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The re-integration project

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Over the past few weeks and after some intense introspection, I have found that my explicit philosophy is not fully integrated with that which I hold implicitly, that my sense of life and some of my actions are not fully consonant with that which I know should be my values, and that I hold many of my ideas as floating abstractions with little or no connection to reality. My goal is to re-integrate myself, to have all of my judgments based in reality and to have my subconscious mind fully integrated with my conscious mind. To do so, I need to lay out an explicit plan of action, which is my goal here. Though I am doing this for myself, I imagine this problem applies to many people here. I imagine the actions I will have to take fall into three categories:

1. Books to be read/Lectures to be listened to

2. Induction from my own perceptions of reality

3. Forcing myself to perform certain actions in order to automate them

So, does anybody have any suggestion as to the order or content of the categories? Or any criticism of my layout of the project, or the project in general?

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I have some comments on the categories you picked.

1. I'd just read the core works of Ayn Rand. Spend a lot of time on them and think everything through for yourself. Simply learning dogma will not help you; the way to make these ideas your own (to integrate them) is to think them up yourself (with Rand's helpful guidance).

2. You might be on the right track with this, but you might not. What is an example of what you're thinking? The process of learning to see reality properly, and of making one's sense of life more realistic (and romantic), should happen automatically if you're very conscious of your thoughts and do a good job on part 1. In other words, just be very aware of what you're thinking and this will fix itself.

3. I can't think of any actions that should be automatic actions, with the exception of reflexes, like lifting your hand from a hot surface. You don't have to worry about learning reflexes. Anyway, if there are actions that you want to be automatic, like putting your key in the ignition whenever you get into the car, for example, that doesn't happen by doing it over and over again and "forcing" yourself to do it. What might be important is to learn how to think correctly and draw the proper conclusions from reality "automatically" in a sense, which really just goes along with #2 above.

As for criticism - if you have to ask what the content of the categories should be, I don't know what your criteria for choosing the categories in the first place could have been, which is why I really questioned #2 and #3. Furthermore, maturing (or integrating Objectivism, or changing one's sense of life, or whatever) isn't something someone can do with a "plan of action." Slow down, realize you're still learning, and take the time to do it properly. I'm not saying not to feed your mind, but I'm saying not to force-feed yourself.

(Other members - feel free to critique my critique on any point, because I certainly don't have as much life experience as many people, and I believe some things can only be learned by experience.)

EDIT: changed an incorrect word

Edited by BrassDragon
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I'd recommend 2 courses on critical thinking by Peikoff.

1. Intro to Logic

2. The Art of Thinking

If you've not had an Aristotelean logic course, 1 would be great. IF so, then 2 is recommended. I learned a ton about what sort of thinking process were mistaken from 2. Significantly helped to get the concept of integration, heirarchy, contextuality, etc...

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3. Forcing myself to perform certain actions in order to automate them

A book with helpful suggestions about how to automate your subconscious actions is Ayn Rand's The Art of Fiction. Even though it's not obvious from the title, there are many philosophically/ethically interesting sections in that. I think what you're trying to describe is forming good habits. I think there are some principles necessary to form good habits besides merely forcing yourself to perform the action (for example, people force themselves to perform actions out of duty, and they never become habits, because there is a [possibly subconscious] contradiction between their values and the action). Other than that, your plan seems quite rational. You might consider adding a category of deducing from the principles you've induced, to make sure none of your conclusions contradict your firmly grounded premises. (On induction and deduction, I'll again recommend Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology as a great resource).

Edited by Bold Standard
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1. Books to be read/Lectures to be listened to

2. Induction from my own perceptions of reality

3. Forcing myself to perform certain actions in order to automate them

The lecture that I'd recommend after having read Ayn Rand's core books is: Understanding Objectivism, by Dr. Peikoff. Of course, being a lecture, it is very expensive. My second recommendation is that if "core" did not include "Letters of Ayn Rand", get that book (it's a compilation of her correspondence with various people). My personal recommendation is to do these two even before reading OPAR.

Your categories seem good -- all three of them. I would only add the following: do not ignore your primary purpose while in the pursuit of philosophy. (I assume you will not, but I'm saying it just in case.) So, if your career goal is to have your own school one day, continue to work toward that too.

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