Conversation with Brandon Feick on Intelligence and Philosophy: Member, Glia Society (1)
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2022/06/01
Abstract
Brandon Feick is a Member of the Glia Society. He discusses: the purpose of intelligence tests; the God concept; an afterlife; genius; science; ethical philosophy; social philosophy; political philosophy; metaphysics; philosophical system; meaning; a genius from a profoundly intelligent person; the mystery and transience of life; and love.
Keywords: Brandon Feick, genius, intelligence, I.Q., Glia Society, life, love, metaphysics.
Conversation with Brandon Feick on Intelligence and Philosophy: Member, Glia Society (1)
*Please see the references, footnotes, and citations, after the interview, respectively.*
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: What is the purpose of intelligence tests to you?
Brandon Feick[1],[2]*: I believe the purpose is to test for certain capabilities within a person. IQ tests can be used to identify people with a specific type of problem-solving capabilities.
Jacobsen: Any thoughts on the God concept or gods idea and philosophy, theology, and religion?
Feick: I believe in the light of Good. Not all people know of a God, and what God is varies in different parts of the world. I believe that God is Good in that God = Good. First and foremost, I believe in Good in the world. Good has brought us this far, and so I believe we must continue to have faith in Good.
Jacobsen: Do you believe in an afterlife? If so, why, and what form? If not, why not?
Feick: Unfortunately, I do not believe in an afterlife. I believe my self and my brain would be no longer and that I would no longer have conscious thought. Perhaps in ways that I am entangled with the world I may continue onward at some level, but I do not think too hard beyond that.
Jacobsen: Is profound intelligence necessary for genius?
Feick: I do not think profound intelligence is required to do something that can be described as genius, whether it be/is an achievement in a short series of moments in time or the cumulation of a longer series of moments. However, in cases where someone is described as a genius in fields like music, literature, science, etc., I think that profound intelligence is necessary.
Jacobsen: How much does science play into the worldview for you?
Feick: Science is an integral part of humans being an intelligent species.
Science is a result of the evolution of human intelligence.
Without science, we wouldn’t have many of the things we do that help to make us comfortable living in the world.
I cannot see a way to stop technological advance. For this reason, science must play a significant role in anyone’s worldview…
Unless, they do not dwell on such things as human life…
Jacobsen: What ethical philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?
Feick: The most important thing is that people consider what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad. Let the question resonate, and over time, it becomes more natural to consider this question in our actions. Sometimes, people do what would be considered a good thing, and what results from it would be considered bad, and vice versa. People can easily do things that are bad or wrong without realizing it initially. It is hard to predict the long-term outcome of events. The best we can do to achieve the most good is to ask ourselves the question of what is good, what is bad, what is right, and what is wrong.
Jacobsen: What social philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?
Feick: Smile often.
Jacobsen: What political philosophy makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?
Feick: I live in bubbles. If you are in politics, it makes sense to achieve your goals. Philosophically, achieve your goals. It will build a strength which will aid you alongside others who don’t play fair.
Jacobsen: What metaphysics makes some sense to you, even the most workable sense to you?
Feick: I believe that all is one, and by this I am referring to evolution. If you keep going back through time far enough, it would suggest all of life began at a single point, even if there were multiple occurrences of that point. It suggests we are all interconnected, but I guess in that same thought we’d be just as connected to a tree as a person.
Metaphysics… the first principle of things, time, space, etc.
Jacobsen: What worldview-encompassing philosophical system makes some sense, even the most workable sense to you?
Feick: I do not think I can answer this question without consideration of my personal wants, and then I find comes in the idea of ideology.
I am not studied on such matters. If I felt inspired to read about such systems, I would probably end up developing my own.
Devote oneself to nature of one’s being, to contribute to evolution as nature through time reveals itself through intelligent beings.
Jacobsen: Is meaning externally derived, internally generated, both, or something else?
Feick: I am internally driven, although in a different day and time, such as if I lived in a world where there was no external motivation, then perhaps I would not be as internally motivated.
Jacobsen: What differentiates a genius from a profoundly intelligent person?
Feick: Sometimes, nothing at all. Sometimes, experience. Sometimes, …
Then begin writing.
I think a profoundly intelligent person has more limitations.
Jacobsen: What do you make of the mystery and transience of life?
Feick: Life is only as mysterious as we can imagine it being.
Transience of life I will have to Google…. Lasting for a short time
It is just the self that is transient. I imagine that in nature, the self produces another self because it must… a being produces another being because it must. I imagine that it is inherently tied to the process of evolution. I don’t mind the transience of life… it’s the pain I don’t like. A feeling of ecstasy won’t last forever, but some pains last a lifetime, so it’s a bit lopsided in my opinion, and then there’s the pain of dying. Nobody wants that. Nobody wants the pain of living.
I get excited about the mystery of life. I find it interesting that in a way, life is one continuous being throughout all of evolution. Every human that ever walked the earth, born, lived, reproduced repeat, and I imagine this process goes all the way back to beginning of evolution. I’ll never understand the greatest mysteries of life and the universe, and that’s ok, because it might even be beyond human comprehension, and if somehow humans did unravel the mystery… one would still then have to ask, would that result in good or bad in the world?
Jacobsen: What is love to you?
Feick: Definition: Intense feeling of deep affection. Connected to one’s being, sense of purpose.
It becomes a food, a source of energy, a thrivingness.
Besides the feeling of what is love, I think it incorporates something more. You strongly desire for the wellbeing of what you love. We want the best for those we love.
Footnotes
[1] Member, Glia Society.
[2] Individual Publication Date: June 1, 2022: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/feick-1; Full Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2022: https://in-sightjournal.com/insight-issues/.
*High range testing (HRT) should be taken with honest skepticism grounded in the limited empirical development of the field at present, even in spite of honest and sincere efforts. If a higher general intelligence score, then the greater the variability in, and margin of error in, the general intelligence scores because of the greater rarity in the population.
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