Enformationism Website

I have finally published my website on the philo-scientific topic of Generic Information, which is a key concept in my personal Deist worldview. I've been using the coined term "Enformationism" on this forum, so now you can see what I was talking about. Check it out at the link below.

If you have any questions or comments, you can post them in the Forum on the last page under the heading of Feedback. I will need some voluntary Thesis Advisors to give me a rigorous critique of the evidence and speculations presented. If you have the necessary interest and/or expertise please PM me to offer your invaluable services. Thanks.

http://www.enformationism.info/index.html

PS---Due to some technical diffucalties with server-side resources, such as the Forum, the site may sometimes be very slow to load and display. Patience is a cardinal virtue.

Looks interesting. I'll check it out.

Nice site!

Very nicely done!

I've reached page 18 and bookmarked it for later reading. I'll restrain myself from providing feedback until I've read it all.

Paul Anthony wrote:

I'll restrain myself from providing feedback until I've read it all.

Take your time. Enformationism is a proposed 21st century upgrade to the cultural/scientific/philosophical/religious worldview of humanity-in-general. As such, it is both a modest conceptual adjustment, and a bold belief-system revolution. Humble or hubristic? You be the judge.

Here's a definition of "worldview" from the glossary of terminology:

Worldview : The general, philosophical understanding of a person’s situation relative to the whole world. This fundamental belief system is constructed by each individual from innate dispositions, experienced perceptions, cultural memes, and reasoned inferences to serve as a template for learning and operating within the limits of the physical and social environment. It is an internal model of reality, which frames and filters all incoming information. This mental conception is all we know of Reality.

Gnomon wrote:

Here's a definition of "worldview" from the glossary of terminology:

...This fundamental belief system is constructed by each individual from innate dispositions, experienced perceptions, cultural memes, and reasoned inferences to serve as a template for learning and operating within the limits of the physical and social environment. It is an internal model of reality, which frames and filters all incoming information. This mental conception is all we know of Reality

Alas, most individuals don't construct their own worldview, but rather a adopt the views expressed by (A) their church; (B) their political party; (C) their family and friends; or (D) the media.

Alain de Botton wrote in The Consolations of Philosophy:

"... it is not only the hostility of others that may prevent us from questioning the status quo. Our will to doubt can be just as powerfully sapped by an internal sense that societal conventions must have a sound basis, even if we are not sure exactly what this may be, because they have been adhered to by a great many people for a long time. It seems implausible that our society could be gravely mistaken in its beliefs and at the same time that we would be alone in noticing the fact. We stifle our doubts and follow the flock because we cannot conceive of ourselves as pioneers of hitherto unknown, difficult truths."

Sad, but true.

Quote :

Alas, most individuals don't construct their own worldview, but rather a adopt the views expressed by (A) their church; (B) their political party; (C) their family and friends; or (D) the media.

It's true that folks don't always consciously construct their own personal worldview. Most of the construction is done automatically and subconsciously. Yet it is possible to take conscious control of the process. But it's not easy, because of the outside forces you mentioned pushing a conventionalized and homogenized worldview.

After 30 years of conventional beliefs, with only mild skepticism, I finally decided to tear-down the crumbling edifice of my childhood, and to build anew from sturdier material. However, it was inevitable that my new worldview was built upon the original foundation. So I still have difficulty with exotic concepts from other traditions that may or may not be true. Open-minded skepticism is my new construction specification.


PS---Note that the Worldview definition includes "innate dispositions" and "cultural memes" among the list of construction materials. Those are the unquestioned intuitions and authoritative teachings and mind viruses that form the bulk of the beliefs for an unexamined life.

Gnomon wrote:

PS---Note that the Worldview definition includes "innate dispositions" and "cultural memes" among the list of construction materials. Those are the unquestioned intuitions and authoritative teachings and mind viruses that form the bulk of the beliefs for an unexamined life.

Yes I think cultural memes are a big one. Social structures like governments, businesses, clubs, and schools also play a large role in helping to shape our world view.

Quote :

We stifle our doubts and follow the flock because we cannot conceive of ourselves as pioneers of hitherto unknown, difficult truths.

For years I stifled my doubts about the materialistic worldview of modern science because I couldn't imagine that I could be right, and all of the geniuses and authorities (in Science) could be wrong. But that's also exactly why I swallowed my doubts about the Bible-centered (spiritualistic) worldview of my religious upbringing. It was only when I began to notice that a few other "pioneers" were thinking along the same heretical lines---both Religion and Science are due for a paradigm shift---that I mustered-up the courage to doubt openly.

It can be lonely being a pioneer in the strange land of tomorrow. But instead of returning to the safely corralled flock, we congregate with a few other black sheep on internet forum ghettos. Time will tell who chose the better path to the future; the confident sheep being led to the slaughter, or the straying doubters.