I think it would be good to do a certain sense of consistency back again in these thoughts that I place here on this side of things. And this might mean coming up with somewhat of a template to go along. So I’ll begin by introducing some of the things that I’ve been watching, or reading, or listening to. After that I’ll try to introduce you to an idea that I’ve been thinking about. And lastly I’ll make sense of what the world is like to me now, as a creative expression not meant to be taken too seriously.
Disclaimer
This is also a time for me to state a disclaimer that these views that I present are my own, not representing the country I’m from (Singapore), neither the organizations that I work with, nor the friends that I socialize with. They are just my views of the world, and my observations with my own biases. My biases are based on my experiences so far, so if it is flawed, it is flawed indeed, because I think that is part of what human life is about.
With all that aside, let’s get going!
What I have been struggling to finish:
I’ve been listening to the recorded lectures on philosophy: Great Ideas in Philosophy, by Dr Daniel Robinson.
The lectures are 30min monologues, where Dr Daniel presents different philosophies. They’re really quite eye opening, and I try my best to write a short summary after every lecture. This does mean that I’m taking a lot longer than I would for an audio book, but I’m trying to capture as many things as I can. I am aiming to learn for free, in a sense. I did pay for this through audible credits a few years ago, and I am finding the benefits of my previous purchase choices.
My current thoughts is that it’s a lot less fluff than a podcast, and something more historical. I don’t think I’ll pick up a philosophy textbook, but I am keen to read the original documents, in the range of translations. This would probably take another few years for me to put to actual action, but hey, everyone’s got a side hobby somewhere right.
It’s really helpful for me to use to engage in a lot of the conversations that we have in modern day. I think that we lack the intellectual depth in our conversations currently. We tend to use very poor logic and weak arguments in how we converse with each other. It becomes quite a mess when we discuss things, and no one understands each other any better. This gives me a chance to understand someone better, and also a chance for a new way of thinking for me to consider; a new philosophy. Maybe one day, our current thoughts would lead us to a new philosophy entirely. Which brings me to…
A New Philosophy
What does philosophy look like in modern day? Right now with traditional news mediums in a constant change, and our reliance of social media over news sources, the idea of truth is in constant competition. What is truth in the first place? I think we have been digressing for so long, and we have given into relative truth for an extremely long time. Relative truth being what is real to me, and what exists for me, that becomes my truth.
But there are many universal truths that we reject because of this. What can be defined as truth needs to have it’s reality set in the world that we experience, that’s for sure. But some of these things apply across all cultures, even more so because of the digital age that we live in.
The digital age gives way to an international culture, that exists beyond where we have come from. It is like when we traded spices across countries and cultures. We would need to come at a marketplace, at a place of sharing and value is almost uncertain. But common terms need to be defined.
Right now, with relative moral rights, we are going to and fro countries bringing moral rights as our items of value. Our cultures are adjusting for things like mental health, human rights, and strangely enough, the abstract meme in it’s contextual misappropriation. These values and cultural challenges are seen different by those who are not actively on that forefront trading culture on the Internet. But the world is moving fast, and even the front line cultural traders are barely able to catch up.
The Reset?
I think that there should be a reset somewhere. Not total anarchy, although it might approach that bump for sure. I don’t think that we could reach an agreement simply in these days, but with COVID 19, I think that we’ve found a common place to start with. Hopefully we could get to common terms somewhere. But just to put an idea out that there should be a reset somewhere.
Mechanical Keyboards have been that reset for me. Something that I don’t need to consider my background or culture in. I’ve made friends across the world, people who engage in a non political topic, and just enjoying or discussing our experiences typing. There are preferences for sure, and everyone has certain hot topics within keyboards, but overall, we tend to enjoy the hobby in the nerdiest ways possible.
Much like how we have seen the motorcar change over the decades, and we found this idea of horsepower and individual movement over a physical plane, I think that Mechanical Keyboards will eventually be that flex of a person’s understanding and status, as one engages with the digital age. The mechanical keyboard is supposed to for a very long time for sure, and with this idea of nostalgia, and humanizing tech, I think this is a very physical engagement of the virtual space. We enjoy the typing experiences, the sounds and feel, and this adds to our “movement”. We have a premium experience of the digital interfaces because of this.
I’ll probably change my thoughts some time soon, so that would be another disclaimer too. But in case I don’t, this stands as a moment for me to reflect on retrospectively.
If I do change them, it is a sign of a human, and that would be good. I hope these thoughts mature over time.