I write today to tell the world about the philosophy that guides my life. It is not an ideology, but it does replace ideology. It is not a Religion, but it helps understand Religion. It is not difficult to use, but it can be difficult to explain.
I call this thought-construct "Radical Functionalism," or RF.
It is, in fact, exactly what it sounds like. Functionalism is, in this case, defined as a belief that the best overall solution to any given problem should be preferred, or that the best action to be taken is the one that most advances the core values of the actor.
The radical part is important, as it emphasizes that all assumptions, beliefs, and dogmas are open to question. A person who practices RF will be willing to question anything. Equally important, however, an RF will pay close attention to the answers to those questions.
The problem with liberalism and conservatism is that, as established and widespread ideologies, they have certain set answers for a wide host of issues. Both have certain issues that are considered sacred, not to be questioned. Both sides also have a twisted view of what the other believes.
RF, on the other hand, is not a list of beliefs and positions, it is a method of arriving at functionally useful goals that further one's values. RF places the highest regard on the use of rhetorical argument to arrive at the truth. A true practitioner of RF will, when confronted with evidence that invalidates their beliefs, re-evaluate those beliefs to match the newly learned facts.
An example of how the traditional American liberal might benefit from RF is the issue of gun control, specifically handguns and concealed carry permits. A strong body of evidence shows that making gun ownership a crime means that only criminals will have guns. In areas with concealed carry laws, violent crime actually drops. In areas where handgun ownership is highly restricted or illegal, violent crime increases. A traditional liberal practicing RF would conclude that their stance on gun control was simply wrong, and modify their belief system accordingly. Perhaps they would push for gun safety classes in public schools and a background check for concealed carry permits.
An example of how the traditional American conservative might benefit from RF is the issue of sexual education. Research shows that abstinence only education and misinformation on proper birth control procedures actually increases the danger to children, whereas proper sexual education and easy access to condoms shows that STD rates and unwanted teen pregnancy decreases. A conservative exposed to these facts and practicing RF would realize that across the board opposition to any exposure of children to sexual education is harmful to the children they are trying to protect, and would perhaps seek to ensure that the sex education curriculum was implemented in a proper, informational way that informs without encouraging.
So how does it work? The first step is to reduce any question or problem down to a values level. Using the above gun control example; the liberal values safety. In order to protect their safety from violent assault with a firearm, they seek to restrict the ability for people to get firearms. Unfortunately, their action actually works against their value, as making firearms illegal actually emboldens those most likely to use one in a violent fashion and takes away any fear those criminals might have that they will have to face return fire. Added to that, their measure actually does little or nothing to reduce the access to guns that criminals have. Functionally, the liberal has made themselves less safe.
The gun control policy, originally a means to an end, has become an end in itself. So much effort has gone into supporting it that it is hard to let go. And yet, any continued attempts to restrict the gun rights of law abiding citizens actually ends up serving only the ego of the gun control activist and the violent criminals who will take advantage of a disarmed population.
The sex education example above breaks down in a similar way. The original functional purpose of restricting sexual activity was primarily to reduce the amount of children born outside of support structures sufficient to maintain their health and growth. The core value was human happiness. Unwanted children are a danger to civilization, and since infanticide and abortion are clearly not preferable options if pregnancy can be prevented in the first place, the idea was to prevent pregnancy at its source. However, once again we have a situation where means have become ends. It is simply true that sexual desire is, for many people, a strong motivating force; especially for young people going through hormonal changes as they finish growing into adults. Instead of using a strategy that is primarily designed to make adults feel good about themselves (abstinence-only education), the best way to deal with sex and to prevent the unwanted pregnancies is to make sure that young people have enough information on the risks they are taken; and to make sure they have access to health care and contraceptives. Distributing condoms free or inexpensively in school nurse offices in high schools might be one of the most direct, effective steps to curb unwanted pregnancies among teens. A conservative who was actually attempting to support their core value of increasing human happiness would choose the more functionally useful approach currently available, not the approach that was functionally useful thousands of years ago in the desert.
RF is a means of self examination, a framework to build a philosophy around. It is mental infrastructure based on a minimum of simple rules and assumes that truth is best defined as that which is supported by the best argument. Anyone who wishes to practice RF must first commit themselves to honesty. Lies obstruct and obfuscate overall functionalism, and while they may make things easier in the short term it is almost inevitable that they undermine functional value in the long term. Often even the short term gains are tainted or decreased in worth due to the lie. If one lies to rob a bank, one could find oneself suddenly hundreds of thousands of dollars richer, but with a new host of problems an order of magnitude more difficult to solve than the ones they had before the robbery.
Once a person commits to the truth, they must learn to be honest with themselves about their own flaws, shortcomings, and mistakes. This is difficult, and for many it will be a goal that can not be attained. Even so, striving for it is vital if one truly wishes to live according to one's values.
This brings us to our next point: values. A person practicing RF must strive to understand and accept their own core values. These values have, in some form or another, shaped all of that person's decisions and actions throughout their lives. Perhaps their core value is personal satisfaction. Perhaps it is achievement and recognition. Perhaps it is the increase in human happiness and decrease in human suffering. By bringing these values up from the depths of their subconscious and into their conscious mind, the RF will find themselves living with more personal happiness and satisfaction as they begin to work towards things that functionally advance their core values, instead of towards things that only superficially pay homage to those values.
Once values have been determined, it is simply a question of considering when faced with a choice which option most likely will advance those values. Some choices will be easy and clear cut. Some will be clouded by multiple conflicting values, and will require extensive internal and external debate. Sometimes, a person may find themselves compelled to do something against their values, or without consciously considering the full scenario. When this happens, the RF has an advantage over many people as they are, at the least, aware of the fact that they have made such a decision and can ponder it later, evaluating their own performance.
This is the first draft, a summary of the radical functionalist meme. It is still in need of deliberation and outside debate to make it stronger and resistant to corruption. I welcome any and all comments at radicalfunctionalist@gmail.com
