If there was ever an example of the power of a faulty assumption, it will be in this post. Everyone assumes. We can’t help it. It is not a matter of if you assume, but how you assume and whether your assumptions are true. Previously I described Type 1 assumers who assume the world is essentially physical only. Non-physical things are either unimportant or not real. Type 1 assumers are atheists for sure. I also showed you the core assumption of the spiritual Type 2 assumer. The world is really all about a spiritual ideal for them. The physical world is either unimportant or not real.
You may be thinking this all just a bunch of philosophy or religion and is not relevant, except to maybe philosophers or theologians. Watch this: I am going to expose the soft underbelly of where many of us live today. Have you ever heard someone say “perception is reality?” How about “I want to help build a better world?” Maybe you have heard someone say, “If I can conceive it and I believe it, I can achieve it.” These are some of the ways that mental Type 2 assumers talk.
A mental Type 2 assumer is similar to spiritual Type 2 assumers. Non-physical things (minds or spirits) are the things that are important and really real. Physical things either are not important compared to non-physical things or they may not really exist at all. The physical world that we see around us is not really real. We only think it is. It is actually a projection on our mind by a spiritual power, or it is the creation of our mind.
Mental Type 2 assumers, though, are not particularly spiritual. In fact, most atheists are actually this type of assumer. Mental Type 2 assumers are idealists, too, but they do not pursue a spiritual ideal. They are consumed with an ideal of the mind. They don’t see a state of spiritual perfection (a spiritual ideal) that we can achieve. Rather mental idealists see a perfect human and a perfect human society, and they believe it can be achieved. Sure, humans have flaws and faults. However, these visionaries see how to fix our flaws. This is what drives our obsession with “self-help.” With their enlightened guidance and if we work together, we can become like the ideal we see. We can build a better world.
This is the core assumption that drives every liberal and progressive. They may not have thought about it in this way, but when you dig down to the bottom of their thought process, it rests on the notion that ideal humans and ideal societies are possible. If they were not possible, why work toward them? Yet, as time goes by, these assumers believe we are moving forward. We are making progress toward this ideal. That is what it means to be a progressive.
However, while liberals and progressives are Type 2 assumers, many conservatives are, too. They disagree with liberal principles. They believe conservative principles are the way to go. But go where? Toward the ideal. Toward a better world. Many conservatives believe ideals are real and can be achieved, they just disagree with the liberals on how to get there. Yet, it is one thing to improve the human condition. It is another thing to improve humans.
But think about it for a minute: what is a principle? It is a non-material, non-personal thing. It is an ideal. But what if ideals are not real? That changes everything! Ideals sound noble and good, but are they really? Like spiritual idealists, mental idealists believe that whatever achieves the ideal is the definition of what is good. Anything can be justified if it achieves the ideal. The greatest atrocities in human history have been committed in the name of an ideal. Ever wonder why liberal progressives always seem to condemn and attack Jews and Christians like radical jihadis? They are the same kind of assumer. One is pursuing a spiritual ideal and the other is pushing a mental ideal. Both are idealists, and ideals in the end are destructive fantasy.