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Students Beware Summary—This essay presents a different take on reality that students might like to consider. Quotation—Never trust human reason at face value for it seeks to mask what it fears to confront—the most unpleasant truth of all. —Friedrich Nietzsche I recently attended a philosophy get-together where I met a PhD student in philosophical logic. The student described the four types of logic as Boolean, Meta, fuzzy and quantum. I presented him with the following argument—The Canadian Constitution “recognizes the supremacy of God” and Einstein claimed, “God is the sum total of the laws of nature.” Therefore, the laws of nature are supreme to everything including the laws of government. In other words, the laws of nature trump the laws of government. Relativity theory, quantum theory and my theory of one are all laws of nature. I argued that the government has no legal right to take action against me while I have an outstanding claim for a law of nature. The student failed to respond to my argument. He is able to deal with academic logic but not with simple logic where the government disapproves of the conclusion. Constructing Arguments. René Descartes (1596-1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, mathematician and solider. He is considered the father of modern philosophy, modern mathematics and the Cartesian cogito—I think therefore I exist—which is the starting point of existential philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and responsibility. Descartes formulated his famous Cartesian model for constructing arguments which is—Order thoughts from simple to complex—Only accept clear and distinct ideas as true—Divide arguments into as many parts as necessary—Check thoroughly for oversights—And, using reversibility, rehearse, examine and test arguments over and over until they can be grasped with a single act of intuition or faith. Initially, one faithfully or intuitively senses truth, which is followed up by constructing rational arguments and then intuitively capturing completed arguments. In other words, faith leads us to reason and then reason leads us back to faith. Descartes also formulated the theory of systematic doubt whereby no argument, no matter how plausible, is accepted so long as he sees the possibility of doubting the argument. The Method of Argument. I wrote a letter on February 1st, 2016 to the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with the subject being—The Method of Argument. I introduced the letter by saying, “I am writing to you today to ask that you make it government policy for the government (eg. educators, doctors and politicians) to answer arguments. Included in the letter are two examples of arguments that I have been trying to get the government to answer for the past fifteen years—the theory of one and existentialism.” Students should consider writing to Trudeau and ask him to state the government’s position on arguments. Trudeau talks about real change but real change will not occur until we go to the root of the problem—which is the government does not answer arguments. The Theory of One Review. The theory of one (2001) solves the greatest scientific problem of all time by uniting relativity theory (1905) with quantum theory (1925). Relativity theory is based on light speed and quantum theory is based on Planck’s constant. My theory unites these two theories by recognizing that light speed and Planck’s constant are the same boundary of the universe. Metaphorically speaking, there is no difference between looking through a telescope (relativity theory) and looking through a microscope (quantum theory). In addition to universal boundedness, the theory of one also proves there is only one photon (a being of light), that one photon is God (the Bible also tells us God is light), and that reality is an illusion—meaning the Moon does not exist when no one is looking at it. Existentialism Review. Behaviorism only asks that we behave normally. Existentialism cures behaviorism by asking each of us to take total responsibility for the world. This discipline of existentialism gives us meaning in our lives. Existentialism is primarily the work of some of the great 19th and 20th-century European philosophers including Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Camus and Sartre. They all shared the belief that philosophy starts with concrete human experience—with the acting, feeling, living human beings. Existentialism also concerns itself with bad faith and its opposite, good faith or authenticity—which is the degree to which one’s true nature, spirit and character exist in reality despite overwhelming social pressure to behave otherwise. The prudent course of action is for psychiatrists to switch from behaviorism to existentialism and set the revolution in motion. Dr Neil Turok. I wrote an essay on Dr Neil Turok, Director of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Eastern Canada entitled Declaring War on a Coward. I called him a bunch of names to get his attention and then formally challenged him to a public debate regarding my theory of one. He failed to respond. It seems that the aspect of modern physics which allows us to understand the universe and our place in it is wildly deficient. The last theory addressing this question was the Schrödinger’s cat-in-a-box thought problem in 1935 which proves that consciousness determines physical reality—meaning reality is an illusion. Turok and the other ten physicists that I send my monthly essays to are committing lies of omission by not responding to my theory of one. Philosophy and Science. Philosophy Magazine goes against the trend of segregating subjects into more and more about less and less. It combines philosophy and science into one monolithic field of study. John Gribbin said, “The fate of specialists in any one area of science is to focus more and more narrowly on their topic of study, learning more and more about less and less, until eventually they end up knowing everything about nothing.” In the time of Descartes science was known as natural philosophy and was made up of philosophy, mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. Descartes formulated analytic geometry by uniting algebra and geometry. He also founded modern philosophy with his celebrated Cogito which affords the existential realization of the self. Faith and Reason. Faith is my left hand and reason is my right hand. Both are necessary and sufficient for constructing bulletproof arguments. EF Schumacher said that faith is not in conflict with reason; nor is it a substitute. Again, faith leads us to reason and then reason leads us back to faith. Those who believe in God strictly on faith are setting themselves up for failure, as their conception of God is based on a static snapshot that is, by definition, not subject to reason. The Devil is the one who seeks out those who blindly follow. A true God most certainly wants to be challenged by both faith and reason. Kevin Spacey tells us in the 1996 movie The Usual Suspects that, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist.” And now we know the second greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world we can know God by faith alone. Curing Schizophrenia. I was diagnosed with schizophrenia some years ago. It is a severe mental illness with symptoms including delusions, hearing voices, scattered thoughts, bizarre behavior, social awkwardness, memory loss, limited attention span and failure to plan ahead. I recently discussed schizophrenia with a nurse who used to work at the Schizophrenia Society. She told me schizophrenia could be managed but not cured. I contend that this attitude of the authorities is self-fulfilling. In Freudian terms, the everyman is out of touch with his id but in touch with his superego. The schizophrenic is out of touch with both his id and superego. I am in touch with my id but not with my superego. I can completely cure myself of schizophrenia by getting in touch with my superego and thus becoming what Nietzsche referred to as a superman. Sartre said, “Bad faith is a state of inauthenticity where one attempts to flee from freedom and responsibility. It is a paradoxical and therefore ultimately schizophrenic attempt at self-deception.” The Canadian writer, Margaret Atwood said, “If the mental illness of the United States is megalomania—that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia.” It seems that Canada has state-enforced schizophrenia as a result of being out of touch with reality. Against Complexity. The English monk William of Ockham (1285-1349) was one of the greatest thinkers of all time. He was known for his keen sense of logic and his enduring theological ideologies. Going entirely against the philosophy of his time, Ockham put forth his now famous principle of economy—which states, “If all things are equal, the simplest theory tends to be the right one.” Ockham employed his principle so frequently and with such purpose that it became known as Ockham’s razor. He claimed it is vain to do with more what can be done with less. And even today, Ockham’s razor still remains the very foundation of all truly authentic philosophic and scientific reasoning. In keeping with the principle of economy, the young physicist Albert Einstein (1879-1955) was said to have so totally despised complexity that he refused to buy shaving soap when regular washing soap was sufficient. Society overloads students with complexity whereas this essay is uncomplicated. Conclusion. Camus said, “Integrity has no need for rules.” Saint Augustine said, “Endeavour to think well for it is the only morality.” Nietzsche’s morality is summarized with the statement, “The Ten Commandments distract us from concrete questions of character.” We must transcend the laws of government, society and church and endeavour to think for ourselves. The 1999 movie Election has a high school teacher preaching to his students about the difference between the terms morality and ethics. He then proceeds to have an affair with one of his students. Let the students beware.
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