About
In general, I consider myself to be an existentialist. Existentialists tend to view the world as a chaotic realm filled with irrationality. The purpose of the existentialist is to make some sense of the world and to define it from a human perspective. Each person is unique and as such will have a subjective view of the world rather than objective. It is in listening and perhaps experiencing another person’s perspective where I find much joy. Out of darkness comes light, and out of chaos arises order and patterns. How each person integrates this chaos into their life and makes order from it defines to me what makes each of us truly human.
The existentialist philosophers who I recommend reading are Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. The works by these authors shouldn’t be rushed; one might get through a mere few pages per night as the information typically dense. In addition to existential philosophy I also enjoy Stoicism, specifically Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations”. Stoicism suggests that the universe is a chaotic place but there also exists both logic and order. Our minds and bodies were created from the order in the universe and as a result contain a subset of this logic and order. Therefore, our lives have meaning and purpose because we are integrated on a fundamental level with the universe. Each one of us truly is here for a reason.
I am also very interested in psychology, most specifically behavioral analysis. From my perspective, at the core of the human experience is behavior, because behavior is the measurable end result of everything that we do. I believe that behavior is a function of the environment, while the thought processes involved in the behavior are merely an intermediate step towards the behavior itself. Although personality might be difficult to change, and an individual’s thought processes more so, behavior itself can be changed. Once the behavior is changed, largely through changes in the environment, the thought processes and perhaps neurotic elements of one’s personality can thusly be changed. Change the behavior and you can alter the mind.
Further, I am a strong believer in the concept of social justice. For example, I believe that a lack of altruism in combination with a person’s environment (poverty) leads to criminal behavior. If we change the environment (eliminate poverty) and increase altruism (provide equal access to opportunity) we can change the behavior (criminal activity). It is our duty as human beings to reach down and help pick up the fallen. I do foresee (and hope) that the norms of society will change where institutionalized hierarchies soften and people eventually develop the moral imperative to be altruistic. In this sense I see an increase in social justice in the future, not a decrease.
Lastly, I am currently attending the University of Nevada, Reno and have two semesters to go in order to receive a dual degree in business and psychology. My goal is be accepted into grad school, develop my research skills and eventually contribute original research to the field of psychology.