Weird Philosophies

Weirdness suggests something supernatural. From the Old English wyrd, wurd ("that which happens, fate, chance, fortune, destiny, providence, event, phenomenon"), weird is associated with the Greek Fates (Moirai): 

Atropos (daughter of Zeus and Themis; she is depicted as an old woman, she is the cutter of the thread of life), 

Clotho (the youngest of the three Fates, daughter of Zeus and Themis; the spinner of the thread of life), 

and Lachesis (daughter of Zeus and Themis; the measure of each thread of life) who controlled the destiny of men (Homeric poems Moira or Aisa) and the gods (Theogony of Hesiod).

Weird is one of the most noted exceptions to the "I before E except after C" spelling and when it comes to solving problems, weird perspectives often times yield the most optimal solutions. 

In the Republic of Plato, the three Moirai sing in unison with the music of Seirenes. Lachesis sings the things that were, Clotho the things that are, and Atropos the things that are to be. 

In the late 19th and early 20th century, weird fiction or speculative fiction became the all the rave with weirdos everywhere. Blending the supernatural, mythical, and scientific together, being weird became popular. 

How weird are you? 

Find out if you ascribe to any of these weird philosophies...

Animism

As the name suggests, "anima" exists, but not only in humans and animals ~ it is in rocks, trees, sand, water, wind, etc. 

Ethical Egoism

Ethical egoists would do anything if it is in their best interest. It is another extreme point of view, which approves all actions that maximize someone's well being. 

Idealism

Idealism asserts that reality as we know it is fundamentally mental. As an ontological doctrine, idealism asserts that all entities are composed of either mind or spirt, rejecting physicalist and dualist theories that fail to ascribe priority to the mind. There are two basic forms of idealism: metaphysical idealism, which asserts the ideality of reality, and epistemological idealism, which holds that when it comes to knowledge, the mind can only grasp that which already is. 

Innatism

I often times refer to an "innate" sense about things, which might be an indication that I innately believe this theory has some merit. Innatism is the view that claims people are born with innate ideas or knowledge. Unlike the theory that humans are born as blank slates (tabula rasa) that learn from experience, this theory states that humans may be prewired with knowledge. 

Logical Atomism

Bertrand Russell developed the idea that the whole world consists of simple facts, or atoms, that cannot be broken down into smaller parts. If you want to understand any truth, you should first understand the whole truth then you have to understand each and every atom. 

Moral Absolutism

Everything is relative. According to moral absolutists there are absolute rights and wrongs, whatever the context. 

Mythopoeic Thought

As the name suggests, this theory is closely related to myths. Instead of generalizations and impersonal laws, there was a mythopoeic stage when humans saw each event as an act of will on the part of some personal being. The difference between modern humans and early humans, according to this theory, is that modern humans adopt a scientific viewpoint whereby the phenomenal world consists of universal laws with impersonal objects, e.g. primarily an "it"; whereas for early humans the diversity of experiences were personal, the phenomenal world was a "thou". If a river did not rise it was because it refused to rise, the anomaly was a choice rather than one related to a distinct force acting upon it. 

Neural Monism

Neural Monism is a metaphysical view that states the mental and physical are two distinct ways of organizing or describing the same elements, which are "neutral". In this philosophy, the universe consists of only one kind of "stuff", which is neutral. These neutral things derive their shape and color through our perception of them. 

Phenomenalism

Phenomenalism is the viewpoint that states that we cannot be sure that anything exists unless we can perceive and verify it. Seeing is believing if you want to be sure of something's existence. So, if you haven't seen this blog post, it does not exist. If you haven't been to Paris, you can dream about its existence, even though it might not be there. 

Solipism

The philosophical idea that we can only be sure about the existence of one thing - our mind. According to this system of thought, we can know nothing else. Do you exist? Does this post exist? No one knows. This dissociative theory might not even exist.