“Highly readable and thought-provoking ...

A very
pleasant and creative work.” – Dr. Larry Sanger

ECONOMY
OF TRUTH
Practical Maxims
And Reflections

VIZI ANDREI
ECONOMY OF TRUTH

Practical Maxims and Reflections

VIZI ANDREI
 Copyright © 2019 by Vizi Andrei

All illustrations: Purchased from Canva

Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for
complying with the copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning
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could help him a lot.
I wrote this book out of ambition, pragmatism,
intellectual confusion, a bit of naivety, and, above all,
a will to offer a helping hand...
VIZI ANDREI
Romania, 2019
 Table of Contents

A Greco-Roman World ......................................................... 3

Appetizers............................................................................ 13
Seduced by Rationality ........................................................ 21
On Happiness & Misery ..................................................... 31
The Hidden Curses of Modernity ....................................... 43
The Fool & The “Educated” ............................................... 59
An Artist Among Robots ..................................................... 69
On Ethics & Friendship ...................................................... 79
Drinking Wine With Seneca ............................................... 89
Don’t Forget Your Dessert .................................................. 99
Facta, Non Verba .............................................................. 107
Acknowledgements ............................................................ 114
 Prologue

A GRECO-ROMAN WORLD
 PROLOGUE

A Greco-Roman World

L
et me introduce you to my dear friend, Antisthenes. He
was a Greek philosopher – an Athenian, although he was
said not to be a legitimate Athenian. In his youth, he
bravely fought in the battle of Tanagra, which led Socrates to
believe that his genes are not pure. He argued that the son of two
Athenians could not be so brave, as Athenians would rather
theorize about courage than be courageous.*
As he became older, Antisthenes slowly left the battlefield
behind. He got drawn to the study of ethics, logic, and literature.
He spent the rest of his life by nurturing his education and
cultivating his mental faculties. He became an accomplished
orator and is credited with the authorship of over sixty titles. His
writings became timeless – they can teach any modern man how to
live a happier, more virtuous, and thoughtful life. Antisthenes
founded the Cynic School where he taught his students how to

*
Socrates was right: Antisthenes had a Thracian mother.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

nobly reject luxuries, social status, and the acquisition of wealth

and unnecessary material objects.
Not very far from Athens*, there was a different man – a man
respected by all, admired by many, loved by a few, and matched
by nobody. His name conveys wisdom, strength, power yet
humility: Marcus Aurelius – one of the most competent Roman
emperors that ever lived.
While Antisthenes was studying, Marcus was on the battlefield,
organizing his army. Or maybe he was training, wrestling with
his comrades. Or maybe he was in his room, preparing his
strategy for the next battle. While the professor was teaching
philosophy, Marcus was embodying it. Despite his constant
challenges and responsibilities, what’s surprising about this man
is that he always found time to write, to reflect, to meditate – to
think. He wasn’t into poetry; nor was he working on a novel. He
was writing directly applicable, practical, and philosophical
teachings that could foster a clear mind and encourage pensive
actions. He was writing in order to think; and he was thinking
in order to act. Marcus Aurelius wasn’t only a king; he was also
a philosopher – but, he first became a king and then a
philosopher.

*
And in a slightly different period!

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 A GRECO-ROMAN WORLD

Good philosophers start with theory and end up with action.

Great philosophers start with action and end up with
theory.

In general, the Greeks were mostly concerned with theory and

the Romans with action. The Greeks’ morning routine meant
thinking about ethics, courage, and happiness so that they can
grasp how to act later in the day; the Romans’ morning routine
meant being ethical, courageous, and happy so that they can
grasp how to theorize later in the day. Some preferred to
postpone action and focus on theory; others preferred to
postpone theory and focus on action. Some lacked knowledge;
others lacked experience.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

By deciding to read this book, you agree to be part of a Greek

boat heading toward the Romans. You agree that theory will meet
action; that a Greco-Roman world is to be created.

As soon as the Greeks start hanging out with the Romans,

theories will become more practical and actions will become
more thoughtful. As soon as they start going out, the Romans
will learn how to seek the truth and the Greeks how to
domesticate, and even dominate, its limitations.
Let me now prepare you for the first meeting, as we consider the
notion of “economy of truth.”

6
 A GRECO-ROMAN WORLD

Let’s Sign the Contract

We – humans – naturally face limits of knowledge. These limits

are the product of everything which we cannot observe, explain
or solve. In other words, the world we happen to live in is
complex. But, homo sapiens do not enjoy unorganized habitats.
We naturally seek structure, guidance, and predictability. We
need these things – in moderation!
But, how do we get them?
Here’s when maxims come to the rescue. Maxims represent crisp,
well-decorated, rhetorical, and seemingly universal rules which
help us conduct ourselves in the world.* They are compound
ideas distilled into a few words. They do not exhaustively match
the reality – but rather render it bearable. They are framed in
such a manner that they maximize utility while advancing or at
least not degrading the truth. Simply put, maxims foster an
economy of truth.

The notion of “economy of truth” is a compromise between

wisdom and knowledge, truth and utility, argument and
action, and science and meaning.

*
Warning: it can become pathological if we truly regard them as
universal.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

Economy of truth is a contract between the Greeks and the

Romans – a contract you are going to read slowly, and hopefully
enjoy wholly.

8
 A GRECO-ROMAN WORLD

Instructions & Disclaimer

Whenever you come across a maxim that causes you to grimace

with dislike or disagreement, pause for a moment. It was not
meant to be a universally applicable truth. Such creations are
virtually alien to human beings.

Instead of expecting maxims to resonate with you, develop a

state of mind so that you seek to resonate with them.

This work is the architecture of my creative thought exercises. I

spontaneously came up with many of them; I conducted research
to produce some of them; and I simultaneously did both to
generate the rest of them.
Although this book happens to be a work of philosophy, I am no
philosopher; and the Romans made it very clear that they have
no time for philosophy. There was an accident – I gave full power
to the Greeks to prepare it for launch. In other words, if you
don’t consider this book to be a work of philosophy, sue the
Greeks, not me.
I will provide further excuses in the Epilogue.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

Notice

It took me roughly three years to write this book – so I,

foreseeably, advise against aiming to read it in one sitting!* Take
your time. Reflect. Ponder. Critically – yet kindly – assess my
thoughts. Do it slowly. Do it twice. Take notes. Highlight. Aim
to read my book again – and again, and again; only in case you
enjoyed it, of course. And what I mean by enjoying it is not that
I expect you to agree with the cognitive projects I infused it with
– but, simply, that you came to consider them useful.
This book was an endeavor to find out who I am and who I want
to be. Many maxims and reflections do not describe my virtues
per se – but what virtues I aspire to develop.
I hope my writings will resonate with you. I hope this book will
make you a better thinker – a critical and creative one – and,
above all, a better action-taker.
Let’s get started.

*
20 pages per day – this is the absolute max!

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Chapter I

APPETIZERS
 CHAPTER I

Appetizers

Intelligence without risk is wasted talent.

*
The man who’s gathering knowledge for the sake of it is like the
sailor who's dying of thirst on the ocean.
No matter how much he drinks, he will always be thirsty.

*
The reason Seneca and Marcus Aurelius were such great
philosophers is that they weren’t, in fact, philosophers – they
were practitioners.
Seneca was a statesman, fervently involved in politics; and
Marcus Aurelius was a prominent Roman emperor.
Philosophy gathers vitality as soon as it develops a loving
relationship with action – and vice-versa.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

We tend to like only the books that reinforce our convictions.

We rarely like the books filled with arguments that contradict
them, no matter how adequate or well-documented they are.
As long as those arguments are at odds with our beliefs, one thing
is certain: we find it hard to like these books.

*
If you want to have a calm discussion about a hot topic, use an
arsenal of cold phrases.

*
Make a deal with yourself – never confuse correlation with
causation; law with ethics; money with wealth; notoriety with
value; muscles with strength; or information with knowledge.

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 APPETIZERS

Every opinion is insufficient. In philosophy and in everything,

one cannot express something that is universally applicable, but
only subjectively or locally applicable.
No matter how good a writer is – he’s human. He’s naturally
unable to produce ideas that can resonate with all of us; but only
with some of us, or, in best cases, with many of us.
If a writer doesn't resonate with me, my first instinct is to
pigeonhole him as “weird”. Or, to consider what he expressed to
be “false” or “nonsense”. I thus judge him. That's why, when this
occurs, I sometimes decide to pause for a moment, drink a cup
of coffee, maybe even take a walk, and then read his “nonsense”
again. And, this time, I try to read to understand – and not to
judge. This time, I strive to get psychologically attached to the
writer – to enter his mind; to become his mind. Otherwise, how
can I have any chance at grasping the subtle truth he may have
formulated?

*
Carl Jung brilliantly noted: “Everything that irritates us about
others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.”
And, Hermann Hesse beautifully stretched a similar thought: “If
you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself.”
Thanks to both of them, it is now very clear to me why I can’t
stand lazy and arrogant people.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

Don’t worry: you can leave your books unsupervised in any

public space* – because thieves don’t read and readers don’t
steal.†

*
Conscious decision-making vs. unconscious decision-making: you
can't say you have a habit of going to the gym if you have to tell
yourself “let's go to the gym” – but, to develop it, you need to.

*
Kindness without truth comes across as flattery.
Truth without kindness comes across as disrespect.

*
Disclaimer: I am not liable in case your books get stolen. Thanks.
†
Al-Mutannabi Street, Baghdad.

16
 APPETIZERS

Those who manage to find the sweet spot are the most
persuasive.

*
Ideas are not situated within the books we read, but within
ourselves. That’s why we consider many ideas to be evident once
we read them. We read a book, and, after we finish it, we
consider what we’ve read to be “common sense”
The expression of ideas, and not the ideas in themselves, is what
we seek when reading books. Most ideas are latent components
of our soul – and the soul can hardly make an agreement with
the brain to encourage language to produce a nuanced and clear
expression of those ideas. Those who succeed in making that
kind of agreement are the writers – the good writers. And we need
to thank them. And we can automatically do so if we buy their
books.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

Any practical maxim you come across can be attributed to you

once your actions reflect its teaching; even though you aren’t the
author of it.
The intellectual property rights are not given to those who merely
thought about it or wrote it, but to those who practice it.

18
Chapter II

SEDUCED BY
RATIONALITY
 CHAPTER II

Seduced by Rationality

Those who worship logic don’t think outside the box; they
squeeze the world in a box.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

We call “open-minded” only those people who agree with what

we agree with and dislike what we dislike. Rarely do we attribute
it to people who reject what we believe.*

*
The human mind doesn’t seek truth and accuracy; it seeks
meaning.†
Our minds didn’t evolve to be scientific tools; they evolved to be
survival tools.
In other words, nature didn’t design them to be truth-seekers –
it designed them to be useful for our emotional, mental, and
social fitness.
It’s a shame no one‡ dares to develop a criterion for rationality
based on meaning, since that’s what our intellectual diet is
fundamentally based on.

*
The denser the argument, the easier the job to dismantle it – way
too many sentences translate into a declaration of insecure

*
Inspired by Alan Jacobs, American scholar.
†
Inspired by Daniel C. Richardson, experimental psychologist.
‡
Some exceptions: Daniel Kahneman, Rory Sutherland, and Nassim
Taleb.

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 SEDUCED BY RATIONALITY

reasoning; hence strong evidence that there are many gaps and
cracks ready for you to reveal.*

*
Ignore the charlatan who pretends to hold objective facts about
difficult topics.
“Objective facts” – that's a fairytale.
The more difficult or delicate the topic, the larger the army of
theories, doctrines or biases that revolves around it.

*
To develop solid arguments, aim for simplicity – be both clear and
concise.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

Logic, if used as the main instrument for thinking, frustrates the

functions of the mind – it doesn’t improve them.
Great ideas are like sophisticated cocktails: they require some
civilized feelings, a large dose of imagination, forty grams of
curiosity, and merely two drops of logic.

*
Once I make a decision, I decide to ignore any type of counter-
arguments, no matter how reasonable they are. I have a strong
personality, or, in other words, I’m an authentic imbecile.*

*
In life, if you aim to be “rational”, you can’t be dangerous.

*
Inspired by Nietzsche.

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 SEDUCED BY RATIONALITY

You’re weak – because, by definition, you’re predictable.*

*
If you can’t appreciate science and religion at the same time, your
life must be scary.

*
Contrary to popular opinion, what is correct in practice, but
cannot be proven in theory, doesn’t become useless or false. It
should be common knowledge that what we can see, explain, and
understand is not everything that indeed exists.

*
To win an argument, rely on logic. To win in life, reject logic.

*
Inspired by Rory Sutherland.

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 ECONOMY OF TRUTH

If you’re not willing to often take actions that don’t make much
sense, having a mediocre life will make perfect sense.*

*
To be perfectly honest, most of my so-called “reasoning” consists
in finding arguments for going on believing as I already do.†
I, unwittingly, fabricated myself a puerile identity – one filled
with various values. These values are deeply rooted in my
personality…I can't make the difference between an argument
based on reason and one based on my values; anyway, is there
any?
Once my values get attacked, my feelings get disturbed. They
desperately start sending e-mails to my “rational” mind, asking
for protection. Then, my rational mind proceeds by deploying a
mechanism that can make any opinion look handsome. This
mechanism includes some well-chosen words too.

*
Many successful people became successful precisely because they
decided to take actions that don’t make sense: think about figures such
as Rafael Nadal, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, but also Ryan Holiday
or Tim Ferriss. Against all odds, they made it – had they relied on logic
to make all of their important life decisions, they wouldn’t have been
where they are right now. Logic may help an engineer perform his job
well (narrow context), yet what makes humans so successful in life (a
much complex setting) is a set of skills that require way more
sophisticated tools than merely reductionist logic.
†
Inspired by James Harvey Robinson.

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 SEDUCED BY RATIONALITY

You've just witnessed how that mechanism works...

My rational mind is a sly lawyer hired by my guilty instincts,
feelings, and values to prove them innocent. This fellow is forced
to work in order to protect my identity from change, from
damage – to conserve it, thus. It needs to be austerely protected
– for, if destroyed, I lose myself.*

*
Most “intellectuals” can’t reason any longer because they are too
arrogant when it comes to the limits of their reason.

27