My gift to my species, my book freely downloadable from HomoRationalis.com.

FOR EVERYONE
RATIONAL-ETHICAL LIVING AND THE EMERGENCE OF “HOMO RATIONALIS”
The Most Important Book

Go to HomoRationalis.com. Click on the provided link that will allow you to download, completely free, the book I have written. No cost, no advertising, no financial benefit to me or anyone. Let me explain why you should read this book.

Humans are able to do wonderful things. But we also do things that bring about enormous suffering and early death. We treat ourselves and each other badly and we suffer from unintended consequences due to inaccurate beliefs about the way the world really is. And there is even a growing urgency to do something about how we behave.

Many think either that the situation is hopeless or that the solutions involve getting others to do certain things (through political change). Thus, most see themselves as helpless, reactive spectators, and many assume humans will continue to be the way we have always been.

Yet, there is another kind of action that is more basic than political action. It is the changing of ourselves, individually, then subculturally, and finally culturally. This means that you should bring about certain changes in yourself, model them for others, and advocate for them. Thus, you have a very important function to perform in behalf of us all.

I am talking about a set of changes in ourselves that is already occurring within our species. The problem is that we are very early in this set of changes, making it difficult to see. One has to examine what has been happening over the lifetime of our species, and then imagine further change far into the future, as if our species were now just a toddler. I call this change "the third exponential change." Exponential means that such change begins only gradually, grows in speed and momentum, and finally becomes drastic.

Although these three exponential changes have been made possible by our human genetic makeup, they are all psychosocial in nature and require agreement and cooperation. The first two exponential changes have already occurred. The first exponential change was the development of our essentially infinite ability to make use of symbols and the rules of syntax (i.e., language), making possible extreme empathy and highly effective cooperation. The second exponential change was the development of the rules of logic and the rules of evidence, enabling us to develop extremely accurate models of the way the world really is (science and technology).

These changes have been tools in the service of our "basic animal nature." This basic animal nature has been acquired through natural selection, that promotes survival of the species.

But survival of the species has nothing to do with experiencing "the good life" (i.e., as much joy, contentment, and appreciation as possible, and as little pain, suffering, disability, and early death as possible). The capacity for suffering promotes survival of a species just as much as the capacity for pleasure does. And it is evident that some of what we naturally do leads to pain, suffering, disability, and early death. So, "natural" does not necessarily mean "good." And many of our natural uses of these new tools are even quite tragic.

But it is now possible for humans to change our behavior from that which occurs naturally to that which will promote the good life. We have increasingly become able, through the acquisition of increasingly accurate beliefs about the way the world really is, to do that which will have a better set of outcomes. So each of us is now presented with a question as to whether we will put forth the effort to learn and practice these more optimal ways of living. We have to learn (in words) what it is that we should do. Then, we have to make ourselves do it, over and over, till we get really good at it. We are talking about a shared, basic ethical philosophy, something we have never had so far.

In the book, I address why we have not been able to agree to a set of basic ideas about the way the world is and what we should do. I develop a method in the book that corrects that problem, thus allowing for such agreement. I therefore maintain that if you read the book in the order written, you will indeed agree with it. (Start reading the book until you come to the first sentence that seems either incorrect or unclear in the context in which it is written. My prediction, is that you will not find such a sentence.) If you find the book to be as I state, you should advocate it to others and discuss it with them. In this way, rather than just being a spectator, you will play an important role in the most important human project, the maturation of our species. You will drastically alter your life in a good direction, contribute to the good life for those close to you, and participate in an effort that will result in the prevention of enormous amounts of suffering and early death for our progeny. You will be promoting the third exponential change for our species, and therefore doing almost unimaginable good.

This book is like a textbook, that has to be studied. Every reading of it will improve your understanding of it and make it more useful. Reading it requires effort. Are you willing to put forth such effort to make drastically better your own life, the lives of those close to you, and the lives of countless humans in the future?

I have spent thousands of hours and dollars on this project. I am accepting no money for the book. I am paying my species back for all it has done for me. This is the culmination of my life on this planet. Please let me share my effort with you.

William V. Van Fleet, M.D.
wvanfleet@email.msn.com (Mention “Homo Rationalis” in the subject line.)