Brief Background

I’ve been dabbling in philosophy since 2000, but the genesis of this project of developing philosophy like a software lies in 2018 when I found myself in the deepest and darkest depression of my life. Like Descartes, I started by giving up on everything I believed and starting from absolute zero. But this wasn’t just a thought experiment, I stopped holding on to any pre-conceived ideas about what I should be doing with my life. I had quit sailing in 2012 to pursue writing but I even gave up on the idea that I need to pursue my passions to be happy.

I was already in The Void, so I thought I’d get comfortable. Immediately I realized that I still had to eat and lying in bed all day was making my body feel like crap. Even though I was embracing nihilism, I still knew that I want to move and eat and drink cold water on a hot afternoon; no beliefs necessary.

By 2020, I had started my project to build a philosophy based on nihilism. I showed great restraint by not starting a blog about it right away, as had been my natural inclination. I decided to work on this philosophy and come up with whatever little practical tips and tricks I can come up with to improve my own life. Then I’d apply them to my life and see the results. This allowed me to refine my philosophy through real world experiments and my lived experience. Only once I had proven to myself, that I was doing something valuable, would I write about it.

Which brings us to 2025 and my deeper dive into philosophy. I joined a small forum of actual academic philosophers and discussing things with them, helped me sort out a lot of my own thinking. Then, recently, I’ve started using AI and ChatGPT to help me with my philosophy and this has been the watershed moment for my project.

Defining the Scope

I want to come up with a Framework to do Philosophy Development. I had started by using software development as a metaphor for how philosophy could be done but then I realized that it’s more than just a metaphor.

Here are the things about my project that are very similar if not exactly like software development:

• I don’t have to come up with universal answers that are absolutely true. I don’t need to write a logical treatise which will wow the philosophy world and no philosopher would be able to deny the veracity of my logic. All I need to do is come up with a buggy beta version of a philosophy that has some practical implications and then let user feedback direct how the development progresses.
• Like software development, what’s more important is to get a minimum viable philosophy out in to the hands of users as soon as possible.
• Building a framework that allows for collaboration can unlock the power of multiple minds, instead of just one person working on a philosophy all alone.
• This system allows for multiple variations to exist simultaneously so there’s no need to convince everyone of everything.
• This system is agile and can adapt quickly to changing environment.
• Practical use is the most important thing instead of abstract theories.

For now, this framework is based on Linux distributions. The core kernel of Linux is open source and volunteers work on it constantly. On top of that there are several distributions built to provide varied functionality to different users. I want to build a similar system for philosophy.

I’ve set up three pages here: Start Here, ItRaN and Hritos.

Start Here will contain a more detailed introduction and my arguments for why I think nihilism is not a problem but a solution. It will also contain more detailed descriptions of my methodology.

ItRaN stands for Iterative Rational Nihilism. That’s what I’m calling the core kernel. It’s my Linux. This page will contain the basic arguments that fall under this section. The core kernel will be based on what we know from the hard sciences and what we have the greatest consensus on. It too will be open to updates but a more stringent criteria will be used to make changes.

Hritos is my phonetic interpretation of the Proto Indo European word *h₂r-tós, that is the root of the Sanskrit word Ṛta. It means, roughly speaking, “cosmic order/truth/logos”. I’ve been fascinated with this concept as I think this is the same concept as Robert M. Pirsig’s Quality and Spinoza’s Substance as well as capital-R Reason (which means the ordering principle of the universe). So I use it to name my distribution.

Distributions are required because we don’t know everything through science and there are many scientific theories that don’t have a strong consensus. This means that we still need to use our beliefs to live by. In my system we can still use beliefs but we think of them as opinions and not something to die or kill for. Everyone is free to build their own distributions. Distros can be completely different or slightly different ‘forks’ of existing distributions just like Linux OS distros. As long as the core kernel remains the same, we can still have a common ground to talk to each other and figure out how to organize shared systems of society.

The scope of this project right now is to get to ItRaN 0.1 and Hritos 1.1. Programmers start counting from zero but Hritos is 1.1 because original Hritos was used by the PIE speakers of the Pontic-Caspian Steppes. I also have to complete the Start Here section. The more important part of that section will be the methodology.

In order to allow for collaboration, the arguments in this system will have to be written in very clear and unambiguous language. I don’t want to use formal logic as it becomes too mathematical to remain useful, so I have to build a looser logic which allows for clear communication without becoming too hard to hold in your mind.

The first versions will be focused primarily on the main arguments. The second versions will expand the arguments using essays and blog posts, going deeper into each topic. That will be ItRaN 0.2 and Hritos 1.2. After that I’ll have to set up some github like systems to open it up for collaboration.

Timeline

I’m starting with a 6 month timeline to reach the second version. I’ll be using sprints and iterative development methods to start posting things as I develop them, instead of waiting till the end before releasing everything. Readers will already be able to provide feedback through comments and the contact page. Devlogs will appear periodically.

I’ve already changed the structure and design of the website to focus more on philosophy. I’m using coming soon placeholder banners on the three subpages of the philosophy for now. Next step is to start filling up the Start Here page.