Week #1 Contest Winner

Congratulations to Brother Blake for posing the winning question in the first weekly blog challenge issued on this site. The Stanford, Harvard, and Oxford educated college professor seized the opportunity to raise an intriguing philosophical question while simultaneously illustrating the lack of professional accomplishments achieved by his older brother. Blake asks, "If a man is alone on his 10 acre compound in outstate Missouri and he falls, will his failure make a sound?" I shall endeavor to give an answer as insightful as the question itself.

Empiricists have long held the general notion that "to be, is to be perceived". Rene Descartes used this idea to prove the existence of God. "Cogito, ergo sum" or "I think, therefore I am" is the basis of his argument. He begins by doubting the existence of all material things. By supposing that nothing exists, he removes all prejudices and can then set out to prove what does exist. By employing his mind, Descartes supposes the non-existence of those things of which his mind has any doubt. But because it is impossible for his mind not to exist as it contemplates the existence of other objects, then it must exist. Since it exists, he exists ("I think, therefore I am"), and he can then build upon this foundation to gain real proof of other objects' existence. He states that the method for gaining knowledge of objects is through perception. Perceptions are made through the use of the senses and the mind. Because his mind exists and perceives other objects, they too must exist.

So if a philosopher is alone in the 10 acre woods and he falls, will his failure make a sound? According to Descartes' theory, in order to exist, an object must be perceived. Existence is dependent upon perception. So, if I fall when I am alone in the woods, will my fall or "failure" (as Blake so bluntly phrases it), make a sound? According to Descartes' argument, it will not make a sound, since no one is there to perceive it. (I guess I was there to perceive it, but I would deny it in a court of law.) So are we to believe that if we were to walk out of a room, leaving no one to perceive the objects in the room, the objects would cease to exist? Yes, if there is truly no perceiver in the room. But we know that this can't be; that objects can't exist one minute and then not exist the next minute depending on whether or not we are looking at them. How can Descartes explain why objects don't behave this way? Because, he claims, God acts as the Great Perceiver. God is omnipresent and therefore ensures the existence of all that he perceives. Simply stated, God is everywhere and perceives everything. Therefore the objects in a room remain, even when we leave, because they are still being perceived. Thus, Descartes proves that God must exist.

It seems then, Brother Blake, according to Rene "the Renegade" Descartes, that if a man is alone on his 10 acre compound and falls, he is not alone at all, due to the presence of the Great Perceiver. Therefore God is bearing witness to his fall, or failure, and therefore, it makes a sound. So the answer to your inquiry is, "yes." Thank you for your question. I hope you find the answer as satisfying as the prize I am giving you for winning this week's contest: One glorious can of wholesome, tasty SPAM!!! Thank you everyone for making week #1 of "Big Thoughts- Little Man" a success. I will post the week #2 challenge soon. Stay tuned.

Its getting deep around here

Put on your hip waders folks, the BS is piling up. I am encouraged by your interest in the search for wisdom. This blog thing will be our path to enlightenment. If Socrates or Aristotle had this technology 2400 years ago we would probably have world peace, a deeper sense of spiritualty, and an answer to mankind's must baffling ethical question: "Do these jeans make my butt look big?"

I will endeavor to lead you all down this path toward enlightenment as the evolution of this blog continues. Keep those comments coming, and stay tuned to learn what the genius that is Travis Naughton has to say next.

The Author masks his madness with a friendly wave.

The Travis Naughton Experience

I have now e-mailed a lot of folks to alert them to the presence of this site. I encourage all of you to forward the link to everyone in your e-mail address book. The Travis Naughton Experience has the potential to be the next SARS, only without the sneezing and death and all. I want this site to be an interactive one, so please post comments as often as you like. I will also create assignments for the reader in order to make this site a fun and interesting one.

This week's assignment is: Write a short philosophical question that you would like me to answer on this site. The author of the best question will be acknowledged on the site as the week #1 contest winner. If you're lucky, I may give away prizes to future contest winners. So, spread the word and submit your questions/ comments.

Feels like the first time

Today marks the beginning of a new era. Travis "Big Daddy" Naughton has created his own blog. I don't know what this means really, but I do know that it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. I have no idea what I'm doing at this point and I'm sure that this fact will be apparent to anyone who is reading this. Feel free to post comments/ questions at any time. Add this site to your favorites list and check back often as I will endeavor to make it worth your while. Travis