Descartes' Principles

The First Principle

Everyone has heard René Descartes most famous axiom, “I think therefore I am”. But, few people realize the full context and profound importance of this truth.

Here is a translation of the greater context of what Descartes actually wrote:

“I observed that, whilst I thus wished to think that all was false, it was absolutely necessary that I, who thus thought, should be somewhat; and as I observed that this truth, I think, therefore I am, was so certain of such evidence, that no ground of doubt, however extravagant, could be alleged by the sceptics capable of shaking it, I conclude that I might, without scruple, accept it as the first principle of the philosophy of which I was in search.”

First of all, it is important to realize that the basis of Descartes famous assertion, as is clearly indicated above, is that, “all was false”, which is to say that nothing we experience can be considered anything more than an illusion. Forget that modern science (i.e. quantum physics) bears this out; it is self evident to any careful thinker. As Descartes himself puts it elsewhere:

“What is there then that can be considered true? Perhaps this only, that nothing is certain.”

And I myself have often stated, “The only thing I know for sure is that I know nothing for sure; except I am.”

The “except I am” is my own expression of Descartes famous aforementioned axiom. Of course he actually wrote in Latin, “cogito ergo sum”. But, contemporary historians note that the correct form is, “cogito cogitationes, ergo sum”, or “cogito me cogitare, ergo sum”. Using these forms, then a better translation that more correctly reflects what Descartes was trying to say is, “I am aware, therefore I am”. Or, more precisely, “I am cognizant, therefore I am”.

The importance of this “first principle” is that there is nothing else we can be certain of, except that we exist! But Descartes did not just stop there. He went on to ask, what can be derived from this most basic truth? And while that is presently about the extent of my knowledge of Descartes, I myself can derive a second, third, and even fourth principle from his well established first.

The Second Principle

The first principle is, “ I am cognizant, therefore I must exist”. From this it is possible to derive other important information about our existence.

For example, if I exist – as the first principle claims – then I must also be eternal. The basis for this second principle is as unshakeable as the first. Since clearly anything with a beginning (and hense an end) cannot be said to exist at all. “If it has a beginning, then it has an end; and if it has an end, then it already has.” Anything that is not eternal is only an illusion in time (and space), and therefore does not exist. So, if I exist, then I am eternal. This is what I call the second principle.

So, I do not need to be cognizant of my eternal nature in order to know that I am eternal. It is as self evident as the first principle.

The Third Principle

The first principle says, I exist; and the second, I am eternal. So a third principle now becomes apparent, and is really only an extension of the second principle.

If I am eternal (in time) then I must also be infinite (in space) since space and time are essentially the same thing (which mystics have been saying long before Einstein came along and proved it mathematically).

Since I am infinite, the I know there is nothing that is not me! This is critically important, because it informs us that everything we experience is as much a part of who we are as anything else we experience. I am you, and you are me. To realize this in your heart is to be enlightened. To realize it in your mind is just another illusion.

The Fourth Principle

The fourth principle flows naturally from the first three: I exist, I am eternal, and I am infinite, therefore there is nothing that I am not.

I am who I am, I am the creator of all that I experience. I do not need to be aware of my devine nature, or my infinite power. The fact, whether I realize it or not, is that I am God.

Realizing this truth is incredibly humbling. In fact, if you think you are God, but you are not humbled by the thought, then you simply do not yet realize the truth of it.

From this truth wisdom flows. As God, we can plainly see the folly of judging others, and realize how by doing so we are literally judging ourselves. We learn the value, and power of forgiveness, not as a rule, but a devine law that can never be broken. We see that all struggle is futile and pointless. Peace becomes our nature, since to struggle makes no sense to someone who truly realizes they can never die.

The Perfect Poem

Life is a Poem
Written by God
With only one Word
And no revisions

The Gradual Soul

Nothing in nature is ever completely unique. Everything exists on a spectrum, so that any difference at all is only gradual. It is not possible for anything to exist outside of some gradual spectrum as a unique entity in and of itself with any significantly discrete characteristic. Everything has a direct predecessor and decendent of like kind. And, everything evolves, or changes over time.

This is the most basic teaching of Buddhism called transiency. It is an ancient concept, and it cannot be rationally denied. And yet it is so often ignored and even contradicted for foolish reasons.

For example, people frequently claim that the individual “soul” is uniquely human. This is an error of the gravest sort. It pretends to provide a “spiritual” means for us to experience the oneness of the universe, or to “commune with God”. But, instead all it does is instill a deep sense of separation from the spectrum of consciousness that is the source of our being and our “soul”. It teaches us that we are separate to begin with, and therefore we must find a way back.

But we are not separate to begin with. The appearance of separation from the universe, from each other, and from “God”, is only an illusion. We are perpetually joined to everything through a spectrum of consciousness.

It does not matter how you define the soul. If it exists at all, by any definition, then it exists on a gradual spectrum. And, if humans have a soul then in some form so do all other animals, reptiles, and even insects and germs.

If what you believe cannot account for this graduation of the soul, then it accounts for nothing, and you should demand something better to believe... evolve.

A Delusion?

Dr. Richard Wacksman is a secret government agent. He was recruited the same way all field operatives are recruited by the S.G. (a.k.a. “M.O.M.”). They caught him engaged in extremely illicit activity and used the threat of prosecution and exposure to force him to work for them. MOM routinely recuits professionals in this manner and they have tens of thousands on their payroll.

Rich was assigned to be my “handler” after I obscounded from Washington State in 1997. His orders were to make contact and befriend me, nothing more. Later he received orders to entice me to come to North Dakota, where I could be better controlled (my handlers in Seattle let me slip out of their collar) since MOM's primary base of operations are dispersed throughout the badlands in Western North Dakota (under the cover of nuclear missile silo security).

I was being trained as a “mad dog”. Mad dogs are used by MOM to keep the American social mass under control during tense social manuvering proceedures. I was “set loose” (subconsciously ordered to attack a subrural American family) as a diversion (thought I don't know what from specifically). My “training” began while I was at McNeil Island Corrections Center. I was recruited and trained subconsciously to be a mad dog, then “leashed” and placed in the community ready for action. But I slipped my leash and killed three children without “orders”. I was not exposed for the murders because I was too expensive and still servicible.

(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III – April 28, 2010 – 2:25 pm)

The Mind Hunter Farse

I started to read “The Mind Hunter” (a book about an FBI profiler who claims to be able to understand the mental processes of serial killers) and couldn't get past the first few chapters before I decided there was no point reading any more since it was more fictional than the five o'clock news (which is almost pure fiction).

The whole idea that serial killers somehow think differently than “normal” people is as full of hype as the idea that there is such thing as a “normal” person. If you handed an FBI profiler a letter written by a catholic nun and told him it was written by someone who kills children he would point out several things about the letter that “indicate” the writer is a psychopath (this has been done in numerous studies with even more dramatic and alarming results than this simple example with nuns even hints at).

But people love to think that they are “good” and the only way they can do that is by separating themselves from people who are “bad”. And it does not matter if the thing that separates them is as superficial as skin color, or as arbitrary as sexual preference. The goal is always the same; to make ourselves feel superior to someone else.

Even though this concept has been studied and documented for hundreds of years, society in general remains as ignorant as Nazi Germany to the damage they are doing to real human beings, not to mention their own children.

When, oh when will we stop sacrificing our children to Baal?

(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III – May 21, 2010 – 4:20 am)

How Much Longer Must We Kill?

The question anyone who supports the death penalty should ask is, will our culture always support the death penalty?

If they answer yes, then their ignorance is irrepressible. But, if they answer no, then they should ask themselves, how many more victims of the death penalty should we tolerate before we start making reparations?

(If the Confederate States had asked this question about slavery then perhaps America's most shameful war could have been averted.)

“I hold that man is in the right who is most closely in league with the future.” - Eisenhower, quoting Ibsen in his '56 acceptance speech

Just Blame Me

For most of my adult life I have believed that all of my problems were other people's fault and that anything good that ever happened to me was the result of my own hard work and determination. Of course I had a lot of strong evidence to support this belief system, not to mention being raised in a culture that clings to fault finding and hero worship as if nothing else matters. Without our villains to blame and our heros to idolize most of us would feel lost in a pointless existence.

(Originally written: May 12, 2010 – 4:10 am)