This week I decided to do something very different from my usual article, and from it is born a 4-part series.

I will be asking various people—family, friends, strangers— their thoughts on some of the most important questions in life, interviewing them and writing their answers here.

I'm partaking in this endeavor for two reasons: first, I just want to know their thoughts and insights; second, I want to force them to think on and consider their own beliefs in regards to these most fundamental question.

First on the agenda is my awesome sister, Charise Savage, who has, as graciously as her name's meaning, agreed to be the first test subject.

What do you believe in?

"Oh god, I already hate this... I guess I believe in... not, like, people... But I guess trying to make things better."

What do you believe about people?

"I believe there's a lot of shitty people, but I don't believe that everyone is. I'm pretty optimistic about people and their intentions. I feel like most people do believe that they're doing... like, I don't believe that anyone is really evil, but they can do evil things. There's a lot of that."

How do you define evil?

"Unabashedly insensitive or harmful to other people or the world."

How would you define evil in that sense? What are some examples?

"Not accepting other cultures, racism, sexism, stuff like that... any form of genocide."

Where does evil come from?

"Misguided notions."

You believe that part of what you believe in is trying to make things better, then would that be correcting those misguided notions?

"I would try to educate. I would try to point out why what they're doing or thinking is harmful and wrong."

What about those cases where someone's idea of what's harmful is at odds with yours, or more broadly, where they won't be educated.

"I would just try to continue to convince others and society at large, while not rejecting attempts to continue convincing them, though hoping not to be annoying about it, just hoping I can change their minds."

And about situations that are almost universally considered atrocities, such as the Holocaust, where education either came late or they wouldn't be educated?

"Fight back in whatever way is necessary. Or hide away, but yeah, probably fight back."

And would violence every be necessary in that fighting back?

"Yeah, possibly. I mean I'm generally opposed to violence but I believe in self-defense and think it's sometimes necessary to use violence."

Do you believe in any sort of god?

"I don't know what I believe about God. I'm still kinda confused about that sort of thing. I'd probably say the best label is agnostic, where maybe I believe in some sort of God but I'm not sure. I'm open to the idea."

Is God, if there is one, important to determining all that stuff about truth and justice?

"Not really. If there is a god, it's not really involved."

What is the purpose of your life individually?

"Trying to improve things around me."

How do you plan to go about that?

"Trying to bring positivity and not be too negative."

What steps have been taken already to achieve that goal?

"Whenever people are down I try to talk to them and cheer them up, or whenever I'm out I try to be outgoing and smiley and if I see people alone I try to engage with them."

Would you say you're succeeding at fulfilling this goal?

"I definitely could do better."

How would you define justice?

"I can't describe things... I know what I feel but I don't know how to put it into words. I guess I would say equality. Not, like, getting what they deserve, but equal punishment and freedom."

Would you say there's ever a chance that people are “unequal”?

"I don't think so. There's something inherently important about people... not, like, the soul... but I would say that people are different and need to be treated differently, like, a disabled person needs different treatment to get the same outcome, or the best outcome, but, they're all people."

So does equality come down to personhood or ability?

"Personhood."

Why is that?

"Because I do believe that life is more important than what people have to offer. I don't believe the ends justify the means."

Why is that?

"I don't... god... I just think people are important cause they obviously... I have no idea how to answer that."

Alright then I'll change gears a bit. How would you define art?

"Art is something someone creates that evokes some kind of emotional response."

Is art important?

"Yeah."

Why?

"Because we've got to have some sort of quote-unquote 'pleasure,' something that helps us understand ourselves or people or the world."

Would you say it's inherent?

"Yeah, I don't think humans being could really be without art. Even if we don't realize what we're doing, there can be art even just to speak, even writing just about facts, there can be art to it."

Is it only inherent in humanity or is it inherent in nature?

"I don't think animals are exactly like us and I don't know what they think so I guess I don't know."

So there's no art in the inanimate kingdom? In rocks or plants and stuff like that?

"No I think humans can see art in nature, but a rock or plant cant create or appreciate art and can't be art."

Would you say there's any sort of moral element to art?

"No. I don't think art is objective; it's subjective to each person, so I don't think there's really morality to it."

So speaking of subjectivity and objectivity, what do you believe about truth?

"I think some things are objective truths, but I don't think everything and every truth is objective."

So obviously, from what you said earlier, morality is one of the things that isn't objective?

"Yeah, it's not."

"Then how does improving the world and implementing justice work in the face of subjective morality?"

"I guess if it's hurting people. I don't know..."

So would that be an objective morality, hurting people? How do you weigh the balances there if there's a conflict?

"I think still it's not really right to hurt someone, even in self-defense, but it's not wrong. I think definitely as much as possible, to the very last, you should not hurt anyone."

Why not?

"Same thing I was saying about equality."

Love? What do you believe about Love?

"'Love! Above everything else I believe in love! Love is like oxygen.'"* (*Here Charise is quoting a line from the movie Moulin Rouge)

Heh, nice quote, but how would you define it?

"Feeling connected to someone deeply."

How does that work in real life?

"Heh... (Well for me it doesn't work very well...) It works like you feel like you could just get along in silence, or you want to protect them, or they're a part of your life to a core level."

Does love have to be reciprocal?

"No."

Is it bad when love is not reciprocal?

"It hurts and it's not great, but it's not bad. It still is something that everyone has to deal with and it's not wrong."

Love is something you have to deal with?

"Yeah."

So is there action to love?

"Yes."

What does that mean?

"It means even if you don't mean to you will show it by being there for them or, like I said, protecting them, doing your best not to hurt them and show them in small ways."

Should love be self-sacrificial?

"I don't think it should be self-sacrificial, I think it should be compromising, if its a two-way street."

And if it's not?

"You definitely shouldn't be self-sacrificing. I guess its hard to compromise with someone who doesn't love you back because you wouldn't be compromising in the same way about the same things."

Is there any place in the world for self-sacrifice?

"I don't know."

How important would you say these questions are?

"I'd say a lot of them are pretty important. Like even if... it's important to know your interests or why you do things."

Which of these would you say are the unimportant ones?

"I guess... actually, not really. None of them are unimportant."

So why is it important to know what is true, what is just and whether there's a god?

"So you know why you do things and where you stand in the world... so you're not running around blind."

Alright, do you have any final thoughts or bows to tie it all together?

"I guess I'm just kind of bad at explaining things, so my belief system makes sense in my mind but I don't really know how to convey it."

Well thank you for being willing to do this, even though I know it was awkward for you!

Hope all you readers enjoyed this interview and its look into "Everyday Philosophy!" Tune in next week for another view from another incredible person, whoever that may be!

Keep looking for Truth and asking yourself these questions, and keep being awesome!

(Note: As much as reasonably possible I have tried to transliterate the responses exactly as spoken. In some cases, with the express permission of the interviewee, I have removed stutters or ums or interruptions that had no bearing on the meaning.)