8.0.0 Exploring a Natural, Rational Way

Version 1.0 August 2014                               (Previous Version)

This reasonable global way is a comprehensive philosophy of life, or a world view, providing core values that reflect the choices we make based on these global beliefs:

i)       It is adopted with a minimal degree of faith; subject to being refined as we learn more.  A core part of this way is the process by which we reach conclusions and adopt values.

ii)      It accepts the mystery of existence, a sense of reverence, wonder and awe, of nature’s majesty and of our insignificance, and our longing for connectedness and ‘spiritual’ experience.

We have examined each of the domains of knowledge, explaining what we reasonably believe are the known knowns (what we think we know) and the known unknowns (what we are aware of that we don't know), and accepting that there are unknown unknowns (we don’t know what we don't know).

Given this analysis, we come to the reasonable conclusion that the outcome of this process – the beliefs and values we have – constitutes a satisfying whole, which we phrase as follows:

This perspective, this way of looking at the totality of the conclusions we have reached and the values we have adopted, enables us to understand and act in the world in a coherent way.  The choices we thus make reflect that we value hope.  We choose to continue to act in the world, to experience the struggle, to discover, to be connected.  These choices again reflect that we value life over death.

Contrary to the feelings and assertions of many misled but faithful people, these global beliefs and the values we adopt based on them, because they are natural and rational:

●  provide a sound, philosophical, scientific, and historically valid view of the world;

●  provide realistic guidelines on how to behave well and be good global citizens,

●  provide a universal narrative in which we can see the parts that we can play;

●  allow for rituals, ‘spirituality’, and public expressions that reinforce our commitment;

●  reduce our fear of death and give us hope for the future;

●  give us meaning and purpose that is more satisfying than unreasonable faith;

●  are more fulfilling, more real, than those from any traditional religion.

in a non-parochial, natural, life affirming, humane and Reasonable Global Way.

Our final second ‘gold’ level conclusion is that we can view this Reasonable Global Way as our religion – or at least our equivalent of a religion – depending on how we interpret the word religion.

  more                                                                             Statement 42

This Way addresses our ultimate concerns, providing core values, meaning and purpose.