TouchstoneTruth

The Earth has enough resources for every person to live with dignity. The problem is not that nature failed to provide. The problem is distribution.

Flourishing needs to evolve from flourishing for the few to flourishing for all.

The average American earns about $76,000 a year; worldwide, that drops to about $23,000. And those are generous numbers. Even so, people still accumulate resources and wealth: phones, clothes, transportation, and sometimes a home. It is sad that just twelve billionaires now own as much wealth as the poorest four billion people on Earth. That fact alone should stop everyone in their tracks. It reveals something structurally broken, not just unfortunate. When so much wealth gathers at the top while billions live with insecurity, the problem is not individual failure. It is a civilization-level distribution failure.

The fact that global billionaire wealth has surged to an all-time high of over $18 trillion is not just unfortunate, it reveals something is broken.

The Earth has enough resources for every person to live with dignity, and we have enough resources to reward effort, ambition, risk, and talent, while still allowing luck to shape lives. We even have room for some billionaires. The problem is not that nature failed to provide enough. The problem is how we distribute resources. We do not lack the ability to care for one another. We lack the will, structure, and moral clarity to make dignity the baseline.

Philosophically speaking...

** Is poverty really caused by scarcity? **

Most people see poverty as a shortage problem. Not enough land. Not enough food. Not enough homes. Not enough energy.
But that framing hides the deeper truth.

The Earth has enough resources for every person to live with dignity: food, shelter, basic energy, healthcare, education, and connection. And we still have enough room to reward effort, ambition, risk, talent, and luck. We even have room for some billionaires.

The problem is how we distribute, waste, hoard, and prioritize those resources.

A handful of billionaires own as much wealth as the poorest half of humanity. That fact alone should stop you in your tracks.
Public goods should not exist only to support flourishing for the few. The distribution of public goods needs to evolve toward flourishing for all.

That does not mean everyone gets the same life. It means dignity becomes the baseline.

Is poverty caused by scarcity? | TouchstoneTruth.com A handful of billionaires own as much wealth as the poorest half of humanity. Flourishing needs to evolve from flourishing for the few to flourishing for all.

SECULAR SPIRITUALITY

Don’t disconnect from reality to feel connected to life.

Spirituality does not have to pull you away from science, evidence, or common sense. At its best, it can help your personal journey through spirituality keeping your feet firmly on the ground.

The key? Sorting thoughts. It sounds simple, even boring, but it is the key to the future of spirituality and religion.

I recently joined Allen Rice on the Audible River podcast for a conversation about secular spirituality.

Listen here:

Secular Spirituality with Michael Alan Prestwood In this conversation natural philosopher Michael Alan Prestwood tal...

The Dawn of Secular Spirituality

Science does not have to end your spiritual life. It can help it grow up.

Your spirituality can mature by separating shared empirical reality from personal meaning, faith, mystery, and the unknown. That distinction matters because spiritual beliefs are not all the same kind of claim.

Some describe the world.
Some organize meaning.
Some guide behavior.
Some reach beyond evidence.

Wisdom begins by knowing which is which.

Empirical claims must answer to the material world. Rational claims must hold together logically while they explore meaning, identity, and the unknown. Speculative claims can be held with humility, but not as public truth. Disproven claims should be let go as truth, even if you keep them for personal, symbolic, or pragmatic reasons.

Secular spirituality does not erase wonder. It gives wonder a science-first path forward.

Read the full article and explore the categories of spirituality »

The Dawn of Secular Spirituality | TouchstoneTruth.com Your spirituality does not have to disappear as science advances. It can mature by distinguishing shared empirical reality from personal meaning, faith, mystery, and the unknown.

What is the difference between being philosophical and spiritual?

Philosophy keeps spirituality honest.
Spirituality keeps philosophy human.

Being philosophical and being spiritual are not opposites. Philosophy brings discipline, definitions, and careful thought. Spirituality brings awe, meaning, reverence, and lived depth.

One helps us think clearly; the other helps us feel why it matters. At their best, they walk together.

Secular spirituality blends both well. It welcomes evidence and explores reverence with its feet on the ground. Many consider it a deeper kind of spirituality. Letting reality push back — letting reality challenge, refine, and sometimes overturn what we want to believe.

Click to read more or watch the 1-minute video.

What is the difference between being philosophical and spiritual? | TouchstoneTruth.com Philosophy seeks clarity about reality, knowledge, and life. Spirituality seeks meaning, connection, and orientation within reality.

What is the difference between ontology and spirituality?

Ontology asks: What exists? What kind of thing is reality? What does it mean to be? It explores questions like whether the universe is only material, whether mind is part of reality, whether numbers exist, whether the self is real, and what kind of thing a person is. It is philosophy at the foundation level.

Spirituality starts from a different place. It asks: How should I relate to existence? What does life mean? What feels sacred, precious, or larger than myself? It may include religion, but it does not have to. It can show up as awe under the stars, gratitude for life, or reverence for nature. It surfaces with grief, enters our minds with meditation, and feels right with service. It's the feeling that this life matters.

They overlap because existence itself can feel spiritual. When ontology reminds you that you are here now—aware, temporary, embodied, and responsible—it can deepen spirituality. Whether this life is all we have or part of something larger, the fact of existence is not casual. You are here. You are conscious. You can choose. You have agency. That alone is enough to make life feel precious.

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What is the difference between ontology and spirituality? | TouchstoneTruth.com Ontology studies what exists. Spirituality explores what existence means.

What is Eastern “chee,” or qi?

Qi is the Eastern idea of vital flow: the breath-like energy of life moving through body, nature, and reality. It has deep roots in Eastern philosophy, and the idea is similar to a general life-force concept. It is not identical to Aristotle’s entelechy or Spinoza’s conatus, but all three circle the same mystery: what makes life move, strive, and unfold?

Qi, entelechy, and conatus are not the same idea, but they belong in the same philosophical family. Qi focuses on life as flowing energy, Aristotle’s entelechy on fulfilled potential, and Spinoza’s conatus on the drive to persist. Each gives us a different way to see life as active, unfolding, and alive.

What is Eastern “chee,” or qi? | TouchstoneTruth.com Qi is the Eastern idea of vital flow: the breath-like energy of life moving through body, nature, and reality.

About Philosophy of History: Empirical Narrative Realism
by Michael Alan Prestwood

History is storytelling about the past. People observe events and document them for the future. However, historical stories are not the past and that split is important. The past belongs to the material world. Historical stories, by contrast, are structured reconstructions of past events. They are representational. They are evidential. They are revisable. That is called Empirical Narrative Realism.

Historical tales are empirical ideas. We believe these evidence-based reconstructions of real past events with varying degrees of confidence. We can prove or disprove their related empirical implications.

TST does not replace traditional philosophy of history. It organizes several of its strongest insights into a practical framework: the past was real, the traces are empirical, the story is rational, and confidence must stay calibrated to evidence. TST’s Empirical Narrative Realism affirms objective events, calibrated confidence, and ongoing revision — preserving both realism and humility in how we tell human stories.

READ DRAFT ACADEMIC PAPER »

TST Philosophy of History: Empirical Narrative Realism | TouchstoneTruth.com Historical tales are empirical ideas. We believe these evidence-based reconstructions of real past events with varying degrees of confidence. We can prove or disprove their related empirical implications.

Did Einstein's driver really give one of his early talks?

No — sorry. Just click bait. I really wish I could say it is true, but the story does not hold up as history. It is a wonderful tale, but it has the wrong kind of support. Let’s use it to demonstrate the historical category of ideas: stories about the past require evidence, not just charm.

Historical belief should rise only as high as the evidence behind the story. Watch for contemporaneous evidence, testimony, and surviving relics.

The Einstein driver story reminds us that meaningful stories are not automatically true stories. History depends on sources, testimony, documents, and verification. A legend can still teach humility or simplicity, but without evidence, confidence should stay low. Believe the lesson within the fiction to add to your life; question the history until it is supported.

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Did Einstein's driver really give one of his early talks? | TouchstoneTruth.com Historical belief should rise only as high as the evidence behind the story. Watch for contemporaneous evidence, testimony, and surviving relics.

What is the preservation bias?

Preservation bias shapes what we think we know by favoring durable evidence over what decays.

What we know about the past is shaped by what survives. From fossils to ancient artifacts, the story of history is incomplete, skewed toward what was preserved. Understanding preservation bias reminds us to question the gaps and look beyond the surface.

Even written history suffers: the accounts that survive are often from the literate elite, meaning the voices of the common people, minorities, and women were frequently lost. Preservation bias reminds us to approach all evidence critically, aware that much of what existed faded into the sands of time.

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What is the preservation bias? | TouchstoneTruth.com Preservation bias shapes what we think we know by favoring durable evidence over what decays.