The Science of Philosophy
By P Atkinson (08-Aug-23) 日本人

Philosophy is the study of how truth is created.

Today, anyone can call themselves a philosopher and announce any claim as a philosophical truth, and no one can say that the author is not a philosopher nor the claim is not a philosophical truth; which means philosophy is useless.

Philosophy is useless because it lacks a useful definition; so to make philosophy useful, I have advanced the simple definition that philosophy is the study of how understanding creates truth, for understanding is the source of all meaning; without understanding there is no reality, no truth and no meaning. Thus to allow philosophy to become a science I suggest the following self-evident truths be adopted:

  1. Philosophy is the study of how truth is created by an understanding.
  2. Understanding is the creation of truth won by applying an existing belief to an observation so bestowing form (what it can sense) and meaning, to create a new belief; which exists, as it is expressed, in a language.
  3. Two Kinds of Beliefs:
  4. Truth is the beliefs of an understanding, which create the reality of the understanding.
  5. Reality is the remembered forms that its senses detect and the meaning it bestowed on them: its experience. And consists of:
  6. Tradition is the habits adopted by an understanding to achieve the greatest benefit from its reality.
  7. Knowledge is the beliefs of a sane understanding, for those of an insane understanding are corrupted by its fears and fancies and are delusions.
  8. Wisdom is the sane use of knowledge.

The adoption of these truths convert Philosophy into a useful tool — a science. This science of philosophy explains not only understanding, language, reality, and truth, but also society— a shared understanding. These explanations allow a better understanding of ourselves by revealing why humanity behaves the way it does in forming a civilisation (a dominant society) and why such a society waxes (refines its understanding) then wanes (loses its understanding).

Although the new science of philosophy significantly improves human understanding it reveals our current society is waning so condemning most citizens as fools, who naturally resent such a judgement. Most contemporary citizens insist upon ignoring the new science, and if they are pressed to recognise it, will persecute its proponents.