2959: Kindness and Reason by Colin Wright of Exile Lifestyle on Applying Logic to Your Life

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Living Daily, episode 2959, Kindness and Reason by Colin Wright of ExileLifestyle.com

[00:00:08] And I'm Justin Malik, and we jump right into today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:00:17] Kindness and Reason by Colin Wright of ExileLifestyle.com

[00:00:22] When we ask someone to be reasonable, what we're really asking is for them to see things our way,

[00:00:29] to put on our shoes, and walk around a little. Certainly once they've seen our point of view,

[00:00:34] they'll rethink their position on the matter in question.

[00:00:37] But Reason is not the study of truth, it's the application of logic, establishment,

[00:00:44] and verification of facts, and justification of our actions and beliefs based on data,

[00:00:50] experiences, empiricism, convincing arguments we encounter, and so on.

[00:00:55] Reason compels us to use the best information we can find so that we might solidify our truths,

[00:01:01] more to show that our truths are incorrect, which in turn should lead us to a new set of beliefs.

[00:01:07] This means that Reason is a personal exploration, a venture out into the world to learn new things,

[00:01:15] have new experiences, meet new people, and reassess what we know to be true at every step of the way.

[00:01:22] It's evolving and upgrading our own perspective so that if a person were to take a walk in our shoes

[00:01:28] at two different moments, they would see from different perspectives each time.

[00:01:33] Reason is intentional, fact-based growth.

[00:01:37] For many though, Reason is an excuse to pulverize opposition.

[00:01:42] It's a means of establishing how one worldview is better than another,

[00:01:46] and manifests as a sort of rational shaming.

[00:01:50] I can better defend my beliefs, see how foolish yours look next to mine.

[00:01:55] This is something you see among certain wings of the intelligentsia.

[00:01:59] While they speak out against walling oneself off from knowledge and faith-based beliefs,

[00:02:04] traditionalist thinking, and the like, they'll sometimes act as if being able to explain

[00:02:09] the way they lead their lives makes their way of living more noble and pure.

[00:02:14] I would argue that this misses the point of Reason and is perhaps in opposition to it.

[00:02:20] While it's possible to come up with a best-fit system of living,

[00:02:24] that system will not necessarily be the same best fit for everyone.

[00:02:28] To claim moral or philosophical superiority then is to be incredibly limited

[00:02:33] in one scope of the world.

[00:02:35] It assumes that we all have the same goals, have had the same experiences,

[00:02:40] and hold the same data in the same regard.

[00:02:43] Similarly, rational thinking is often applied as an excuse to treat someone else

[00:02:48] as the lesser in some way.

[00:02:50] They believe silly things and my beliefs are clearly better supported by data,

[00:02:55] therefore I needn't consider their humanity.

[00:02:58] Screw them and their rain gods.

[00:03:00] The value of Reason is that it's an ever-shifting, fluid thing.

[00:03:05] The more you expose yourself to different ideas,

[00:03:08] the more variables you have to throw into the equation.

[00:03:11] Starting oneself off from any possibility in any group of people instead of beliefs,

[00:03:16] we're not being rational.

[00:03:18] We're being prejudiced.

[00:03:20] And we're using the language of rationality and Reason to justify that prejudice.

[00:03:24] Reason is a means of seeing the world more clearly

[00:03:27] and enriching our experience for the duration of our lives.

[00:03:31] Kindness is a means of seeing the world in a humanistic way,

[00:03:35] one in which we needn't step over others to get what we want

[00:03:39] and needn't belittle the calculations other people have made to determine what they believe

[00:03:44] just because those calculations are using different variables than our own

[00:03:48] or different math entirely.

[00:03:51] To me, what's most conducive to a happy, fulfilling, growth-oriented life

[00:03:56] is to apply Reason wherever possible, figuring out why we do things,

[00:04:01] adjusting to taste on the fly

[00:04:03] and always moving towards some more perfect version of ourselves,

[00:04:06] while allowing others to do the same.

[00:04:09] To be internally satisfied with your own beliefs

[00:04:12] and not feel the need to force them on anyone else

[00:04:15] shows immense confidence in how you live

[00:04:18] and how you arrived at your answers.

[00:04:20] To do otherwise implies the opposite.

[00:04:23] It says we need the rest of the world to fall into lockstep

[00:04:27] lest we feel our fragile worldview is being challenged,

[00:04:30] which is scrutiny it can't survive.

[00:04:33] To try and force our view of the world on someone else,

[00:04:36] however we reach that view, whether through ancient writings

[00:04:39] or the application of Reason,

[00:04:41] is counter to healthy relationships and a healthy society.

[00:04:46] If we were successful in converting everyone to our point of view,

[00:04:50] we live in a world full of cookie-cutter people,

[00:04:53] each blips seeing the world in the same way,

[00:04:56] leaving our species with far fewer perspectives

[00:04:59] than we have the opportunity to draw upon

[00:05:02] when solving the problems that impact us all.

[00:05:05] A fragile, homogenous blob.

[00:05:08] Far better I think to allow people to be

[00:05:11] at different steps of their own philosophical journey.

[00:05:14] Even with a conflict such variances can sometimes instigate,

[00:05:18] though again these conflicts wouldn't happen

[00:05:21] if we'd all stop trying to force our point of view on others.

[00:05:25] Kindness and Reason are not mutually exclusive.

[00:05:28] Rational sense to do things that make me and other people happy,

[00:05:32] and I don't feel that diminishes the seriousness

[00:05:35] with which I approach my philosophical development.

[00:05:38] I'm not going to tell you how to think on the matter,

[00:05:41] but it's a point of data worth considering

[00:05:43] in adding to your equation.

[00:05:45] You just listened to the post titled

[00:05:51] Kindness and Reason by Colin Wright of exilelifestyle.com

[00:05:57] Make it a call in for the post.

[00:05:59] Make it a little update, so I'll read that for you now.

[00:06:02] Update April 21st, 2017

[00:06:06] I can't tell you how many times I've had to convince

[00:06:08] self-declared rationalists and skeptics

[00:06:11] that being kind is not a bad, morally indefensible thing.

[00:06:16] Also that there are other things to spend one's time on

[00:06:19] than trying to show how everyone else is an idiot.

[00:06:22] There's a time and place for proving the veracity of one's beliefs,

[00:06:26] but to spend 99% of one's time and energy on that

[00:06:30] is not my cup of tea.

[00:06:32] So thank you again to Colin, great points in this one,

[00:06:35] especially with social media these days

[00:06:38] and what is now known as keyboard warriors

[00:06:41] trying to tell people what to do,

[00:06:43] what to say, and how to behave.

[00:06:45] I think we need this message now more than ever.

[00:06:48] On one hand we praise diversity,

[00:06:50] but on the other when someone else believes

[00:06:52] something different than we do,

[00:06:54] we're often quick to retaliate.

[00:06:57] This is why you hear from a bunch of different authors on this show.

[00:07:01] The more, the better I think.

[00:07:03] But I think I'll leave it there for today.

[00:07:05] Thank you for listening.

[00:07:06] Have a great rest of your day and I'll see you tomorrow.

[00:07:09] Wear your optimal life.

[00:07:10] Oh wait.