Welcome to a place for some outside-the-box thinking. Our culture’s many mental boxes have prevented untold generations of people from realizing their potential in terms of actualizing possibilities for enrichment and opportunities for growth. Such growth of course entails learning many new things about philosophy and psychology, the foundational fields for human development. Reasoning from first principles remains necessary in order to check premises and attain coherent understanding.
I published The Psychology of Liberty in 2000, and it was the impetus for this site. The book provided a philosophical and psychological understanding of the ideal political system for human beings (or any other reasoning creatures), which was named Self-Governing Capitalism. Unfortunately, the word “capitalism” has been misunderstood and mischaracterized as society has become more affected by the ills of governmental systems, despite the dictionary definition remaining the same: “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.” Many now believe that Wall Street, K-Street lobbyists, and huge public and private corporations intent on maximizing shareholder wealth (typically sacrificing other values) are the essential aspects of capitalism. This confusion is noted on Wikipedia.
As pointed out in my subsequent book, Complete Liberty, the corporation and its trappings would not exist without a governmental legal and regulatory system. Further, the book’s sixth chapter also explores the reasons why “intellectual property” isn’t valid, so its enforcement is unjust and destructive to creativity and human progress. The sequel, Complete Liberty Inside Out: Honoring Yourself and Others for Optimal Enrichment, integrates and explains the nature of domination systems and their ongoing traumatizing effects; the methodology of Nonviolent Communication is also presented.
Some academic essays can also be found here. The intellectual groundwork for understanding the learning process is explored in an essay that analyzes the nature of educational systems and their effects on learners. Ultimately, learner-driven education is the way to a much brighter future. I expanded on this understanding in a later section of the fifth chapter of The Psychology of Liberty and, much more recently, in the fifth chapter of Complete Liberty Inside Out.
A novel educational course concerning philosophy and psychology for adolescents was once offered in the San Diego area: Logical Learning Services. The intent was to cater to students (both highschoolers and homeschoolers) who desired to become more informed about the basic (and more complex) life questions concerning themselves, reality, and relationships to others. It can serve as a useful template for educators elsewhere. It features both a philosophy section and a psychology section.