Values and beliefs shaping our acts and thoughts

 This is a caricature of my understanding of how humans make decisions and take actions. This is my contention that everything we do is subtly and unknowably influenced by various values we imbibe or create in our course through life. This is a broadening of this line of thought.

----------------

All of the following is with respect to the diagram below.

Sensory Input (1)

The first part of the diagram consists of the pair - noumenon (a) and phenomenon (b). Noumenon is specified as the thing in itself, that is reality as it is, independent of our senses or judgements. While phenomenon is our perception of the noumenon i.e. something which is presented to us by the senses.

For example, consider the statement ‘Cat is on the mat’. This statement is our judgement of our immediate environment. To see that this is only a judgement which may or may not correspond exactly to the world, we just need to understand that both the cat and mat are made of infinitesimal particles with huge voids in their structure and also that it may not be so recognised by someone who lacks linguistic expression like a child or another animal.

For a second example, consider a video clip of the quidditch game being played from the movie - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s stone. Now we know brooms don’t fly and certainly humans do not fly with the broom, so what is it that our eyes are telling us? Undoubtedly they see Harry Potter flying on the broom. But we are not fooled by this for we know it is just a visual effect or VFX which produces such an image.

So, we need to understand what has happened here - the world is presented to us in a certain way and then we use our judgement, using our value systems to interpret the world in a certain way. This is clearer in the second example but is not so apparent in the first one but the situation is similar in both the cases for in the first as well we need our faculty of language to make a judgement about the world.

Critical thinking (2)

Now, the phenomenon that is presented to us in this way is raw data which is processed in the next part of the diagram. This raw data of phenomenon is further judged by our value system to be either of relevance or not. If it is irrelevant then it is rejected and we do not consciously act on it - though we may register it through our unconscious faculty and this may affect future judgments but this does not happen in so clear a fashion as conscious processing. If it is relevant then it is considered as information (c) which can be defined as anything that is valuable to us and is of immediate concern.

This then forms the input for the next stage which is the intelligent (d) faculty of our brain. Here, the information aggregated over time is used along with our value system to make an intelligent conclusion.

This conclusion is presented to the institution (in case information is gathered by a group or a society, which acts as a unit) or to the individual (e), which again based on their moral judgments either decide to act or not to act.

Acting and forming values (3)

This brings us to our next stage where an action (f) is performed. These actions are the new noumenon for the world. Also, it is these actions, along with feedback from our environment, which reflect, reinforce and update our value systems (g) which are used as feedback in the original process.

Several notes are in order for the above simplified account of our voluntary actions:

1. The motivation to study this pattern was from the need to identify the source of our values. Normative ethics point towards norms which are reflected in our past actions and values as it comes out in our analysis. Descriptive ethics point towards belief systems which too come out from our system as beliefs inevitably lead to actions.

2. At every stage, we are using the feedback of our values to move onto the next stage. The chain can break at any one of the stages when the input to the stage is judged irrelevant.

3. This is a description of our voluntary acts and beliefs. It does not apply to involuntary actions where no thinking may be involved.

4. For most of the time, for individuals, these processes can be too fast to be registered as separate events as is shown here. But this seems to be the logical way a decision and a rational action is made. Also, in case of a group this may apply as is presented here more exactly.

5. For social units, the link provided here only works when the organising principle of the society is taken as ‘Intelligence is in cooperation”. Cooperation is embodied in the institutions which take actions on behalf of the society.

6. The axes - the vertical axis is considered the fast time axis, for here time is considered as continuous and changing from one moment to next at an incredible rate and hence the noumenon is getting renewed at the same pace at least while human thought processing is obviously very slow compared to this. So the horizontal is represented as the slow time axis.

7. Also note the role of feedback from the environment in this. For if an action is not liked by the environment it is punished in an informal or formal manner which is incorporated into our sense of values.

8. Action is any action performed by our active agencies including speech and writing.

I am presenting this as an informal discussion of the concepts here involved. The most significant aspect of this is that we are constantly using our value (moral or ethical) systems as feedback for actions whether we know this as such or not. This reasoning comes to the conclusion of the primacy of values in every human action.

Heuristics

 

1. Honesty is the best policy.

2. Experience is the best teacher.

3. The journey of a mile starts with a single step.

4. Nani teri morani ko mor le gaye, baki jo bacha wo chor le gaye.

5. Practice makes a person perfect.

6. Karat karat abhyasa ke jadmati hot sujaan, rasri aawat jaat te sil pad padat nisaan.

7. Kal kare so aaj kar, aaj kare so ab. Pal mein parlayi hot hai bahuri karega kab.

8. Suno sabki karo manki.

9. Atman is Brahman. Secrets of self are secrets of universe.

10. Time for justice is always always now.

11. Ex nihilo nihil fit. Nothing comes out of nothing.

12. Neki kar dariya mein daal.

13. Love solves all problems. Has great strength.

14. Strength is in unity. Intelligence is in ccoperation.

15. Karma kar phal ki chinta mat kar.

16. Namaste - I bow to the divinity in you.

17. Excess of anything is bad.

18. Knowledge is power.

19. Respect strength, not power.

20. Nothing that exists is valueless. Everything that exists has value.

21. Nature is abundant in resources.

22. Money is a means not an end.

23. Money is dust of hands.

24. Every person has natural talents that need to be cultivated.

25. Beauty brings stillness, calmness and makes you wonder.

26. A thing of beauty is a joy forever.

27. Kill the crime, not the criminal.

28. Ahimsa parmo dharma. Non-violence is the supreme duty.

29. Pleasure knows no malice.

30. Ab pachtaye hot kya jab chidiya chug gayi khet. Gather your rosebuds while you may.

31. Its better to do something and regret than not do something and regret.

32. Swatantrata is my birth right.

33. Pen is mightier than the sword.

34. Life is yagya, aim of life is yoga.

35. Every child is born equal. Deserves nutrition, care and education.

36. Behaviour is the ornament of the person.

37. Saada jeevan uccha vichaar, sadachaar bina sab bekar. Simple life and noble thoughts are futile if not followed in interpersonal behavior.

38. I may not agree with you but will fight with all my life to uphold your freedom to express yourself.

39. Necessity is the mother of invention.

40. A person cannot experience true and lasting happiness as long as there is a single suffering soul in the world.

41. Do not be reckless, frivolous, mean and hateful.

42. Work for the salvation of one and all.

43. When in doubt, listen to heart.

44. Reason can take you from A to B, imagination can take you everywhere.

45. Slow and steady, the journey must be performed.

46. Nurture goodwill.

47. When demands of goodwill are enormous, seek help.

48. Respect time. Respect currents of time. Time and tide waits for nothing.

49. Sun is the source of all surplus energy on Earth.

50.  Water cleans all filth. Water supports all life.

51. Self-disciple is another name for total freedom.

52. Determination, resilience, persistence and conviction are keys to success.

53. Chase excellence and success will chase you.

54. Shuddhosi, Buddhosi, Niranjanosi - You are pure, conscious and taintless.

55. Trust is the foundation of all relationships.

56. Responsible life is a prayer.

Some founding values for society

1. Life is valuable

1.1 No unnatural death

1.11 No murders

1.12 No capital punishment

1.13 Design systems which are not accident prone.

1.2 No poverty

1.3 No preventable diseases

1.4 No wars

2. Intelligence is in cooperation. This is an extension of strength in unity.

2.0 What is intelligence? Intelligence is the ability to decide on the activities required to

reach from point A to point B. It may involve identifying resources available, space-time

availability and the ability to manipulate those resources in the given constraints to reach

the end.

2.1 Conflict is irrational.

2.11 Avoid conflict.

2.12 A group of people with a common aim must not act as long as there is a conflict of

opinion.

2.121 Group of people can be any family, organisation or government.

2.2 Implications for research and development (engineering and science)

2.21 Research groups must share information, knowledge and expertise.

2.22 The agenda for research must be decided in accordance with other basic principles.

2.3 Cultivate intelligence for individuals and for groups

2.31 Implications for pedagogy

2.311 Let each child develop its own form of intelligence

2.3111 Offer choices but don’t impose. Recommend and help if asked.

2.3112 There are often more than one way to do the same task.

2.32 There are many forms of intelligence like plants, aquatic animals, terrestrial animals

and humans are all intelligent in their own way.

2.4 Human body and mind is the most advanced and sophisticated intelligent system that

we know about.

2.41 This can be used to unlock secrets of self.

2.42 Secrets of self are secrets of the universe.

2.421 The features shared between self and universe - networks, connections, nodes,

primordial intelligence and a self-correcting algorithm or code.

2.422 Knowing one thing completely is not exhaustible.

(Every point has an infinity of senses.)

2.5 Anger, hate, jealousy, fear, delusion, false consciousness, ignorance, lust and other

such negative emotions are not to be nurtured and cultivated.

2.6 Love, beauty, goodness, truthfulness, honesty, simplicity, humility are to be appreciated

and cultivated.

2.61 Knowing thyself is good.

2.62 Self is beautiful.

3. Behaviour is the ornament of the person.

3.1 Display of pride is ugly.

3.2 Display of power is ugly.

3.3 Display of wealth is ugly.

3.4 Unhygienic and unsanitary places and bodies are ugly.

3.5 Ugliness is to be tolerated when it agrees with 2 and when it cannot be avoided.

3.51 Efforts to mitigate ugliness must never cease.

3.6 Act according to goodwill.

3.61 Goodwill treats every individual as an end, intends no harm and aims for positive results.

3.62 Goodwill is simple, gives strength, acts as your compass.

2.63 Demands of goodwill can be enormous.

3.631 When demands of goodwill are enormous, seek help.

3.632 Always believe help can be found.

4. The aim of life is enlightenment.

4.1 Nothing is understood by knowing the word enlightenment.

4.11 One must embark on this path to even know the meaning of this word.

4.12 You may put in rigorous effort still not find a glimpse of it. You may fall back again

and again but must try again and again. Like the spider trying to reach the ceiling fails

but succeeds eventually.

4.13 Belief is the prerequisite for embarking on this path. There are umpteen accounts

of seers who set out on this path and found some peace and bliss.

4.2 One who aims for enlightenment wills enlightenment of all.

4.3 Enlightenment is not for lazy person.

4.31 It is an incentive for work.

4.32 Work done in accordance with duty without attachment to rewards and punishments

is inevitable in the path of enlightenment.

4.4 True and right knowledge prepares one for enlightenment.

4.41 Absolute knowledge is an infinity of infinities. 

4.411 Absolute knowledge is the aggregate of knowledge of all disciplines. Knowledge

of a discipline is the aggregate of knowledge of all particular entities under that discipline.

4.42 Dilemma faced in pursuit of absolute knowledge: When you are at a point K(t), how

do you know there is no K(t+1)?

4.421 Absolute knowledge is not possible.

4.43 To test one’s knowledge one should continuously doubt and trust.

4.5 As one makes progress in the process of enlightenment, one becomes more and

more compassionate.

4.51 Empathises with other suffering people.

4.52 Nurtures no ill-will.

4.53 Is willing to help anyone and everyone who seeks help.

5. Love is the hidden principle of everything.

5.0 Love breeds care. A loving person is a caring person.

5.1 Love is at the core of the theory of everything.

5.2 True love happens spontaneously and is not willed.

5.3 True love is infinite.

5.31 It can only give. It cannot take.

5.32 It is the source of much strength.

5.4 Love is a cause for celebration.

5.5 Love knows no hate. But can have pity on those who do not recognise it..

5.6 A meaningful life is life lived with dictates of love.

5.7 Love is truth. Everything else is ideology.

5.71 When you experience true love, analyse and observe it. It is the basis of all activities

in the universe.

5.72 True love kills. It kills the evil in you. It's a sharp knife that separates milk from water.

It separates pure from impure. Purity is divine. You are pure in your essence. This purity

is also at the core of matter. It is at the core of all celestial bodies - Earth, Sun, Moon,

Black Hole. It is this which exploded at the Big-Bang

6. Justice is the first principle of every formal organisation.

6.1 Demands of justice are more important than those of swatantrata and samanayata.

6.2 If one sees injustice in the world and does not do anything (immediately or

subsequently) then they are a participant in the act of injustice.

6.3 Time for justice is always always now.

(Needs to be developed)

7. Laws

7.1 Reason for evil in the world. When one suppresses one's conscience and instead

acts on the basis of self-interest or received knowledge, one does evil. This suppression

gets regimented and conditioned over time.

7.11 Listen to conscience and act accordingly. You will become firm in your beliefs.

You will become gentle in your conduct. You will be more loving and caring.

7.2 Do not participate in anything you don’t agree with. That is good will.

(Needs to be developed)

8. Hope that our tomorrow will be better than our past. So, act in the present!

Is

 

For the upcoming test

 On questions

I once asked a wise man - Do you have a heart?
What do you mean 'heart'?, he replied back.

You know heart, I said,
That which makes you cry at the sight of hungry child,
That fills you with joy looking at the blossoming flower,
That holds you back in your track,
That gives you courage to take one more step.

And what about silence, the wise man asked, does your heart know silence?
What do you mean? I don't understand for my heart is never silent.

Of all the things I have contemplated, I have contemplated silence the most.
Know it, my friend and all your curiosity will fall,
and all your questions will be answered!

Water

Water, Oh! Water! What a lively force!
You are the flow of rives,
You fill the seas,
You quench the thirst of Earth.
You are blue, you are green,
You are white and you are transparent.
Is there a joy you can't bestow, is there a form you cannot take?

Water, Oh! Water! You elixir of life!
You clean all filth, you support all life.
I love you, dear water and pray you love me back!

Shattered illusions

Where there is a will, there is a way!
So it is said by all who have known.

What is the way out of the world, I have wondered.
This world of momentary pleasures and subtle pains,
Out of the world of magnificent colours and terrible sounds.

I am weary of all reason and emotion, of all thought and feeling.
A land beyond, I was promised but have lost its sight
amongst the many and varied illusions.

Why no wise illuminate the way or is wisdom an illusion too?
For wisdom is not found amongst mere mortals.
Or that land beyond is an illusion and this world is all we have.
And what we will it to become, it becomes!

Joy

 

Birds on the line

 When the stakes are high and there is a fine line between dream and fantasy, life and adventure, when you have spent ages sitting on the edge stuck onto the wire waiting for something interesting to fashion out of nowhere, when nothing evades your attention, when you are tired and bored by the drudgery of things, when you want with all your heart to escape - you find something unmistakably filled with joy and rapture and you want to sit on the sunny-side-down hand sure footed and impervious to perturbations and you start to revel in the cheerful smile of your patron, your inspiration and source of desire and you bid them to make yourself a part of their game, you wish to wash away some part of their weariness and cheer them on, to not stop, to touch the finish line, a bit more, little by little, you try to fashion yourself in their image, their infectious joy, their awesome beauty, their freshness and liveliness.

You say you have found everything, you desire for nothing more. You want to become the source of their inspiration, to return the favour. You are a bit uncertain. Can this be so simple and plain? Can the world evade us out of our blindness to the obvious, the pure simplicity of it all?

And you decide to hang on the line a bit more for another day, for another flight, for precision, for another wind perhaps to knock you over, to eliminate all doubts of yourself and theirs, to be sure of their desire to carry you on on their shoulder.