These are the ramblings of Tristan Casey, feel free to post comments or simply check in occasionally for a bit of a read.

I would describe my philosophical position as placing responsibility firmly on the individual. The end, means and intent are all variables that can be controlled directly. In short, I strongly believe that ‘the buck stops here’ when I refer to responsibility.

Individuals do have the capacity to make their own choices (free-will is very much alive and kicking) and accept responsibility for their actions. The closest philosopher that matches my views would be Immanuel Kant, although I also enjoy learning about and reading the uncorrupted socio-political models of communism (Karl Marx, Lenin et al).

In summary, my philosophical position is thus;

• We can make a-priori judgments; the negation of such judgments would be a logical absurdity because a priori knowledge is known without sensory data
• We have freedom
• It is our duty as human beings to act morally
• True moral action does not come out of following inclinations, drives or urges
• Moral standards must be followed without qualification
• We must always act so that the means of our actions could be a universal law (do unto others as you would have done unto you)
• We must always treat people as ends not means
• There is no God (although fundamentalist atheism is equated with fundamentalist religiousness, spirituality has its uses without a divine being)
• Instinctual (evolutionary) urges are the main drive behind human behaviour, although we are capable of transcending them
• My ontological position is materialism; that is, everything intangible can eventually be reduced to some physical particle or phenomenon

My interests include anything related to astronomy/cosmology, physics, biology (evolution), mathematics (universal constants, game theory), art/creativity/design, engineering, men’s fashion, psychology, health and nutrition. Basically I am interested in the field of science, as well as many general, broad topics (a useful tool for any budding philosopher). I currently hold a Bachelor of Psychological Science from the University of Queensland.