Philosophy

I've noticed a new type grass roots organization lately. Across all levels of government and in communities a very distinct type of activism.

For example:

• Legalizing the sale of marijuana when it is still a federal offense.
• States that refuse to implement Obamacare.
• States that refuse to accept gay marriage is protected by law.
• A religious group rallies to vote members of their church into the school board and effectively control it.
• Developing a community money pool to ignore some minor laws.

Fully conscious, self-aware, complex and possibly even immature electro-mechanical machines are just one more step (and probably not even the last) in what is a long series of developments that started with the invention of computers (arguably earlier if you consider hunting dogs and the like). It started with basic stuff like calculators. Smart homes, cars and phones are automating our lives. It's a matter of time before these machines learn and build their own knowledge systems. And it's just a matter of time before one of them becomes self-aware.

CRISPR describes a mechanism that bacteria use as a defense mechanism against viruses. It involves incorporating a part of the virus DNA into their own DNA to use as a fingerprint to quickly identify a repeat invasion. It is also a method for coopting those genes for cutting in (or out) specific gene sequences in a cell. Any cell. I learned about it from Radiolab's latest broadcast and the power of this tool is mind blowing.

I don't know whether to be excited or terrified by the thought that we could soon have the ability to genetically modify our children's genome. This could be accomplished by tweaking the genes in young embryos or later on by "patching" the genome.

How do I define forgiveness? Forgiveness is addressing my past. It is separating my ego from the facts. It is changing my story into reality. It is accepting that an injustice occurred and coming to terms with it. It is learning to stop hurting myself long after that person did and restoring my dignity and self-respect. It is giving myself permission to stop suffering and to let go. It is reconnecting with myself and the world I am in.

After the first article on inner-strength, I thought that having inner-strength in and of itself wasn't enough to garner the kind of support and accomplish what you set out to.

When it comes to the self the concept of brute force doesn't really exist. You can't tie yourself down or force yourself to do a good deed. It has to come from a desire to do so. It has to be compelling. I think inner-strength is about self-enforcement. So inner-strength is placing your beliefs in practice and ensuring enforcement of same.

Introduction
I have organized and executed the details of my daily life for some time now much like you would run a business. This didn't occur suddenly but has slowly evolved over time mostly by the necessity of maintaining my responsibilities and a desire to accomplish my life goals in a timely manner.

I've often debated the pros and cons of this system but I've concluded that it is better than having no system at all.

Pros:

Thinking about happiness (or lack thereof). I finally understood that happiness is a mood. You can't "do" happiness anymore than you can "do" pissed off or envious. They're moods that are products of your action or circumstances.

So I've jotted down the beginnings of my own personal architectonic.

Updated: Apr/14/2016
Updated: Apr/03/2016
Updated: Feb/25/2016
Original: Aug/02/2014
Original link here.

This is a huge subject I'm not about to take on completely, but I've had it on my mind for some time since seeing a documentary about the Logical Positivists and reading some of Husserl's work.

Obvious questions: