Who is Jared Way?
Teaching
I really like teaching kids. It's first job I've had where I feel more energy and optimism at the end of the day than at the beginning, and I figure that's a really good sign.
Literature
Here's a cool fact that I'm sure no one besides me finds exciting:
The complete works of Cervantes are available online, for free!
Belief
I'm a "faith-based atheist."
What in the world is that?
It means that, unlike an agnostic, I'm certain about god: specifically, that there isn't one.
But such certainty isn't something that submits to any kind of objective proof:
just as the religious person must accept the existence of his or her god(s) as a matter of faith,
so must the true atheist rely on belief over material evidence - after all, how do you prove god doesn't exist?
What's still more difficult, is to strive for an ethical existence
when the most commonly invoked "cause" (or source) of human ethics
(namely, the alleged "higher powers") have been unequivocally rejected.
It seems to me that the only ethical atheist is one who accepts that his or her belief is indeed
just that - a belief, not a demonstrated "fact."
I'm profoundly uncomfortable with many atheists' attempts to position themselves as
rationalists - I think it's both philosophically perilous and ultimately hypocritical.
Despite this, I'm also displeased with the tendency of humanists (i.e. "secular humanists") to categorically place human beings
in the center of things. Such pre- (or even anti-) copernican posturing is just as irrational
as the traditional, god-centered systems they presume to criticize - in my judgement, anyway.
With the categorical rejection of the transcendental, there must come a similarly vehement rejection of the anthropocentric. So... but what's left, then?
Let me get back to you on that one. Makes me sound like a nihilist? This is a possibility.
Philosophy
I'm a great fan of the thinking of Gilles Deleuze. I suppose this makes me a
postmodernist relatavist, but his synthesis of marxism (note the small 'm') and
something like spinozism is appealing and compelling, to the extent I can make
any sense of it. And I'm not sure I've even charactized it correctly.
Relationships
I was married to Michelle for 4 years, but we were separated in 1998 and she committed suicide in 2000. It took a long time before I felt like I wanted to try another relationship, and now that I feel that way, I haven't tried very hard to find one. I'm open to the possibility, but I don't necessarily think it's particularly likely. I told a friend a few years ago: "I'm not in a relationship, because I still believe in true love." That may seem counter-intuitive, but I think it's perfectly logical, actually.
Timeline
I made a timeline for people who are "catching up" after long periods of estrangement.