About Claystone Studies

Claystone Studies offers the occasion for humans to explore and pursue knowledge—together, in collaboration, yet not shying away from developing their own, authentic views. The cordial and respectful interactions of these views produces new understandings and new developments in knowledge. In this view, humanity may be conceived as one organism, and the development of the collective understanding of this organism takes place through the harmonious interaction and activity of its individual parts. Although Claystone Studies was founded by an individual, that individual did not create the idea. The idea is always potentially present wherever there is a community of individuals: Claystone Studies is a space for rational agents to come together and interact, in knowledge, vitality, and friendship. Something extraordinary happens, for example, when two radically divergent views interact in harmony and friendship, nourishing the participants with new understandings. Something new and life-giving is created.

A claystone represents both malleability and perpetual fixity, and thus is a good symbol of knowledge and the process of gaining it. In the space of knowledge, there are both principles which do not change—like the principle of cause and effect—and organic, dynamic understandings, consisting of concepts, intuition, feeling, and so forth, which metamorphose, change, devolve, and evolve like waves in an ocean. A claystone also represents unity and plurality and their natural coexistence. With any claystone, the stone is one in number, yet it has a great, plural number of parts and textures composing it. This corresponds to how knowledge of truth is characterized by the attributes of both unity and plurality.

Principles of Claystone Studies

1. Claystone Studies promotes spaces in which individuals may come together, discuss, and collaborate, for the purpose of improving in knowledge of truth.
2. This discussion, collaboration, and interaction should be characterized by harmony and goodwill.
3. Claystone Studies is founded on the premise that an objective reality exists, and that it is possible to gain at least partial knowledge of this objective reality. This is the premise that there is a real world, and that we can make progress in coming to understand it.
4. The nature of being and knowledge of truth is helpfully represented in this way: there is one sphere—like a basketball, where a circle of people are standing around it—which may be viewed from an infinite number of angles, where each angle is different and distinct. Here, the sphere represents the one, objective reality of being—the reality of what is—and the infinite number of angles represents the infinite potential variation of the participation in knowledge of truth by individuals.
5. Since knowledge of truth may be participated in by individuals in an infinite number of ways, interaction among individuals of whatever perspectives—so long as they seek to understand and know—will always produce benefits and advancement.
6. The community of human beings—the community of individuals—is ultimately characterized by unity and harmony, according to its very definition. Only on a premise such as this, can the imperative to treat every individual who comes to the discussion table with harmony, dignity, and respect, be properly grounded.

About Robert Davis

Robert Davis is the founder of Claystone Studies. Robert is a philosopher and student of knowledge and is interested in human exploration and growth. He received a B.A. in philosophy from Cornell University in 2020. He transferred there after receiving an A.A. in social and behavioral science in the liberal arts from the Santa Monica Community College in California. He began his college studies at the University of California San Diego in 2011, and after one summer semester, left college completely for four years to pursue a spiritual path pertaining to meditation and an investigation into the nature of consciousness in general; this experience had its positive and negative qualities and was generally instructive. Before starting Claystone Studies in 2025, Robert among other things offered tutoring services on Varsity Tutors and Wyzant. At Claystone Studies, Robert offers literature, coaching, tutoring, courses, and collaborative communication on social media. He is grateful to contribute to the space of learning which Claystone Studies promotes.