I like to think that I have grown a lot over the past year or so: never have I read or thought as much as I have this past year or so. At this stage in my life, I am just beginning to embark on the continuous process of developing my personal philosophy, my perspective, the way in which I view the human condition and existence. Nevertheless, I think it is important to assess what philosophy I have developed thus far, even if it is only in its beginning stage.
Perhaps the most existential choice that I have made in my life thus far is the choice to not believe in a supreme being, the traditional monotheistic God. While this choice has been extremely important to me, I feel like what I hold to be valuable or existential is not a function of whether one agrees with this choice. I personally believe that believers and nonbelievers are living in the "here and now" trying to get the best out of the one life we all have. Some of us decide we need God, while others decide otherwise. Some of us find traditional religion to be a tragic lie, while others do not. There are always different means to the same end.
In line with existentialism, the concept of Nothingness is important to my philosophy. I believe that there is no intrinsic meaning to the universe, no innate, preset meaning to anything. In some sense, everything means nothing--originally. Existence precedes essence in that we existence and then we create meaning. In other words, meaning in one's life is not here to be discovered (essence precedes existence). Meaning in one's life must be created.
Truth is a matter of perspective, just like anything else. It is nonsensical to claim that one knows the way to live or the truth. While the natural tendency is to do so, we must overcome this dogmatic, insecure part of the self. Such a mindset breeds division (no matter how much you claim to cover it up with so-called "love". This type of "love" isn't true love), stupidity and dogma. While it is obvious that some truths are better than others, it should also be obvious that within each of our perspectives is some sort of seed of truth. We simply need to look for it through the barriers of language.
Objective morality is dead. Its death should be more apparent now, as we start to think of ourselves as global citizens rather than citizens of a specific country. In other words, morality that says "This is right and this is wrong" is foolish; we must move beyond such a false dichotomy. Build a system of virtues and act in accordance with it. Actions based on virtues exhibit who you really are, not actions based on a nonsensical concept of morality. Plus, look what morality has produced--immoral beings. That is, morality hasn't, and doesn't, work.
