wonderful . . it was something like : -

< I contend we are both atheists, just that I beleive in one less god than you. When you understand why you dismiss all other gods than your own, you will understand why I dismiss yours. >

Fantastic stuff.

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Where your talents and the needs of the world cross . . there lies your vocation.

Bob Biter

My core belief:

There is a god inside us; we create our own truth.

What I perceive is ultimately interpreted by myself. Obviously, social paradigms may have coloured my interpretation, but that would be because I let them, which brings me back to my original point: one is the originator of one's own perception, interpretation and actions. Thinking about where this ability comes from is, IMHO, a complete waste of time, since there is so much to experience and learn in this world.

As for my behaviour, I tend to heavily favor utilitarianism, which is the pursuit of my own happiness. However, this does not necessarily make me selfish. If I experience joy by helping others, I ensure my own happiness, while possibly increasing someone else's happiness as well.

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A plan is just a list of things that don't happen.

Grothendieck

Core beliefs... What a tough question to ask ART.

1. I believe each of us have to live our lives by ourself in the end. There is no one and nothing to help us with that responsibility.

2. It is necessary to find something which one does for oneself. Something which cannot be taken away. For me, this is mathematics. With it, I can work, I can express myself, and I know myself what is good and what is bad.

3. There is the question about the meaning of life. Are we justified in doing as we please? By what values should we consider our doings good or bad? Again, we have to decide for ourselves. It is the personal feeling of happiness and comfort that guides us here.

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Didn't remember how intense love could be... Thank you B.

Podmore

My most fundimental core belief is that our behavior should be guided by what's good for society in general and ourselves as individuals. A lot of religions have aspects of this, like in the "golden rule." If it were proved to me today that there is or is not a god, I would continue to live my life the way I have been. Treating others with respect, letting people live their lives however they want as long as they don't screw things up for everyone else, and things like that make it a better society to live in. They also are things that any god I'd care about should judge in a positive light. If a god cares about what I eat or what I wear, then I don't have much respect for him/her/it.

bender

My core belief is to never trust anyone compleatly, and always look after the family.
Thats it.
The morals that most people say they have change with the years and situations that they find themselves in.

World's King

Anger.


There would be nothing in this world if it wasn't for Anger.

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heavy is the head that wears the crown

duckduck

-John 3:16
-The Great Commission
-The Cultural Mandate


Somebody had to be the old, boring fuddy-duddy

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Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way!

Jerry Manderine

I know that we cannot comprehend the forces at work in our universe and I'm led to believe that dimensional theory has a large part to play. Picture this: a 2-D stick man is drawn on a piece of paper... he can move left and right and up and down and is content within his world. A 3-D man picks up the piece of paper and screws it into a ball. The 2-D man's world has been manipulated by forces that are beyond his comprehension - he can only appreciate the final effects. There are forces acting on our 3D world that due to our very nature can only be theorized about.

How does this contribute to a core belief? Very simple - take full responsibility for your actions.

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Time has told me I'm a rare, rare find

Minx

My core beliefs are simple.

Be honest with yourself and others.
Be nice to people, treat them as you would wish to be treated.
Be compassionate and have an open heart to new things.
Have an open mind, it's amazing what you can learn from a stranger by just listening.
Trust others, most people are good inside.
Don't be afraid to take chances but take responsibility for your actions.

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You've been a naughty boy....go to my room!

viveleroi0

because nothing can be COMPLETELY proven, you must rely on what you honestly can know for sure... from yourself.

The only I thing I know for sure is that what life is to you depends solely on what you want it to be, and how much you put in is how much you get out.

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"It's not that I don't understand, it's that I don't care"
- Homer Simpson