Here I seek to answer, briefly, some of the questions I receive about my book. I may rephrase some questions—and alas, I may not get the chance to answer them all. But I would hope to.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————“Your book This Town is subtitled A Complete Metaphysics. How complete?”
A: The book most basically covers language, reality, ethics, politics, science, maths, meaning, holism, and God. Although the book is written in story form, an index at the back points to the philosophical themes.
“How much will it cost you to lecture in Malta?”
A: Thankfully, nothing. It is all expenses paid, by the Philosophy Sharing Foundation of Malta, which is "importing" me.
“You grew up in a premodern society. How would you describe it?”
A: Four things stand out for me: 1. It was pure genius -- the skills required to keep that going are stunning. 2. People were locked into roles -- which was essential for their survival. 3. There was joy. And 4. money dictated nothing.
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“You will be delivering a theology lecture in Europe?”
A: This is a philosophy lecture, at the Staatsunabhängige Theologische Hochschule, a University Theological Seminary in Basel, Switzerland. One could call it philosophy of religion. I am to hold a lecture on Blaise Pascal's "infinite abyss" in March 2025.
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“Will you write another book?”
A: Yes. It began like this. The Philosophy Sharing Foundation invited me to deliver a lecture in Malta (March 2025). I wrote it in nearly 30 segments. Now I am expanding on these segments to produce chapters of a book. It is a fictional metaphysics.
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“Your magnum opus, Everything, Briefly. Is it epistemology?”
A: Someone said, epistemology is how we know that we know. My book starts out with that, and I think it offers an interesting answer. Basically, concepts exist. Nothing else does. But the book as a whole is much broader than epistemology.
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“Could you share the details of your Annual Philosophy Lecture in Europe?”
A: I am to hold this lecture on the evening of 20 March 2025 at the Grand Excelsior, Valletta, Malta. My hosts are the Philosophy Sharing Foundation, a member of the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie. The subject is Holism.
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“What is the biggest contribution of your philosophy?”
A: I believe its contribution is potentially huge, in one important respect. We do not fundamentally understand why our world is unravelling. I describe the cause of this and other ills as a great philosophical blind spot.
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“What would you change, a year later?”
A: In one way, little. At the same time, my metaphysics has been turned upside down -- in the sense that I now work from the whole to the parts, rather than the parts to the whole.
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“Why would you buy your own book?”
A: Firstly, because it is full of new perspectives -- on fact and value, body and mind, identity, critical theory, radical democracy, and so on. Secondly, because I would want to be up to date. Knowing what is in it, I might seem a bit behind if I hadn't read it!
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“Why does your book not appear on Google?”
A: [UPDATED]. It takes time for books to enter distribution channels, and make an appearance on search engines. Google "Everything, Briefly" and it is now all over Google.
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"How did you obtain endorsements?"
A: I had a draft of my work printed and bound. I studied who might be interested in it, and mailed them a copy. Then I sent them a note. Happily, this bore fruit.
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"What sets your environmental ethics apart?"
A: Holmes Rolston believes that we have the ability to manage nature. Edward Wilson wrote that half the earth should be human-free until we figure out how. I argue: we won’t figure out how. We must retreat.
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"What do you understand by modernism?"
A: Above all, what Schopenhauer called "the single thought". One has a big idea, and references everything to that idea.
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"What do you mean by a syntocracy?"
A: A syntocracy is a form of government which seeks to bring all things into balanced relation, as a priority. This includes the need for elected representatives, as in a democracy.
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"Do you go with Francis Schaeffer?"
A: Dr. Schaeffer was one of my professors. He influenced me greatly through his emphasis on presuppositions and holistic thinking in particular. However, he wrote philosophical theology. I write philosophy.
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"Do you have to hand in your manuscript on time? To the day?"
A: Absolutely. No hakuna matata mañana mañana. It's a contract, and needs to be fulfilled. Penalties for default are laid out in the contract. A lot of people are involved, and it needs to go to plan.
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"Is there anything important for religion in your book?"
A: Yes. I argue that it is impossible to believe in a closed universe of cause and effect. Not that my book is religious. I stay within the bounds of philosophy.
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"In what way is your metaphysics postmodern?"
A: Here are three things. I reject the “single thought” of modernism; I dismantle the notion that reason is "our last judge and guide in everything"; and I present information as the great leveler of all forms of hegemony.
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"How long did it take to write your book?"
A: I made my first attempt on a new metaphysics in 1981! I started my present manuscript in 2015. Six years.