FOR EVERYONE
RATIONAL-ETHICAL LIVING AND THE EMERGENCE OF “HOMO RATIONALIS”
The Most Important Book
BY
WILLIAM V. VAN FLEET, M.D.
5/19/2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
/ Page 5INTRODUCTION: THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK / Page 7
BASIC METHODS IN THIS BOOK / Page 9
THESIS: THE THREE EXPONENTIAL CHANGES
/ Page 17BASIC CONCEPTS: DETERMINANTS OF BEHAVIOR / Page 29
BASIC CONCEPTS: ETHICS / Page 49
RATIONAL-ETHICAL ANGER PREVENTION / Page 67
RATIONAL-ETHICAL CHILD REARING / Page 95
RATIONAL-ETHICAL BELIEF MANAGEMENT /
Page 117
RATIONAL-ETHICAL GOVERNMENT / Page 143RATIONAL-ETHICAL RELIGION / Page 153
WHAT THE READER SHOULD DO / Page 165
Note to reader:
Much attention has been devoted to using terms in this book in highly consistent ways. I request that the reader read this book in the order written, to prevent the misunderstandings that so frequently arise by virtue of the use of the same words with different meanings. Doing so will assure that the value of this book will be preserved.
William V. Van Fleet, M.D.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have benefited from all of the thinkers of the world, who are too numerous to count, and attempting to list some of them would do injustice to so many others that I prefer not to do so. There are two exceptions, however, individuals I have known personally in recent years, both of whom have died recently.
I wish to acknowledge my debt to Leo Glanzman, who for many years had been the leader of the Philosophy Discussion Group at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte, North Carolina. He fostered in that group an atmosphere that I have found nowhere else, namely, one in which all of a person’s ideas will be maximally challenged. In such an atmosphere, the few who can tolerate it do indeed gain an enormous perspective with regard to the difficulty of constructing concepts, theories, and beliefs that stand up to rational scrutiny. I believe that it is in such an atmosphere that one’s ideas can become increasingly clear and communicable, and that it is in such an atmosphere that new ideas that will be helpful to our species are very likely to arise.
I also wish to acknowledge my debt to Jess Riley, who attended Leo’s group for many years, and who contributed two concepts that probably came into my thinking primarily from him. One was his concept that achieving “adequacy of the model” was considered by some to be a better goal than achieving (illusive) “truth.” The other was his own (to my knowledge) concept of a more ideal method of representation for world government, based upon principles upon which we could probably all agree.
In general, I wish to acknowledge my debt to the persons who have read and provided feedback regarding the drafts of my developing book and/or have engaged in friendly debate with me regarding the concepts therein, such feedback thus enabling me to clarify and extend the ideas.
I wish also to acknowledge my debt to Joyce Anderson, who for a time contributed so much to freeing me from the burden of day-to-day details of living so that I might devote more time to the writing of the book, who provided me with so much encouragement in the writing of the book, who helped me so much in setting up seminars and doing other things related to the development of the book, and who showed me so clearly how thoughtful we may be of others.
William V. Van Fleet, M.D.
INTRODUCTION
THE MOST IMPORTANT BOOK
The following are my beliefs about the nature of this book.
This book is an effort to share a set of observations and conclusions, and to share a set of proposals based upon those observations and conclusions.
This book is an effort to promote the survival of and the good life for our species, meaning the survival of and continuing good life for every member of our species (the reader included), now and in the future, insofar as possible. By “good life” I mean only as much joy, appreciation, and contentment as possible, and therefore as little pain, suffering, disability, and early death as possible.
This book is for everyone, in that the content of the book applies to everyone and the proposals are for everyone.
This book attempts to contribute to the solution of that set of problems which have the greatest significance for and effect on each of us as individuals and on our species in general.
This book attempts to understand and solve these problems by approaching them in as basic a manner as is possible.
This book is an effort to contribute to the only process by which these problems can be solved, namely, by a change in outlook or attitude that begins within individuals (the reader being one) and spreads through small groups and then finally through the media. (In no way do I maintain that solving these problems will be easy or rapid, but I do believe that solving them is possible and feasible, and that the process and method are understandable by everyone.)
This book is such that the reader will agree with what I have to say in this book if he or she reads the book conscientiously. (By “reading the book conscientiously” I mean nothing more than reading it in the order in which it is written, with an effort to understand each statement in the context in which it is written.)
If all of the above is so, I cannot imagine a more important book.
Now I wish to clarify some of the above.
None of the ideas in this book first arose in me. All of the ideas in this book have been expressed by respected others. But what I am trying to offer is a way of meaningfully organizing those ideas such that the effect will be highly useful, both to the individual and to our species in general. The following metaphor may help to clarify. Imagine that one hundred unassembled jigsaw puzzles (each puzzle piece representing an idea) were strewn all over the floor, and that just one of the puzzles consisted of the most accurate picture of something. The effort of this book would be the equivalent of attempting to assemble that puzzle.
I believe the reader will agree with me, not because he or she will assume that I must know what I am talking about, but because what I will be pointing to will be seen easily by the reader himself or herself. If the reader is not able to come to the same conclusions, then what I am saying is probably wrong.
There are two reactions the reader might have to my prediction that the reader will agree with me.
First, the reader may comment that if it is indeed possible for everyone to agree with everything in this book, then probably what is in this book is essentially trivial. I would say, however, that, as the reader will see, what is in this book will have, if incorporated into the reader’s life conscientiously, an ultimately enormous positive influence on his or her life, brought about by major changes in behavior, and similarly, if the book is indeed successful, it will contribute to enormous positive changes that are already occurring in the way our species conducts itself and in the quality of the lives of us all.
Second, the reader may comment that just because a belief has been easy to come by, or is generally held, the belief is not thereby necessarily accurate. I would say, however, that if the belief is not contradicted by evidence, especially scientific evidence, and the belief seems self-evident, then we can at least say that it is probably correct, until such time that evidence does arise to the contrary. And that is the spirit in which the offerings of this book are made.
I said that this book is for everyone. By that statement, I also mean that it should be understandable by everyone (given adequate study), as opposed to being understandable only by persons in certain occupations, living in certain cultures, or having had education in certain specialized fields. Obviously, this statement is somewhat of an exaggeration, in that, for instance, a child who cannot read or a mentally handicapped individual who cannot understand most things that are written are not going to be able to read this book and benefit directly by doing so. However, the lives of those individuals would certainly be affected (positively) by the acceptance throughout our species of the proposals being offered, and in that sense this book is also for them.
I fully realize that the above statements sound grandiose and expose me to the possibility of being dismissed as obviously being of limited perspective and possibly as being worthy of ridicule or sympathy. I also fully realize that it is highly likely that some persons will indeed skim over the book superficially, and, without the understanding that comes from following the logical organization of the book, come to the conclusion that the book is obviously wrong and not worth reading, and I understand that still others will base their opinions about the book on what they have heard about it from such individuals. However, I stand by what I have said, and ask only that the reader form his or her own opinions on the basis of his or her own conscientious reading, and that, prior to rejecting the book, he or she read it until he or she does indeed find something that does not make sense to him or her.
I do wish to warn the reader that this book will probably not be easy reading. The book is neither inspirational nor narrative. It is more like a textbook that needs to be studied and thought about. Also, there are conclusions in this book that may be different than beliefs that are cherished by, and even demanded by, certain subcultures, and when this is true, it is characteristic for individuals in those subcultures to avoid exposing themselves to evidence contrary to those beliefs, so reading the book, for them, will additionally take unusual courage.
I also wish to acknowledge that the reader will experience much repetition during reading this book, and to clarify that the repetition is intended. This book is an effort to bring about a different way of thinking. This means developing new, unused pathways in the brain. Exercise is what makes such pathways strong, and exercise involves repetition. So the reader will best regard the reading of this book as completely analogous to exercise, involving effortful repetition. I am hoping that this book will be more than just “interesting,” that it will make a positive contribution to the life of the individual reader and to the welfare of our species in general.
The motivation of the reader that will enable him or her to read the book effectively will have to be only the wish to make life better for the reader and those around him or her, and the wish to contribute some effort, no matter how small, to making the world a better place for everyone.
I am not asking for or expecting any reimbursement or profit from this book. My wish is only that the book be read as widely as possible, if indeed it is the important book that I believe it to be. Therefore, I am posting it on a web site, such that it can be downloaded by anyone, without cost. I am having copies printed, and will be sending them to prominent individuals in the world, who would be respected and therefore listened to, and am asking such individuals to read the book and, if they agree that the book is likely to be valuable, make public their recommendation that others obtain it free from the web site. I am hoping that publishers will contribute copies at little or no cost to individuals who would not easily be able to obtain the book from the Internet.
This book is my effort to contribute what I can to my species, out of enormous gratitude for what my species has done for me.
BASIC METHODS IN THIS BOOK
I believe that our species is just beginning to undergo a third exponential change. I believe this change is good, in that it will promote the survival of and the good life for our species. I believe that by becoming aware of this change, the reader will be able to assist in promoting it, and will also benefit with regard to his or her own personal life in doing so. This book is an effort to call attention to that change, and to foster its development.
It is important to note that “becoming aware of” this change means agreeing that the change is indeed occurring, and that “promoting the change” and “fostering its development” mean engaging in agreed-upon, coordinated behavior, that is, behavior based upon agreement about what should be done. I am in this paragraph attempting to call the reader’s attention to the ultimate, extreme importance of AGREEMENT.
Because “agreement” is such an important phenomenon, I wish to clarify the meaning of the word, as it is used in this book. Actually, the word generally refers to three different phenomena.
The first kind of “agreement” is the existence of identical or close to identical beliefs in two or more individuals. The individuals may or may not be aware of such agreement between them. We might, for example, say, “They never met each other, but they were in agreement about this matter.” Also note that the agreed-upon belief may be accurate, inaccurate, or somewhere in between (“somewhat accurate”). This kind of agreement is simply a state of affairs.
The second kind of “agreement” is the acknowledgement of one individual that his or her belief is the same as that of another. One individual may ask another, “Do you agree that X is so?” and the other might say, “Yes, I agree.” His or her statement that he or she agrees is the act of agreement that this second meaning of the word is referring to. One individual would be “agreeing with” the other. Note that an individual might say he or she agreed, and yet not really believe what he or she was saying he or she believed. The other individual might later have reason to say, “But you AGREED (that such-and-such was so)?!!” This kind of agreement is a communicative act of an individual, reporting (accurately or not) the existence of a particular belief within him or her.
The third kind of “agreement” is the induction of the belief in another that one intends to do something. I may, by my words, by a nod of my head, by my signing a document, or perhaps by my silence lead another to the belief that I intend to do a particular thing (usually that is being requested of me). In such a case, I am “agreeing” to do it. In so agreeing, I may be assuming a “role” within my group (of two or more individuals). The other(s) will believe that I am going to engage in the act in question, based upon my behavior (statement, head-nod, silence, etc.). Others might have occasion later to say, “But you AGREED to do it?!!” This kind of agreement is a communicative act of an individual or group of two or more individuals that provides them or others with an increased ability to predict the behavior of those who have agreed.
Agreement (of all three meanings) tends to promote coordination of effort, unity of goal, effectiveness of action, and harmony. Disagreement tends to promote disorganization, slower decision-making, increased failure, and negative emotion within the group. (It is, of course, also extremely important that what we agree upon is accurate or correct. Agreement that is in error can lead to mistakes, and even tragedies.) I am talking about the concept of “working together,” to bring about change, to create things, to make life better, to protect ourselves, to foster our survival, etc., which involves our agreeing on certain basic beliefs about the way the world is and about what we should do, letting each other know when we agree and disagree, and agreeing to do certain things (carry out our responsibilities, perform our roles, behave in predictable ways, etc.). In order to live together and just even to survive, a certain amount of such agreement is absolutely essential. In fact, humans have accomplished nothing important without some degree of agreement.
Now I am not saying that agreement about everything is important. I believe it is a fact of life that there will always be disagreement about a large number of things. But our quality of life, in fact our very survival, is dependent upon some degree of agreement, that is, agreement about certain basic things, including agreement about what we should do when we do not agree.
This book is an effort to foster such agreement about certain BASIC things, having to do with the way the world is and how we should live life.
But our species is faced with a problem. In order to clarify the nature of the problem, I wish to use a metaphor depicting the current status of our agreement among ourselves, as a species.
Imagine a tree, with no leaves on the branches. The roots of the tree are not a part of this metaphor. We can take a look at a branch and regard it as a particular potential belief or opinion about the nature of the world or about what should be done. Its diameter reflects the number of people agreeing with that opinion, or having that opinion or belief. (One particular individual, of course, will have many beliefs, represented by many branches and twigs throughout the tree.) As we move toward the periphery, the branch keeps dividing, and each division becomes smaller. Thus, as we go out toward what we might consider the periphery of our knowledge, we see more and more divided opinion, with fewer individuals adhering to any specific belief. The trunk of the tree would represent, therefore, the collection, or set, of all those opinions upon which all individuals agree, about the way the world is and what should be done.