The Unbearable Lightness Of Being...Me

I Googled Deahead, salsa and tango. This is what came up.

OK, here's a million gazillion things. Right now Sac Town is in the low 80's, I'm hung over (went to an epic  good party last nite-might share, might not), I'm having 'hair of the dog' right now (third beer and I didn't get up till 11am-ish and I wake up at 5:30am everyday), yesterday my old, not in age, Deadhead buddy from years ago came to visit (which is the definition of awesome) and I'm at my hangout right now, the #cutegirlrestaurant (but I wish I had cigarettes) and ya know what, kind, gentle and very good looking readers...At this moment I'm experiencing a content of sort, a happiness (could be better, could be a lot worse) that you realize when you sit down and 'let it come to you' and if you were busy, then you might not notice it. Any who...

Sheez, ugly and ugly much (people used to look like that).

 So my long lost, and super hot after all these years, Deadhead friend sent me some links. Really peeps, our friendship was during a time when I believed in, at least a deist God, and fo sho I believed in Complimentary Alternative Medicine (CAM)...I mean after all, I was a frackin' Deadhead (remind me to tell you about the most epic concert ever ever, OK). Yesterday when she asked, "Yeah, so anyways, what have you been doing...I've been doing Tango lately." I think I answered something like, yea, mmmm, anyways...The New Atheist, skeptic, change, Team Atheist, blogging, writing, depression, depression and guess what, depression, but I'm OK now-ish (could be better, could be worse) and in my mind while maintaining eye contact "Dam, girl, you sure are easy to look at...you sure are easy going...I remember how, errr, and your way..." Any who...links (focus much Kriss).

The band Salsa Celtica. So good.

What my former Deadhead, and ex salsa dancer and current Tango dancer, good friend sent me was links to "epistemology" and the philosophy known as empiricism-both totally worthy, err, thingies (I don't know what to call them". Yeah, hung over much, Kriss. Any who...) that ....

Last year I read a really get book called "Amusing Ourselves To Death" by epic brainiac Neil Postman. In my super awesome review I talk about how 'epistemology' is the understanding of understanding. Why is it that we know what we know. It is the knowledge of how knowledge is acquired. Good stuffs, Manard.

This is important stuffs for Joe and Jane average skeptic/atheist. What is the sayin'...extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and if there is no evidence, then fuck it (that is the quote, right). Back in the day, at first, it was all oral and speech-y. Talking to peeps was the way to transfer the "K"-sound 'nolw-edge.' Then the original graffiti appeared in the form of writing, and when that came to be and then peeps had to now know how to speak, then read and written communication, thus making that evolved human brain bigger and bigger with more and more connections. Awesomeness.


The other term was empiricism. Here is the wiki...

"Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that asserts that knowledge comes only or primarily via sensory experience. One of several views of epistemology, the study of human knowledge, along with rationalism, idealism and historicism, empiricism emphasizes the role of experience andevidence, especially sensory perception, in the formation of ideas, over the notion of innate ideasor traditions^[1].

Empiricism in the philosophy of science emphasizes evidence, especially as discovered inexperiments. It is a fundamental part of the scientific method that all hypotheses and theoriesmust be tested against observations of the natural world rather than resting solely on a priorireasoning, intuition, or revelation.

Philosophers associated with empiricism include Aristotle, Alhazen, Avicenna, Ibn Tufail, Robert Grosseteste, William of Ockham, Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes, Robert Boyle, John Locke,George Berkeley, David Hume, Leopold von Ranke and John Stuart Mill (thanks wiki)."

Empiricism sounds a lot like that materialism (1) that I subscribe to (and I actually do not know if they are similar or what). What I do know is that the dude in that photo above, John Locke, is super ugly, gross.  As far as all the philosophies out there, it really is like all the religion out there. For Team Atheist we can subscribe to metaphysical naturalism, angry atheist, accomodationalist atheist, agnostic, pantheist, anti-theist, a combination of all of the above etc...I 'm more interested in...epistemology.

Why do we know what we know. As far as belief is concerned, we automatically know the religion of our parents and their parents parents. It is geography that dictates what religion a person practices in their lives (for better or worse). If you are Indian (dot in the head Indians), then you are more likely to be Hindu, Buddhist, or gasp, Muslim: as opposed to being a Western Christian. And visa versa here in the states. 

I grew up in a typical Filipino Catholic house and I towed the line (and actually that is all any kid can do.) I knew what I knew because I was told what to know (and how to feel, but that is separate) and what I know. You will believe 'this', that is all and never question it. A word like 'epistemology' to me growing up would not ever register. Really, I knew what I knew, because I was told what to know and feel-that is all. 

Thanks Catholicism, really. Thanks sooooo much.

(1) Materialism is that if there are no atoms, then it does not exist. That means ghosts, esp stuffs, fakey fake stuff that doesn't exist. What about love you are asking. The affects/effects of love can be measured by accelerated heart rate, sweating, nervousness, brain activity etc..To say something is 'material' does not say that it is automatically negative (which is the myth). It just says that if it is not of this physical world and cannot be measured using any  of the many modern ways to measure mass, or reality, then it doesn't exists. Sorry.