A MEASURE OF TRUTHBy Ralph Arthur Hall, MD. (1914-1994) Edited and continued by RFHall |
The Realistic Idealist
at http//www.seanet.com/~realistic/idealism.html
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In the past, ostensibly, facts were few
and far between. They were not near enough together to be closely
related. To relate them, one had to bridge long gaps with
logic. Due to observations recorded using the scientific method we now
know so much that we can travel great distances in reason without losing
touch with factuality.
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Believe it or not,
everyone has a personal philosophy. To some
extent, everyone explores all the things philosophy explores. A life with a positive, uplifting philosophy
will bring forth a life worth living.
Realistic Idealism is a philosophy about humanity. It attempts to
realistically resonate with our obligatory social and individual
characteristics, and simultaneously, extrapolate ideals of love and compassion
from the Judeo-Christian heritage.
Finally, we can know where we come from, where we are, where we are
going, and what things are possible.
Realistic idealism is not anti-theistic. It recognizes the value, and place, of reverence and faith. It underlines the importance of love and compassion, and urges us to prepare for knowledge, and understanding. This philosophy is not liberal (oppositional to traditional values), and also, has no doctrine (a preconceived structure). It is founded in nature. This philosophy proposes that one life, committed to the service of others, is enough.
Although the idea of contributing to the body of philosophical thought had been on my father's mind from the time he was a young man, many of the concepts presented here originated from discussions among his friends and were later delineated from 1975 through 1994 when he passed away. During this time I worked with dad as an editor organizing his thoughts. By the end of that time much work had been completed, and I built this website. I tested the work by posting portions of the book on usenet, where challenging debate and criticism arose quickly. This has been a great learning period for me in that I was motivated to go to the sources myself to defend or reconsider parts of the book. A few parts have been deleted while other parts have been expanded. Everyone who comes to understand realistic idealism is invited to build on its foundation as I have.
Scientific knowledge is the most successful way to
understand our universe
Introduction to Dr. Hall
Chapter 1.
The Opinion Poll. The disarming
of knowledge and the abdication of leadership. What is an opinion?
Chapter 2.
Understanding Knowledge. New knowledge will appear meaningless until
it fits into the pattern of the knowledge already possessed. For instance, ”never
attribute anything to evil that can’t be explained by stupidity”. Some of the characteristics of knowledge are
discussed and why it is feared.
Chapter 3.
G*D, Nature, and Reality. This is a brief history
of the evolution of the concept of God from the evolutionary dawn of literacy
to today. It shows a progression and dimension up to and including the
discovery of the scientific method: today's ultimate discovery of G*D. What
guidelines can be devised to limit erroneous thinking about God?
Chapter 4.
Logic: Dialectic Whatever. Logic, alone, leads to futility. The futility
of logic, without scientific knowledge, still rules most of our social order.
Chapter 5.
The Dilemma of Logic and Ethics. Examples of the
futility of logic as applied to ethics, and how morality can and should be
based on evidence. Morality based on evidence is the most convincing morality.
Chapter 6.
The Language of Nature is Science. Some of the mystery and all of the magic
are stripped away from life as our ancestors knew it. This is humanity's
search for reality and the continued revelation of G*D.
Chapter 7.
Reverence and Faith: The Road To Equanimity. This is
basic human psychology. You will be introduced to the "trinity"
of Reverence: Identification, Dedication and Humility. You will find out
what these mean to the Obligated Social Being: YOU!
Chapter 8.
Alienation: The Road to Despair. A fast growing, modern, individual affliction:
the affect of ignoring reverence. The proof of its
existence.
Chapter 9.
What is Truth? In this insightful survey: "Truth" and
"Fact" are no longer confused. In a way, Facts are the strands
of life while Truth is the fabric of life. The Truths of life are
revealed as Love, Beauty, Work, Mystery and Freedom. These become some of
the basic principles of Realistic Idealism.
Chapter
10. Doctrines. We are alerted to the road
blocks to understanding presented by doctrines, especially that of Boaz.
Chapter
11. Creation. The Bible describes creation
in seven days. Why not one? Because, even back then, they knew that it
was a process. The Biblical creation was the most up-to-date scientific
explanation of the time (it was Aristotle's time). It would have been
published in the "Scientific Babylonian". This chapter
discusses scientific revelations of the further expansion of G*D's process.
Chapter
12. Ontogeny. Every living thing starts
with one cell. Next to paleo-phylogeny, the
development of life through the study of fossils, this is the strongest indication of
the existence of the evolutionary process.
Chapter
13. Evolution. A discourse on an
understandable explanation of a truly beautiful, and, ultimately, obvious
process of the development of all life from one miraculous, or perhaps,
predestined, cell.
Chapter
14. Heritable Behavior and Abilities.
Anything that is not heritable is of no evolutionary significance. The guides
to heritability are social pressures, which encourage a specific heritable
characteristic in sexual mate selection, extermination of part or all of a
population due to environmental pressures, geographic separation, allowing separate development in different
environments, and mistakes in DNA replication, increasing the variation of a
population.
Chapter
15. Learning and Motivation. Some important
aspects of the process of learning: our only method of absorbing
enculturation. This is an overlooked heritable aspect of the "Nature
vs. Nurture" debate. How can the debate proceed without an
understanding of learning? In
consideration of how language is learned, Patricia Kuhl
at
the University of Washington
Chapter
16. Extinct Humans. This is a short description of our early, now
extinct, ancestral variations and their rapid evolution from Ramapithicus to Cro-Magnon. We take a side trip with
Neanderthal.
Chapter
17. The "Fit and Capable". The characteristics of the mind
are determined by the brain. The racist condemns all
members of a stereotype to have no variation beyond what the prejudiced
impression provides (no variation). A wide range of genetic variation
in regard to the brain and it’s capabilities is essential for evolution to take
place. If some declare (in order to
combat racism) that evolution and variation stopped 50,000 years ago, their
motivation is admirable, but the evidence is missing. In this chapter we explore the observed width
of variation through time among humanity’s many families. It has to be emphasized that each previously
isolated human family is widely variant and is continuing to evolve with the
seeds of individuals from other families.
Chapter
18. The Search for Order. This is the introduction to the chapters
on the Old and New Testaments. It refers to the order of the analysis of
these two books as well as the order of the world according to these two books.
Chapter
19. The Old Testament: Judaism. Here, the real beginning of the Old
Testament (Exodus) is interpreted from a new perspective. Scientific
verification is revealed. In hopes of unraveling some of the mystery
surrounding one of the basic tenets of western society, the Ten Commandments
are explained in a way that give them new and deeper meaning... then and now.
Chapter
20. The New Testament: Christianity. Although virtually
everyone thinks of Jesus as the Christ, there are some differences between what
Jesus thought and what Christians expect. In spite of these debatable
variations we can rest assured that Jesus Christ highlighted the concepts of
love and compassion. This is the basis of Realistic Idealism which now
builds on this tradition and proposes a yet newer Gospel.
Chapter
21. "Family Tradition" examining raising children,
physiology and sexual identification.
Chapter
22. Crime and Punishment. Examining criminal behavior and our
justice system from the perspective of evolutionary principles.
Chapter
23. "Government in Truth" which proposes a realistic
approach to governing.
Chapter
24. The Practice of Realistic Idealism. We have Love and
Compassion. Now we have Knowledge and Creativity for those who are ready.
Chapter
25. "Closing Thoughts"
I wish you peace, health and happiness.
It is not my intent to confuse, alter, or confront those things that you hold
dear, but to show you a path that I have found to a better life
and peace of mind.
Links to other essays are as follows:
Psalm 104 A detailed study of the relationship of Pharaoh Akenhaten's Hymn to his single God, "Aten" and psalm 104 in the Bible.
The Quitter Everyone Loves Want To Stop Smoking? A comedic, though informative, look at the act of the cessation of the intake of nicotine. This has information you won't find anywhere else.
The Art Of Solipsism A new, fresh look at a concept that has been long ago rejected and forgotten.
Atheism and Religion A conservative consideration of inherent qualities that might account for the "religious experience".
The Deconstruction of Skepticism An over simplification of subject matter that is kept sacred among the philosophical community.
The Harvest This is a Novelette that can only be classified as "religious science fiction".. possibly the first of it's kind.
Economics An ongoing exercise in the comprehension of our economic desperation.
The refuter's handbook A somewhat humorous assessment of common internet etiquette.
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