Is there truth and falsehood? Is there good and evil? Or is there right and wrong? If so, are they determined by traditional or supernatural authority, or can they be derived by anyone using objective discipline, logical analysis and dispassionate judgement?
Or is everything relative? Is it wrong to see things in black and white when only shades of grey exist in reality? Are all viewpoints correct in their own way and are all opinions equally valid? If so, can this illogical and irrational postmodern attitude be sustainable or conducive to better human understanding?
It is, of course, my thesis that we should choose rationality as a common language for humanity to foster better communication, resolve conflicts, encourage co-operation and build a common destiny of economic justice, ethical living and human happiness.
But to choose rationality, we need to obey certain rules:
(1) We must strive to be objective and believe that reality is independent of our minds.
(2) We must think logically by ensuring that our thoughts are consistent, our inferences are valid, our assertions are complete by being provable and our arguments are sound and based on true premises.
(3) Our judgement must be dispassionate by being free from emotional entanglements.
(4) We must reject all judgements based solely on traditional or supernatural authority.
(5) We must resist the fashionable tendency for postmodern confusion and ambiguity.
(6) We should provisionally uphold as objective facts the non-falsified empirical truths of science.
(7) We should adopt a consequentialist ethical system as the best guide for our moral judgements.
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