AXIOMS of Resolution

Only the most advanced reader will be able to understand these truths.

Being happy depends primarily on our ability to adapt successfully to environmental challenges. Hence happiness requires satisfying goals and desires. Without goal-directed activity, pleasure degenerates into mere hedonistic satisfaction.

An assumption becomes a belief because enough other people agree with it. Belief is contagious. Belief is infectious. So is faith.

Good means whatever helps us achieve happiness. Bad means whatever hurts us. Those definitions hold regardless of the culture in which we live. Good actions lead to good results.

“What I don’t want to think about today,” is nothing more than a euphemism for, “I’m too afraid to deal with it.”

Most disagreements result from two incompatible perspectives arising from different interpretations of identical data. Incompatible premises produce irreconcilable conclusions. This applies equally well to ideas expressed verbally and in writing.

Our opinions depend largely on what questions we ask. Asking the wrong question produces irrelevant responses. Humans tend to ask questions logically rather than intuitively.

Disagreements almost invariably begin over different ways of looking at something, even though both parties may be referring to exactly the same thing.

Whenever we fail to reach agreement with someone, there is usually no disagreement between us; instead, each party simply used words differently. Language reflects cultural differences. Words convey values. Values shape perceptions.

Science teaches us how complex things work. Philosophy reveals why they make sense. Religion tells us why they’re important. Human consciousness exists entirely independent of physical processes. Mind transcends space and time.

Life consists mostly of reacting to stimuli. Living organisms react faster than external observers perceive them. Actions precede intentions. Intentional behavior generates habits. Habits generate memories. Memories determine future choices.