The term "ideology" is defined as as follows. An ideology is a comprehensive system of thought that is based on an idea or a set of ideas. Ideology will be used interchangeably with such terms as: world view, belief system, personal philosophy, and Weltanschauung. The word "ideology" is preferred because it is semantically more precise.
An ideology is necessarily a general philosophy as well as a system of mind or psychology and a social frame-of-reference. As such, the Ideology of the Goal of Infinite Survival (IS) is designed to be a comprehensive system of thought by which the individual, who chooses to use this philosophy and system of mind, organizes one's thinking and personal experience, channels actions, forms relevant associations and social institutions, and relates to the world at large. By using this ideology as a system of mind, it is believed that it will significantly help the individual to create a personal reality in accord with the principles of the ideology, which embody the best, long-range self-interest. By so doing, the ideology can help a person to realize one's fullest potential in an environment of rapid personal, social, and ecological change.
Briefly stated, this ideology is established first on the premise that "survival" is the single, most fundamental principle of life. Consequently, survival is the primary purpose of each individual self. Then, by taking that premise and extending it to its highest possible conception, it becomes the idea of indefinite or "infinite survival". Using that idea as the ultimate goal of the system, and by defining the individual self, as the primary point of reference, and by applying those elements within the criterion of scientific empiricism, as methodology, a new philosophy emerges - one with an array and a hierarchy of objectives in all realms of personal existence (i.e., biology, psychology, sociology, ecology, and cosmology). The goal, the individual self, the scientific method, and the five realms of existence constitute the superstructure of the ideology. By holding the I.S. ideology in the conscious mind, and by directing personal action through this frame-of-reference, a new, evolutionary system of mind emerges.
In this monograph, the ideology is explained in terms of its principles and derivation; some of its applications are discussed; and preliminary psychological practices are provided.
PREFACE
Of all the major issues facing us, philosophical revision is probably the single most important. Above all, it is with our philosophy (i.e., our general view of life, our value system) that we order both our personal and our social realities and thereby create our individual and collective destinies; and it should be obvious by now to almost everyone that we are in a period of very unstable, radical, and rapid change in what that destiny might become. Destiny is not pre-scripted. True, there are established trajectories caused by historical inertia; but new and unprecedented conditions do arise and even within the constraints of historical inertia, there are many different paths which are running simultaneously; and the major existential challenge for each individual is to select one's direction and attempt to make it happen. The established philosophies simply cannot comprehend the new forces with which we must deal. They are based on world views which were appropriate to our early agrarian and medieval ancestors; they were constructed on knowledge which is now mostly obsolete; and, even in their own times, they were largely ineffective in accomplishing their higher aspirations. A reconstruction of our goals, values, and methods is required both to adapt to the changes which we are now facing and, better still, to take advantage of them. There is a very real and pressing need for a new, universal philosophy, with which virtually all individuals can agree - one that transects ethnic customs and belief systems and therefore unifies (or at least coordinates) diverse peoples, that encompasses new knowledge and helps to sort through traditional knowledge in a relevant way, and that represents an ultimate purpose which will help guide us into a chaotic future in manner that is optimally adaptive.
The ideology of the goal of infinite survival is presented as a new philosophy which can accomplish those objectives and which is designed to fit the nature and potentials of our time. Here, in this mongraph, the objective is to outline the derivation, proof, and applications of this system of thought. We wish to promulgate the ideology to as many people as possible and to establish a connection with individuals of like or similar mind, toward building networks and systems to help make the big transitions before us. Feel free to copy this and send it on to anyone whom you think might be interested.
Rather than begin with some general background that leads into the subject, the most efficient way to explain the ideology is to start with a description of the basic ideas upon which ideology of the goal of infinite survival is constructed. After that, a brief discussion of some of the applications of the ideology will be given. Then, I will go back and deal with some general aspects of philosophy and why a new philosophy is needed.
PRECEPTS
Purpose Dictates Process.
The essential element of any system of thought is the definition of its purpose. The definition of the goal determines and configures the means; this is an absolute law that governs all systems. This is an obvious point and easy to see in common practice where tangible and short term objectives are concerned. However, the idea that purpose dictates process is almost entirely disregarded with respect to bigger, more significant, long term considerations, such as one's interpersonal relationships, the type of society to which one belongs, and, most importantly, one's life. Human nature is about striving; but it makes little sense to be striving unless and until a person has an idea about what it is for. Intelligent action requires conscious purpose; and if one is to live an intelligent and meaningful life, then what is required is that one lead it with a defined, conscious purpose. Future direction, a coherent understanding of both the present and the past, moral values, meaning, and methods - all are determined by the definition of purpose. Any general philosophy, ideology, or system of mind must have an explicitly defined, ultimate purpose; and that is the first thing which needs to be resolved before moving on to means and methods and the setting forth of long-range, intermediate, short-term, and immediate objectives.
If one accepts this First Principle, then it automatically leads to the next issue - what the definition of purpose should be.
Survival Is The Fundamental Purpose Of Life.
The single, most basic and fundamental purpose of life is self survival. Survival is the single condition upon which all other conditions depend and without which no other conditions can exist. Consequently, survival is, by necessity, every individual's primary purpose in life.
The survival principle is self-evident. Also, it can be proven by various means, such as: by logic and reason, by the observation that all entities tend to behave according to self preservation and enhancement, by intuitive experiences from deep introspection, and by an understanding from common sense. Again, survival is the single condition upon which all other conditions depend and without which no other conditions can exist. Therefore, survival is primary; and, as the basic purpose or goal of life, it is the first principle of the ideology. Bringing that essential idea into the conscious process of one's living is the first practice. You may have been given by your culture the idea that your purpose in life is something such as: serving God, country, and/or family; or to find truth, knowledge, and/or virtue; and/or to accumulate as much wealth as you possibly can. But all of those are epiphenomenonal; and rather than you serving them, it is more appropriate that you consider them to be constructions, the function of which is to serve you and your primary goal of survival.
Although all belief systems serve the survival interests of their adherents, it is curious that no major, traditional philosophy has explicitly predicated itself on the survival principle.
Infinite Survival As Ultimate Purpose.
If the primary purpose is survival, then by extrapolation or teleological extension, that would have to be the aim from the immediate present on into the near and more distant future and, ultimately, indefinitely through time. Therefore, the highest and ultimate purpose of life is infinite survival, which would be the ultimate expression of the most basic purpose of life and self; and the idea of infinite survival, as an ultimate goal, is the essential structure of this ideology.
Because the idea of infinite survival represents the highest expression of the most basic urge that is intrinsic to the very construction of physical life, it is not surprising that all traditional philosophies, that have survived for any length of time, are constructed conceptually around and derive their main emotional thrust from the idea of "immortality", "eternal life", or anyone of a number of different ways of describing the generic idea of infinite survival. For example, although Christianity has many psychological, social, and cultural aspects to that ideology, the central purpose of Christianity is salvation. A Christian believes in a historical person as God and believes that, by conducting one's life according to the precepts which were enunciated by him and his subsequent teachers, the believer and follower of that ideology will transcend death and live forever with God. Without the central feature of it having a means for achieving immortality, Christianity would become a minor philosophy, most of the substance and practice of which would be impossible to understand and live by (e.g., the Christian conception of our origins and the creation of the universe and natural phenomena are completely different from our current understandings; modern economics could not happen if surplus wealth were given to the poor; or, if you really lived by the rule of "turn the other cheek" to an aggressor, you would be quickly exterminated). However, with the promise of immortality, Christianity, even though it was constructed some 1,800 years ago, still captures human aspiration and guides, to a significant degree, the daily lives of millions of people. Islam is a similar constructuion. Orthodox Judaism does not have a salvation doctrine. Hindu and Buddhist doctrines of salvation differ from Christianity and Islam mostly in the idea of a cyclic rather than a linear course. In other words, in those Indian philosophies, one is compelled to reincarnate endlessly, in a evolutionary scenario, until one becomes sufficiently refined to escape the cycle of birth and death, and therefore can life forever with God. Again, if their doctrines of immortality are extracted, Hinduism and Buddhism become an amalgamated belief system with an overwhelming array of conflicting and mostly incoherent representations that have been accumulated from many cultures over thousands of years history - interesting and insightful, but not very powerful. Although the traditional philosophies derive their source of inspiration from the perennial desire for infinite survival, which is intrinsic to the deepest level of psychological organization, those systems of thought are inadequate constructions for our epoch, and the reasons for this assertion are discussed later.
The Individual As The Central Point Of Reference.
After the definition of purpose, the next essential element of any system of thought is to define in what entity that value counts. All systems of thought define a central point-of-reference or being, for which the system has its meaning. This is called the ontology of the system. Political ideologies usually define The State as the entity of highest meaning; religious ideologies define God as the ultimate truth; methodological doctrines such as science define the methodology as being the main value; and, in contemporary society in which materialistic values are dominant, money is implicitly held to be the highest good. All such systems, explicitly or implicitly, subordinate the individual to their respective, central points-of-reference, which are conceived as being outside the individual. In the ideology which is presented here, because survival is the basic value and because survival occurs only in the individual entity, the individual is the central point-of-reference. All possessions, associations, social institutions, environmental aspects, cultural values, and particularly this ideology, itself, are viewed as being adjuncts to the individual, and the individual willingly attaches to those outside entities according to what the individual perceives to be one's best self-interest. The doctrine of individuality requires a fairly long discourse in order to explain it adequately and to demonstrate that best self interest is not (contrary to what one might think) served by extreme selfishness and greed. Rather, true self-interest supports, in appropriate measure, well established, normative values of justice, equity, fairness, and cooperation, all of which can be viewed as being methods for optimizing the competing self-interests of different individual entities.
Scientific Empiricism As Methodology
After the definitions of purpose and primary point-of-reference, all systems of thought define a methodology for determining their truths (i.e., epistemology). For example, in a political ideology the definer of truth would be a King, in a monarchy, or the rule of The Majority, in a democracy. For determining their truths, religious ideologies use sets of ideas and behaviours which, they postulate, were established directly by God or were derived by divinely inspired individuals and organizations. Different philosophies have their a priori truths from which they proceed to construct their particular world views. In recent history, the scientific paradigm has emerged as the dominant method for determining truth; and thus far, it is the only methodology which has really demonstrated a significant measure of control over physical reality in a very obvious and reproducible way. If one is interested in achieving reproducible, material results (i.e., results in the real world), then the scientific method must be adopted as the way to determine truth. Thus, what will be called, scientific empiricism is adopted as the methodology for this Ideology. Like the subject of individuality, what constitutes scientific empiricism is an extended discussion that is given in other materials.
The Five Realms Of Existence
Individual existence is circumscribed by five interdependent existential realms, which constitute the spheres in which the goal of infinite survival is pursued by the individual according to the methodology of scientific empiricism.
First, we exist most fundamentally as a biological and physical entity, and this is the first realm in which the above principles apply. Second, we exist as psychological entities. Psychology, or the mind, is an aspect of the biology of the central nervous system and the brain. Mostly, the mind functions as an interface between the biological being and the outside world. Third, our biological and psychological existence is inextricably conjoined with other people in social organizations. Fourth, our biological, psychological and sociological existence is inextricably conjoined to the ecology of this particular planet which we call Earth. And fifth, all of those realms of existence are a facet of the immense cosmology, extending from our star system, to our galaxy, to the universe as a whole. The individual survives in that micro to macro gestalt, and the ideology of the goal of infinite survival is used for designing strategies in those five existential realms.
THE PRACTICUM
The last, essential element of any system of thought is the definition of its practicum. Taking the above principles, the next step is to render them into practical applications.
Because the first existential realm is that of Biology and because biological survival is primary to all else, the most important applications are within this realm. The most relevant area in biology is, what can be called, the life-extension sciences, and this is the particular area in which our organization is most actively involved. The bio-medical sciences are evolving very rapidly, and a radically new and much more powerful medical paradigm is emerging. Although substantial improvements in individual health, disease prevention, and longevity can be made already with available technology and life-style management, the experimental work in regeneration biology is where major breakthroughs will be made. The prospect of restoring and maintaining ones body at a level of biological vitality which one had at about the age of 25 years is the ultimate objective of the life-extension sciences. Progress in that area will be incremental over the next 10-20 years; however, there is little doubt that it can and will be made to happen. The net result of regeneration technology will be a greatly extended life-span, with the consequences, benefits, and responsibilities that are attendant to that. The particular approach which we are pursuing is described in detail in the Foundation's Manual, and it is reviewed in the companion monograph entitled: The Life-Extension & Control of Ageing Program.
The second existential realm is that of Psychology, and the practicum of the ideology in this area centers around inculcating the ideology into one's personal psychology. This is done through rational, introspective, and empirical practices. The main objectives are: thinking about and reflecting on the philosophical validity of the basic principles, constructing a personal identity around the idea of the goal of infinite survival, and learning how to use the system in the conduct of one's personal life. In our written materials and work groups, a person learns how to use the ideology as a general schematic for analyzing self and the world in general. One constructs a personal critical-path-strategy for the future, involving the use the ideology in the formation of relationships, selection of work, and a variety of immediate, intermediate, and long-range objectives.
The third, fourth, and fifth existential realms are, respectively, Sociology, Ecology, and Cosmology. Again in our written materials and work groups, an array of relevant applications and objectives are considered.
The Logo
The above logo symbolically represents the complete ideology. IS represents the idea of infinite survival which is to be used as a goal by the individual within the methodology of scientific empiricism. The six concentric infinity signs represent that idea applied within the five realms of existence. The circle represents that those ideas are the essential elements of the entire ideology.
SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL IDEAS
Because survival is the primary purpose of life, by extension, infinite survival would have to be the ultimate goal of life and, therefore, this idea represents the best, ultimate purpose of self. While "survival" relates simply to basic existence, "infinite survival" addresses the quality of that life, because the highest possible quality of existence would have to be consistent with the ability to last indefinitely. Duration, whether in things or ideas or experiences, is a universal criterion of quality. When the idea of infinite survival is represented as a goal and an ultimate pursuit rather than as a condition, and when the individual self is defined as the central point-of-reference and meaning, and when scientific empiricism is used as orthodox methodology, then the idea of infinite survival is extracted from its traditional religious framework, and it becomes a fundamentally new, scientific, philosophy or ideology - one which is grounded on basic biological instincts, which elevates those instincts to their highest, best expression, and which can operate in a modern, evolutionary context.
Making the ideology of the goal of infinite survival a conscious frame-of-reference and linking one's identity to that idea will, over time, substantially reorganize one's thinking and actions and direct them along a more positive, future-oriented path. It opens a new perspective on our situation, priorities become realigned, the meaning of self is redefined, social affiliations are restructured, and new opportunities become more visible.
AN INITIAL PRACTICE
Because of the brevity of this monograph, the discussion here must be highly compressed, and a great deal of information has been omitted. However, assuming that the reader's interest has been maintained up to this point, it might be worthwhile for you to go one step further and to try some of the initial, psychological practices of the ideology. Indeed, one of the fundamental assumptions is that most of the substance of the ideology is intrinsic to your nature, and therefore, it is intuitively accessible, directly by you with the help of some general guidelines.
First, reread the Precepts. Think about and reflect on the issues and what has been said. The essential process is to ask yourself important and fundamental questions. What is the single, most fundamental purpose of life? Consequently, what must be the ultimate purpose of life? Can you, as a creation of life, have any purpose that is different from or discontinuous with the purpose of life? What is the primary point-of-reference for meaning and values? How do we determine what is true? These are the essential questions from which the ideology, as a resolution, has been derived. If you follow those questions deeply enough and long enough, I believe that you will arrive at essentially the same conclusions which are represented in the ideology. And if these Precepts are true, then it follows that the system of mind which is derived from them should also be correct.
Concurrent to thinking about the Precepts, try one of the basic psychological practices. In the privacy of your own, internal talk repeat the following mantra or "programming" statement to yourself:
"I am the goal of infinite survival, expressing myself through ... (say your name) by means of scientific empiricism and interacting with relevant aspects of people, places, and things in all existential realms - Biology, Psychology, Sociology, Ecology, and Cosmology."
Initially, this affirmative statement will be cumbersome. However, it is a compression of all of the essential precepts of the ideology, which are, again, the following:
| "I am the goal of infinite survival" | |
the definition of ultimate purpose |
| "Expressing myself through (your name)" | |
the ontological frame-or-reference |
| "By means of scientific empiricism" | |
the epistemology |
| "Interacting with relevant aspects of people, places, and things in all existential realms" | |
the outline for the Practicum in the five realms of existence |
Upon reflection and repetition, the main terms and ideas will become familiar; and gradually, they will generate an internal, dialectical process of questions and answers which will start realigning thinking and action - thus, redirecting the course of one's living along the lines of the values of the ideology.
This composite statement is a psychological "affirmation", "programming device", or "mantra" designed to initiate the restructuring of identity and thinking. Make this affirmation with some frequency - during an early morning meditation, while falling asleep, while walking, and before important behaviors such as eating, dealing with problems, discussing business, and planning future events. Let your mind think about alternative courses of action based on the ideology. As you repeat this simple process, you will gradually discover new things and take on a new perspective about yourself and the world around you. Rather than precondition you by saying what I think you will find, it is, at this point, best left to your trying the process by yourself and discovering what it may or may not do within the context of your own experience.
PHILOSOPHY IN GENERAL
The above synthesis of the ideology is a highly compressed summary. It can be rounded out somewhat by a brief discussion about philosophy in general. Below is a schematic of the line of thought in the section which is to follow:
| Philosophy | |
pursuit of wisdom. |
| Wisdom | |
right ideas. |
| Right | |
accuracy and/or usefulness. |
| Ideas | |
mental templates that organize thought and direct action. |
Ideology is comprehensive system of thought which is based on an idea or set of ideas; and the construction of an ideology is probably the highest pursuit of philosophy.
Philosophy is the desire for and pursuit of wisdom (2). Philosophy is a type of thinking which is derived mostly from asking important, categorical questions. All of us live most of our lives in the hustle and hassle of daily life, reacting to immediate contingencies. Now and then, every person, I assume, must lift up one's head, look around, and ask: 'what is all of this about and why?' Pursuing that type of question is the essence of philosophy. Philosophy is not a state of mind where we naturally spend much time, but it is one where we must invest some effort if we are to gain any kind of understanding and conscious control of our conditions and destiny. Paraphrasing the dictum of Socrates that "the unexamined life is not worth living", philosophy is about leading the "examined life". As we progress into an increasingly chaotic future, it will be increasingly impossible to survive unless one leads an "examined life".
If philosophy means the desire for wisdom, what, then, does wisdom mean in more precise terms? Wisdom is about right ideas. Right refers to ideas that: 1) accurately describe reality and/or 2) are useful to the people who hold the ideas. Accuracy and usefulness are the essential criteria for rightness. However, those criteria are not always compatible with each other. In fact, sometimes they conflict. And although it can be argued at length which one of the two is the superior, in this system of thought, usefulness is judged to be the higher value, because, above all, the function of your ideas and any system of thought which you might adopt is more to help you get what you want than it is to be accurate. (3)
If wisdom is right ideas, then what are ideas? Ideas are mental templates; they are symbolic representations of things, both concrete and imaginary, which are generated in the mind by the nervous system. Your five senses feed impressions (i.e., data) to your minds, both conscious and unconscious, where it is organized by intrinsic faculties that make use of the information. The key cognitive faculty of your conscious mind is your ability to form ideas, and the formation of ideas is fundamentally a linguistic process. You consciously organize your world with your words - your words are the super-structure of your ideas and when spoken are the first physical expression of your ideas. At the most basic level, you create your world with your words; and the linguistic term "my goal is infinite survival" is the basic tool with which you begin to reorganize your world in accordance with the precepts of the ideology. Ideas act mostly as an interface between one's biological self and the outside world (in other words, ideas are generated by the mind/brain to deal with and interpret one's experience in the external world and within oneself). Personal coping and destiny, interpersonal relationships, and, on a macro scale, the construction of social institutions and civilization are all derived mostly from the ideas which are held first in the individual's mind and then aggregately in the minds of many people. Ideas represent things or classes of things, and ideas differ from each other mostly according to their degree of abstraction (i.e. the extent of their inclusiveness). When an idea or set of ideas is lifted to the degree of abstraction that it becomes all-inclusive, then it becomes a general philosophy, a world view, an ideology.
Therefore, an ideology is a comprehensive system of thought which is based on an idea or set of ideas. Philosophy and ideology are interrelated. Because philosophy is about developing right ideas and because ideology is a system of ideas that is intended to be right, the highest expression of philosophical thought would have to be the construction of the best possible ideology.
OUR PERIOD IN HISTORY
Here we are in the final years of the 20th Century - it is the turn of a new millennium. This has tremendous symbolic impact on the human psyche; and, indeed, we live in the flow of an immense, historical process. This is not just a symbolic transition; it is a real turn in human history and evolution - in many ways an unprecedented paradigm shift. We find ourselves caught in a veritable apocalypse on a grand scale; but it can also be seen as an emerging apotheosis. For those who intend to be part of the future, it is time to make up you mind, get into the "fray", and go for your interests and what you believe in.
Consider from where we have come. At the last millennium, one thousand years ago, in the year 1000, the total world population was about 340 million humans, which is only a little more than the combined populations of the United States and Canada today. That was the total number of humans on the entire planet. Civilization was at a fairly low stage of development, and most of our ancestors lived like poorly kept, domestic animals. It has been 500 years since the Renaissance, when Western Civilization reopened its Greek heritage (much of it preserved by the Arabs), and the seeds of the Scientific Era began to germinate, after having spent about 1,000 years of hibernation, when that system of thought was forced to go underground. We are now about 250 years into the Industrial Revolution. We are only about 100 years into the civilization that has been built on the technologies of fossil fuel and electricity. And, what can be called, the Age of Advanced Technology began only about 50 years ago, with a plethora of new technologies including such things as: nuclear energy, the micro processor, tele-communications, and the discovery of the master molecule which creates all life-forms on this planet. From the 340 million humans who inhabited the planet 1,000 years ago, the number has increased now to about 6 billion people and the number is growing rapidly.
Think about it - 340,000,000 to 6,000,000,000 during 1,000 years or about 50 generations.
Our numbers and our industrialism have destabilized the natural ecology of the planet. We should assume that it will not self-rectify in any foreseeable future and that we will have to make a gigantic readjustment in our social and technological support systems in order to survive at any decent level of affluence. Most national governments, including the U.S., are technically in bankruptcy; and new political and economic orders must be invented. Proportionately, capital is becoming more scarce, and strategic choices will have to be made. Population wars and resource wars have begun.
At the same time, we are building space stations, a global civilization is forming, we know more about the universe and how it operates than any other generation in history, and we know how life is created and how to create life. We exist in a veritable, historical maelstrom which is more gigantic than ever before. There are devastating prospects and miraculous potentials. While the vortex is pulling many things and people down, at the same time, it is pushing other things and people upward; and much of the strategy for those who desire to move upward will be to avoiding those who are going down and position oneself in the currents that are ascending.
Many questions ... many issues ... many complexities, jeopardies, and opportunities! And each of us must make sense out of all of it, mostly by and for oneself, a process which begins with a rethinking of purpose, process, and values - i.e., philosophy.
THE NEED FOR A NEW PHILOSOPHY OR IDEOLOGY
In the words of a representative of one of the newer, religious philosophies: "the real war is not so much over territory and resources, but first and foremost, it is a war of ideas for the minds of people".(4) Although the term "war" may have been used for the purpose of making the point more vivid, we certainly are in a period of heated competition over what will eventually be the new philosophy that captures the future vision and thereby redirects science, technology, business, politics, art, and all that constitutes civilization.
We already have available to us a variety of established general ideologies and many special application philosophies. These can be categorized variously, and below is a brief and general summary.
1) The traditional religions, their contemporary hybrids, and the spiritualistic philosophies are still the main, comprehensive ideologies that most people use. All of these ideologies are dualistic in that they posit two worlds: a material world and a non-material world. Because the material world is obviously limited, in continuous change, and with individual existence temporal, these dualistic systems assume that the non-material or spiritual world is the opposite - i.e., all encompassing, stable, and eternal. In this kind of juxtaposition, the non-material realm would obviously be preferable; and, the religions, as systems of thought, have as their ultimate purpose the goal of getting you successfully from here to there. Contiguous to that ultimate purpose, they are also social systems, systems of mind, and, to a lesser extend, economic systems. The religions are a vast repository of information and understanding; however, they have major defects. First, none of them have demonstrably accomplished or even approximated their ultimate purposes - immortality, peace on earth, and a just and moral society. Second, in terms of their ontology, they have never demonstrated or proved the existence of the non-material world or their respective gods. Third, in terms of their epistemology, the premise that something is true because an authority says so or because one wants to believe that it is true is simply absurd and unacceptable in the modern world. If you would not buy an automobile from General Motors simply because they says that theirs is the one true vehicle that works, why, then, should one buy into a philosophy about life on that same kind of assumption. When buying a car, you want tangible proof; and you should want even more proof when buying into a philosophy. Further, their conceptions about the natural world, human history, and morality were formulated so long ago that their factual basis and methodology for deciphering truth is grossly obsolete when contrasted with current knowledge. And forth, their practicum or practical applications in the real world of today is rapidly becoming irrelevant and, in some cases, counter productive. For example, the doctrine of the Apocalypse or final judgement in a world with nuclear weapons is extremely dangerous; and using the idea of the natural law of God as a basis for prohibiting birth control is contributing to ecological and social catastrophes all over the world. These are harsh indictments that will offend many people to whom I am trying to appeal. I have a great deal of empathy and affection for the religions, and I am still attempting to reconcile the ideology of the goal of infinite survival with traditional, religious thinking. However, according to the above definition of philosophy (i.e., philosophy = the pursuit of wisdom; wisdom = right ideas; and right = accurate and useful) the religions fail in the two criteria of rightness - they are factually inaccurate and increasingly less useful in the modern context.
2) The humanistic psychologies are quasi religions. This category of systems of thought may or may not be properly classified as being ideologies because most of them are very limited in scope. However, many people, who have become disaffected with religions, have adopted these systems as personal philosophies. Originally, stemming from the concepts of Freud, their main objective seems to be one of freeing the individual from the dysfunctional patterns of social conditioning so that the person can manifest one's true nature which is presumed to be instinctually good; and therefore, the freed individual will be better able to create a better world for oneself and others. The inadequacies of these systems are a little different from those of religions. Their purposes are narrow in scope and not clearly defined in any objective terms; their ontologies are somewhat confused being that they stress the individual self, but most of them also have a strong spiritualistic element; their epistemologies are fuzzy and rely mostly on the subjective feelings of people; and finally, their practicum, other than individual therapy, is limited and unclear. Like the religions, they also have failed in their primary mission - i.e., to yield, reproducibly, mental health.
3) The materialistic, secular philosophies. This category includes those systems which, per se, are not spiritualistic and which deal only with physical reality and the human condition. There are economic philosophies, social philosophies, and environmentally based philosophies, among other types; and there is science, which seems to be rapidly succeeding as the most important and dominant, secular ideology. Specifically considering science, it has major shortcomings as a complete ideology. In terms of its ultimate purpose, one might say that the aim of science is to describe the universe and all things therein (including human nature), with explanations that are based on reproducible facts and upon which one can make dependable predictions that can be used to obtain desired results. That is admirable; however, it is more of a methodology than it is a purpose, which makes the purpose of science its own methodology; and that is the biggest, most dangerous fallacy in science - it has no clear direction or moral value other than itself. In terms of its ontology, again science serves itself, with the methodology being the ultimate frame of reference. Epistemologically, science, more than any ideology, excels at being right, according to the criteria of accuracy and utility. Still, even there, without a definition of moral purpose, the accuracy and certainly the utility of science can be challenged; and most of the problems which we presently face can be attributed to the short-sighted application of scientific knowledge. In terms of its practicum, because science does not have a clear definition of ultimate purpose, it can have no clearly defined hierarchy of applications, and its expertise usually goes to the highest, monetary bidder, whose purpose usually seems to be, simply, MORE ....
4) The Ideology of the Goal of Infinite Survival has been designed to avoid the shortcomings and defects of the established belief systems. By anchoring the ideology to the purpose of survival, the system is always linked to the most fundamental instinct that is intrinsic to the physical nature of being. By lifting that definition of basic purpose to its highest expression in the form of the idea of infinite survival, all elements of the ideology should be well integrated, being upwardly and downwardly aligned and compatible with the highest and best possible conception of ultimate purpose. In this system, ultimate purpose is thus explicit and well defined; and it is an internalized frame-of-reference over which you, yourself, have a high measure of personal control. Second, defining the ontology of the system as being the individual is more accurate and useful than defining it in terms of an external entity or value. You are in the business of life for yourself, and it is your responsibility and opportunity to be the ultimate judge of what is right for yourself. Finally, by defining the epistemology as scientific empiricism, it takes advantage of the well established power of scientific thinking and orients it toward realizing empirically applications (i.e., a practicum) that are relevant to the defined ultimate purpose.
If any one or more of the traditional ideologies were adequate to cope with our current and future conditions, then, for a variety of reasons, it would be better to stay within an established doctrine rather than to invent a new one. Even if an established doctrine could be retro-fitted, so to speak, up-dated and made to suit our needs, that would still be better than inventing a new one. But none of them, per se, will be able to comprehend our current condition, nor to deal with it in any effective manner, nor to capture the immense, transformative potential which we now possess. Rather, what is needed is: 1) to suspend, to some extent, our attachments to our preconceptions; 2) to reground ourselves by going back down to the most basic, generic principles; and then 3) to come back into our situation, use the traditional knowledge as a databank, extract from it what appears to be accurate and useful, define and prioritize our current and foreseeable needs, decide what new knowledge needs to be invented and invent it, and move on, as rapidly as possible, in to the future, toward creating the kind of reality we want. When I say "we", I really mean "you" because the whole process of rapid transformation begins within the individual, who then begins to reconstruct personal reality at a very local level. Only after that is in place, do larger-scale, group units develop.
Whether consciously or by default, because we have been programmed by living in cultures from established traditions, everyone reading this material subscribes to (i.e., in some measure, believes in) one or more of the traditional religions. For the same reason, everyone subscribes to a traditional social and economic philosophy; and, if only because we use it and depend on it, everyone believes in, like it or not, science.
I am not suggesting that a person jettison one's existing religious and other beliefs and adopt the ideology of the goal of infinite survival. That would not only be ill-advised, but, psychodynamically, it would be impossible. Instead, I would suggest that a person think of the ideology as a kind of conceptual over-lay, an exoskeleton, to the content and structure of one's existing psychology. Think of the ideology as a kind of window, through which you construct your perception of the outside world and by which you organize your internal ideas in order to act on the world. Use the ideology to sort through your existing knowledge and preconceptions - look for what is accurate and useful and try to discard that which is not. And when you act, try to make actions which are in some way relevant to your long-range survival.
IN CONCLUSION
Much of this discussion may seem abstract and remote, but there are very real and practical uses for this type of philosophical work, and there are compelling reasons for you to take this with some measure of seriousness. Again, you make sense of and you deal with you daily existence by means of your personal values, attitudes, ambitions, and codes of conduct, all of which constitute your philosophy. If you lived in a stable world and if you already were reasonably adapted to that stable world, then there would be no practical need to modify your philosophy. But you do not live in a stable world; in fact, it is becoming increasingly unstable, and it will remain so for some time to come. And if you do not have a general philosophy that fits the conditions and dynamics of the world in which you live, then you are disabled on two accounts. On the one hand, you are more likely to become a victim of the change; and on the other hand, you are unprepared to take advantage of the change. Here is a very brief summary of some of the factors that will force change upon you.(5)
The world population, even at its current number, far exceeds the ecological, sociological, political, and economic capabilities that are required for sustaining this number of people at any kind of a descent standard of living. This issue is not being addressed directly and openly by political leaders, but eventually it will have to be. The prevailing notion that, if we provide a good standard of living, social security systems, and birth control technology to low income people and under-developed countries, it will cause, over the next 50 years, the global population to level off at 10-20 billion people is grossly naive. And the people who promulgate that notion are in denial to the point of malfeasance. You must be prepared to deal with resource wars, population wars, and uncontrolled migrations, which are already happening but which will intensify in the years ahead. You will need a philosophy and ethic that enables you to confront the inevitabilities that are inherent in this and other global situations.
Our survival and quality of life depend mostly on fossil fuel for energy. Whether or not existing supplies can last 50 or 500 years is made almost irrelevant by that fact that the combustion of these fuels entails CO2 emissions, which in turn cause the atmosphere to become more dense, which in turn causes the global temperature to increase, which in turn causes all kinds of ecological adjustments. Energy, resources usage, food production, the supply of investment capital - all will have to be completely restructured to meet the survival demands which are imposed by ecological shifting. Because of that, you will need a frame of mind that relates your personal survival to these challenges and facilitates you making appropriate changes - both personally and politically. There are huge problems, but there are huge opportunities; and vast new fortunes and power are waiting those who can take advantage of this inevitable transition in energy and resource utilization.
Multi-national business networks; easy global travel; and tele-communications technology with its global computer networks and hundreds of radio and television stations coming into your bedroom from all over the world - a kaleidoscope of disparate information. Whether or not you like it or want it, you will be forced into becoming part of the "global village". This will mean that an overwhelming mixture of different ethnic groups, cultures, personality types, socio-economic strata, and a deluge of new ideas and information will become an intimate part of your personal life. Psychologically, you were not engineered for such an intense melange of diversity. And only by expanding your philosophical frame-of-reference will you be able to organize and make sense of this in any effective manner.
At the base of all of this magnitude, diversity, and onslaught of change is the flood of new scientific knowledge and its plethora of new technologies. Science and technology have caused most of the change in the last several hundred years of history; and it will continue to be the driving force in the future. The science which will probably have far more impact that anything prior is life-extension science. By focusing on the control of biological ageing, life-extension science will cause greatly extended individual life-spans. Many consequences are inherent in this phenomenon. Apart from the more obvious, the one of greatest impacts will be that the individual will have to take much greater responsibility for the long-range consequences of one's actions because that individual will live long enough to have to personally live with those consequences.
The Ideology of the Goal of Infinite Survival is a philosophical construction and system of mind that is designed to align your thinking with the highest expression of your most basic instinct and to do so within the frame-work of modern scientific methodology and with the orientation of guiding a person in the context of present and future conditions. This monograph has been a brief introduction to the ideology, and the discussion is developed more extensively in other materials.
(c) Copyright. This monograph is copyrighted by The Foundation for Infinite Survival, Inc. It may be reproduced and distributed by anyone under the following conditions: 1) the text and graphics may not be changed in any way; and 2) any fee charged for distribution must not exceed $3.00. The Foundation retains the right to retract or change these stipulations at any time, effective retroactively.
(1) This monograph is an excerpt from the main document, entitled: Foundation for Infinite Survival - Manual of Principles and Practices.
(2) The etymology, or derivation, of the word "philosophy" is from the Greek words "philo", which means to desire, in a passionate but brotherly way, and "sophia" which means wisdom or knowledge of both a practical and theoretical kind.
(3) This is a long and fascinating discussion which cannot be developed here. However, consider this one example. The idea that you are inevitably going to die is a very accurate description of reality - it is absolutely true. By itself, however, it does not do much for you. In fact, it can be self defeating, because if you simply leave it at that, then nothing matters much anyway (why strive?), and you might as well terminate your life now and save yourself from a great deal of suffering. The accurate idea that you are going to die is worthwhile only if it generates the secondary idea that you do not want to die and then, next, ideas are generated about how you plan to overcome death. Denying the inevitability of this reality and aspiring to over-come it are much more useful ideas even though they are not accurate. Therefore, usefulness is a higher, more preferable value than accuracy.
(4) This is a paraphrase of a statement made by a representative of the Unification Church in an interview for Frontline, a Public Broadcasting System documentary series.
(5) Reference is made to the following sources for a good over-view of the world conditions which will be impacting on this and subsequent generations: 1) World Dynamics; by Jay W. Forrester; 1973; and 2) Beyond the limits : confronting global collapse, envisioning a sustainable future; by Donella H. Meadows; 1992.