Welcome to Gaia! ::

ello I am Steve. I am a classsical liberal (Adam Smith, Herbert Spencer, FA Hayek), I am very unsure of the role moral arugements should play in poltical theory so I usally aruge my cases in consequentialist ways.

I am greatly influenced by: The Stoics, Ayn Rand, David Friedman, Joesph Schumpeter, Thoreau, a tad bit of Lao Tzu, FA Hayek, Karl Popper, Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises, and Friedrich Nietzche

Goodness, who am I and what are my influences?... Such a broad question. Who I am is to deep to put into words, and I'm influenced by my enviornment everyday, which is about how often I change as well.
Here's a little about me though, I like to question everything. I mostly question my own values and purpose, but I tend to think on a very broad scale. How everything in life measures up on the universal spectrum. I like to doubt everything, and I like finding proof to go along with reason. I don't beleive in lables or religion.
I look forward to having some interesting conversations here. It's always informative to get different perspectives on life. Talk to you all soon.

Hello.

I came into philosophy from the world of Catholic theology. I was born to a religious family and schooled at a Catholic school. It was alright, not as bad as it sounds.

I was Catholic, and strongly so, without being a zealot. I flourished in debate, holding and making ground against both agnostics, atheists and other christians. It didn't last though.

In religious debate you always end up back at philosophy, and when I started learning and studying philosophy (about five years ago now) it undermined my faith, then expelled it.

I hate the church, I can never follow it. Their present teachings are too much undermined both by their barbaric history and their critically flawed philosophical tenets and premises.

I will soon be reading Philosophy at Lampeter University under among others an authority on Existentialism and Nietzsche. Existentialism being, I am convinced, the most admirable philosophical school of thought.

My name is Francis. I'm usually called Invictus, or Invi, or just not addressed.

My name is Devin K. Truessence. Truessence isn't my real last name, the K. is though. Truessence stands for True Spirit/Self/Essence and I made that name a part of me because I believe I have found my true self. I will not make it legal, because I do not want it bound by law, and therefore have it truly free.

I am 17, turning 18 this April. I have been influenced by the world around me and the world inside me. I was raised Christian, but no longer am a part of any religion but rather my own beliefs that are unique to anyone else's. I believe in the powers of the Pentagram, but not as the same way Wiccans or Druids do, and my beliefs differ widely from any religion (though you will find many resemblances to other religions from my beliefs). I am a spiritualist, a poet, a philosopher, an environmentalist, an open-minded person, a romantic, and more.

I am also a sort of mini-thealogen so I know much about different religions (I read 4 different bibles when I was 11) and 11 was the age I began to change to who I am now.

I believe in the power that Love can bring. I believe that everything goes through a cycle and is infinite. I am excellent at debates and can think from many different points of view. I am anti-drug and have grown up being raised by my mother and grandmother.

I had a hard childhood where I was molested by my father when I was four, who is now dead after committing suicide about 3 years ago, and went through 7 years of psychotherapy in order to block those harmful memories. But after about 5 years of the therapy I started remembering what my father did to me, and forgot the important parts of the therapy. I know remember fully what my father did to me, and have grown to accept it.

I believe in all Gods and Goddesses that were ever even thought of because I believe that, to a point, imagination makes things real.

You may be surprised that I am this young when you get to know me, for I've been thought to be 30+ years old when I was 14 because I helped a marriage by myself.

If you have any questions at all, do not be afraid to PM me, I'm always glad to tell people more about me. ^_^

My name is Seth, i'm 18 years old and i live in Finland.
I've been removed from the Evangelic-Lutheran church since i was about 8, because i could not for the life of me understand the whole point. I was an atheist for years. Later on i moved into agnosticism.
Nowasays i'm quite spiritual and somewhat of a mysticist. I do believe in nature spirits and ghosts and energy/light working etc. Just giving you a heads up wink Oh yes, and UFOs. wahmbulance

My greatest influences come from old legends, sagas, stories, mythology, philosophy of old scriptures and writings etc. Especially Gnostic philosophy and beliefs have influenced me the most so i've adopted them into my view on reality. But because there's just SO much, so many different beliefs and experiences that seem perfectly reasonable and plausable, a lot of them cancel each other out creating this big mess of possible thruths and it just drives me insane! I do have some things i stand by but i question them all the time. Because of this i can discuss pretty much anything without questionning it and i can take almost any side of a conversation.

Basically the reason i'm here is to discuss matters of reality and most any other philosophy so that maybe it might add to my search of the truth and reality of things, the universe.

What? Me? Oh yes, i like to cook, read books, archery, singing... I also like biology quite a bit and writing stories and poems. Anyway, i'ma go to bed now. G'night y'all!

P.S. I cut out like half of this 'cause i was getting off subject writing about almost everything. And if it's confuzing that's cause i slept badly last night and been on the move all day and it's 11pm domokun whee burning_eyes

My name is Cipher. I have heavy leanings toward existential thought. And to be honest even though I like philosophy and would like to learn more about all of these great thinkers you have mentioned I am but a neophyte.