Step 1: Identifying Step 1

Well it was a God-awful scene, At the bar down on King
In fact this whole night's been troubling to say the least
Phony friends, phony names, Exchanging numbers, playing games
Well I guess I should do the same, But it's just not me
The Films

There are so many places I could begin with this journey, it’s difficult to decide on one. But I’m going with addressing the questions of, “Would society even be able to function if everyone was honest?” and consequently, “Even if your blog did achieve its ridiculous aim, wouldn’t that just create more chaos and perhaps even lead to the downfall of society?” Well my response is that you’re essentially right, but you don’t have to be such a jerk about it.

I should clarify that when I talk about the honest society, I’m essentially also talking about the ideal society. The honest society is a society where it would be okay for everyone to tell the truth because everyone is well-intentioned, understanding, open-minded, and all of that. In fact, people would no longer even really consider lying about anything remotely serious, because they’d all have faith in each other. This may not sound practical now, and, honestly, there is no real chance we’ll see anything like this occur in our lifetime, and quite possibly not even in the lifetime of our species. But I for one am up for working towards it at the fastest rate possible. We may never reach perfection in any element of life, but I think it’s important to recognize our limitations, form realistic expectations, and then see how far we can go.

So… the first step I am setting forth in moving towards this honest, idealized society is gaining a real understanding of self. If you don’t have a clear grasp on yourself- your motives, desires and nature- then you will have a lot of trouble instituting positive change in your own life, let alone society as a whole. What I’m talking about here, in a nut shell, is being in touch with what makes you truly, lastingly happy (which is in my opinion, fortunately enough, in line with being a good person- an idea I will expand upon in the future)

There is some huge number of books devoted to this topic of the understanding of self. At the end of my first post, I mentioned that I have a library card… this is indeed a very essential tool for the life of this blog. All of these books on psychology, happiness, human nature and human potential, all rooted in fact (and/or logic), are great because someone else already did all the work for you, and simply tell you what they learned. So all of the opinion I set forth over the course of this blog is not just my own random musings based on my limited experience and analysis, but there is actually a professional backing to much of it is as well.

(In case you’re curious, two books that I will particularly be drawing from are Finding Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Authentic Happiness by Martin EP Seligman)

Right now, I’m going to draw directly from a book I just started reading called The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology, by quoting it. The basic concept behind this book is that there are evolutionary (Darwinian) explanations for why we do what we do, feel what we feel, etc. Doesn’t sound too far-fetched, and it’s a philosophy I already started to take on to some extent before even finding out about this definitive, highly acclaimed work on the topic.

In the book’s introduction, author Robert Wright lays out the relevance of his book to his readers lives. So I’ll reproduce it below, because my blog shares many of the same lofty goals…

"This young and still inchoate discipline, with its partly fulfilled promise of creating a whole new science of mind, lets us now ask a question that couldn’t have been profitably asked in 1859, after the Origin (of Species) appeared, nor in 1959: What does the theory of natural selection have to offer ordinary human beings?

"For example: Can a Darwinian understanding of human nature help people reach their goals in life? Indeed, can it help them choose their goals? Can it help distinguish between practical and impractical goals? More profoundly, can it help in deciding which goals are worthy? That is, does knowing how evolution has shaped our basic moral impulses help us decide which impulses to consider legitimate?

"The answers, in my opinion, are: yes, yes, yes, yes, and finally, yes.”

So I think I can take it even a step further and ask, “Can a profound understanding of self be achieved? If so, is it an essential ingredient in leading the best, happiest life you are capable of? Do even 1% of people have something comparable to this type of understanding?

And the answers, in my opinion, are: yes, yes, and probably not. And I’ll tell you something else: Whether or not you have that level of understanding of self is like knowing if you’re in love. Plenty of people think they are, but they have doubt, and in the end, it’s like they always say, “When you know, you know.”

The last thing I want to say right now is that I personally don’t think you need to believe in evolutionary psychology to gain an understanding of your motives, yourself, and whatever else. I think the general principles that it outlines for leading “the good, meaningful life” are congruent with what is outlined by major religions, so take your pick. Again, I’ve only started the book, and it may turn out Robert Wright would disagree, but that is certainly my current opinion. In my next post I will try to outline more specifically what I mean about understanding yourself, and how to go about it.

(As a side note, the reason I mention evolutionary psychology is that I think if you’re not a particularly religious person it serves as a good- in fact, phenomenal- means for understanding and finding happiness in life. I will probably get into that more in the future, but you’ll have to read the book to gain a full understanding of the science.)

… This blog is being started in the midst of my journey to find meaning and true happiness in life. It was when I realized that I actually feel like I’m getting somewhere that I decided to publicize this journey, so there you go.