I'm Pretty Sure.

It is easy to tell someone that they must do what is right. We make statements such as “take the right medicine” or “live healthy and well”. But how do we determine what is right once we know the particulars? We want to understand truth, figure the right rules out and what adjustments need to be made to fix things when we wander off into extremes. We also want to be creative and improve our lives. But we want what we create to work and have beauty. Of course the objective is always to bring happiness and satisfaction to the soul.

We have looked at things that give us good character. They deal with morality that benefits us for the long term. This is but one area of the rational part of our soul. The other rational area is our intellect. So we have character and intellect. The rational soul has two ways it processes information.

One sees what is definite, sure and forms facts while the other sees variables, possibilities and makes calculations. Both areas have a purpose and we certainly want to use them to the best of our ability.

There is a certain level of comfort when things are sure. But our creative side wants to calculate and find variables. We spend a lot of money to predict weather and earthquakes with surety but have to admit that they are still random events. Religion, politics and science have the objective to find surety for our lives. But we have to admit that the more we generalize the less freedom there is. That can be a conflict for those who are ambitious. 

We all want surety and safety but also want adventure.  This applies to intellectual pursuits also. With experience, it is easy to settle into forgone conclusions and get comfortable with what we know. But in the same way that exercise is important for health, calculating and addressing variables is important for the mind. It is even more important than ever that we embrace change and delve into the unknown. Of course it is important also to know what doesn't change so we aren't wasting our time with unnecessary effort. This is where experience helps us. So let’s go a little deeper into these areas. First, we will examine how we form conclusions.

This was a repeat of a previous post in some ways but I felt that the way I presented it wasn't as clear as it could be. Having  a good foundation and application is important to keep this interesting.