A few minutes of key ideas!
The research & wisdom reminders.
These are the six key ideas that guided the high-level topics of this week’s column.
This week:
TouchstoneTruth Philosophy.
TST Philosophy has two entry doors: start with the goal of flourishing or dive into thinking well.
1.
Marcus Aurelius: An Explorative Agnostic
New Look
Marcus Aurelius reminds us that you can explore the cosmos without claiming to own it — and still live with strength, fairness, and honor inside it.
2.
“Our knowledge is finite, while our ignorance is infinite.”
- Karl Popper
- 1963
Human knowledge grows through refinement, but certainty remains out of reach; rational confidence must be calibrated, not declared.
3.
Do we experience reality directly?
There is a real, mind-independent world. But what we perceive is a biological interface shaped by evolution for survival, not perfection. Science refines that interface by testing and improving our models. Clarity begins when we distinguish between the world itself and our interpretation of it.
4.
What is TST Ethics?
Layered Empirical Realism grounds it. Layered fairness guides it. Live legal, moral, and fair. Flourish with integrity, constrained by harm and guided by good intent–good results.
5.
What is confirmation bias, and why does it matter?
Confirmation bias distorts our interpretation of reality by filtering evidence through prior belief.
6.
What historical ideas shaped TST Philosophy?
TST Philosophy is a structured synthesis of Epicurean moderation, Stoic resilience, Buddhist clarity, and scientific humility.
That’s it. The end.