Our Philosophy

Philosophical Speculations

"Personally, I want the twenty-first century to be called the 'century of love,' because we desperately need love, the kind of love that will not produce suffering. Unless we have enough loving kindness and compassion, we will not be able to survive as a planet."

Thich Nhat Hanh

There is no final word in philosophy and this creative process at best can merely reflect our living experience that is always in flux. Anyone who ponders the meaning(s) of his or her existence could be called a philosopher. The word "philosophy" as passed down to us means literally: love of wisdom.

Knowledge and wisdom are differentiated from each other in their functions. Knowledge without wisdom is dead fact, without action. The early Greek scholars held knowledge and wisdom with great respect and passed this tradition down to us. Greek and Roman culture merged with Mesopotamian culture and produced a major transformation, an important pivotal point of world history that continues into impact the entire planet to this day. This merging of several different historical cultures is felt and experienced by us all, consciously and unconsciously.

The ancient Greeks had the technological knowledge available to have had an industrial revolution more twenty-five-hundred years ago. However, there was something in their belief structure that prevented them from doing such. This is a clear example of their wisdom! The aim here is not to idealize the Greek system of thought and action, but to underscore the historical fact that their value system integrates an ethic that did not deem it wise to dominate and rule nature. They were more like the early Native Americans in that living with nature was highly valuable. Two alternatives to living with nature are under or against nature. We do not have to look too deeply to see the value of thinking and behaving this way.

The world today is much more complex, complicated and conflicted than any other time in human history. We are in process of global merging of cultures and we need sound wisdom more now than ever. We need to bring together our highest ideals and values for a satisfactory integration of our emerging situation. The alternative is almost unimaginable.

The world we live in is not in very good shape for the survival and thriving of thousands of life forms. We can witness this anytime by simply tuning into the daily news. February 2, 2007 is a day to be remembered because 90% of the worlds environmental scientists announced their finding that human activities are contributing to global warming of the earth’s atmosphere. This is just one instance the conflict between the natural world and the activities of human beings.

The evolution and constant changing of our cultures creates a great deal of stress and suffering. We see this in the political and cultural conflicts spread across the entire globe. So, how will it be possible to find a lasting peace on this among nations? Is there a wise course of action based on sound knowledge to help us on the road to recovery from so many human created problems?

This requires a different way of approaching problems than the habitual power and control models we now employ. The power and control methods we use are based in how we think. How we achieve, on a global scale, the hope that the twenty-first century be known as "the century of love" depends upon various factors. Addressing how we think is one very important aspect of our task. One eminent psychiatrist, R. D. Laing, addressed this issue when he stated:

"I would add to this...that the new science, the new epistemology, has got to be predicated upon a change of heart, upon a complete turning around; from the intent to dominate and control nature to the idea of, for example, Francis of Assisi, that the whole creation is our companion, if not our mother... Only then can we address ourselves to alternative perceptions that will come into view."

The world's five great religions all hold up as their highest value the thing we most need during our time in history: unconditional love. One of the champions of this belief in the power of love was Martin Luther King, Jr. He stated in 1967:

"When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. This Hindu-Moslem-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: 'Let us love one another; for love is God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.”

There is a common saying among religious traditions that can be summed up with the phrase "world peace through inner peace." This simple statement gives us a, at the very least, clear starting point for the changes that are possible. When one person brings love, peace, equality, freedom, and equanimity into his or her own life the world has already become a better place. Our own inner peace is our biggest challenge. We cannot make others happy when we cannot make ourselves happy. The challenge is an individual one, but how we manage this challenge has collective consequences.

“Religion is what the individual does with his own solitariness. It runs through three stages, if it evolves to its final satisfaction. It is the transition from God the void to God the enemy and from God the enemy to God the companion…. Thus religion is solitariness; and if you are never solitary, you are never religious. …The great religious conceptions which haunt the imaginations of civilized mankind are scenes of solitariness: Prometheus chained to his rock, Mahomet brooding in the desert, the meditations of the Buddha, the solitary Man on the Cross. It belongs to the depth to the religious spirit to have felt forsaken, even by God.”

Alfred North Whitehead
Lowell Lectures, 1926

Professor Whitehead has stated in words something that is a universal human experience born out of our deepest concerns and convictions and is not about doctrine or dogma. It is out of our own personal relationship with our own ultimate concerns and values that we move into having a peaceful relationship with others and ourselves. In contemporary psychological language it is the self at peace with itself, companion. In the language of twelve-step movements it is each person making peace with his or her “Higher Power”, God the companion. This is where we start to make the world a better place, “world peace through inner peace.”

Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence regards the experience of solitude as valuable when he says, "Of course, solitude is not the same as isolation; many people who live on their own or see few friends are content and healthy. Rather, it is the subjective sense of being cut off from people and having no one to turn to that is the medical risk. This finding is ominous in light of the increasing isolation bred by solitary TV-watching and the falling away of social habits such as clubs and visits in modern urban societies, and suggests an added value to self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous as surrogate communities."

Goleman's summation of the experience of solitude points to the fact that solitude is not a medical health risk. The existential experience of the value of each individual is important and natural to a meaningful, fulfilling, satisfying and healthy life. Apart from the wonderful fact that each individual contains his or her own sense of self there can be no community.

Please feel free to contact Lloyd W. Davis at (626) 308-9784 or via email at info@lloydwdavis.com