Pajiba

I can't disagree with any of that list, except all the world's religions also belong on that list.

Hey, what about William Blake? Active evil is better than passive good. Better murder an infant in its cradle than nurse an unacted desire. Good stuff.

My google ad on the Paul Crik vid was for "Panic Disorder" treatment at Brookhaven Retreat. Did you guys tell them something?

Also, Crik need a haircut. Bad.

I would have included liberalism on the list. The idea that there are no morals except what each individual believes; that the gov't can cure anything and take care of everyone; that economies grow best with really high taxes; and that the gov't better understands how to spend your money.

Creative visualization does work to a certain extent. It's less hokey than your other examples because it doesn't claim to be anything more than a mental technique that helps you focus on your goals. It's a tool, not a philosphy.

I'm not sure I understand the difference between #1 and #4. I thought Oprah was a big beliver in The Secret?

Anyway, there's a religious movement called Word of Faith - Joel Osteen being one of the big names it - that believes very similarly to The Secret. You can create your own reality by your faith or lack thereof. Most people are gung ho when things are good but don't tend to follow this thinking through to it's logical conclusion when things are bad. Namely, that you brought it on yourself. There's an audio clip that I've heard of one of these preachers on the Larry King show talking about the rape/murder of a 12 or 13 year old girl in Florida from a few years ago. The guy outright says that she brought that into existence on herself because of her negative thoughts or lack of faith or whatever. Now that is just heinous.

Self-help philosophies uniformly fail to take the role of random chance into sufficient account and, in their zeal to erase pre-existing conditions, fail to account for the benevolent aspects of those conditions. That is to say, radical change often alienates an existing support system, resulting in lesser benefits.

Oprah-ism is a completely valid and self-consistent philosophy that everyone on this site should be eager to embrace.

Understand, it doesn't mean, "Imagine and it will be." It means, "Quit your self-indulgent whining, get off your ass, work to rid yourself of hypocritical bullshit, walk the talk, create to an expectation of success, surround yourself with things that support your vision, and it will be."

There's a reason she's the richest sista on the planet.

Oprah sells snakeoil to housewives. She doesn't have a philosophy.

Philosophy is the uppity cousin of Shtick.

Oprah IS snakeoil

Chewster and Parker, 'liberalism' isn't a philosophy, it's an umbrella term describing a whole array of social and political theories. There is no codified "school" of liberalism, no hard definition of morality or method of how to live morally or system for making moral inquiries. The reason Objectivism (as opposed to say conservatism) is considered a philosophy is because Objectivism is a fully developed philosophical system with its own definition of morality, method of living the moral life, and system of philosophical inquiry. In contrast, conservativism is primarily a collection of political and social attitudes with no rigid methodology or system of moral inquiry.
If you're going to complain, at least know what you're complaining about.

I always wondered about the visualize-it-and-it-will-be-yours deal -- Didn't we all learn about set theory in high school? There's my circle and there's your circle and -- guess what? sometimes our circles overlap because we're after the same deal at the same time and in the same space ... So, I think what that means is that just because I want something doesn't mean I'm going to get it?? I don't know: maybe I just don't want it badly enough...or in the right enough way ... or haven't sent enough $$ to the right people...or haven't chewed my food enough times?

The only life philosophy anyone really needs is the Wil Wheaton rule of "Don't be a dick", or as Bill & Ted put it "Be excellent to each other".

The dog's philosophy - If you can't eat it or fuck it, piss on it.

ah crap. just crap

I can't agree with Crik, mainly because "It is what it is" has got to be the stupidest fucking sentence on the planet. You know what else? It isn't what it isn't.

If you want a philosophy to follow, you can't do better than Denis Leary's "Shut the Fuck Up":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVoQfoU0dQ

The force is with me,ALWAYS.
Screw the rest of this noise

Soooo ... if I visualize (whirrled peas - sorry) my way to focused, positive thinking about my rational self-interest, especially removing historical traumas from this and other lives ... I'll be like Oprah?

If one is good, all five must be better, right? I'll know I've succeeded when I mutate into an incredibly wealthy, ambisexual, black female media mogul.

One concern - if Opra-ism leads eventually to producing Dr. Phil (Genetic experiment gone wrong? Space alien? Assembled from corpse parts? I'm going with mentally unstable method actor who got lost while playing an overbearing pop-psyche know it all.) I'm not sure all this self-actualization is such a good thing.

On a serious note, there's a grain of truth behind each of these fuck-nutteries, sadly distorted when the tiny tool becomes a lifestyle, cause or calling. Like many other ideas, these suffer the depredations of their true believers.

How 'bout this for "fil-O-so-fee" (in no particular order):

*Don't act like you're the only worthwhile/important human bean on the planet

*Beware of ANYONE or ANY "philosophy" that claims to have ALL the answers to wot-ever (I certainly don't)

*Be good to yourself at least once a day

*Be aware of what you're doing and why - don't "do stuff" because you think Fate/God/etc. is gonna give you a pat on the head - or, as Jimmy Cagney said, "Don't be a sucker." (ie, Don't waste time + effort being "nice" or "kind" to jerks or flakes or those that take but never give)

*re: chasing your dream/actualizing your wot-ever: Remember the immortal words of Moe Howard (the violent Stooge): "Ya can't get killed for tryin'!"

*Look both ways before crossing ANYTHING

So there.