The Basics

In a nutshell, Everyday Brightness is a personal chronicle of my views on life, the universe, and everything.

Socrates reportedly said that the unexamined life is not worth living,[¹] which suggests that understanding ourselves and the world around us is reason enough to go on living. It also seems to suggest the use of sound judgment, because at the end of the day, what we think we know has a profound affect on our behavior.

I currently take the position that ‘sound judgment’ is pointing us toward a naturalistic worldview. I would further argue that such a view is essential to a proper understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe, and seems to be the only effective response to the supernatural doctrines and wishful thinking that should long ago have become historic curiosities.

The problem isn’t necessarily a religious one. It’s entirely possible to practice religion without actually subscribing to supernatural anachronisms. Religious practice can add color and meaning without really changing one’s basic assumptions about the nature of the universe. No, the real problem is believing the universe exists for the sake of some and not others. It also rears its head when people start thinking we have power over reality – that we can alter physical conditions by sheer force of will.

One of my goals here is to present naturalism as an alternative to popular dogmas and pleasing fictions; to present it as a deeply satisfying view of life that is at once more constructive, more inclusive, and more meaningful than those offering ornamental gods or mysticism. Another goal is to confront important issues of faith and belief in such a way as to provoke meaningful dialogue. Whether we agree or not, I hope to at least have motivated a discussion on the subject.

Bonus Features

NOTE: I borrowed the idea for the following from Common Sense Atheism, a blog whose quality content I enjoy.

Given the somewhat contentious nature of the subject matter, I think it’s important to state explicitly that I aspire to promote an atmosphere that fosters uncompromising but thoughtful dialogue. Here are a few key features of this site that I hope will help to accomplish this:

• Fairness — There are no sacred cows here. Even naturalism is not exempt from criticism. Expect to see ideas and people I personally agree with most of the time occasionally thrown under the bus. In addition, no legitimate comment will ever be deleted. If your comment does not appear within 24 hours of posting, please let me know.
• Integrity — No one has a monopoly on truth, reason or rationality, and contrary to popular opinion, it’s OK to change your mind. If I make a mistake, or am persuaded that a position I’ve taken is wrong, I will publicly admit it it and correct the error, if I can.
• Respect — Though respect must clearly be earned, there is a basic level of common decency that we do well to observe in our dealings with each other. I can’t guarantee that no insults will be hurled, but I can guarantee that it won’t be me who hurls them. Please note, however, that ideas are not people, and are not automatically deserving of the same treatment.

If anyone can think of a better way of achieving the same thing, please let me know.

The Author

J.C. Samuelson is a husband, father, technology professional, and amateur philosopher with far too much time on his hands to think about the things he writes about. An incurable optimist, he likes to think that setting up this little popsicle stand on the edge of the Information highway will help him keep the girl of his dreams, cure cancer, and promote world peace.

Legal Stuff

Except where otherwise noted, all content on this website is produced by J.C. Samuelson and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. Notice will be posted when there is content that does not fall under this license.

The Manifest theme upon which this website design is based was developed by Jim Barraud. License information may be found by clicking either link in this paragraph, though the first link is more direct.

For questions concerning uses beyond what the license authorizes, or if you notice an error in copyright, please use the contact page.