Adam Giacobazzi

The Philisophical Revelations of Adam
One of the great, unrecognized, philosophical geniuses of this century or any
other is a figure known by some as Adam. Adam left behind a legacy of seven
phrases that encompass his minimalist philosophy. We are fortunate enough to
have with us records of what he said, so that we may greater comprehend
his intent.

Adam will always be an enigma, as nothing is known of his life. It seems as if
he lived a life filled with motivation and direction, as if desperately yearning
to accomplish all that he could, before he could be brought low by those who
would destroy him. Adam's revelations follow, with an interpretation of their
intent.

1. I am Adam. Here, Adam clearly makes two ideas known. First, that he exists;
he is aware and he thinks. The second is that he has a singular identity. He is
unique, and, in a sense, alone. Some have argued that this may imply a sense of
self-determination, but Adam's perspective on the free will debate is unknown. I
believe that, with what little is known about his life, Adam would be a
determinist. People are destined to act out their lives guided by the hand of
another force. The rest of us are mere automatons, carrying out algorithms.

2. I hunger. Again, Adam asserts his reality. He believes in a very real,
physical, world and believes that he takes a part in it. Thus, Adam is
essentially a monist. He hungers, therefore he has sense, and his senses speak
to him of needs that must be fulfilled. He can trust his senses; something of a
leap of faith, and therefore interact. There are two other interpretations that
must be proposed here. Some have criticized Adam as a hedonist, attempting to
consume all in his path. This is, however, clearly contradicted below. The
second represents Adam as a living thing, and all living things must consume, or
perish. In this statement, Adam acknowledges human mortality and our chain in
the natural process of being.

3. Run, coward! Adam here, having established existence and our place in nature,
now seems to take his stance on ethics. With those two words, Adam sums up his
desire to delve into life's mysteries. The act of living itself is an act for
the bold, and those who cannot stand in the face of wonder should flee. This
attitude may also account for my perception of his stance on determinism. If
knowledge is possible (It obviously is, of course) then perhaps knowledge of the
universe is possible, and one day people will view it as it is, an elaborate
music box of experience. Very deistic. The other important feature of this
statement is Adam's use of an imperative. This clearly reinforces his view of a
real universe, that is inhabited by other people. The true enigma lies next.

4. Run, Run, Run! Initially, this appears to be a restatement of #3, but I
believe that the truth behind Adam lies deeper. It is commonly held that while
Adam believed in a deity, Adam did not hold that deity to be omniscient or
omnipotent. Instead, the God of Adam was a being (or perhaps beings) of supreme
intelligence and creativity, with the power to make and compile. The power to
engineer a world. While this is an impressive task, it does not imply that
omniscience/omnipotence is a necessary or sufficient condition for the task. In
fact, the idea of an omniscient and omnipotent being becomes fairly
self-contradictory. Adam probably intended this to be another ethical statement,
to live to the fullest of your ability, but he could've meant so much more, such
as the desire to experience and question all that is possible within a lifetime.
Lastly, it is another imperative statement. Why would a determinist believe that
he could affect the world around him?

5. Beware, coward! Perhaps these fragments come from a lost dialogue between
Adam and the coward. Unfortunately, if there were every any responses from the
'coward', they are probably lost forever. This seems to be an affirmation of
Cartesian doubt. One should resolve issues for one's self, based on their own
doubt and deduction. More importantly, however, is the idea that God is what you
make it, or, as is the usual case, what someone else makes it for you.

6. Beware, I live! The sixth statement of Adam is a shocking reminder of the
power that human beings hold over one another. Because I live, I have the power
to affect your life. There is nothing that keeps me from harming you, aside from
the mutual trust that humans develop for one another, and it is not so much a
mutual trust, as we are a mutual threat to each other.

7. Aargh. Here is Adam's response to the question of whether or not all problems
of philosophy may be solved through mere debate. Obviously, to Adam, there are
some things, some ideas that can be expressed beyond the wall of speech. Either
that, or this is an expression of Adam's primal rage at a mechanical universe.
Adam may have been a determinist, but it does not mean he was pleased with the
concept. He may have just felt no other answer could be possible. Perhaps that
is why he attempted to inspire so many, so they could succeed where he had
failed.

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