Ten Mistakes
- 1. The Secret of Success
- 2. The Prophets Among Us
- 3. Fighting For Your Rights
- 4. Reality Is What It Is
- 5. Things Will Not Get Better
- 6. Everybody Is Different
- 7. You Make Your Own World
- 8. You Will Never Be Appreciated
- 9. You Owe Nothing to Society
- 10. You Cannot Save The World
Free independent individualists are neither omnisicient nor infallible, and are as prone to mistakes as any other human beings. The difference is, a free individual is always willing to admit and correct mistakes when they are discovered. There are some mistakes that are so common most never learn to identify them until they have cost them more than they can fully recover from or correct. These are common mistakes resulting from acceptling what one is taught all their lives.
Perhaps the most universal of all hoaxes and scams is, “prophesy,” the claim that one is able to foresee or predict the future. From palm readers to pseudo-scientists predicting “global warming,” none of these frauds could be put over if one simple inviolable fact of reality were kept in mind, no one can predict the future—EVER! This must no be confused with, “contingent predictions,” which are based on the nature of principles, and are not really predictions but statements of “how things work.
In the political sense, rights are supposed to define the principles of how individuals ought to relate to one other in a society. Everyone has a right to life, liberty, and property, which means they have a right to live their life as they choose without the interference of any other individual or individuals. Since these rights can only be violated by some individual or agency of individuals using force, the use of force between individuals must be banned.
Reality Is What It Is, Not What You'd Like It To Be
Unlike non-living entities, every living organism must act to remain the kind of organisms it is. The life of any organism is not something that happens to the organism, but something it does and must do if it is to remain alive. From, “The Nature Of Life:” “The unique character of the life process is to sustain the living organism as the kind of organism it is. So long as that process continues, the organism continues to exist as the kind of organism it is.
What distinguishes human beings from all other life is their volitional nature. Beyond the fact that every individual human being is an animal organism with a mind (which is what makes them human beings and the only way in which they are the, “same,”) every individual is different from every other human being. [See the section, “Unique Human Nature,” in the, “The Moral Nature,” article.] Unlike all the other higher animals whose behavior is determined by their instinctive nature, every human being’s behavior is determined by their own conscious choice.
The, “Introduction to Philosophy,” says: Reality is immutable, absolute, and ruthless. Immutable means the nature of reality cannot be changed or ever be other than what it is. Absolute means reality is complete and unconditional; it is all there is and is not contingent on anything. Ruthless means reality determines what is true and not true, and no human feelings, desires, choices, acts, beliefs, or wishes can change it.
If you are a free individual, what others say about you or to you, or what anyone else thinks about you or how anyone else judges you does not matter because all that matters to you is reality and the truth that describes it. No one else can really know who and what you are, with the possible exception of one who is closest to you. It is only what you know you are that matters.
You are not born with any obligation (or duty) of any kind to any other human being—not to humanity or society, or your country, your community, your neighbors, or your family, or any other individuals. No one else has a claim on your life, or any part of it. Your only “obligation” is to yourself and that obligation is to be the best human being you can be. The only one who suffers if you fail in that obligation is you.
What is generally meant by freedom, whenever philosophers, academics, or politicians use that word, is some social condition usually referred to as a, “free society,” and almost everyone who argues for or promotes, “freedom,” is actually promoting a kind of political system. Freedom only pertains to individuals, not societies. Freedom is a necessity of life for human beings because, to live, they must be free to learn, and think and choose how to live.