This blog is not a ramble about my day. Welcome! This is my statement of intention as it currently stands and the genesis of Cogitate.
It seems, to me, that humanity has the capacity to organize itself and the resources at its disposal to sustain a good level of well being for everyone. All children should be given a level of opportunity that is acceptable by any rational person's standards and be presented with a wide variety of ideas. These opportunities include but are not limited to: a good education, suitable nutrition, healthcare, shelter, protection and extracurricular activities such as art and sport.
Clearly, this isn’t happening on a global scale. I’m under no delusions of the grandiosity of this idealism but despite that, it seems any progress made in this direction is still worthwhile. My contribution to this goal is to aid in the exploration of ideas that send us in that direction.
Despite the internet and social media allowing for unprecedented connectivity, honest and open discussion seems to be breaking down in many ways. There are likely many factors contributing to this; one of these factors seems to be humanity's millennia-old propensity for dogmatism. Another compounding and more modern factor is the side effect of online media sharing algorithms which recommend people content they’ve already shown an interest in. This seems logical but is the best friend of the confirmation bias and forms ideological echo chambers. Just some of the consequences of this are the high partisanship in the United States, the proliferation of misinformation and the breakdown of communication.
I hope to contribute to the mitigation of the problem by promoting honest and open discussion that bolsters mutual understanding between interlocutors. More concisely; good communication of ideas.
I’m a libertarian. I have a love-hate impression of capitalism; I don’t like it but I understand it to be the least bad economic organization system. So I’m happy to be playing by the rules of capitalism and hope that the appropriate restrictions can be implemented to further incentivize societal well being without squashing individual incentives.
While working to improve the global well being of humans I’d also like to see the treatment of animals improve. Frankly, the way we treat animals is disgraceful and in dramatic need of change. I’m not talking about our pets, I’m talking about the conscious creatures that we farm. Even if we ignore morality for a moment, whichever way you look at it there is an incentive to leave animals off our plates and eat plant-based; it’s better for our health, it’s better for the animals that no longer need to be slaughtered and it’s required for the sustainability of the environment. With all the innovations in the alternative protein industry of late nothing is left to be desired eating plant-based.
Since my early teenage years, I’ve been deeply interested in Filmmaking, storytelling and the sharing of ideas. I currently work in the film industry and have a personal YouTube channel where I make short films and share the creative process. It seems auspicious to capitalize on my filmmaking skills and interests to bolster this philosophical project; so this blog is not the main event. I’ve launched a second YouTube channel dedicated to the exploration of ideas entitled “Cogitate”, linked below. There I intend to discuss controversial topics in a civil and open manner. If any of this sounds interesting to you please subscribe to the channel.
An admission of fallibility: of course it goes without saying that I’m certainly going to be mistaken and confused about a great many things but it still seems worth noting my awareness of this. I will always strive for honesty and accuracy but, as I am only human, errors will be made. Hopefully I can succeed in being and remaining open to new ideas. The importance of that sentiment cannot be overstated. Dogmatism is dangerous.
I put my thoughts into this blog so that only those who are interested can read them. If those who are interested do not find this then that is a shame but what isn’t a shame is that those who are not interested will not have to read. With hope; anyone who needs to hear ideas expressed here will find them.
- Harry Chrisp
26th October 2021
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