2014-03-23
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Contemporary "Philosophies of Life"?
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Kevin HarrisUniversity of Chicago
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Though I do not personally agree with several of your philosophical positions I am willing to accept them as premises in order to assess whether or not they underlie a compelling "philosophy of life" that provides a recipe for living well.
In this context I focused on the section titled: "Achieving and maintaining peace of mind". My problem with every item under the sub-heading, "My philosophical positions promote peace of mind in a variety of ways", is that they ignore the benefits that many people derive from belief in God, an afterlife, free will, the universal meaning of life and the accompanying fear of death. The counterpoints to your positions persist in large part because they can also provide peace of mind to many who embrace them.
Your philosophy of life may help to justify the underlying beliefs you already have but its logic probably will not entice those holding contrary positions to consider changing sides. In other words, you may have a valid position but you have not established its soundness.
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2014-03-31
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Contemporary "Philosophies of Life"?
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Kevin, thank you for reading and commenting on my document.
I agree that substantial benefits may accrue from holding philosophical positions counter to my own, particularly belief in God. However, I feel that the arguments and evidence strongly support my positions, including atheism. Moreover, my view that peace of mind should be one's primary goal is, in part, derived from my positions (see page 5). Finally, recall that the primary purpose of the document is to advise myself on how to live well (see page 1). I am not trying to "entice those holding contrary positions to change sides".
Again, thank you for your comments.
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