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THE WAY OF BEING a BASIS FOR FUTURE LONG AND COMPACT EDITIONS To an outline Anil Mitra © June 2015 Contents Origin and development of the work
ForwardIntroductionPreviewThe human endeavorReceived worldviews and some of their limitsGoing beyondThe worldview of the essayConsequences for ideas and realizationEveryday and universal processAim of the way of beingResourcesArrangementDivisions of the essayOrganization of chaptersThemesKnowledge—content and methodWhat constitutes a good explanation?Science and hypothesisMetaphysicsExplanation in the case of metaphysicsCertainty and doubtWays of thoughtThe secular and the trans-secularThe way of the ordinaryCategories and the unity of experienceIdentity, space, and timeMind and matterLogic, mathematics, and scienceThe aim of beingTopicsExperienceReal worldMeaningBeingExistenceUniverseCauseCreationUniversePossibilityNatural lawThe void or nothingnessRealismObjectsCosmologyThe way of beingOrigin and development of the workOriginDevelopmentFuture versionsAudience interestsGeneralIdeasRealizationReading the essayThe nature of the textOn meaningOn reading the essayPart I. Ideas1. ExperienceThe meaning of experience in this essayCritical doubtExperience as suchThere is a real worldPreview2. MeaningConcept and referenceConcept and language meaningConcept as necessary to meaningEffectiveness of linguistic meaningUse, stability and fluidity of meaningLiteral and other kinds of meaningPossibility of precise meaning and examplesAnalysis and synthesis of meaningOn definitionUses of ‘is’Entirety3. WorldExistenceIssues concerning existenceExistence of the real worldExperience and significanceAre there objects that have no effect?Is the concept of self metaphorical?Entirety and the worldIs space-time universal?Preview4. BeingBeingOn the nature of beingBeing in terms of entiretyBeing and powerPreview5. UniverseConcept and definitionPropertiesThe universe is neither created nor causedNo external God or first causeDomains and their propertiesCreation and generalized causation by domainsCosmosOur cosmos is not the universeRelative sizes of the cosmos and the universe6. PossibilityThe concept of possibilityPhysical and cosmological possibilityPossibility in terms of logic and factPossibility for the universePhysical versus logical possibilityThe tension between logic and scienceReconceptualization of logic and scienceSome potential contradictions7. Identity, space, and timeSameness and differenceIdentity and timeSpace and othernessExtensionality and its kinds—space and timeDimensionalityImmanence of space and timeSpace and time are not absoluteSpace and time are not universalDegrees of vagueness and interwoven-nessBeyond extensionality?Must space and time obtain?8. Natural lawNatural lawProperties of laws9. The voidThe concept of the voidProperties of the voidSignificance of the voidDoubt10. MetaphysicsOn metaphysicsWhat is metaphysics?In this essay metaphysics is knowledge of being as beingAppraising metaphysicsThe criticism that experience is not the objectThe question of perfect faithfulnessObjections from the claims of scienceThe claims of epistemologyCriticisms regarding special metaphysicsObjections from: critical theory and the meta narrative systemCriticisms of systematic metaphysicsAppraisal of the present sense of metaphysicsAppraisal of the metaphysical system of this essayThe fundamental principle and its proofThe principleProofClarifying the statement of the principle: conceptsConstraints on the conceptsLogic and scienceContinuum from science to logicLogic or science?Further properties of the voidRealismAn experiment in thought—a being who perceives all thingsAimThe limitless phases of the universeBrahmanThe fundamental principle in terms of realismProof under realismThe fundamental problem of metaphysicsDoubt and existential attitudeImportant postscript on realismExtension to traditionTraditionBringing tradition under into the foldDual criteriaThe universal metaphysicsThe metaphysicsFundamental concepts of the metaphysics11. ObjectsRelevanceTheory of objectsImportance of the theoryUnity of experienceMathematics, logic, and scienceThe nature of mathematicsMetaphor and artForm12. CosmologyGeneral cosmologyAn aside on supertasksGeneral considerationsSpace and timeUniverseMind and matterNature, spirit and the realStable cosmologiesAdaptationRealization and the significant meaning of painFreedom of willPhysical law and the structure of our cosmosOn natural lawCosmology of identity, life, and civilizationIdentityLifeCivilizationFormSufficiently formed domains13. Attitude and doubtSummaryFunctions of doubtAttitude in face of doubtDoubt and its functionsCritical, radical, and philosophical doubtEssential or existential doubtAttitudePart II. The way14. Developing the wayThe wayAimThe way of beingDerivationThe elements of beingDerivationDimensions and placesNatureDerivationPsycheDerivationCivilizationDerivationArtifact and technologyDerivationThe ultimate in the immediateDerivationElements and mechanics of processMeansDerivationMechanicsDerivationReflexive thought and actionDerivationWays and catalystsDerivationDisciplines and practicesDerivationModesDerivationUniversal processDerivationPath phasesDerivationImplementationEveryday processUniversal processDetails of the implementationPure beingThe ultimate in the presentEveryday practice of thought, presence, and actionIdeasKnowingDesignConceptual background for the phases of becomingBecoming and actionNatureCivilizationInstituteArtifactTension between the immediate and the ultimate15. The wayIntroduction to everyday process and practice—thought, presence, and actionConceptAbout routineEveryday process and practiceRiseDedication and affirmationReviewRealizationMeditation-in-actionPractical tools for action and meditationExercise and physical yogaEvening and sleepUniversal processTable for being and becomingSome topics for study and developmentResources for the wayResourcesSummaryPurposeKnowledgePracticeNatureCivilizationBeingThe universalDeveloping resourcesSummaryMetaphysicsNarrative mode and philosophyDesign and planningScience and the sciencesAbstract sciencesConcrete sciencesFoundations of ethics and valueWays and catalystsCivilizationArtifact and artOther topicsInstitutions, persons, and placesPublication and sharingThis versionWriting a final versionIssues for reflectionTemplateEveryday process and practiceRiseDedication and affirmationReviewRealizationMeditation-in-actionPractical tools for action and meditationExercise and physical yogaEvening and sleepUniversal processTable for a system of pure being, ideas, and actionDeveloping resourcesSummaryMetaphysicsNarrative mode and philosophyDesign and planningScience and the sciencesAbstract sciencesConcrete sciencesFoundations of ethics and valueWays and catalystsCivilizationArtifact and artOther topicsInstitutions, persons, and placesPublication and sharing |