Mind Over Matter

By Rich Stoeckel

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Conception and Purpose of ‘Mind Over Matter’

I found myself in Omaha, Nebraska in early 2022 staring at an empty Google Doc on my laptop computer. I had always wanted to delve deep into some of the most challenging questions that surround all of us and see what I could come up with. I began by typing any and all deep questions I could think of into the document. Some were broad like “What is knowledge?” and others more specific such as “Is psychology predetermined?”. Regardless of whether or not I could answer the questions did not matter at this stage.

After I was pleased with the amount, I used a virtual whiteboard and electronic sticky notes to sort and clump the questions into what I thought were similar categories. Some of the main ones included “Metaphysics”, “Epistemology”, “Psychology”, “Physics”, and of course “Other” for the one offs. I then attempted to answer each sticky note as best as I could. What I found was that many of the broader questions required deep contemplation and summoned more questions along the way. Over time the writing became more structured and after returning to the work on occasion after several years, it began to grow.

In the summer of 2024 I moved to New York City and soon after joined what is now known as “The New York City Philosophy Club” where I found a way to discuss my ideas with others in a shared community. I am very grateful to the group and its individuals for their thought-provoking discussions, support, and encouragement that allow you to read this.

‘Mind Over Matter’ is a collection of thoughts turned philosophical exploration and theory that suggests that all of philosophy can be broken into different hierarchical segments, that support the 'Unseen Pyramid'. This pyramid is a conceptual structure supported by metaphysical idealism and topped with individual transcendence. My plan is to publish this in successive installments on this platform where each piece will dive deep into the different aspects of each portion. While you may disagree with the structure (or any argument within the piece or pieces), especially if you are materialistically inclined, I want to encourage and foster discussion surrounding these explorations. It is by no means a finished product and the nature of philosophy itself is the debate, defense, and sharing of ideas.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the piece’s presentation, and follow along as it becomes published.

The Need for Philosophy

Our current understanding of the universe has many unresolved questions despite thousands of years of discussion, investigation, and correction. These problems are present in all fields of study from cosmology, physics, and mathematics to finer topics of sociology, psychology, and medicine. In order to become an expert in a field, one must spend many years dedicating themselves to gathering and synthesizing the knowledge relevant to their work. The more specialized an individual becomes, the more expertise they garner in a specific field of research or understanding. This specialization leads to segmentation of domains, and more often than not individuals will tend to stay within their field due to the difficulty in switching from one to another. The issue is that many of the problems unresolved by our current understanding of the universe arise from a lack of connection between separate ideas. An interdisciplinary approach to knowledge and foundational concepts of understanding may bring more solutions. When an individual explores other fields of study and experiences multiple perspectives, this may encourage the merging of knowledge sets that provide novel and interesting discoveries that would not have been possible otherwise.

As an example, one of the largest unsolved problems in cosmology is the difference in the amount between matter and antimatter. According to our current theories the amounts should be equal, but to our observations they are not. A person interested in contemplating this problem would likely be in the field of physics or mathematics. An issue is that this line of thinking may have gaps in perspective or the thinking may be faulty in itself. It may be possible that our observations are incapable of sensing the necessary information in the universe, including the field of mathematics as a predictive tool. If I were to ask a mathematician to describe to me an equation describing the substance outside of the observable universe, it would be impossible for him to do so.

Many other examples of a limitation caused by a frame of mind can be drawn as well. A psychologist that deals with the internal complexities of the mind may have significant insights into biases that affect the way an individual thinks. Since the psychologist’s expertise is a specialty of the internal, they would likely have a perspective of thoughts driving actions. A biologist may have a more external perspective that includes factors such as evolution or chemical causation of internal processes, including the mind.

If the psychologist and biologist were to combine their respective expertise in both areas by either discussing with each other, or sharing findings with the other, they would be able to gain more insight into the foundational arguments for where their beliefs arise from. Using this example and extrapolating to all fields of study, there would be a point where all domains combine to form our collective knowledge. This may seem an insurmountable task for the individual, as dedicating the amount of resources including money and time is not within one’s lifespan. 

Although a finely grained knowledge base that includes all information and conclusions is not possible for a single person even with the expansion of technologies that remove epistemological friction, the source or canvas of all knowledge can be generally understood by examining the common denominator of all knowledge. The school of thinking that promotes this exploration and acts as an agent of transmission between these schools of thought is the study of philosophy.

Rich is a financial professional that lives in the East Village who is inherently curious. He was first introduced to philosophy during debate in high school and now he enjoys writing in his free time.