These are the basic premises intended to define Beingism. Beyond the content of the text here, Beingists may come to a variety of different conclusions. Other texts on this site, such as the essays and message board postings, may contain ideas widely shared among Beingists, though this cannot necessarily be assumed.

Beingism in a Nutshell

Rationality

…because reasoning based on experience is our most accurate means of understanding ourselves and our world, and our most effective way of influencing these things.

Emotion

…because emotions provide us with the goals that create meaning for us, make our lives fulfilling, and ultimately make us happy.

For the Benefit of All

…because all are equally worthy of happiness regardless of nature or circumstance, and because generally we are all happier when others are happy.

As a Philosophy, Beingism Maintains:

1. that reason based in experience is our most accurate method of understanding reality and our most consistent means of accomplishing goals;
2. that being reasonable implies open-mindedness, determination, and flexibility, as well as the importance of research and an evidence-based approach to problem-solving;
3. that everyone wants to improve their emotional state or maintain their happiness;
4. that compassionate behavior often leads to happiness, and can lead to increased happiness in a society designed to encourage it;
5. that systems that favor the happiness of some individuals over others create less overall happiness than other potential systems.

People Engaged in Beingist Activism:

1. define justice around the principle of equality of outcome, and
2. act to bring about a more just world and a sustainable, poverty-free society which values the individual liberty of all beings.

Beingism in a Somewhat Bigger Nutshell

Reason

1. “Reason” as understood here is “thinking in a manner consistent with the relationship between elements and between elements and the whole in a given system.” [more]
2. While other methods of understanding the world are often useful, reason is our ultimate arbiter of what is true and false.[more]
3. Reason has various limitations, but it is our most accurate method of understanding reality and our most consistent method of accomplishing goals.[more]
4. Using reason (i.e., being rational) often involves being imaginative, experimental, nondogmatic, flexible, and open to different ways of thinking, feeling, doing, and being.
5. It is rational to work to achieve one’s goals, even against opposition.
6. Reason implies a number of things about our world:
   • Reality is shaped by a variety of different elements and forces interacting reciprocally, creating all the complexity and nuance that shape our experience.
   • Reality is objective (that is, it exists independently of the perceptions of observers). Facts are those mental constructs that reflect objective truths, and as such there are many valid models for understanding what is true.
   • All values, including moral values, are subjective to individuals and groups of individuals and not a part of the fundamental structure of the universe (i.e., there are no objective moral values).
   • Everything in the universe is, by definition, natural. There are no supernatural events or beings, and within our universe all phenomena can be, in principle, understood in terms of the interactions between units of matter/energy.
   • Beings make choices, do what they want, and have a sense of free will. However, it is also true that all behavior must be motivated by some combination of causal and/or random factors, from which the will cannot be “free.” [more]
   • No actions are motivated exclusively by the desire to benefit others. The definition of “motivated” assumes that some desire for direct benefit to oneself, and/or for positive feelings as a result of helping others, is always involved.

Happiness

1. All conscious beings have a subjective experience of mental states, which we call emotions (joy, amusement, fear) and sensations (feeling physical pain, feeling cold, or simply being aware of an aspect of consciousness).
2. Some emotions and sensations are interpreted as negative, while others are interpreted as positive. Our concept of “good” and “bad” is derived from these interpretations. When one experiences an emotion or sensation positively, she or he calls it “good,” and when one experiences an emotion or sensation negatively, she or he calls it “bad.”
3. By definition negative emotions and sensations are bad in and of themselves, for the being experiencing them. Similarly, by definition, positive emotions and sensations are good in and of themselves, for the being experiencing them.
4. Sometimes negative emotions and sensations result in positive ones. For example, one may feel hurt by hearing a criticism of one’s behavior, but from it one may learn to function more effectively. To this extent, negative emotions and sensations can be somewhat good (we may call such an emotion a “necessary bad“).
5. Similarly, sometimes positive emotions and sensations can result in negative ones. For example, one may be distracted by the feeling of joy produced by a beautiful sunrise and fall into an open sewer drain. To this extent positive emotions and sensations can be somewhat bad.
6. Sensations and emotions have many functions, one of which is to supply us motivation for action. A being without any emotions or sensations, if it could exist, would have no motives and no goals, and therefore would not be motivated to think about or do anything.
7. “Happiness” is a simple word for the complex experience of an overall positive mental state made up of many, largely positive, constantly evolving different sensations and emotions. Many different combinations of states may constitute happiness in a given individual, and the sorts of states that tend to make up happiness vary from individual to individual.
8. Because we all necessarily desire whatever mental states we find positive, by definition we all want to be happy.
9. Considering that the best way to accomplish goals is with reason, it makes sense for us to seek happiness in the most rational way possible.

Compassion

1. “Compassion,” defined broadly, is consideration for the happiness and welfare of beings. To feel compassion for someone is to care genuinely about their well-being, often on the basis of a sense of empathy or identification with their situation. To behave compassionately is to act in a manner consistent with the promotion of another’s happiness, and may be motivated by feelings of compassion, other considerations, or some of each.
2. Because all actions are self-interested, everything that beings do is a result of some perceived potential for gain, either in terms of direct benefits or the positive emotions that can result from behaving in a manner that they regard positively. In order to do something, a being must believe (consciously or unconsciously) that the advantages she or he gains from taking the action will outweigh any drawbacks.
3. Although it follows from the above that all beings inevitably value improvements in their own emotional states more than they value improvements in the emotional states of others (even if a large part of how they achieve happiness is by helping others to be happy), it is also true that no being is any more or less deserving of happiness than any other.
4. Recognizing this fact, a rational person who feels compassion might choose to work for the creation of a society in which everyone’s happiness is given equal consideration, even though such a society might sometimes interfere with the pursuit of some of his or her own interests. In other words, such a person might choose to consistently engage in compassionate behavior for the common good.
5. Compassionate behavior, besides benefitting others, also serves one’s own interests in several ways. This is most directly true in that most people really do feel at least some compassion and thus often gain pleasure from the helping of others. Compassionate behavior has other potential benefits as well:
   • It gives people a vested interest in helping us in return, both in direct and in indirect ways. It does this most directly in that when we are kind to others, it encourages them to be kind to us in return. In addition, when people’s physical and emotional needs are met consistently (especially while they are growing up), they will tend to develop their own sense of compassion, and thus begin to gain happiness by helping others.
   • When happy, people tend to produce more resources for everyone. “Resources” is used here as a broad term that includes everything that people have, potentially including (but not limited to) genetic, emotional, intellectual, social, and material things.
6. In some situations, of course, the costs of compassionate behavior will outweigh the benefits, and therefore people will most likely choose not to behave compassionately. In addition, people often fail to act compassionately because although it would be in their best interests to behave compassionately, they don’t realize this. [more]
7. It is at least somewhat in the interests of every member of society to reduce such situations, in order to promote compassionate behavior and thus create more happiness for everyone. Working to reduce conflicts of interest (both perceived and real) in society is also consistent with the goals of anyone who actively feels compassion for others and wishes to create a more just society.
8. In order for conflicts of interest to be reduced in a consistent manner that benefits everyone, it is necessary to create and maintain social systems that:
   • encourage people to go about making themselves happy to a substantial degree by striving to make others happy;
   • arbitrate conflict in a manner that is respectful to everyone’s happiness;
   • distribute resources in a way that maximizes the amount of value, and thus the amount of happiness, those resources can create;
   • prevent individuals or groups from accumulating excesses of power that can be used to expand their own interests at the cost of others.

To Sum Up:

1. It follows from reason that everyone desires happiness, and no one deserves it more than anyone else.
2. Compassionate behavior, and the creation of social systems that institutionalize it, are the keys to creating a society of happy people, which would:
   • be more fair than our current one,
   • probably benefit you directly, and
   • contribute additionally to your own happiness to the extent you feel good about helping others.
3. Therefore, as Beingists, we understand that rational efforts toward the creation of a just and sustainable society based on equality of outcome and personal liberty, in which everyone’s interests have equal consideration, would increase the overall happiness of individuals within such a society.