People have the problem of letting other people think for them.

If everyone is letting everyone else think for them, then who is doing the thinking?

I don't think it's just a matter of laziness. For many, I'm sure it is. But I don't think that all humankind is lazy. Lazy seems to imply ignorance: lack of action in the face of knowledge. I think the problem is people don't know how to find the knowledge to act on. People "know" many facts, but aren't motivated by them. Why?

I remember reading a book in high school. It was an assignment, and in the face of such a requirement--as I'm sure all of us understand--those books just don't seem to hold me. I would rather read something I chose to read. ("Don't you know that this will help you," I can hear my teacher ask? "Yes, of course," I respond, "but I don't want to.")

But that book made a great impact on me. I met one of my best friends while reading it (he seems to have the same feeling about reading books, too) and I seemed to connect with what it said in the first chapter, The One Thing Needful.

A teacher stands before his classroom. There is a point he wants to get across, a point he wants to emphasize. "Now, what I want is, facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but facts. Facts alone are wanted in life. Plant nothing else, and root out everything else. You can only form the minds of reasoning animals upon facts: nothing else will ever be of any service to them. This is the principle on which I bring up my own children, and this is the principle on which I bring up these children. Stick to facts, sir!

"...In this life, we want nothing but facts, sir; nothing but facts!"

Thinking back on it, what I objected to was being force fed "facts," without good reasoning to back them up. I wanted to believe, to accept, because I understood. But most importantly I wanted principles and knowledge that would help me achieve and support the things that I valued.

For me it was a moral stance. I began to realize that the One Thing Needful was not facts, but Reason.

What does the child ask for when commanded by a parent? A reason. They want to know why.

But what does that mean? What is it they really want? To me, the human being from day one begins to recognize patterns. A person begins to bring in information, and so not to be overwhelmed, that person looks for patterns in the overall confusion. As time progresses, this desire turns from patterns to security. More than anything, I feel the common human wants to feel secure.

However, we realize that since action is a requirement of life, security is not possible. With action comes reaction; with reactions, come a lack of control because we are being acted upon. We begin to look for meaning in all this.

Our confusion, and insecurity, lead us to find meaning in existence, and in our lives; and from meaning we search for a purpose. And what is purpose, but the reason behind the meaning.

Funk & Wagnall's Dictionary defines "reason" as "a motive or cause for an action, belief [or] thought, etc. An explanation for, or defense of, an action, belief, etc. Justification. Good judgement. Common Sense....To think logically; obtain inferences or conclusions from known or presumed facts." But finally, Funk and Wagnall's concludes, "To think out carefully and logically; to analyze."

When it comes to how we conduct our lives, there are attitudes, and there are reasons. Attitudes are the state of mind, or position held, by our brains. Reasons are the motivations for the attitudes. These combined lead to action, and to the action of living.

The problem, maybe even the biggest problem, is that too often we allow others to dictate our attitudes for us, as if they have the reasons. When we lose the reasons, we lose the motivation, we lose the meaning, we lose the purpose, and therefore, we lose the power to achieve, and maintain, what we have found to be of value.

How do we stop this? How do we empower ourselves, instead of letting someone else dictate for us what our reasons are? We must think for ourselves.

1. Here are some reasons, steps, that I feel will give us a place to start. If you don't find them consistent with what you have experienced, that's okay. You don't have to agree with them. The very fact that you disagree already gets you going in the right direction.
2. Develop a method for finding what is true, or accurate. Take everything into account: every sense, every feeling, every thought. Don't deviate from your method without good reason. If you must, stick with your changes henceforward.
3. Let the method define your attitude. Your attitude will give you direction. It will give you purpose.
4. As you pursue your purpose, your pursuit will require continued effort.
5. At this point you will have achieved. You will no longer be a part of "the problem," but a part of the resolution. You must continue, however or you may become a part of "The Problem."

For me this is the foundation. Everything we want to express, everything we want to feel, everything we want to experience comes from following this foundation: these steps. Or as George Santayana once said, "For the life of Reason, being the sphere of all human art, is man's imitation of divinity."

How does all of this fit into Philosophy? It is significant because Philosophy is the recognition of these things. It is a recognition of our attitudes. It is a recognition of meaning, and a search for purpose. It develops our attitudes, and gives them definition. It challenges us to continue, and makes us smile as we recognize success, and feel our motivation.

Morality is our integrity in staying true to our values that motivate our lives, giving meaning and purpose to our existence, and happiness in our achievements. Reason, what we find when we think for ourselves (and there is no other way but to think), is the One Needful Thing. Facts are just the assertions of the weak, who have lost power over themselves, and therefore must rely on others to live their lives for them.

--David Evans