How We Should Think: The Intersections of Philosophical Thought
By P. D. Jacob
()
About this ebook
How we think deserves our fullest attention. How we process information will either strengthen or weaken the communication highways (calcium filaments called dendrites) in our brains. Thinking constructively helps to build a physical brain structure, which will support positive actions and outcomes. Its not magic. Its not faith. Its biology!
What did Confucius, Buddha, Plato, Aristotle, and Einstein have to say about mankinds search for truth, meaning, and happiness? How did they and other great thinkers interpret the world we live in? Lets pick some brains, and then see if we can connect the dots and draw some useful conclusions.
P. D. Jacob
Author Paul Daniel Jacob is a lifelong student of religion, psychology, philosophy, logic, and human behavior. He is as likely to be found hiking atop a mountain in the jungles of Belize or Guatemala as he would be giving a presentation to a group of health educators at an urban conference center. Since childhood, Paul has been drawn to remote locations that provide an ideal atmosphere for introspection, observation, and respect for nature. His inspirations emerge out of the relationships between humankind and all other life forms and nonliving matter, which constitute the clockworks of life. “There can be no separation of, and we should not under-appreciate, the components of our world. Each seemingly insignificant action or inaction is a course-altering factor in the evolution of our vast universe. Our spiritualism inspires our participation. Our spiritual component allows us to be in awe.” P. D. Jacob, author of; THE AWAKENING DREAM – Journey on the Wings of a Thousand Angels HOW WE SHOULD THINK – The Intersections of Philosophical Thought THE FREETHINKING HUMANIST – Pocketbook
Read more from P. D. Jacob
Practice Makes Dendrites Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Awakening Dream: Journey on the Wings of a Thousand Angels Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to How We Should Think
Related ebooks
Arboreal Thought: Weightless Spirits Willingly Fly with a Persuasive, Heavenly Embrace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Way of Wisdom Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Science of Possibility: Patterns of Connected Consciousness Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Church of the Free Mind: Anti-Messiah Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Swimming in Cosmic Soup: Philosophical and Physics Musings on Life in the Twenty-First Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBridging Dimensions One Mind at a Time: Telepathic Communications, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Crack in the Cosmic Egg: New Constructs of Mind and Reality Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Universal Synesthesia: A Deep Dive into Conceptual Depths Where Mind and Matter Become Indistinguishable. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThere’s a Thought: A Conscious Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSeven Pillars: A Handbook for Existence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThat Was Zen, This Is Tao: Living Your Way to Enlightenment, Illustrated Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Search of the Heavens: An introspective on Soulful Evolution Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOpen Your Eyes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Treatise on Philosophy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Karma of Everyday Life: A Logical Exploration Of The Law Of Karma Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEmergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Necessary Illusions Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOriginal Knowing: How Religion, Science, and the Human Mind Point to the Irreducible Depth of Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCommon Threadz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings“The Missing Puzzle Piece” Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYoga Is a Mantra: A Tool to Discover One’S Self Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Magnificent Obsession: My Lifelong Search for the Meaning of a Mystical Call Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBreaking Down Walls Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlack Hole Shamanism Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5The Top Dimension Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDream Quest: A Seeker’s Guide to Finding the Purpose of Being Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMeaning in the Multiverse Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCosmology and Theology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThat Was Zen, This Is Tao: Living Your Way to Enlightenment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUltimate Reality: The New Paradigm of Life Eternal Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Philosophy For You
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Courage to Be Happy: Discover the Power of Positive Psychology and Choose Happiness Every Day Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sun Tzu's The Art of War: Bilingual Edition Complete Chinese and English Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of Loving Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Republic by Plato Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Experiencing God (2021 Edition): Knowing and Doing the Will of God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Be Here Now Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5THE EMERALD TABLETS OF THOTH THE ATLANTEAN Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plato's Republic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Good and Evil Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Pray: Reflections and Essays Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meditations: Complete and Unabridged Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/512 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Complete Papyrus of Ani Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Inward Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Course in Miracles: Text, Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for How We Should Think
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
How We Should Think - P. D. Jacob
© Copyright 2013 P. D. Jacob.
Copyright page: Front cover photo by P.D.Jacob.
Back cover photo by Barbra Alloy, Alloy photography.
All inside photos, except galaxy, by P.D.Jacob
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.
ISBN: 978-1-4907-2241-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4907-2240-5 (e)
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,
and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.
Trafford rev. 12/20/2013
22970.png www.trafford.com
North America & international
toll-free: 1 888 232 4444 (USA & Canada)
fax: 812 355 4082
Contents
Dedication
Preface
I the gift and mystery of life
2 the definition and intent of philosophy
3 a foundation of acceptable presumptions
4 struggling with the ambiguity of language
5 symbolic linguistic mathematics
6 the significance of physical and vocal dexterity
7 the spectrum of truths
8 good vs. evil and the application of justice
9 mining the valuable jewels of religion
10 desiring and acquiring happiness
11 the great honor of personal responsibility
DEDICATION
P eople join us on our journey through life at different points on our path. They walk with us for a while. We share the experience. We share the adventure. We grow together. Thank you, Susan and Joan, for walking with me.
PREFACE
Y ou might consider this book to be an introduction to philosophy, as it explores many particular thoughts held by many great philosophers dating as far back as hundreds of years before Christ. You might consider this a sort of self-help book, encouraging the reader to rethink how she or he looks at the world, in an effort to smooth the inevitable bumps of life. Or, you might be a book junkie who just wants to curl up on an overstuffed recliner with an interesting paperback, retreating from the hustle and bustle of daily chores. My hope is that this book serves all of those needs, and more.
The subjects covered are common to everyone’s life, though they aren’t the sorts of issues we normally contemplate or share in casual conversation. Some are personal. Some are controversial. And some are just a little too deep to toss up at a party. But the topics have earned conspicuous credibility by occupying the minds and pens of the most brilliant literary and scientific geniuses our species has produced.
In my humble development as a spiritual being I have labored with the conclusions drawn by religious and spiritual leaders. I have attempted to identify common threads, and incorporate them into my evolutionary constitution. And I have looked to the philosophers for interpretation of the messages of seemingly universal importance. This book reflects my attempt to connect the dots.
As I presume is the case with most writers, this project was a learning and growing experience for me. The process forced me to clarify ambiguous notions which I had yet to fully reconcile. Each sentence required a justifiable transition from the previous sentence. After applying reason and logic I was able to fully commit to those notions and then share them with you.
We spend much of our lives substantiating what we think we know about ourselves, and about life. Often we just need to hear, from another source or in other words, what we already think we know. One of the most flattering comments I’ve ever received from a stranger at a book-signing was simply this: You write just what everybody thinks but nobody knows how to put into words
. I only hope the rest of my readers can find little pockets of what she found in the pages that follow. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to try.
~p.d.jacob
CONTEMPLATION I
the gift and mystery of life
H ow many variables fell into place that I might have this rare opportunity to experience life? What are the chances that I would be included in the vast number of presumably intentional organisms which flourish in the universe? How likely or unlikely is it that I might possess a brain and a mind, capable of absorbing all that my senses can and do discover? I unwittingly, yet miraculously, find myself here on tiny planet Earth, one of several planets surrounding just one star, our Sun. What are the odds that I find myself in this galaxy which we have named the