Geoff's Miscellany

Miscellaneous Musings

What They Think

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Everybody puts on the brakes before acting when they consider what others will think.

I would guess that many refuse to do what is best because of what they think.

I am often amazed at how each man loves himself more than others, but cares more for the opinions of others than of himself. If a god should appear to a man, or a wise teacher and charge him to cease to think or imagine anything which which he would not make known as soon as he thought it, he would not last one day [without breaking the command]. This is because we have more respect for the thoughts of others about us than for our own thoughts of ourselves. Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book XII Chapter IV*

Πολλάκις ἐθαύμασα πῶς ἑαυτὸν μὲν ἕκαστος μᾶλλον πάντων φιλεῖ, τὴν δὲ ἑαυτοῦ περὶ αὑτοῦ ὑπόληψιν ἐν ἐλάττονι λόγῳ τίθεται ἢ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων. ἐὰν γοῦν τινα θεὸς ἐπιστὰς ἢ διδάσκαλος ἔμφρων κελεύσῃ μηδὲν καθ αὑτὸν ἐνθυμεῖσθαι καὶ διανοεῖσθαι ὃ μὴ ἅμα καὶ γεγωνίσκων ἐξοίσει, οὐδὲ πρὸς μίαν ἡμέραν τοῦτο ὑπομενεῖ. οὕτως τοὺς πέλας μᾶλλον αἰδούμεθα, τί ποτε περὶ ἡμῶν φρονήσουσιν, ἢ ἑαυτούς.

Is it true? Do we care so much more for what others think about us than what we think?

I once told a group of students before an SAT to get some water, splash their faces, do some pushups or jumping jacks, or whatever it took to wake up before we started the test process. I said that wasting money taking this thing while drowsy was a bad idea. I then said, “Never be afraid to do what makes you look weird to be the best.” Several years later a student contacted me because that line changed how she approached excellence.

Peer-pressure can actually be a good thing. But too often we imagine that somebody might think something bad about us. That they might be offended by us. That they might think we’re silly. Most people forget almost every thought they have throughout the day. And most people are terrible at reading others. These thoughts that people may have are just fiction, wraiths, figments in the ether. They’ll be covered by the sands of time or they will never exist at all. Yet, many are ruled by their fear of the thoughts of others. The fear of man, as it’s been said, is a snare.

* Here is a more professional translation: 

4. It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own. If a god appeared to us— or a wise human being, even— and prohibited us from concealing our thoughts or imagining anything without immediately shouting it out, we wouldn’t make it through a single day. That’s how much we value other people’s opinions— instead of our own.

Aurelius, Marcus. Meditations: A New Translation (Modern Library) (Kindle Locations 2489-2492). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

33 years and 33 thoughts

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Here are 33 thoughts for my 33rd birthday. These are some of the ideas that have been in my head over the past year. You could think of it as instructions to my younger self. But it’s not merely that, as a great deal of it is just what occupied my mind this past year. A great deal of it will come across as didactic, but my job is telling people how to find their best self and giving them steps to get to it, so I don’t care.

  1. Learn the difference between what you can control and what you cannot and meticulously curate your inner life around recognizing that distinction. I have years and years of bad habits of thought based around, not taking responsibility for things beyond my control, but feeling responsible for them. There is a difference. One can choose to maintain or repair a car (taking responsibility), one cannot choose when accidents or natural disasters occur (for which one might feel responsible and therefore sad, anxious, whatever).
  2. Every moment is a gift. I’ve never suffered the way some have suffered. But my life has had it’s share of intense physical anguish as well as long term constant, dull, depressing, and demotivating pain, interrupted by bouts of intense discomfort. The idea that some events are truly evil and ought not be is difficult to reconcile with every moment being a gift, but both are true and until you learn to see things this way, it’s easy to be miserable with your lot, especially the moments beyond your control.
  3. Read broadly and carefully. Sometimes I go through phases of rushing through books and skim reading. It’s such times that I’m reading too much and should slow down.
  4. But don’t read all the time. Sometimes you need to engage in actual thought, not guided by another, and consider an issue. As a young man I discovered the cosmological argument this way sitting in a parking lot by myself staring at the night sky from the back of a truck before I ever heard of Aquinas or Aristotle.
  5. Unless your goal is to be an academic who writes often, don’t read about everything that interests you. There is only so much time and the world needs doers, not just thinkers.
  6. If you’re a Christian who can read, there is no excuse to not read the Bible daily, especially the Psalms, Proverbs, and the Gospels.
  7. If you’re a Christian who is especially interested in studying the Bible at a young age, do not let a youth minister convince you that this is a good time to consider Bible college.
  8. With that in mind, one should never major in something the purpose of which is to automatically be “in charge” of others or an institution upon leaving college. Either go right to work or major in something that forces you to acquire concrete skills for helping others.
  9. Along the same lines, if you’re sure that you were called into the ministry, major in something definitely helpful to others (maybe even trade school) and take some Greek/Hebrew courses to help you understand the Bible. Then go to church for a few years as an adult rather than figuring Bible college taught you everything (which is didn’t) and that you have the best ideas (you don’t) with which to remake a church in your image. The same is true among secular people who major in activist fields. Ayaan Hirsi Ali said it best, “Many students comes to me full of wonderful intentions hoping to change the world; they plan to spend their time helping the poor and disadvantaged. I tell them first to graduate and make a lot of money, and only then figure out how best to help those in need. Too often students can’t meaningfully help the disadvantaged now, even if it makes them feel good for trying to. I have seen so many former students in their late 30s and 40s struggling to make ends meet. They spent their time in college doing good rather than building their careers and futures. I warn students today to be careful how they spend their precious time and to think carefully about when it is the right time to help. It’s a well-worn cliché, but you have to help yourself before you help others. This is too often lost on idealistic students.”
  10. Take care of your body when you’re young. I lifted weights, ran, and did martial arts but frequently ate food that was affordable rather than healthy. I’m still paying for doing that trade incorrectly even now, despite having a low body fat percentage and remaining strong.
  11. Don’t make drinking “your thing.” I never did this, but I observed and known many who did. I’ve seen folks post on online that they drank themselves into a stupor over a political election (see point one again).
  12. Don’t make politics “your thing.” Human are inherently tribal. How you vote has effects on your tribe. So be educated, but your tribe is your thing. The last thing you need to do is alienate yourself from people near to you (you can control this) because you’re concerned about events you cannot control. It’s okay to be involved in politics, but politics on the grand scale is not your family or your tribe. Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness. This means the wellbeing of the church around you (that’s what his kingdom is) and the highest standard of character you can imagine for yourself (based on God’s word, of course).
  13. Always have people in your life you can look to as teachers, examples, companions, and beneficiaries.
  14. On the other hand, be careful of having somebody become “your guy” that you go to for your thought. One can learn a lot from Jordan Peterson, but he’s wrong about a lot of things. One can learn a lot from Aristotle, but he’s wrong about a lot of things.
  15. If you want to avoid the deceitfulness of riches, spend a period of time seriously studying money, learning to save, manage accounts, and invest. By learning that money is a means that can be manipulated by choices, lost instantly, and has no intrinsic value can help you avoid making it a life goal, lifestyle, or a god.
  16. Build your career before you build your house. Pay for the lessons before the television, plant your crops before you paint the bedroom, and learn your craft before you buy your wine (Proverbs 24:27).
  17. Get your sense of offense under control. Like the poem says, “IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise…” People will do bad things do you, but it’s no reason to lose emotional or moral control.
  18. Don’t waste your time with toxic people. For some, especially Christians, this can feel judgmental. But if you’re not somebody’s pastor, counselor, or parent there’s very little you could realistically do by letting them waste your time. It “feels like” ministry or service to let folks like this waste your time, but it’s really a desire to not be known for hurting people’s feelings. You wouldn’t wear ugly clothes if they were lying around, you wouldn’t drink nasty water if it was in your favorite cup, you probably wouldn’t eat garbage food if you found it in your fridge. Why would you spend time with somebody who is corrosive to your character and goals?
  19. Write every day, but don’t make it public. Writing helps your thoughts get to a place where you can examine them. Make task lists. Write ideas. It’s worthwhile. I keep a pocket notebook and when I turn a page I write “Ideas” on the left page and “tasks” on the right with the date in the middle. This way I can write down anything that comes to mind or needs to be finished before I relax in the evening.
  20. It’s stupid not to believe in God. From a risk-assessment angle, this is obvious. But it’s also true from a Platonic point of view. But just as stupid as it is not to believe in God it is also stupid not to show gratitude (see above). The problem for many people is that they attempt to have gratitude for being, consciousness, and bliss but they cannot because they do not think of God as the giver of all three.
  21. Your perceptions are part of the whole of reality, but they may not reflect reality outside of your head. Judge them accordingly.
  22. Jesus retired by 30, started a second career as an itinerant preacher, theologian, philosopher, and folk healer. But by 30 he was a master of his religious traditions and apparently had resources aplenty for his mother, brothers, and sisters to be cared for. He also had a reputation for his craft as a he traveled about. There’s a lesson in this.
  23. God is the source of all discrete entities. God is also the unity between them. God is distinct from all discrete entities. All discrete entities obtain their existence by relying on God. By creating, the God in whom all things have their being becomes a being among beings. Nature not only implies the existence of God. Nature herself implies the fact of God’s incarnation.
  24. While I mentioned caring for your family and tribe above, it’s important to have a big vision (I know, that involves some politics). Think about the whole of civilization. Having a child makes you care more about your tribe and family but also the larger future. Caring about where you leave your shopping cart and whether you throw garbage on the road is a prerequisite to inventing the space program and modern medical science.
  25. Having a child makes it easier for you to be unexpectedly harsh with people or animals that may be a threat.
  26. Having a child makes it easier for you to show compassion to very unappealing people because you see the chain of cause and effect from bad parenting, circumstances, and genetics.
  27. When you get older you’re fine with apparent inconsistencies like this.
  28. Family devotions make life all the sweeter. It’s sad when I find out that people have never had such an experience.
  29. Having a weekly or bi-weekly marriage meeting is a powerful experience because it depersonalizes some of the challenges of marriage and creates an “official time/space” for problem solving and planning without fighting. It also creates a time to revisit specific moments for which you appreciate each other.
  30. Masculinity and femininity are real, even if expressed differently in different people. Learn these polarities in yourself and in your partner. Don’t let people treat you as though you’re what you aren’t. Don’t treat your wife like one of the guys. Don’t expect your husband to be a perfect lady.
  31. Starting without a plan is way better than never starting anything. My whole life I’ve liked to plan everything I do with minute detail. But for larger projects with many moving parts these detailed plans remain unfinished and the project remains unfinished or worse, never started. It also increases the cost of obstacles. When one plans too thoroughly, roadblocks become irrecoverable.
  32. The Internet is filled with pointless rabbit holes. If you love knowledge, you can find a reason to distract yourself from any computerized project. It’s important to use a timer when you get online. On the one hand, I learned to manage my arthritis, improved my Greek and Hebrew, cured my heartburn, and learned options trading using the Internet. On the other hand, I know too much trivia about favorite movies, old video games, dead programming languages, unusual conspiracy theories (a favorite hobby of mine), and meaningless intra-blogger drama.
  33. Time is limited but every moment can be redeemed. This is Paul’s testimony. It is also the wisdom of the Psalms. Jesus died at 33, taking responsibility for the moral and spiritual evils of the entire human race. And I think that subjective and objective meaning can be found in life to the degree that a man takes responsibility for things. That’s how we redeem the time. We take ownership of its passing and the events that float upon its surface into our sphere.

Atheist Tricks

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In the mid 2000s, it became popular for atheists to define their point of view as “lacking belief in a God.” But as it turns out, the older literature is clear:

An atheist is one who denies the existence of a personal, transcendent creator of the universe, rather than one who simply lives life without reference to such a being. Atheist is one who asserts the existence of such a creator. Any discussionof atheism, then, is necessarily a discussion of theism.

Le Poidevin, Robin. Arguing for Atheism: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. Routledge, 2003, xvii 

Now, words change meaning over time, but why change this one? Atheism used to be a wrong, but strong thing. But it shifted to claiming that one simply lacks belief in a god/God. Here’s the strategy as far as I can tell:

  1. Sound above certainty and therefore within postmodern sensibilities.
  2. Remove oneself from cognitive responsibility when faced with good theistic arguments.

These two moves allow an interlocutor to have no responsibility for their beliefs because “they lack belief” while still claiming that they believe, somehow, that your belief in God is wrong. It’s something I noticed a few years ago. Lots of folks, influenced by lots of forces, try very hard to change word meanings while still keeping the emotional force of those words. It’s a fool’s game to let them do it.

Jordan Peterson: Heretic or Helpful Pagan?

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Rachel Fulton Brown writes:

…I don’t think that Jordan has a Messiah complex. But I do think that he thinks that he is capable on the strength of his own will of saving the world. It is why he spends so much time speaking. Because he believes that through his speech he can save himself—and that by speaking in the way that he does, he can save everyone. Sure, Jordan uses Christian vocabulary, but he does not think like a Christian, nor does he claim to.* Rather, Jordan thinks like Nietzsche, as he shows clearly in his book.

She claims that Peterson is a Pelagian. That is, essentially, the Christian heresy that claims that we’re left to work to save ourselves and the world without the assistance of God’s grace. Further definition and explanation gets tricky and technical. But the point being, Peterson may well be exactly that. But I submit that he may not be a heretic at all, but perhaps a pagan or even a gnostic who finds Christian ideas to have remarkable psychological depth and therefore metaphorical truth value. I say this because he remains publicly agnostic as to the resurrection of Jesus.

I had taken Peterson’s claims to be a Christian in the past at face value, but when it comes to him, everything is pretty complicated. And that’s fine. Btw, my definition of Christian is not the same as the Bible’s definition of how somebody comes to be saved. People are saved by God’s mercy, full stop (Rom 9:18). A Christian is somebody who is a member of a church and believes Christian dogmas (Trinity, Incarnation, Salvation by Grace, etc). These are overlapping, but not coterminous groups. 

I tend to think of Peterson as somebody who articulates excellent natural(istic) rationales as well as how-to explanations of important Biblical ideas and instructions. He manages this even when he gets the metaphysics and theology incorrect. For instance, is there a sense in which we save ourselves and those who hear us by our speech? Yes:

Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

(1 Timothy 4:16)

For Paul, of course, that speech is sharing the message of Christ carefully and appropriately. But Peterson articulates an explanation as to how this is true in natural circumstances that provides an analogy as to how it is true in spiritual ones. Speaking the truth does accomplish something that ultimately brings goodness into the world. But what Peterson misses, or at least doesn’t say, is that this not only justifies existence for those who practice it, but it does so precisely because the Father of Jesus Christ really is the cause of the world. 

Edit: After reading 12 Rules for Life and listening to Peterson debate Sam Harris on the definition of truth, I have to say that while Peterson says “right things” about truth that end up making for true statements if you have a good definition of truth (what a mouth full), Peterson’s own definition of truth and admitted habit of lying all the time is a reason to be concerned about his growing influence. 

Peterson is right that if everybody took full responsibility for their social self, then things would be better. Jesus says that Christians should be the ones who seek to reconcile to those they wrong as soon as they remember they did it. Jesus says Christians should rebuke those who sin. Jesus says that Christians should forgive those who repent as soon as they repent: See below:

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 

(Matthew 5:23-24)

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

(Luke 17:3-4)

The question, of course, is salvation from what? For instance, the Stoics claim that philosophy can save you from internal disturbance. If that’s their definition of salvation, then yeah, Stoicism can do that. But Stoicism cannot offer the salvation Christ offers, but it does not claim to do so. So if Peterson’s claim is that true, precise speech can save us from sin, Satan, and death, then he’s wrong, even horrifyingly wrong.

But if he’s claiming that we need salvation from nihilism, social decay, and the potential dissolution of Western civilization, then maybe the hard road of rugged personal responsibility is the salve for our wounds. It doesn’t heal original sin, but it isn’t meant to. Of course, Satan, sin, and death are connected to the problems Peterson wants to solve. But I think that by articulating the truth, even improperly, one acts as though they have faith in Christ as the Logos/Word (John 1:1-18). And since the Logos who orders the Cosmos is revealed to be none other than Jesus of Nazareth, one could say that Peterson’s efforts to get people to act in line with the Logos are things Jesus could use, just as Christ, through his church, used Aristotle, Plato, and the Stoics to clarify the gospel in the first 1200 years of the church. 

And so there is a sense in which Peterson’s claim that salvation from nihilism and social destruction can occur if everybody takes ownership of their lives at every layer is right and perhaps even articulated in the Bible. As such, it is important stuff to say and many who try to teach the Bible understate or perhaps poorly state it.

But there is also a sense in which Peterson’s message is absolutely inadequate. For instance, Peterson, in claiming to offer a sort of salvation (a good sort even) that is available in the Bible, leaves out the central narrative of salvation contained within the Bible (God sent his Son, they called him Jesus, he came to love, heal, and forgive. He lived and died, to buy my pardon…). In this sense, he is, as a preacher of the gospel, utterly incompetent. But as a teacher of wisdom, even wisdom contained in, and perhaps necessary to fully appreciate the gospel, he does a pretty good job.

Edit: Again, based on what I said above, I cannot quite say “he does a pretty good job” any more. Peterson great work, and it was truly good, was getting people to see the more prosaic, but still there, meanings in the Biblical stories. But he left out the core narrative, and I think he used to be on the verge of converting to Christianity, but my suspicion is that his desire to be friends with Sam Harris and the other cool atheists while simultaneously courting serious Bible readers is catching up to him. I could be wrong, and I wish him the best, but he’s gone from saying, “The logos could do anything, but I don’t know” with respect to the question of the resurrection to dodging it entirely.

The question is, what is he trying to do? If he isn’t trying to replace the teaching ministry of the church, then he probably isn’t a heretic, he’s like Marcus Aurelius or Musonius Rufus who explains his philosophy in terms of Christian symbols. If you know what he says, it’s foolish not to consider it and practice the best of it. It might even lead you to Christ. But in itself, it cannot save you in the full Christian sense.

Edit: I hadn’t known that Peterson intended to buy a church and make his own religion when he was younger. So Brown is probably right to call him a heretic.

But, it’s important to consider this side of it all: 

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward. 

(Mark 9:38-41)

Music Video: An Unstoppable Man

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If you like synth wave and/or Mad Max, this music video might improve your workouts or make you feel pumped.

Warning: Don’t try any of these stunts without a seatbelt.

 

Book Review: Poor Richard’s Retirement

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Aaron Clarey, Poor Richard’s Retirement: Retirement for Everyday Americans

Aaron Clarey is a consultant and independent economist who writes books that are meant to help young men and women make wiser financial choices. His approach is no nonsense, gruff, and often cynical. But despite seeming like a complete jerk, his advice which is free on his blog or youtube channel clearly comes from a big heart (for sensitive users or those who may listen w/children around, he does curse a lot). This is evident when he, for instance, criticizes parents who don’t spend a great deal of time with their children (this is a common thread in his books and podcasts and I only listen to them a couple of times a year).

I disagree with a great deal of his material, but it’s because he’s not religious and I’m a Christian. But his grasp of markets, how they work, and what personal steps are necessary for success are second to none.

That being said, if you’re a millennial, especially one who graduated college between 2007-2010, you’ve probably wondered how in the heck you could ever retire. If so, Clarey’s book has everything you need. It contains a helpful explanation of steps one can take in order to get ready for retirement, but does something a great many similar books don’t do. He reframes what it means to live a life of meaning with a personal sense of significance. The book amounts to a sort of secular explanation of Jesus’ saying that we should “…take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

I think the argument he makes, though it veers toward cynicism is worth reading in full because of its rhetorical effect. So I won’t explain it.

The practical tips he gives are excellent. His solution to the problem of retirement is ultimately satisfying (more on that below). And he does run some of the numbers comparing costs in previous generations of those of ye olde current year in a way that is helpful and potentially guilt inducing.

Worthwhile quotes:

  1. Understand this and understand this clearly. Most two-income families are: Outsourcing the upbringing of their own children To complete strangers Passing up on seeing their children grow up So BOTH parents can work jobs they don’t like While suffering commutes that keep them from their families AND stressing themselves out in the process. (47)
  2. We engage in the rat race, pursuing pointless educations, for taxing careers, life-wasting commutes, just to buy stuff, pointless material things, while abandoning anything and anybody that really matters in life.  It’s the cause of the majority of divorces in the country, the majority of unvisited parents in nursing homes, and is ultimately responsible for all the country’s financial problems.  And to throw the burden of saving for retirement on top of Americans’ inability to just keep it together, only makes an already-miserable situation impossible to bear. (48-49)
  3. It is a full – time job to go and seek out new and interesting people who are going to make your life worth living. (134)

Conclusion

Ultimately, Clarey’s essay on retirement is an admirable little book in that it accomplishes three things:

  1. Instructs you not to retire.
  2. Tells you how to retire.
  3. Subverts the present day value system.

With respect to number three, I’ll wax philosophical. One of the reasons that a capitalist style economy can work is if Adam Smith’s moral sentiments are assumed. Capitalism helps provide a wide degree of freedom to people who pursue a sort of Aristotelian/Christian/Stoic vision of the good life wherein virtue is paramount, social trust is assumed, and while the particulars of an individual’s pursuit of wealth and greatness may vary, they typically revolve around family, invention, adventure, and philanthropy. Such a system of values simply is not broadly assumed in Western Civilization, and so capital itself is perceived as the highest and total good for man.

Clarey, an irreligious capitalist, sees this problem as a source of poverty and unhappiness and attempts to solve it by reorienting the value system of his audience. For this the book is worth ten times the price. Buy it for graduating seniors, read it if you’re in college, use it to get out of debt. It’s a good book.