As do the other laws of human life - which include the laws of awareness, sense-perception and autonomy - the law of living action provides a different vantage point on the nature of human life.

The concept "living action‚" (or "life") ultimately can be defined only ostensively. See DEFINITION (OSTENSIVE).

Notes

¹Although I characterize the nature of life differently, I did start thinking seriously about its nature in major part thanks to Ayn Rand's discussion of life's nature in her speech, "The Objectivist Ethics." This speech was reprinted in her book, The Virtue of Selfishness.

In my judgment and according to my worldview, the following expressions all qualify as moralistic judgments. "What you did was wrong!"; "He is evil!"; "Those who hold this idea are wicked." These all imply that wrongness exists. "You shouldn't have done that!" to me also implies wrongness.

Less obviously, other expressions such as "You are great!"; "You are brilliant!"; "You are such a good person!" - in my view also qualify as moralistic judgments. They imply that such a thing as "rightness" exists, which logically implies that such a thing as "wrongness" exists.

Please note that even though I favor relinquishing moralistic judgment, I still favor passing life-enriching value-judgments based on an awareness of fundamental, authentic human needs. Doing so in a way that thoroughly satisfies me, however, crucially involves omitting "right-wrong" moralism.

Notes

¹Although Damian Moskovitz's definition of "moralism" differs significantly from my definition of "moralistic judgment," I'm grateful for what I regard as the inspiration that his talk, "Moralism in Objectivism," gave me. I'm also grateful for what I regard as Marshall Rosenberg's influence on my thinking about the meaning of "moralistic judgment," as in his book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life.

As do the laws of reality, identity and causality, the law of non-contradiction provides a different vantage point on the fact that what is, is.

The concept "non-contradiction" ultimately can be defined only ostensively. See DEFINITION (OSTENSIVE).

Notes

¹In my opinion, my law of non-contradiction benefits from inspiration provided by two sources: 1) Ayn Rand's discussion of this principle, which she presents in her novel, Atlas Shrugged, and 2) Aristotle's discussion of identity and non-contradiction.

As do the principles of identity, noncontradiction and causality, in my terms, the principle of reality provides a different vantage point on the fact that what is, is.

By my epistemological standards, the concept "reality" ultimately can be defined only ostensively.

Notes

¹In formulating the law of reality, I drew inspiration from Ayn Rand's "axiom" of existence, which she discusses in her novel, Atlas Shrugged, and in her nonfiction book, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology.

Elaboration

In its form as an emotional experience, a sense of life is a natural effect of a person's sense of reality. A sense of life arises from a person's subconsciously integrated sum of one's widest, most fundamental, implicit conclusions about reality, one's environment, the nature of life and oneself.

Because a person experiences it in part in the form of a feeling, that person's sense of life inclines one to act in specific ways. A person remains free to act in accordance with or contrary to one's sense of life inclination. But a hopeful sense of life involves an inclination to live consciously and to act to achieve one's values; and a depressed sense of life involves an inclination to remain passive.

Of course, most people's senses of life fall somewhere in between.

Note

¹In my opinion, this definition benefits from significant inspiration provided by Ayn Rand's discussion in her book, The Romantic Manifesto.

Note

Elaboration

Being non-creedal, Unitarian Universalism does not demand that participants affirm a specific doctrine or creed in order to participate or join. It is radically inclusive and pluralistic, and so welcomes the participation of people of all sorts of religious and philosophical backgrounds and views. This includes (but is not limited to) Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, pagans, atheists and much more.

Often, Unitarian Universalism and/or Unitaran Universalist are abbreviated "UU." For more information, including far more information about UU history, much is available here.