Here I seek to answer, briefly, some of the questions I receive about my book. I may rephrase some questions—and alas, I may not get the chance to answer them all. But I would hope to.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————“What is the biggest contribution of your philosophy?”
A: I believe its contribution is potentially huge, in one important respect. We do not fundamentally understand why our world is unravelling. I describe the cause of this and other ills as a great philosophical blind spot.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
“What would you change, a year later?”
A: In one way, little. At the same time, my metaphysics has been turned upside down -- in the sense that I now work from the whole to the parts, rather than the parts to the whole.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
“Why would you buy your own book?”
A: Firstly, because it is full of new perspectives -- on fact and value, body and mind, identity, critical theory, radical democracy, and so on. Secondly, because I would want to be up to date. Knowing what is in it, I might seem a bit behind if I hadn't read it!
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
“Why does your book not appear on Google?”
A: [UPDATED]. It takes time for books to enter distribution channels, and make an appearance on search engines. Google "Everything, Briefly" and it is now all over Google.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
"How did you obtain endorsements?"
A: I had a draft of my work printed and bound. I studied who might be interested in it, and mailed them a copy. Then I sent them a note. Happily, this bore fruit.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
"What sets your environmental ethics apart?"
A: Holmes Rolston believes that we have the ability to manage nature. Edward Wilson wrote that half the earth should be human-free until we figure out how. I argue: we won’t figure out how. We must retreat.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
"What do you understand by modernism?"
A: Above all, what Schopenhauer called "the single thought". One has a big idea, and references everything to that idea.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
"What do you mean by a syntocracy?"
A: A syntocracy is a form of government which seeks to bring all things into balanced relation, as a priority. This includes the need for elected representatives, as in a democracy.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
"Do you go with Francis Schaeffer?"
A: Dr. Schaeffer was one of my professors. He influenced me greatly through his emphasis on presuppositions and holistic thinking in particular. However, he wrote philosophical theology. I write philosophy.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
"Do you have to hand in your manuscript on time? To the day?"
A: Absolutely. No hakuna matata mañana mañana. It's a contract, and needs to be fulfilled. Penalties for default are laid out in the contract. A lot of people are involved, and it needs to go to plan.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
"Is there anything important for religion in your book?"
A: Yes. I argue that it is impossible to believe in a closed universe of cause and effect. Not that my book is religious. I stay within the bounds of philosophy.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
"In what way is your metaphysics postmodern?"
A: Here are three things. I reject the “single thought” of modernism; I dismantle the notion that reason is "our last judge and guide in everything"; and I present information as the great leveler of all forms of hegemony.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
"How long did it take to write your book?"
A: I made my first attempt on a new metaphysics in 1981! I started my present manuscript in 2015. Six years.