Plato's Premise

Having enjoyed and completely agreed with my compatriot's arguments, the time for contribution has arrived.

Herein I seek to lay out a logical foundation for all further discussion.

Stripping everything else away, removing all preconceived notions, rejecting all priorly held beliefs, forgetting former assurances, questioning every motive, and removing every postulate is entirely necessary to obtaining any meaningful or consistent understanding of reality. And in truth, an understanding of reality can be the only thing of any importance; it is the only real thing.

But what is reality? Reality is the actual, the factual, the perfectly consistent, the unquestionable, and the true. Reality is that realm that may causally affect me and may in turn be causally affected by me. Understanding reality is to see something for what it really is; it is seeing beyond all deception, misconception, or facade.

But why do I care to know reality? What happened to "ignorance is bliss"? I want to know the truth in all things, that is to say, I want to know reality because the only possible way to come to a lasting, meaningful, thorough happiness is to fully align myself with reality, to fully accept the truth and to completely integrate it into myself. And further, to understand reality to the point that it only affects me as I desire and I am able to influence it as I wish.

Think about it. What causes unhappiness? From what does malcontent flow? Unhappiness only results from an inconsistency with reality. We may be unhappy at the death of a friend when we didn't want them to go. We may be unhappy in marriage when our spouse isn't who we wish they were. We may be unhappy at work when the hoped for promotion doesn't come. We may be unhappy with riches because of their limit. We may be unhappy with power because it's still bound. We may be unhappy with praise because it could have been better. In each of these cases, unhappiness either could have been avoided or can still be overcome by a consistent understanding of reality.

But why must everything be rejected so cleanly and completely first? If I am to understand reality then every conclusion I attempt must be based off the surest logic, premises, and foundation I can manage. It is therefore necessary to begin from the very foundation, nothing else can suffice.

But what is the foundation? The only thing beyond all doubt, the only thing that could not be a deception. As Descartes found, it must be based off the fact that I am thinking and therefore I exist. Everything else is under the shadow of doubt and must be entirely subject to question.

But at what point can something be accepted as a truth? When a belief is completely consistent with all other beliefs and may be logically deduced therefrom I will accept it is true. However, upon the first appearance of counter-example or realization of faulty logic, I will reject it. So often, fallacy is clung to where truth could be found out of mere stubbornness to change. I will change as swiftly as possible.

So what is the premise? A is A. Truth is perfectly consistent with itself formerly, now, and forever. No amount of belief, hope, faith, opinion, arguing, stubbornness, pleading, desire, anger, or protest can change it. Better then to learn it. The best thing about the truth is that it is always right. This is Eternalism. Join up.