8/12/2019 Dear Conscience

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Dear Conscience,

How are you doing? Sorry for ignoring your advice intermittently throughout the years. I just

saw the film The Way with Martin Sheen and it has caused me to reflect on my path in life and how you

can influence it. The most serious determining factors in my life so far have been social institutions such

as the church, family and school. These institutions have put forth a path through life I am not sure Iagree with or am comfortable completing; this path being high school, then an undergrad degree to

possibly graduate school to some importantjob. Discussion of each stage of this path has been

tempered conflicting ideologies about its morality and moral actions contained therein.

A succinct review of my philosophical self-education and outlook on religious values would be prudent

for the discussion of what path I will choose in life and its consequences as I have always been

fascinated by these subjects and my stance on them will be one of the largest social and developmental

decisions I ever make. It began with early religious messages of the morality of money and

unconventional social orders which were contrasted with historical messages of corruption and

diversity. Experiences in school led me to read various reactionary ideas to Catholic philosophical

arguments such as Ayn Rand, Karl Marx and Voltaire.

I was not content, however, to base my knowledge and ideas in a single system and became interested

in ancient religions and specifically the evolution of the humanist viewpoint throughout religious history

as Voltaire peeked my curiosity. I started with Zarathustra and the idea that mankind is a rational agent

dignified with choice and knowledge from supreme wisdom or Ahura Mazda. I followed this by reading

Islamic philosophy and its connections to Greek methods. Some examples include al-Farabis

applications of Aristotle and Platos methodologies to foundational questions of Islam. The spirit of

these discussions was carried into the Renaissance and my original readings on secular and humanist

ideas. These ideas I believe have influenced you and how I reason ethical dilemmas and will colour the

rest of this letter.

I will need you in the future in defending the positions I have gained from my readings and applying

them to future decisions. In reference to the previous life path I have held and evolved opinions on

each stage and the overall process. Early Christian ideals led me to be suspicious of what educational

maturity would do to my morality and how corrupt I could become if I focused on the salary I would

obtain from potential work. My lack of conviction on the overall process followed from the repeated

messages in my research of the importance of imaginative and rational thought which I saw and

continue to see as being strangled by the education system.

I believe that I have chosen my path through life without coercion from social institutions to the best ofmy ability through a willingness to self-educate and critically examine all positions shown to me. You

have been extremely helpful in this regard by painting ideas, especially ideologies and codes of

behaviour, in terms of obtained moral judgement and innate rationalizations. Thank you for being so

open to new knowledge and critical judgement.