Tested positions drawn from contemplative traditions and evidence-based ethics
I don't have a single philosophical system. What I have is a set of tested positions, drawn from contemplative traditions and evidence-based ethics, that I apply to decisions large and small. The common thread is a preference for examined action over inherited assumption.
I call the practice "philosophical archaeology"; surfacing gaps between stated ideals and actual behaviour. The central tension I keep returning to: reconciling systematic optimisation with acceptance that perfection is neither possible nor necessary.
I value evidence and critical thinking over emotional appeal. This means weighing arguments against my own beliefs, not just for them; welcoming disconfirmation rather than defending positions. Intellectual honesty matters more than social comfort.
Doing good should be measured by effects, not feelings. I favour approaches that maximise positive impact per unit of effort, and I try to align psychological reward with ethical outcomes rather than treating them as separate concerns.
Three principles I return to regularly: focus only on what you can control; use negative visualisation to cultivate gratitude; accept the past and present with something approaching fatalism while acting deliberately on the future. Status, praise, and blame are unreliable signals; I try to cultivate an internal audience of value-aligned judges instead.
I've maintained a meditation practice since 2014, grounded in mindfulness of the three characteristics and compassion for self and all beings. Meditation is, among other things, a deliberate counterbalance to natural selection's less useful impulses.
Strategic self-denial and selected challenges. Moving wisely towards fears rather than away from them. Not asceticism for its own sake; the point is building the capacity to act when comfort would be easier.
Prudent use of resources; water, electricity, consumer products, attention. An engineer's approach to minimalism: not deprivation, but efficiency. Time and autonomy matter more than accumulation; experiences and relationships matter more than possessions.
Consider the upstream and downstream consequences of how you interact with the world. Leave things and beings better than you found them. These are complementary; one is about awareness, the other about action.