Expectations pt. 1

Matthew Rousell
Jul 23, 2017 · 3 min read

Sunday greetings everyone. Today I would like to explore a concept that is vital to a rational human, yet it seems to be reviled, denounced, and tossed aside by individuals across the entire spectrum. That concept is Expectation.

To begin, let’s ask the simple question: “What’s an expectation?”

Google definition of expectation is: “a strong belief that something will happen or be the case in the future”

Okay, so the immediate follow-up question should be: “Why should one have them?”

The answer to this requires examining two cases:
1) Intra-personal expectations;
2) Inter-personal expectations

In this post, I will delve into some potential answers to the former and I will save the latter case for a future post.

To begin let’s think on what it means to have an intra-personal expectation for some non-human thing. As the definition implies, this expectation means that an individual will act based on the available information that the thing of which the individual is expecting will still be what it was at the onset.

As an example of this, if I learn that a concert, that I want to attend [featuring BVB!], is to be held at a local venue in 6 months time, then I have an expectation based on the reputation of the group involved, the location where the concert is to be held, and the contract between the group and the owner of the venue to host the concert. Thus I will act based on that expectation by procuring concert tickets and ensuring I have that day available for that event.

If I did NOT have that expectation for the event to be held according to all the available information, then I would be unable to pursue that value. If an individual is unable to pursue an objective value to their life, then that implies that a right has been violated. Obviously, a violation of rights is reprehensible, should be illegal, and is immoral.

Hence a trend seems to emerge, an expectation is formed based off of an objective evaluation of a fact of reality that creates a basis to determine whether the thing one expects is a value or not. From that, one acts to achieve that value by the appropriate means based on said expectation; NOTE: in many ways, an expectation is similar to a plan because the expectation forms the core of the plan that one would follow to achieve said expectation.

All that being said, the next question that needs to be asked is: “Why are these types of expectations going away or are under attack?”

This is the crux of the problem that I see because this is one aspect of a wider attack on the sole means of human survival, reason.

Here’s why this is the case.

The ability to create an expectation, analyze/evaluate it, and then act accordingly all rests on a couple axioms: Existence Exists and the nature of the human mind i.e. Reason and logic. If existence didn’t exist, then game over; if humans were not humans, then this conversation is meaningless; if humans did not possess the type of consciousness they did, then either the species would have a different consciousness or it would cease to exist by not attaining the level of development that it has reached as of now.

Hence the fact that all Existence exists and that humans exist possessing a specific type of consciousness [volitional rational] indicates that a particular path must be followed in order for a human to live and flourish. The path followed is the one laid out according to the expectation one has towards some particular existent. That path and the act of walking it can only be achieved due to the metaphysical fact that humans are a species of volitional consciousness possessing a conceptual level faculty.

If one attacks expectations, then one attacks the source of expectations: human’s rational mind. An attack on the rational mind of an individual human is an attack on existence itself. The only reason [that I can think of!] to attack existence itself is a hatred of existence.

Thus the case for expectations is clear, the link between expectations, values, rights, and Reason has been established, and the negation of an expectation [again, discussing only non-human intra-personal expectations] leads only to an outright assault on existence as such.

Therefore the course is obvious, have rational expectations, analyze them throughly, plan and then execute a plan to achieve the value within that expectation as one determines.

Thank you for reading this, please like/comment/share/etc. as you see fit

As always,

Choices=Reality

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