Hello,

The name of our organization pretty well states just what we are about. As individuals, we can become progressively more and more aware of many things–including ourselves. As a society, as a collection of governments of the world, as an organism in some ecological state–the earth--history tends to suggest that we have evolved in our vision of the world, our place in it, and our overall view regarding human potential. Still, many imminent issues will force yet another paradigm shift in human awareness and/or possibly, yet another so-called "Dark Age," albeit a technological one.

The world faces issues inherent to cloning, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, and perhaps even some SETI finding that could turn the world’s religious views upside down overnight, to mention but a few. As individuals, and collectively as one people on one earth, we are obligated, if not necessitated, to both be informed and to make the difficult decisions that lay ahead in this century. In short, our awareness must continue to progress!

How did we get here? Where did our values and beliefs come from? These are only twists to the age old question, "Who am I?" We have all asked that question in some way at some time. I first asked it many years ago. I spoke the question out loud to many, and they gave me a myriad of answers–none of which were satisfying. Since I was raised in a poor community, it was many years before I could seek the wisdom in the great books of history. When I discovered philosophy it seemed such a natural extension of what should be psychology, that I fell in love at once. Later, when I actually studied psychology, it was initially disappointing. At first blush, psychology seemed to overlook the deeper issues inherent to being human in favor of issues of deviance, pathology, and so forth. Still, as my studies advanced, I observed a certain correspondence.

Psychology has many arguments, many treatment modalities, many divisions or sub-disciplines within it. There are the well known proponents of strict behaviorism and the precursors to today’s evolutionary psychology; and in juxtaposition, is the theory of "Self-Actualization" and today’s more popular "Positive Psychology." It should be obvious, although I missed it for some reason for a very long time, but the issues that separate the investigators and theories in psychology are parallel to those in philosophy.

The human condition is a history of thought transfused into belief and action, and enculturated into ethnocentricity and religion. The values that underpin the framework of morality/values (axiology), knowledge (epistemology), and religious/spiritual views (metaphysics) have not only made decisions on how, what, when, where and why science has explored, but on the chosen lens through which it has always looked. In other words, "Who I am," must be prefaced by what I know, and that is enmeshed in how I know, and that is woven so totally in our system of knowing, thinking and reasoning, even in the experience of who I am through the lens of how I can see myself, that it is essentially a denial of self exploration to ignore the philosophy behind the very method used to think.

This library was selected to facilitate a further understanding in the ultimate quest for personal meaning. It is largely western in nature for two reasons. The first is the influence so-called Western thought has had on the world. The second is due to the availability of manuscripts that can be obtained and made available at no charge to the reader. There are many delightful contributions from other parts of the world that I would like to see included, particularly from the Orient and Middle East. You are invited to direct me and/or contribute any work of this quality from any and all cultures.

We are indebted to many for the library that is posted here for your free access. Of course, we all owe a debt to those who went before us, to the man--named and unknown, that have aided in the evolution of humanness, which to me means the highest quality of human nature. The authors of the works chosen here are equally indebted to those who made their work possible, just as we owe the authors themselves. A tremendous debt is owed to the Gutenberg Project and its founder, whose vision led to developing the largest free library on the Internet, if not in the world, at least of kind.

We have many freedoms in America. I personally believe that education, all levels, and health care should be free to all citizens of the world. Yet today, I am aware that that doesn’t even seem practical, let alone possible. In 1972, the founder, Michael Hart, of the Gutenberg Project, had a vision. His vision enables this collection and a monumental collection of other works now available free to all with Internet access. I highly recommend visiting the Project and contributing in whatever manner appropriate for you. (See our links section).

Okay, enjoy the collection posted and come back often for updates and additions.

Thank you,

Eldon Taylor, Ph.D., DAPA,
Director of Progressive Awareness Research, Inc.