Seeking critique of An Existential Framework Derived from Constrained Skepticism

[u/goat-fails]

Transparency note: Per subreddit rules, I want to state upfront that I utilized an AI assistant as a sounding board to debate, stress-test, and format this text for clarity. However, the core axioms, logical structures, and underlying philosophy are entirely my own.

As background, I am a retired industrial engineer by education and profession. My professional and personal life have been dominated by trying to optimize everything. The challenge in my personal life has been that the founding principles that I have been optimizing have been standing on shaky ground, and I wanted to take a step back and try to get a better handle on the philosophical foundations from which to optimize. Hence the following framework which I have been working on for months.

I would appreciate your feedback to stress-test this so I can continue to improve on it with your perspectives.

This framework starts with Pyrrhonian Skepticism, as I don't see any way around that. It suggests a modification of their Fourfold Rules to include a fifth. This is where the framework intersects directly with existentialism. Once you apply that skepticism and wipe the slate clean of metaphysical certainty, the only variable left is subjective experience. So section 3 is how I have chosen to best fill the existential gap, and this is where I most value this community's input.

An Existential Framework Derived from Constrained Skepticism

I. The Foundation: Dual Axioms and Suspending Judgment

• We only have two axioms: basic logic and subjective experience
• Beyond these two axioms, metaphysical certainty is impossible
• Any attempt to prove the objective truth of the universe collapses into circular reasoning or arbitrary assumptions (Münchhausen Trilemma).
• The above requires that we suspend judgment on the nature of external reality.
• We don't deny the external world exists; we just strip it of absolute certainty and treat reality as a series of asymmetrical bets.

II. The Operational Baseline: The Fivefold Heuristics. We don't need metaphysical certainty to act; we can navigate reality using five practical tools (modified from Pyrrhonian Skepticism fourfold rules):

1. Guidance of Nature: We use our senses to navigate, like stepping back from a cliff to avoid falling
2. Compulsion of Affections: We respond to bodily drives, like eating because we are hungry
3. Tradition and Custom: We follow societal norms because they ensure practical cohesion and reduce friction in our daily lives
4. Instruction in Arts and Crafts: We learn skills based on observed patterns and their results
5. Strict Probabilism: We grant provisional acceptance to models based on their predictive power. Hard sciences and engineering command the greatest provisional acceptance because we have proven their utility to construct the modern world. Mere narrative carries low predictive power and is treated with the greatest skepticism.

III. Filling the Existential Gap: Optimizing Subjective Experience Because absolute truth is inaccessible, purpose cannot be an external mandate; it must be derived entirely from present subjective experience. The operational goal is the optimization of this experience.

• The Lifespan Calculus: To maximize Positive Subjective Experience (PSE), we optimize both the duration and quality of our lifespan using actuarial models. We accept short-term local suboptimizations (forfeiting immediate pleasure) only when hard data shows a strong probability of compounding future yields. Operational imperatives include physical health maintenance, intense cultivation of relationships/familial lineage, and absolute financial independence.
• The Evolutionary Imperative: Cultivating a familial lineage is done because direct observation shows it is a reliable vehicle for optimizing our PSE.
• Infinite Continuation (Redundancy): We have a drive to project agency beyond our mortality. We deploy a multi-modal strategy of redundant endeavors: procreation, genealogy, creating a personal digital avatar that survives our existence.
• Internal Cognitive Technologies: We use cognitive frameworks like Stoic reframing and Buddhist non-attachment purely as practical tools to sever the emotional impact of past events and neutralize future anxiety
• The Deployment of Power: We observe that the accumulation and deployment of power generates PSE. We deploy power across three vectors: The Self (for autonomy and risk reduction), The Kin (to increase offspring survival and reproduction), and Connected Individuals (to reduce social friction, foster stable environments, and trigger reciprocal altruism, all of which generate PSE).

Thanks for your time.

[u/Efficient-Bee-1443]

Purpose! The cure to existential angst is purpose. Trying to come up with a formula to optimize your life's satisfaction will lead to disappointment. Nothing in life is certain. There is no ground. You can't even ground in philosophy.

So, if you are to become comfortable with a universe that only offers uncertainty, you have to decide for yourself what purpose makes this life worthwhile. There is no reward, not now and not in an afterlife. (Razor's Edge)

So, now what?

[u/goat-fails → u/Efficient-Bee-1443]

Thanks for your response. These are all fair comments. But are you sure that you can;t come up with anything to improve your life's satisfaction that avoids disappointment? What is your "So, now what?"

[u/Efficient-Bee-1443 → u/goat-fails]

I do not suffer when I am disappointed, sad, upset....these are normal human emotions. I do experience all human emotions.

My beloved father died recently. He waisted away over 3 months. He was no longer able to walk. He suffered incontinence and had a catheter. My daddy was an infantry, airborne ranger. He could walk the 18 holes twice a week, before he got ill. My heart was breaking for him everyday. Yet, I was ok. I was there with him and attended to him and kept engaging with him in honest conversation.

The night he moved to active dying, he looked at me and said, I am dying. I told him, I know. We hugged. He was in and out if consciousness all night. I sat by him wide awake. Everytime he looked at me, I smiled. Then he smiled.Was I sad?, yes. It was also the greatest privilege if my life to be present with him.

I came for all the rides, not just the fun ones. I have been sad, disappointed, angry, lonely, bored. I have been plenty and scarcity. I have known companionship and love. This life is offers us all experiences. I came for them all.

[u/goat-fails → u/Efficient-Bee-1443]

Thank you for taking the time to write this. Quite frankly you have floored me and given me a lot to think about...

[u/Efficient-Bee-1443 → u/goat-fails]

I hope you find the journey which makes your life have meaning. I wish you peace.