Addicted to the Beans is a collaborative art practice founded by Oswald Stocker and Alex Williams, centred on their shared obsession with beans. Their work explores many themes and media, but above all, the creative opportunities that arise from close collaboration.
Bean Manifesto
To achieve contentment in life, one must pursue merits. It is easy to let these merits be dictated by imagined entities such as governments and religions, or authoritative figures such as parents, teachers and bosses. Many seek the approval of these figures/entities by allowing their structures of praise and reward to define the ambitions, motivations and self-respect of the individual. The reliance on this system allows people to channel their energies into doing something, whilst avoiding the big existential questions that have no answers and can often fill us with dread. Questioning why we do what we do is a fundamental part of being human, and the simplest answer to that question lies in the value we place on the respect of our instructors.
We believe it is important for individuals to consider their own fundamental merit value system. In our minds, meritable acts involve productivity and kindness. Any production that is not unkind is meritable and kindness is always meritable. When production is combined with brilliance/genius it deserves higher merit, but without production of some kind, there is nothing to give merit to. A person who spends 1000 hours digging holes in a field has achieved more than a genius who spent 1000 hours staring at the ceiling. To demonstrate one’s agency in a way that produces a tangible outcome is fundamental to the pursuit of happiness. Whilst the content of the production is important, the fact that it was produced as well as the scale of the production has an importance of itself.
Bean Theory
Bean theory is a philosophical theory about the nature of the universe informed by episodes of alternate states of consciousness, particularly mania and psychosis.
According to Bean theory, the universe can only be accurately viewed from the perspective of an individual. Individual comes from the Latin, individuus, and references that which is indivisible. From here onward the individual will be referred to as a bean. From the perspective of a bean, everything in the universe can be placed in one of three layers.
The first layer is called Awareness. It is the bean’s conscious experience in the present moment. The most widely used definition of consciousness was coined by the philosopher Thomas Nagel. As he puts it, “an organism has conscious mental states if and only if there is something that it is like to be that organism” (Nagel 1987). We are all deeply familiar with what it is like to have conscious mental states; we can consider it as the sensations derived from the stimulation of our senses and the psychological reactions that the stimulation produces. This conscious experience is the only thing we can be totally certain exists because it is the only thing that relies on no assumptions and requires no evidence; it is both irrefutable and unfalsifiable.
The second layer is Opinion, the set of the bean’s beliefs. All our thoughts, opinions, and ideas can be found here, and they are defined as notions. Each notion has a conviction, meaning the degree to which it is believed. At one end of the conviction scale is Confidence. Notions in this region are held with high conviction and relied upon in everyday life without much hesitation. They are supported by substantial evidence. At the other end is Suspicion, where conviction is low. These notions are held more tentatively because little or no evidence supports them. Notions also have a polarity, indicating whether they claim something is or is not the case. Notions within Confidence tend to retain the same polarity over time, whereas those within Suspicion are more likely to change polarity.
Abyss is the third and final layer of existence. This is a potentially infinite pool of information that we have no relationship with. These are the things we do not know that we do not know. Nothing is known about this region, other than the fact that we can explore it. As information drifts into opinion from this region, it becomes a notion.
Beanism
Beanism uses Bean theory to construct purposes of existence that build off each other and are intended to bring meaning and contentment to anyone who pursues them. There is one aim, for each layer of existence:
The primary aim of existence is to increase the depth and duration of positive sensations within Awareness considered over the long-term. Some actions may bring pleasure to individuals in the short term but lead to worse outcomes in the long term. Such activities include taking drugs and consuming unhealthy food. Conversely there are many activities which may be unpleasant in the short term but bring lasting meaning and pleasure. Examples include exercise and therapy. Pursuing merits is a key action that helps us with this aim. Any actions that help individuals engage with this purpose can be thought of as self-love. Creative expression and meditation are good examples of other beneficial behaviours, though there are many.
The secondary purpose of existence is to continually refine the conviction and polarity of all notions in Opinion. This aim is critical to support us in achieving the primary goal. For example, if we hold the notion that exercise is good for us with a high degree of conviction, this will bring us deeper, more positive sensations in our lives. Similarly, holding the notion that cigarettes cause cancer with a high degree of conviction, will help us avoid unnecessary pain. Steps that may help with this aim include studying, reflecting and curiosity in how you engage with the world.
The tertiary goal of existence is to explore Abyss. As an example, in researching to find more chemicals that may help treat an illness, we are exploring Abyss. By doing so we may find and build a high confidence notion that a particular chemical effectively treats an illness. This in turn, supports us to pursue the primary purpose. Activities that can support our exploration of Abyss are largely research or exploration based. An openness to new experiences is very valuable in this context.