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Ask HN: Open Philosophy?
I just asked about people's philosophies, and someone linked to an article that PG wrote on the subject. I thought it would be an interesting idea to have an open directory of various philosophies that people could create or follow/revise.
Does this currently exist anywhere? A place where people write their philosophies on life? Possible leave it open to others to suggest changes to. Might be an interesting experiment. Like a Wiki or something. I could see myself writing a very lengthy one, and I think it's also interesting that PG compares the current philosophy field as being as new as math back in the 1500s. I also think it's interesting that some poeple like Steve Pavlina actively go out and search for philosophies, comparing them to "the brain's operating system" which sometimes "needs software upgrades."
Possible topics to cover: meaning of life, political stances, religious beliefs, best computer languages (might be a stretch), people admired/role models, the type of person the philosophy would work best for (college student vs married adult), etc.
- iamdave 18y agoI've thought about starting a wiki just for the purpose of personal theories and philosophies. The caveat in this takes the inherent nature of the Internet into affect: someone disagrees, things will get difficult.
- jmtame 18y agoI definitely see your point. But I think if someone disagreed, they would simply look at a different philosophy. From there, I think it would basically involve recommending changes or additions to the theory/philosophy. That would probably be up to the person who "manages" the philosophy, but certainly open discussion and changes would be recommended. Perhaps even a list of recommended public figures that are well-aligned with the philosophy. I know that Steve Jobs, for example, is Zen Buddhist. But Buddhism is one of those things (if I understand correctly) that isn't necessarily considered a "religion" and people are also encouraged to change it to their own likings. For example, I believe a lot of Buddhist concepts (4 truths), but I don't believe in reincarnation at least in the physical sense. I believe that reincarnation means someone goes through mental changes, and metaphorically become a different or new person through mental and psychological changes. Sort of thinking out loud on this. Some of it may make no sense.
- siong1987 18y agoYou can actually ask me more about Buddhism. In my country, we have actually 4 different main religions: Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Most of the Chinese here believe in Buddhism. Here, Buddhism is really a religion. But, I agree with what you have said. You can actually extend what you believe or refuse what you don't believe in basically every religions as long as you "believe" that you are actually doing the right thing. So, is "belief" actually a religion?
- jmtame 18y agoSiong, did you take the HIST120 class yet? It look at Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. Very interesting, of the three I was a biggest fan of Buddhism.