What I Believe
Before truly starting this new blog (the Donald and his kooky theories aside), I’d like to introduce myself in a way that will hopefully be informative and interesting to both my current friends and to new readers. I’m not going to give you a typical biography of where I grew up, what kind of work I do, what I do for fun, or explain why my butt is so big – you can find most of that out by searching Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the rest I’ll chalk up to genetics. Instead, I’d like to share with you a brief summary of my personal values so that you can start to understand how I view the world and the context in which I’ll write future posts.
The way I look at the world is rooted in a philosophy called utilitarianism. Utilitarians believe that our societal and personal efforts should focus on maximizing happiness and decreasing suffering. While the etymology leaves the word “utility” open to interpretation, there are also shortcomings of a purely theoretical approach to increasing happiness, e.g. should one completely sacrifice his/her own happiness to make a group of other people happy? But you don’t need to go giving away your collection of Shake Weights and ShamWows to a charitable organization just yet - modern utilitarianism considers the practical consequences of such paradoxes and resolves them in a way that balances personal and societal happiness.
So why is utilitarianism the basis for my worldview? Well first, it posits that the best decisions are the ones that maximize happiness and limit suffering for ourselves and others - a desirable goal. Second, I believe that while most people may ascribe to philosophies that are based on belief systems that may seen different (e.g. religion), they often ascribe in practice to a version of utilitarianism; this (theoretically) lowers the barrier to wider adoption. And perhaps most importantly, I believe that utilitarianism is the philosophy that is capable of providing solutions to most of the world’s most pressing societal dilemmas in the most equitable way possible.
Politically, I’m neither a true liberal nor a true conservative - I equally dislike Rush Limbaugh. Nancy Grace, and Jesse Jackson because I believe they prefer fanning the flames of controversy to creating legitimate solutions to the problems of their supporters. I’m not religious, but I strongly believe in protection of all religious (and non-religious) beliefs under law - yes, even Scientology. I’m a vegan, but I don’t think eating animals is inherently immoral - though the way we do it today is awful for the animals and ourselves. I don’t support the death penalty - not because I believe it’s wrong to rid the world of murderers, but because I think it provides minimal societal benefit (compared to other options) at the expense of much suffering (financially and otherwise). These “beliefs”, my professional goals, and the lens through which i view the world are the external manifestations of a utilitarian philosophy. While I’m don’t always maintain a lifestyle that is perfectly consistent with utilitarianism and have my own personal shortcomings, utilitarianism is the philosophical backbone with which I structure my life.
In future posts I’ll refer to utilitarianism tangentially as it pertains to many different topics of discussion, and occasionally to utilitarianism itself as a topic of discussion. But first, I first wanted to give you the context in which I form world views before delving into subsequent discussions of a variety of topics; I also want to establish a regular posting (thanks Alex Taub for the suggestions on how to do this more effectively). Lastly, I strongly encourage feedback, questions, suggested add-ons, and (appropriate) criticisms of anything I write. There will inevitably be times when I unintentionally provide ambiguous explanations or make incorrect statements. I’m a big science nerd and believe strongly in the powers of critical thinking. If that means I’ve got to clarify a point or admit a mistake, then I want to preemptively say thank you for keeping me honest.
I’m excited to start the conversation with you all on SVBTLE and beyond. Thank you for reading.