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Book: Philosophy of Life Instinct: Introduction

Introduction

We ask ourselves many questions in life. We get some answers from our formal education, some from finding out ourselves through reading and listening. Yet other solutions come from conversations.

This book aims to provide practical answers to the largest and smallest questions of life, in simple language, accessible to anyone interested in these matters, with no prior preparation. A scan of the Table of Contents will give the reader an overview of the problems I have covered.

By nature, I am obsessive about knowing and understanding as much as I can. I also have a streak of not readily accepting the answers of authorities. This combination has resulted in much mental labour for me over the years as I have asked myself basic questions and tried to answer them from first principles.

I was looking for a philosophy that answered just about any question I had. Sometime in my teens, I realised that many answers came back to thinking about what we are. Some answers were satisfying as they put the question immediately to rest. Others showed me the limits of our knowledge or understanding. The latter helped me find peace and not continue agonising that the answers were there — I was not working hard enough to find them or lacked the intelligence to understand the answers others were giving.

In my early twenties, I started thinking seriously about the problems I deal with in this book. I began making notes and expanded them into the outline of a book by my late twenties. Then life got busy — with marriage, migrating to Australia, children and a career in technology. But I always wanted to return to this book and complete it. Now, in my early fifties, I have managed to finish it.

Over the years, I read the principal works and histories of classical Greek and European philosophy and philosophers and familiarised myself with their schools of thought. There is also the category of famous philosophers of scientific, secular and religious varieties, from the East and West, that I browsed.

But it has not been as serious a study as one would expect from the writer of a book of philosophy, especially in modern times. It has been intentional, particularly in the last few years, for I did not want to be influenced by others. Neither did I want to become an academic philosopher, for my intention is to keep my answers accessible to the layperson, simple enough to understand and apply in life.

To be unique or first with this philosophy has not been a large part of my motivation. Rather, I wanted the satisfaction of original thought, of working things out for myself. As you read this book, if you are deep into philosophy or have delved into it to any extent, I wouldn’t be surprised if you find some of the ideas in an old or recent body of thought. I am fully expecting that and will not be dismayed for there are many intelligent people today and have been there earlier. How could they not have asked similar questions and found comparable answers? How could many of them not have been more intelligent than me, or at least just as much? The same applies to the power of imagination of those who have gone before me.

Yet there are three reasons for my writing and publishing this book.

The first impulse is the most important. Based on what I have learned, I feel that no one has given the same answers as I have. This applies in letter and spirit to the various extant schools of philosophy. If correct, my ideas could add something worthwhile to the world, a practical paradigm to make you and the world happier.

The second reason is purely selfish, to get it out of my system, for my satisfaction. This is in conjunction with the fact that by trying to make sense to others, we make sense to ourselves, especially when it is a complicated subject. In doing this, I have been acutely aware that I should guard against a naïve and comfortable insularity in my thinking. The remedy I have tried is to find the challenges to my logic, intuitions and assumptions that may come from anyone, amateur or expert. Having a single mind and being an amateur philosopher, my ability to imagine all the possible difficulties in any thinking line would be limited. I have done my best by going over the ideas many times with a critical view and sleeping several times over each of them. Time will tell how well they stand up to wide open scrutiny.

The third reason for writing and sharing the book is a desire for communion, to share the trains of thought and conclusions with others, for it is nice to do so. We may mutually benefit from the exchange. Sure, there is an element of ego and self-importance in assuming anyone wants to hear my thoughts, but then, so is the case with most discussions, and if we were all to hold back on this account, the world would be a poorer place. To further alleviate the danger of hubris, there will inevitably be many who will not know about the book or buy it. Those who read it may not provide any reaction either. All this will naturally dispel any illusions of grandeur I may get.

The satisfaction of teaching pales in comparison to the joys of exploring a new area with friends, beckoning each other to display our discoveries delightedly. I have written the book in this spirit and you should read it likewise. I would have you think of me as the first among equal explorers of the premise.

I have based my ideas on observation, rational thought, and occasional flashes of insight. I hope that being an amateur not only doesn’t invalidate my conclusions but lends them an element of freshness.

If any specialist philosophers read this book and report useful improvements on past thinking or entirely new sequences of logic, it would be immensely satisfying to have made even a small contribution to this most supreme of all the intellectual pursuits of humanity.

Once I have published this book, I will peacefully study others' answers to the problems I have dealt with, comparing mine with an open mind. I will certainly learn more, directly or indirectly, and probably enhance many aspects of my solutions. If I believe the evolution of my core ideas will help you further, I will undoubtedly write them out for you in future editions of this work or books dedicated to some specific subjects.

© 2020 Shashidhar Sastry. All rights reserved.

(As each chapter of the book is published, its link is updated in the ToC below.)

Table of Contents

Part I Metaphysics of The Life Instinct

Part II Philosophy of The Life Instinct

Part III The Life Instinct and The Future

Published By Shashidhar Sastry

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