Who I Am

My name is Alex. I am a pansexual male, and my cognitive style is best described as INTJ—an architect of systems. This identity isn't just a label; it's the lens through which I view the world. I am currently an undergraduate majoring in Business Administration with a minor in Psychology, and my core interest lies in the design and manipulation of systems. This fascination extends from the elegance of computer code and the structure of language to the most complex and impactful system of all: human ethics and morality.

The Genesis of a Worldview

My own journey into this philosophy was born from an existential crisis. Having been raised in a Christian household, I spent my early teens treating the logical foundations of faith as an intellectual puzzle. I enjoyed the rigor of these imaginary debates, and with a commitment to unbiased logic, I was always able to resolve them in favor of my Christian beliefs. My disdain was reserved for apologists who used charisma and manipulation instead of pure reason.

It was this very dedication to logic that made the transition out of faith so decisive. At fourteen, I arrived at a problem I couldn't refute: that faith required belief without evidence, a position I realized would be dogmatic to maintain. This led me away from religion and into a profound state of uncertainty. Without an external framework, I had lost my moral compass. It was only through a year of deep introspection that I discovered my decisions were still being guided by something more fundamental: underlying motivations I came to understand as expressions of biological needs. This became the new, internal bedrock for my worldview.

This same deliberate, evidence-based approach defines my current stance. I identify as an agnostic atheist because my entire philosophical method runs counter to the premise of faith. The "agnostic" component is an acknowledgment of intellectual humility; one cannot definitively prove a negative. Furthermore, the concept of an omnipotent and omniscient deity presents a logical conundrum. Such a being, with the power to control every variable in existence, could make material evidence point toward any "truth" it desires. This would make its motives not only fundamentally inscrutable but would also render any form of independent verification meaningless. My position, therefore, is not an emotional one, but a logical consequence of a commitment to reason. This commitment is absolute; should a more coherent and evidence-based framework emerge, I would abandon my current theories with the same intellectual honesty that led me away from faith.

A Utilitarianism of Needs

This personal journey highlighted a common problem in our world: we often build our moral stances on the shifting sands of intuition. Consider this: you might hear a tragic story of a woman forcibly impregnated and be persuaded to advocate for abortion. Then, moments later, you could see a graphic photo of a dismembered fetus and be swayed to oppose the very same idea. This is social intuitionism at work—our gut reactions dictating our moral compass.

My philosophy is my attempt to answer that problem. It builds upon the foundational work of psychologists like Abraham Maslow and Clare W. Graves, who pioneered our understanding of human needs. While their models were groundbreaking, I find it helpful to view the dynamic spectrum of human motivation as something more fluid than a series of rigid categories. My approach is a form of utilitarianism that moves away from nebulous abstractions like 'pleasure' and 'pain', aiming instead for a more concrete framework built on theoretical intrinsic drives. From my perspective, these drives represent a fluid hierarchy of needs crucial to our mental health and overall well-being. They seem to begin with the most fundamental drives compelling us to seek physiological stability and physical safety. Once these foundational needs are met, other drives appear to guide us toward social connection, achievement, and a sense of contentment. My goal is to explore how we can systematically satisfy this generally shared hierarchy of needs, allowing all humans to flourish.

The Path Forward

This philosophical framework is not an abstract exercise; it is the blueprint for my life's work. It is for this reason that I have chosen my academic pursuits—they are the necessary tools to turn this vision into reality.

I plan to start an organization dedicated to a single, powerful mission: Building a World Where Everyone Thrives. This state of "thriving" is not a vague aspiration; it is a specific, measurable condition. It is a state where an individual's needs are met so consistently that their underlying drives are not consciously "felt" as urgent, nagging cues. The longer this equilibrium is maintained, the more an individual thrives. This endeavor will be committed to exploring every nuance of the human mind and developing the systems to make this state achievable.

This is the practical application of my philosophy, and the future I am dedicated to building. It is a future I believe we can all design, if we first have the courage to understand ourselves.