It is now 15:01 on [[2023-12-31]], less than 10 hours away from 2024. The paradox of the liberal arts yesterday was something I wrote on a whim, while the year-end summary of 2023 is something I have wanted to write for a long time.
I don't know how everyone views the passing year, but for me, 2023 has been tumultuous. For individuals, painful emotions have been constantly refined; for society, the dark cloud of decline has been looming; for the world, the level of brutal struggle has been expanding.
Key Points of 2023#
Objectivism and Appearanceism#
The changes that have occurred in the world this year cannot be reflected today. Bullets have been flying, and hearts have been gradually changing. What impact has this stall had on what I have done this year, I do not know. My brain is not smart, but there are some questions that even the smartest brain is as ignorant as me. And reality, this infinitely precise computer, will tell us certain truths in the form of history.
This is the objectivism of this stall, believing that everything in the world operates according to rules. And as a sub-principle of objectivism, appearanceism means that everything is real, everything is appearance, and can be influenced. Because the operation of the world is governed by rules, so is thinking. Thinking is also appearance. Therefore, thinking can be reshaped.
Does free will exist?#
Human thinking is real and can be defined. Although the human brain is the organ of thinking, I cannot say that because the brain is deterministic, free will is also deterministic, and therefore free will does not exist. I can only say that human thinking, or soul, as long as it exists, is appearance. I believe in the power of human thinking, but to use freedom to modify the will itself, a concept of freedom must be determined. Freedom is the activity of other rules under the rules. With this definition, of course, it has free will because it highlights the characteristics of freedom in the rules, or highlights the objectivity of freedom.
But I generally do not acknowledge "free will" because people often mythologize free will.
Does God exist?#
Objectivism does not deny the existence of God, but everything that exists is objective. Even omniscience and omnipotence can be "seen" and "touched" from an external perspective. The gods under objectivism are mostly of the Greek god type. As for the type of God, I cannot currently imagine a material basis that is omniscient and omnipotent. But appearance is the reason of the world, not my random thoughts.
Conservatism#
Although the idea of objectivism has existed in my mind for a long time, I have admired it so much this year. Especially the General Theory of E-books, it can be said to be my compendium of methodology. But I don't elaborate much on objectivism, so today I will review it again. Conservatism can reflect the characteristics of this stall's production overview.
A neighbor came to my house a few days ago and talked about building houses, saying, "I used to work in the south and saw that people's buildings were built one floor at a time. When they made money, they would build another floor, and some people would build five or six floors."
I call this conservatism. As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day," "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," "The nine-story tower rises from the accumulation of soil," "Take one step at a time" ... There are many similar sayings. These seemingly empty maxims, once implemented, can have unexpected effects.
For example, I hate cleaning, but as long as I lower the requirements for cleaning and don't expect to accomplish everything at once, it becomes easier to achieve. Another example is that this stall wrote about conservatism in the general theory a few months ago, but did not explain it in detail, and left it for later supplementation. Today is a good supplement.
The common law in the UK is a faithful practitioner of conservatism. Unlike the civil law system on the continent, which tries to promote social revolution through codification, the British people have transitioned smoothly through this conservative judicial approach. Although it is called an incomplete revolution, any thorough revolution will cause great harm. For example, the French Revolution, the radicalism of modern Chinese revolution, and so on.
The essence of conservatism is to acknowledge the limitations of human beings and then exchange time for space.
Taking Responsibility#
In life, we make many choices, and of course, we make many unsatisfactory decisions. Things that seem illogical now may have seemed reasonable at the time.
But is this to rationalize past actions?
Yes.
This makes people more comfortable with their wrong choices.
But that reasoning can help people understand many things. It can help people recall the reasons for making certain decisions at the time. This may be our enlightenment.
2024, a Year of Tremendous Change?#
It is said that 2024 is a year of tremendous change because many people hope for it. But conservatism makes people realize soberly that true social revolution is a long-term battle. As ordinary people, we cannot stop the occurrence of war, nor can we promote its beginning. What we really should do is what we are doing.
This stall does not know what will be written in 2024, nor does it know which direction 2024 will develop. 2024 is too nostalgic that I don't know what to say. Usually, there are always many things to say, but today there is nothing to say. Just as the song says, it's good if it's good, and it's good if it's over.
At 21:13, this stall sincerely prays for all compatriots at this moment.