The mind and kindness in a natural world: presentation and defense of philosophy without supernatural beliefs, by Richard Carrier

Filosophy is not a word game or a contest in splitting hairs, nor a grand plan to justify this or that. Philosophy is what we believe about ourselves, about the universe, and our place in it. Philosophy is the answer to all the big questions, and the foundation upon which we stand when we provide answers to every small question. Our values, morals, goals, identities, who we are, where we are, and above all: how we know any of these things — all of that stems from our philosophy of life, whether we knew it or not. This book presents the author's philosophy of life, "his universal vision," and explains how what he believes is correct. The official classification he belongs to is "natural existentialism," which is a somewhat annoying term; I did not choose it, but its meaning will become clear as you read through this volume. Essentially, it is an interpretation of everything without resorting to anything supernatural, a perspective that takes reason and science seriously, and does not expect anything from you unless you judge it yourself. Number of pages: 602