Ways of Being
Versions. The September 2004 edition of ‘Journey in Being’ is abbreviated as ‘v2004,’ or the ‘2004 version’
Document plans. 1. Consolidate: bring all material on each main topic together: SUMMARIES. 2. Edit: introduction of topics. 3. Edit: from beginning to end. 4. Brief version. 5. Later: research and review each main topic; introduce new material as it develops: from the transformation, construction and social phases
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to be Deleted | Hyperlinks | Determine
Significance | for Inclusion in Another Form. Code for the Annotated Outline: Outline | Planned Changes | Changes and
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Key Text for the Current Section is temporarily contained in a box. This is the current focus or outline that will be the basis for consolidation
Division of Material
1. Overall non-technical summary: Introduction
2. Overall Technical Summaries: at the end of Chapters 1 and 2 and, perhaps, some of the ancillary chapters
3. May repeat material from the Preface to the Introduction to Chapters 1 and 2, and material from the Introduction to Chapters 1 and 2 – but only essence
4. No overlap between Chapters 1 and 2
This is a temporary section of (mostly) temporary main summary sections for some important topics. The main objective to consolidate material. As far as reasonable, material for each topic will be consolidated to the location of the main treatment – the summary. If it is appropriate to retain more than one discussion of a topic it is desirable in the secondary discussions to state only what is needed locally and refer to the main discussion for the basis of the local discussion. Eliminate style ‘summaries’ and this section when done
Prospect for the Journey and its Foundation A SUMMARY
Implications of The Theory of Being
Object. A summary of knowledge and concepts
Theoretical Physics: Quantum Theory and the Relativistic Theory of Gravitation
Conclusions and Critical Review. Prospects for Journey in Being A SUMMARY
The Journey Continues A SUMMARY
The INTRODUCTION describes the ‘Journey in Being,’ its origins and approaches, the essential concepts and conclusions, and builds toward the ideas and style of thought that are found in the main chapters of the essay
The preface is an introduction to the essay. In the preface, I will explain why I decided to publish this work, provide an outline of the essay, state who intended audiences are and who other possible audiences may be, and make suggestions on reading the essay
Introductory Comment. When no longer necessary, eliminate the following boxed outline and the bookmark ‘preface’
OUTLINE OF THE PREFACE
On the Publication of the Essay
This essay narrates a Journey in Being. It began as two personal journeys, one of understanding and the other of achievement. In the beginning the goals were diffuse; understanding and achievement were not intrinsically or rationally connected, and the possibilities were dimly sensed. As my understanding grew into a system of ideas, I began to see possibility more clearly. I began to see that I might understand all being. I also began to see that this understanding had implications for the nature of individual human beings and for my life in terms of transformation. I therefore replaced the idea of achievement by transformation whose felt connection to understanding became rational as well. Journey in Being is the outcome of this process which, through understanding and transformation, sought to grow into a Journey of All Being. Thus, the journey has personal and universal aspects. The ideas or understanding show what is possible; this is developed in the FOUNDATION. The ideas show what transformations are possible. The ideas are themselves a form of transformation but not the only form. In the foundation, it is shown that, in principle, any transformation in being that can be described without contradiction is possible but they do not show how feasible the transformations may be; feasibility may be determined by ‘applicable knowledge’ such as science and, since science is limited relative to all being, by experiments in transformation. This also shows that there are no a priori limits to the ability to conceive what is possible. THE THEORY OF BEING and the theory of IDENTITY show that every individual will, during ‘eternity,’ experience all being. However, I also want to see what ideas and designs may be possible to this end; it seems that ‘ultimate’ transformation might require a combination of ‘blind’ and directed or designed process; certainly, ideas are essential in that without awareness or appreciation there would appear to be no significance to either the process or end of transformation. In this ‘transformation’ phase of the journey I have not achieved success that yet measures up to my success in ideas and, although there are some achievements, this phase whose designs and outcomes-so-far are described in TRANSFORMATION OF BEING, still ‘in process.’ It is not clear that the process will have an end but, certainly, a greater degree of satisfaction with my efforts seems to be possible; this is the next goal and phase of the journey
The purpose of the essay is to elaborate upon the ideas and processes described in the previous paragraph and to show how they have relations to immediate matters – to my life, to society, to human traditions and practices, to the universe as conceived in the history of human thought; this is the content of JOURNEY IN BEING. In the previous paragraph, a number of claims were been made about the possibilities of being. In the FOUNDATION, I have provided a demonstration of the validity of the claims, developed a many implications of the primary claims, shown how they relate to classical metaphysics, to science, and to human concerns. The foundation builds toward bringing what is possible into the realm of the feasible and, in JOURNEY IN BEING, I have described my efforts toward putting this endeavor into practice
In seeking to find a basis of the journey, I have found it necessary and useful to develop a wide range of human knowledge beyond its current boundaries to particular and universal ends; primary among this range are the metaphysics or THEORY OF BEING and the ways or DISCIPLINES OF TRANSFORMATION. The origins, aims and nature of the journey are outlined in the INTRODUCTION. My estimate of the outcome –the achievements– are in the following sections: THE AUDIENCE, ACHIEVEMENTS, UNDERSTANDING, and THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS
The journey in being has been has been an adventure and inspiration. There have been study, thought, and action. In the process, I have written many essays (HOME) that I may now regard as preliminary and background work to this essay. There is further information on this background in the SOURCES
I publish this essay because I believe that I have something significant and original to say. I have drawn from and synthesized some aspects of a number of traditions, especially western thought and the philosophies of India. However, the essay is not intended to be a summary of the history of knowledge or of action and experiment. My main approaches and tools are thought, life and experiments in change and transformation. My goals are the achievement of the understanding and realization of being. Although there are intimations, in the history of ideas, of the fundamental results in this essay, I believe that the depth, clarity of statement, and completeness of the ideas and the necessity of the arguments are without precedent
The essay has these main sections: the INTRODUCTION, a FOUNDATION and a NARRATIVE of the Journey. The introduction is less formal than the other sections. A number of supplementary sections assist in understanding and reference
The introduction narrates an outline of the Journey – the origins, main goals, motives, the results or achievements, and reasons for the approach taken including the use of the concepts of JOURNEY and BEING. The origins of the Journey include a personal story. Although the personal narrative is of interest to me, I have suppressed the merely personal and focused on what is useful to the objectives of understanding and realization. The significance of the personal includes that it refers to some individual. An objective of this essay, is to show the importance of individual history even to forms of literature that traditionally suppress personal narrative. This text is simultaneously personal, practical and intensely abstract in the traditional sense. The sense of ‘abstract’ is traditional for it is shown in this essay that the proper abstract is real and concrete
The FOUNDATION provides a conceptual framework for and, in its development, has been a part of the Journey. The primary topics of the foundation are metaphysics or the theory of being, theory of knowledge, logic, and cosmology. These primary topics enable the development of a description human being and mind that includes structure, function and growth. The development includes treatment of society and group choice or ethics and politics. While understanding is one of the objectives, the other main goal is transformation. The primary topics provide an approach to transformation and the description of mind enables a design of a ‘complete, minimal system of experiments in transformation.’ As experiment, transformation is necessary to the development of understanding. However, transformation is intrinsically important – meaning not only the transformation of the arrangement of the world but also of the form of being, of the individual. The theory includes an understanding of becoming in general, of the nature of purpose, and of consciously undertaken and purposeful transformation. A journey is necessary not only because process is essential to discovery and transformation but also because enjoyment of the process is at the foundation of purpose. The foundation establishes the contexts of all being and of human and animal being, it justifies its own structure as well as the structure of the journey
The JOURNEY is a NARRATIVE of two interweaving journeys. These threads are the individual but not necessarily personal and that of all being which includes the animal (human.) Here, there is a more complete account of the ideas established in the foundation. The narrative covers KNOWLEDGE, METAPHYSICS as the THEORY OF BEING, EXPERIMENTS IN TRANSFORMATION, EXPERIMENTS WITH METHOD (algorithms, computation, and machines,) and SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY and SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION
The supplementary sections begin with a systematic outline of FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS. The list of problems shows what has been accomplished and assists in reviewing whether certain issues deemed essential to the development have indeed been adequately addressed. The set of problems also includes issues that merit further reading, study and exploration; these include TRANSFORMATION of being. There follows a LEXICON, p.137, whose purpose is to show how the basic concepts form a fluid system in interaction with the idea of being developed here; a discussion of SOURCES AND INFLUENCES, that lists personal sources and a reconstruction of the influences on my thought; and, an INDEX of concepts
Although I have always had communication in mind, the preliminary versions of this and related documents were not directed toward a specific class of readers. This is in part because my thought has been open ended. While specific goals have a degree of desirability, it is in the nature of an open ended journey in ideas and transformation that the goals themselves are not given at the outset. Discovery includes discovery of the goals. This is because as the nature of the universe, human nature, my personal nature and their relationships become revealed (and defined) new possibilities become revealed and old possibilities revaluated. The purpose in writing was to get the ideas on paper, to organize, to criticize, to refine and elaborate my thought. I now think that my accomplishments in thought may be a contribution that is worth publishing, that their form is sufficiently stable to allow publication. The initial form of the accomplishments was rough and intuitive. I have been able to find a foundation for the intuitions and to refine, elaborate and to develop consequences of the foundation in a broad range of disciplines, activities and institutions. It is therefore now pertinent to review what I have written here, to consider the classes of reader for whom the work might have interest. This essay has gone through numerous revisions; in the recent revisions I have been editing, organizing and revising the manuscripts in light of what may be the interests of potential readers
This work may have interest for a number of audiences. The first audience is the general reader. I believe that the ideas in this essay touch every life; however, this does not imply that all persons will be interested in the essay. Everyone eats but not everyone cares about what they eat or how to cook. The general reader, then, is one who has an interest in the AMBITIONS of the journey. This reader may have a peripheral interest in my explorations in ideas and in being, near and far. I hope, however, that my writing will touch the reader, will excite the imagination – will be the spark that sets the reader on his or her own journey. Perhaps some individuals will be motivated to share their journey with me. That will be my privilege. Although I have a passion for ideas, it has never been my ambition to live merely in the world of ideas. My passions include people, ideas, nature, dance… In addition to the esoteric, I would like to see social application of my thought and have developed it in that direction in HUMAN BEING AND SOCIETY and FAITH. I have attempted to write as simply as possible without sacrificing careful development of the ideas; however, some readers may experience the central chapters, ‘Foundation’ and ‘Journey,’ as difficult. There are some suggestions in READING THE ESSAY that may help the reader through the essay. It is my hope that the reader, including the one who has difficulties with the ideas but persists through and beyond the difficulties, may enter a ‘Journey in Being’ as participant rather than spectator
Readers of preliminary editions have asked why I have included such a wide range of material and so much detail –so many concepts– in such a short space. Those readers have prompted me to provide an explanation of the need for the range and depth of material in this essay. My response is that the contents are necessary to developing a theory of being and to showing explicitly that a wide range of being falls under its umbrella. I have been able to provide a theoretical demonstration that the theory is comprehensive, i.e., that all being lies within its range. However, without the explicit demonstration the conclusion would lack substance, relevance and application. Thus, I have developed application of the core theory (metaphysics) to classical metaphysics, to logic, cosmology, the nature of life, the nature of human being, mind, society, and faith. The consideration of logic is more than simple application for I have developed a significant generalization of idea of logic (there are similar ideas in the literature) that permits an alternative demonstration of the comprehensive nature of the theory. Logic, cosmology and the metaphysics (the core theory) stand together as a unit… Although this unit of ideas is significant in itself, I had conceived and developed it as a foundation for the ‘Journey in Being.’ The application to the transformation of being is taken up in the chapter, JOURNEY IN BEING
Another audience is the reader who is philosophically inclined. The essay traverses the terrain of a number of traditions of philosophy. The casual and the professional philosopher may find much of interest, especially the illumination (attempts at solution, extension) of a number of classical problems and areas of philosophy such as the theory of being or metaphysics, the nature of ethics and of group choice (political philosophy,) the mind-body problem, the nature of mind and matter, the problem of substance, the categories of being and of intuition, the nature of space and time – relational or absolute, what has been called the fundamental problem of metaphysics, i.e., ‘Why is there something rather than nothing?’ and the related question, ‘Why does the universe contain sentience?’, problems of the theory of knowledge, the nature of the noumenon or thing-in-itself, and questions as to the nature of philosophy and, especially, metaphysics and logic. The variety of reflections is tied together by a unity of perspective that stems, in part, from the theory of being that has been developed. My method includes but is not restricted to analysis; I have considered it important that philosophy should endeavor to illuminate the nature of the real – of being. Although there are intimations, in the history of ideas, of the fundamental results in metaphysics, I believe that the depth and clarity of statement of the ideas and the necessity of the arguments are without precedent. An objective in all these endeavors, as well as in those that follow, has been, first, to contribute to understanding and, second, to occasionally summarize pertinent aspects of the state of knowledge in the field
The result regarding substance is that there are no fundamental substances; instead the foundation of being is found in the void and is shown have and need no further regress; or, equivalently, the foundation is in complete indeterminism which, however, necessitates the origin of form and structure, of local or normal cosmological systems such as ours that may possess kinds of local (quasi) causation and local (quasi) determinism, and be described in terms of space and time. The void is shown to exist and to necessitate becoming and, therefore, being; this provides a resolution of the fundamental problem of metaphysics.
The developments that I will now describe may have interest for more specialized audiences but not to the exclusion of the general or the philosophically inclined reader. One purpose to my development of the specialized topics is to show how the general theory of being and the specialized topics have implications for one another. Taken together, the general and specialized interests –especially those whose focus is concerned with mind, its nature, structure and function– will form a foundation for a design of a complete and minimal system of experiments for the exploration and transformation of being. The degree to which the developments are complete and elaborate is not uniform (some of the developments are detailed in other essays.) The theory of being is central to the developments in philosophy just mentioned. The metaphysics shows the necessity of unending recurrence of the individual in forms without limit on duration, extent and participation in ‘higher’ being; development of the concept of identity, also founded in the theory of being, gives significance to these necessities through continuity of personal identity. The requirement for continuity of identity is not similarity of form but association through memory. Thus, continuity of identity does not clearly show universality of identity over all phases of being; however, the necessary extension of identity over continuous phases is so great as to ensure that normal human experience is a minute fraction of it. Similarity of form is the basis of a more comprehensive identity. In knowledge, identity or continuity of form can be given meaning relative to the entire universe; this is possible in such a way that it makes no significant difference whether the identity is merely in knowledge or real. This knowledge in ultimate form is Atman which, in light of the just mentioned lack of significant difference, is Brahman. This also shows a dual role for knowledge and memory, for knowing and remembering
The Nature of Science; Science and Religion
Readers interested in science will find reflections on the nature of science, the relation between science and logic, and an evaluation of the extent of the actual and potential domain of science relative to all being. One view of science has been that the theories of science should be testable or, in an earlier formulation, ‘falsifiable.’ Simply stated, this means that science is about the world of experience – but this does not mean that ideas and concepts do not enter into science. Another aspect of a fundamental scientific theory should be that, even though it may be ‘overturned,’ it captures an essence of a phase of being is captured. Thus, even when an older theory is overturned it may still capture the essence of a limited phase. A ‘revolution’ in science is one in which the essence of a fundamentally more comprehensive phase of being. It is fundamental that the theory of being of this essay captures, in logic, the entire range of being and that it is connected to the real world: its truth implies that the universe as known in science is an infinitesimal fraction of the entire universe. The theory of being has implications for the concept, nature and being of God. There are implications for the politically though not so much intellectually potent question of evolution vs. creation. It is pure biology and, in my opinion, good science that the theory of evolution provides the only explanation of the story of life on earth: it provides understanding, ‘creationism’ does not; further, although the explanatory system is not complete, the creationist criticisms generally confuse an inability (or refusal) to understand nature with a limitation of nature: the so-called gaps in evolutionary theory are generally gaps in creationist understanding. Creationism, I think, harms true religion; and it is not an explanatory system: it relegates explanation to an unexplained concept of God – it would be far better to acknowledge ignorance as mystery. However, my views may be described as being a ‘shade closer to center’ than strictly evolutionist views. My reasons are both complex and simple. The simple reason is that the theory of being shows the necessity alternatives to ‘strict incremental variation and selection’ in some cosmological systems despite its (apparent) huge improbability: it is the distinction between improbability and impossibility that characterizes the difference between my view and what I see to be the common view, whether evolutionist or alternative. Note that by alternative I do not necessarily mean ‘intelligent design’ (except insofar as intelligence may be attributed to general universal process) but simply something other than the incremental variation and selection. Even though the possibilities of incremental variation and selection may be beyond imagination, e.g. human imagination so far, the strict view continues to contain a form of mechanism imposed on strict indeterminism. The complex view has to do with the nature and function of knowledge and is developed in the essay
Regarding religion, I have written to understand the phenomenon, but not, by intent, to confirm or disconfirm any faith or belief; instead of confirmation, my intent has been evaluation of the literal and non-literal truth of religion and the significance of faith and religion in general and today. I distinguish between religion and the religions: the religions are the actual institutions; religion is the potential – the ideal. My concept of religion is that religion is that which orients the whole individual to the entire universe. The empirical minded anthropologist may retort that religion should be defined by the study of its practice. There are a number of criticisms of this claim. One criticism is that it is circular: if there is no concept of religion, how is its practice to be identified; in absence of a concept it will be identified by preconception and the result of such study will reflect the prejudices of the investigator. A second criticism is that contains an implicit definition of what it is to study something; in this case it contains an implicit though partial definition of anthropology. Finally, it is a characteristic of a limitation to empirical study, that the result may limit human possibility to what has already been realized or to some account of what has been realized. Thus the domain of religion is not restricted to the divine and includes the domain of science. Some individuals prefer the word ‘spirituality’ to ‘religion.’ I find an additional word to be unnecessary even though ‘religion’ has some undesirable connotations. The word ‘spirituality’ suggests another realm or dimension – one that is removed from this world. However, there is no ‘other realm.’ There is one world and insofar as there are sacred things, the entire world is sacred – even if it contains evil. Individuals who set spirituality and religion apart are often inclined to think of spirituality as a private activity. Religion may be practiced as a private activity but is not essentially private. I see religion as being communal for conceptual and practical reasons. The conceptual reason is that sharing adds in a number of ways to the quality of the enterprise. There is no necessity to the practice and development of religion as communal; privacy of religion is to be tolerated and may be desirable for some individuals; some may profess to be unreligious – however this is hardly possible on account of my concept of religion; what I claim is that, in general, communal development and practice enhances religion in much the same way that communal development and practice enhances science. While some thinkers have emphasized the non-literal meanings of religion and myth, these meanings could not have significance if the literal meanings were completely absurd. I have found some of the conclusions regarding the literal truth, derived on grounds of logic, to be unexpected: the essential conclusion is that unless the truth of an article of faith would violate a principle of logic, it must obtain; however, it is normal that those articles that would violate the principles of science or reasoned common sense are extremely probable in this (our) cosmological system. One practical source of the importance of the communal practice of religion is as follows. The significance of religion is unquestionable even if only because, regardless of inner meaning and truth, it has so much impact on the lives and thinking of men and women and on the secular world. From my considerations of literal truth and from the theory of being, I have found a way to build a bridge between the religions and between religion and secular life. The idea should not be new; what is new is the demonstration that there are infinitely many actual worlds, all part of the one universe, in which such bridging necessarily obtains; in a given world bridging of any duration is possible but its probability is not necessarily high. The nature of faith is such that I am hopeful but not altogether optimistic about this possibility in this (our) world. One start, however, is that individuals with a liberal persuasion and (or) an attitude of tolerance might avoid being dismissive even of a polar opposite to their views and to always keep open the possibility of communication and understanding. What can be said to someone who believes in conflict and the resulting suffering? I have not been able to prove that physical conflict is not ethical on rational grounds alone. However, one can take a stand for one’s values. This may be vexing to intellectuals but it may be better than ‘proof’ for it may be harder to ignore someone who takes a stand than someone who writes a proof in a book. This does not discount theory for theory has potency and may be joined to action… I hesitate to criticize the faiths, which I distinguish from faith; however it is reason and feeling that have overcome sympathy in the foregoing criticism. Criticism of faith has been said to be a sign of disrespect but, when honest in fact and intention, appears to me to be a form of real respect – for the other and for truth. Earlier, I distinguished between religion and the religions and identified religion as the unrealized ideal. The ideal is not given but to be found, perhaps only to be approached; the theory of being provides a framework for this endeavor and shows that the ideal is not absolutely remote, i.e., the gulf between being human (or similar being) and being God is not infinite
Individuals with an interest in theoretical physics will find a tentative though as yet qualitative foundation for some of the basic theories and fundamental concepts of physics - quantum theory; the relativistic theory of space-time-matter and force. For biologists, there are reflections on the nature of life and the necessity of the variation and selection ‘mechanism’ of evolution and a generalization of that mechanism to all creation, to all origins of form and structure. Persons active in the philosophy and sciences of mind and behavior will be interested in the account of the nature and structure of mind. Regarding the possibility of two concepts of mind, the phenomenal and the psychological, that has dominated much thought –especially academic thought– since the middle of the nineteenth century, necessity requires the conclusion that the distinction is false; the apparent distinction is based in a limited understanding of mind and of being. Regarding the structure of mind, my focus has been at two levels – the possibility of mind as a source of adaptation (creativity) and the dimensions of human mentality. I have formulated a set of parameters or dimensions that permits a uniform treatment of mind and person in specific contexts and over a lifetime. (A uniform treatment is one that shows and develops the functions from a common basis.) This includes uniform formulations of the functions (cognition, emotion and drive or instinct) and a formulation of personality that transcends and is relatively neutral toward the culture-centered attempts of the past. The latter is made possible, in part, by connecting the human context, concepts and dimensions of mind, and the theory of being of this essay. It is shown that a complete account of the working of mind must be a basis for a complete account of the being and meaning of the individual: the account of human mind is a basis for the design of the experiments in transformation. It will be of interest to the psychiatrist in that the uniform formulations appear to make possible a universal and dynamic treatment of exceptional performance and disorder (actual development of such a treatment is among the plans for future work) that has basis in the functional dimensions of (human) mind. Workers in the recently activated (roughly, since the final quarter of the twentieth century) and multi-disciplinary field of consciousness studies will find a simple resolution of the ‘problem of consciousness’ that is, essentially, a special case of the resolution of the mind-body problem mentioned earlier. The limit of the treatment is not arrived at when I say that the cognitive scientist will find reflections and conclusions regarding the structure of thought, the possibility of the interpretation of mind as machine – as an algorithm performed upon symbols; and on the significance of learning, adaptation and embodiment
The essay contains reflections on the nature of symbolic systems that include the nature of the symbol and the object, the nature of language and of mathematics. These reflections are based, in part, on the concept of the ‘free symbol’ that is based in the metaphysics
The free symbol is also a part of the basis of an elucidation of aspects of social theory such as the nature and aspects of individual and group choice, i.e., of ethics, of economics, and of politics; the earlier comments on bridging among faiths also apply to secular relations and relations between faith and the secular world
I have attempted to craft the essay as art – have attempted to occasionally suffuse the prose with a poetic sense. This attempt is consistent with the reflection, found in the discussion of the nature of symbols, that poetry (which invokes intuition and emotion) and logic (reason) are not necessarily or essentially distinct and that their forms may be combined in positive ways that compromise neither poetry nor reason
I have attempted to write simply. However, there may be some lower limit of simplicity that is consistent with the content. The following suggestions may be useful in reading, understanding and evaluating this essay
Understanding the system of ideas as a connected whole
Since a book is what has been called a ‘presentational form,’ i.e., it stands as a whole even while the presentation is linear, the content this essay may be best grasped by reading it more than once – perhaps at different paces and levels of detail. Many of the concepts are designated by familiar words that may be used in unfamiliar ways or have a variety of meanings from which only one is (some are) selected. I have endeavored to move knowledge and understanding into realms often thought to be inaccessible to conceptual comprehension. In this process the meaning of every concept may change and, even if, as I believe, the resulting system is ultimate in the sense of requiring no further foundation, each concept is yielded more as a meaning-in-transition than a fixed meaning. Further, the system of concepts stands as an integral whole. Therefore, the entire system of concepts and the development of the theory (of being) must be absorbed to permit either appreciation or criticism of a coherent system thought. The table of contents, the introduction, and the index may assist in this process. Additionally, I have provided a lexicon or glossary of important terms, a section on the fundamental problems, and a section on my sources. I have occasionally marked more technical material by offsetting, using a smaller font and by inserting footnotes and endnotes
Comments on word use and meaning
Some comments on word use and meaning may be useful. The following comments are intended to have application to this essay, but may also have application to the use of language in general. At the outset of these comments I will make the obvious remark that the utility of language requires some stability in its forms and meanings. However, the metaphysics of this essay includes an attempt to understand the nature of the universe within which we live. The approach to such an attempt does not start with a “clean slate,” but with an inherited system of understanding whose completeness and precision are partial. The objective is to improve understanding with regard to both completeness and precision. It is in the nature of the enterprise, as discussed in greater detail in the section, ‘Knowledge and Certainty’ (link) and elsewhere in this essay, that such an attempt, if it is to have some success, must have an experimental aspect. Thus, even though the meanings of words (concepts) must normally have some degree of stability, the meanings of words are not and can not be fixed. Thus, every significant word or concept as well as the system of concepts taken as a whole must have a degree of fluidity in use. The meaning of every word may and will change from speaker to speaker, from writer to writer and within the writing of a single author – even when the words are given what may appear to be precise meanings. In the metaphysical system of this essay I have systematically extended the meanings of common words, including their philosophical uses, beyond their common range in the attempt to extend the range of application of the system. I have introduced some new words but this is not always the best approach and may also create problems of understanding and communication
Therefore it is necessary to make a conscious effort to be aware of my use and meanings of words or concepts and their relations. (The sections, ‘Fundamental Problems,’ ‘Sources and Influences,’ the lexicon and the index may assist this effort. Inclusion of these various devices to assist the reader has added to the length of the document.) The system of meanings is a dynamic form. It is dynamic in that it should adjust to ‘reality’ and it is a form in that the meanings stand in relation to one another; in isolation, the meanings are incomplete. This is what I mean when I say that the concepts of a system of understanding constitute a dynamic field of concepts
Regarding the nature of the changes, they may be at the edges or boundaries of use or at the very core. Thus, use does not merely change but it evolves, grows, and morphs – often, but not necessarily, while maintaining continuity with previous use. It is therefore a given that the reader will get the most out of this essay that he or she could unless there is some willingness to, at least temporarily, relinquish cherished and often hard earned understanding
Since meaning codifies experience and since its analysis may bring further experience to bear upon it, it is not paradoxical that analysis of meaning may yield positive, e.g. empirical, results
Examples of power inherent in analysis of meaning
Examples of power inherent in analysis of meaning
The words whose meanings are extended are not only relatively esoteric ones such as ‘metaphysics,’ ‘logos,’ and ‘logic’ but also common ones such as ‘is,’ ‘noun,’ ‘thing,’ and ‘individual.’ The common words are often most profound in the implication of their meaning. Thus, ‘is’ is a form of ‘to be’ which is at the root of the meaning of being. As I have already said, although the meaning of ‘being’ appears to be trivial, its careful analysis leads to deep and often surprising conclusions. It is the pervasiveness of being that results in depth and, simultaneously, the appearance of triviality. In addition to this general consideration, the word ‘is’ in the sense of ‘being’ has a number of connotations. If something ‘is,’ it is typically so, within standard use, at a particular time and at a particular place. In an extension of this standard meaning, that something ‘is’ is allowed to mean that it has being over some duration of time and some extent of space that lie somewhere in the range of all durations and extents. That ‘is’ refers to a range of places and times is already within standard use for when an object has stable existence, the use of ‘is’ in connection with that object is not restricted to the strict present. For example, ‘Mt. Everest is the highest mountain’ would not have its usual sense if the heights of mountains varied randomly by thousands of feet every day. If time and space are regarded as ‘indices’ of being, then the use of ‘is’ may be extended to other indices that there may be. Careful attention to this distinction has been shown in the discussion of being to add significantly to the power of the analysis. This is because not all assertions are tensed but language use is ambivalent about whether grammatical forms are tensed or not. In my experience, the extended and tense-less use of the verb ‘to be’ may present an initial difficulty but finally results in simplicity of analysis
Another common word is ‘universe’ which has a number of connotations. In physics, ‘universe’ often means the known physical universe in which the meaning of ‘known’ is elaborated as ‘known by a combination of observational and theoretical means.’ In the primary meaning of this essay, the Universe is all that there is. Thus the Universe is shown to be far ‘greater’ than the known physical universe. In particular, it is shown that there is no reason to suppose that the laws of physics which enter implicitly into the definition of the physical universe apply to the Universe. Instead, it is shown that the Universe has no laws. (If the constitution of an object is defined by a set of states, a law is a restriction on the actual states attained.) Rather, laws such as the physical laws of this cosmological system arise locally; this cosmological system is, therefore, infinitesimal in comparison to the Universe. A further consideration arises as follows. If the concept of a creator is such that a creator must, at least occasionally, be outside of what is created then the Universe does not and cannot have a creator
A final word that I shall consider here is ‘individual.’ In one common and standard view, the individual is a relatively fixed quantity. Of course the individual has a life, is born, grows, declines and dies. However, these limits define the temporal boundaries of the individual on the standard view in which the skin of the individual is the spatial boundary. There are other boundaries in the standard view such as limits on abilities. In a more inclusive view, the individual is not fixed and is in flux; the boundaries of the individual are not absolute and the individual may be seen as a transient element of more inclusive being even while the individual may not experience its participation in that being. In an expanded perspective, the ‘standard individual’ may experience a more comprehensive and dual vision, seeing “a mountain as a river and a river as a mountain.” The concept of the individual and the identity of the individual are further discussed in the essay, especially in the section, ‘Personality and Identity.’ In that section, it is seen that identity may be maintained even in severe transformations. This shows how transformation of one individual into another or merging of one individual with a larger one, already seen to be possible from the Theory of Being, can have meaning
In these examples there have been two variants of an approach to deriving significance from analysis of meaning. In one, different meanings within a family of meaning are identified and distinguished and one of these selected as the meaning within the system of analysis. An example of this approach is ‘universe.’ In the other the meaning is extended as in the consideration of the individual. The variants are not essentially or logically distinct and may be seen as a single approach in which the aim is to avoid, as far as possible, introduction of metaphysical constraint or inconsistency built into the conceptual system at the outset. This approach will be used to significant advantage in the analysis and application of a number of concepts including ‘mind’ and ‘form’ and in a number of problems such as the mind-body problem that is well known in philosophy. A central idea in such considerations is that the meaning of ‘mind’ is, in the first place, that of mind-as-we-experience-it. In physical science, the concept of matter has been extended far beyond that of matter-as-we-experience it and, similarly, an extension is possible for ‘mind.’ This extension is a part of a resolution of the mind-body problem. The development of the Theory of Being in this essay also depends, among other things, upon similar extensions of meaning
The analysis of the concept of the individual required simultaneous analysis of the concept of identity. The observation is important. In general, the proper analysis of any concept may require the simultaneous analysis of the conceptual system or field of which it is a part. (Discussion of the idea of a field of concepts is taken up elsewhere in this essay.) An obvious reason for this is that the system of meanings is interdependent. A second and more subtle reason is that in any system of meanings, even formal ones, the common metaphysical tradition infuses each concept. Therefore, it is difficult to overcome the weight of the tradition in the analysis of any concept in isolation. Two observations are significant. First, as the examples show, the traditional systems, even the great critical philosophies, frequently embody metaphysical assumptions and even inconsistencies. Second, there is vast scope for valid expansion of metaphysical understanding. Here, ‘valid’ implies showing necessity, possibility and actuality. The Theory of Being developed in this essay is one such expansion
How it is possible for an analysis of meaning to result in valid conclusions regarding the world may appear to be puzzling since, in analyzing meaning, there appears to be no reference to the world? Thus, a major weakness of the science of Hellenism (the Greek Civilization) is thought to be that there was no systematic experimental testing of the system of ideas. A response to the puzzle is that meaning already embodies experience for the system of meaning arises together with language-use. The analysis of meaning is not merely in terms of other words or concepts but also involves analysis of past and continuing experience
References and Links
The issue of references has been addressed in the section, ‘Sources and Influences’
This essay has internal links and reference links to other documents and Internet sites. These links are coded as follows: EXTERNAL and INTERNAL HYPERLINKS. The table of contents is an exception to this coding. The use of small capitals is not restricted to links and is also used to indicate important concepts
Style
In this essay, I have sought a balance between an impersonal or formal and a personal style. Examples of formal language are ‘the reader’ and ‘the author.’ The informal analogs are ‘you’ and ‘I.’ I have emphasized the personal when describing aspects of my journey (primarily in the Introduction) and the impersonal when I speak in general terms but have not strictly followed this ‘rule’
One objective of the impersonal style is to avoid cluttering a general or formal discussion with irrelevant personal details. Although I have included some information about my life, the account is not biographical and I have included such material when it is relevant to the development of the ideas. An example of pertinent personal information is in the origins of my thought; in describing these origins I find the personal style of writing to be most natural
Another objective of the use of an impersonal style has been the suppression of the ego in the service of truth. However, given the convention, the impersonal style can be a façade for the mere expression of the ego. Additionally, an impersonal style may often be unnecessarily remote. Perhaps the best approach to these issues is to balance the use of personal and impersonal styles
I prefer to say, ‘he or she’ or ‘she or he’ rather than ‘she’ or ‘he’ which, despite claims that the use is generic, are likely to be taken literally and are, therefore, inappropriate to approximately one half of all readers; and, if mutual respect is good, the generic use of ‘he’ or ‘she’ should be found undesirable by all readers. I would rather not say, ‘they’ when ‘he or she’ would be more appropriate. Some languages have neutral or common singular pronouns. Thus far, I have found it awkward to try to introduce a neutral or common singular pronoun into English. Any solution to the problems of gender and equality in a language that has institutionalized inequality is likely to be awkward. It does seem, perhaps, that it might be effective to import the appropriate pronoun from another language rather than coin a new word… In this version of the essay I have retained the cumbersome forms such as ‘he or she’
Punctuation and grammar
In this essay, a period –full stop– at the end of a paragraph is not shown. However, other end of sentence marks such as question marks are shown. Even though this deviates from common practice it is economical. As an economy, the practice is trivial. However, the principle of economy is not trivial and is a kind of aesthetic. When I introduced the practice, the absence of the period appeared awkward to me. Now, the absence appears natural and the common practice appears awkward. In itself, this is a comment on the nature of the aesthetic. Additionally, there is relevance for other concerns such as the one raised above on gender and language. It shows that the introduction of neutral pronouns, whether foreign or coined, may seem awkward at first but familiarity may eliminate the sense of strangeness. The acquisition of familiarity may be enhanced by introducing a form that is both economical and aesthetic and poetic
The single quotation mark, e.g. ‘quote’, is used to distinguish a name or concept from the corresponding object. A second use of the single quotation mark is to indicate a variant or questionable use of a word or concept and a third use indicates quotation of something I have written elsewhere. Double quotation marks, “quote,” are used to indicate that the words are those of another writer or to avoid confusion when there is a quote within a quote
The following comments have relevance, not only to authorship but also to the power of language relative to what are normally taken to be its functions. It is not clear that the modern tendency, in the use of the English and other languages, to rigidly fixed rules of meaning and grammar is altogether positive. The occasion for language is function and rules serve the function. Rigidity of rule may serve the function precision within a limited context but be a block to the fluctuating and sometimes expanding context that is our experience of the real. That is, rigidity does not serve the central function of realism and, in fact, may artificially encourage the belief that realism is impossible. A brief study of what has been learnt in formal logic in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries shows that the functions (including communication and representation which are both essential and linked together) of language cannot be completely captured in a system of rules. Further, the history of a language shows that the tendency to fixed rules generally comes after the zenith of its power, often in an age of decline. What appears to be clear is that the modern educational system has produced generations of English speakers who identify with the rules. While rules of grammar and style have function, it is not clear that fixed formulation and adherence is the advance or progress that it is often taken to be. The distinction between function and fashion is neither complete nor clear… Practically, of course, an author must pay attention to rules of grammar, meaning and style; however, these rules cannot serve all occasions and, therefore, rigid adherence is not consistent with function
Closing comments on simplicity
The primary block to simplicity in writing this essay is that the system of ideas remains in flux regarding not only the ideas –the details and the main ideas– but even regarding the paradigms that inform my thought. This flux has a necessary component: I continually seek to improve my understanding and my previous thought. However, since the subject matter of the essay has achieved some stability I feel that it is as ready for publication. I will continue to further the goal of simplicity in subsequent versions of this and other essays
Charismatic appeal
‘What do you love and of what are you afraid?’ he was asked. Fear and love arise naturally in this world and appear to be necessary. Fear or love of the infinite should be a choice; and this conditions their necessity in this world
Introductory Comment. When no longer necessary, eliminate the following boxed outline and the bookmark ‘introduction’
Editing and placement. The following should eliminate repetition of titles: 1. Outline: order for the reader’s understanding; use Knowledge and Certainty to prepare for A Personal Account of Knowledge and Faith and to preview the place of knowledge in being. 3. Indicate and point to the roots of the achievements in reason and science, nature, feeling and passion, and myth. 2. Place complex material in the main chapters
The introduction has two parts. The first, an introduction to the journey, ends with the discussion of ‘Knowledge and Certainty.’ The second part is a ‘Prospect for the Journey…’
This chapter is an introduction to the journey at a level that is not as demanding as that of the subsequent narrative. In the section, THE AUDIENCE, of the preface, may suggest what topics may be helpful in understanding the essay. The breadth of topics covered, the fact that the essay does not lie in any one tradition, and the fact that the essay is not merely intended to recount previous thought and explorations in being but is also intended to be a contribution in those areas is bound to make demands of most readers. However, this essay is not intended to be a textbook and so I do not need to be as concerned about ‘prerequisite reading’ as sensitive authors of modern university textbooks may need to be. Although, in this essay, philosophy is more a tool than an end, perhaps the most useful acquaintance for the reader would be with the Western philosophical tradition. Some acquaintance with the traditions of the East would also be useful. The work draws on a wide variety of academic disciplines and non-academic traditions, especially those that are concerned with being as such and not merely with some specific aspect of being. One of my intentions has been to address every significant problem in the history of ideas and every significant human problem. Naturally, I cannot hope to have done this in detail but only in principle. There is a discussion in the second main chapter, JOURNEY IN BEING, that shows where the main academic disciplines fit into the structure of the essay. A number of preparations make this comprehensive understanding possible: wide reading and study over many years, a specific study of encyclopedic compilations of human knowledge that I made in connection with earlier essays, and the generality of the subject of this essay. I should add that the intention just discussed is not the main intention in the Journey in Being but is subservient to the intent to understand all being
In the introduction I describe the nature of the journey and the choice of the words ‘journey’ and ‘being.’ Then, in the only section of the text that is openly personal in intent, I discuss the ORIGINS AND PATHS of the journey. The intent of disclosure is not autobiographical or disclosure itself; it is to enhance understanding and, perhaps, to encourage others in similar adventures. While METAPHYSICS and science are perhaps best developed in an impersonal manner, it seems to me that the choices and actions of an individual (or group) endeavor or life are empty if conducted or expressed as an abstract or general form. It seems to me that one of the weaknesses of modern philosophical ethics is its confused development as a number of distinct (non-interactive) polar forms (right vs. good, duty vs. ends, focus on compulsion vs. fullness of being…) without adequate attention to how these forms play out and interact in practice. Additionally, the fact that I have wanted to use the metaphysics has led me to develop and abandon a number of metaphysical systems until the present one which I feel, at least temporarily, is an ultimate metaphysics in that it is shown to depict a system of all being and requires no reference to a more fundamental level and, specifically, requires no foundation in any substance. If my interest had been only in theoretical understanding and not also in use toward my goals of understanding and transformation, I might, for want of adequate ‘tests’ of the metaphysics, have stopped short of its final (current) form. These thoughts are pertinent to THE FORM OF THE ESSAY which is explained in terms of its purpose to lay out the Journey in Being in its development and latest form… I can view the journey as part of my life or as my life, i.e., I can view the process as an interacting development between a non-directed and very enjoyable meander and a directed and exciting JOURNEY-QUEST
After the foregoing and personal overview I discuss the main concepts, ambitions and achievements. I discuss those concepts that are essential to the development of the foundation for the journey. There is also a brief discussion of the arguments that brings out the meaning and significance of the concepts and a discussion of the main conclusions that shows their importance
In the section on Knowledge and Certainty I introduce an attitude toward the nature of knowledge that weaves its way through the essay; the discussion takes up the role of knowledge and is critical of knowledge as a free standing enterprise. That various disciplines stand with relative independence of practice is not questioned. The criticism is that this independence constitutes the essential nature of all knowledge, especially all kinds knowledge of the deepest aspects of being. The conclusion will be that there are modes of knowledge regarding these deepest issues that do stand independently but that it is necessary to be specific about both mode and subject. The treatment accepts the post-enlightenment emphasis on the possibility and validity of knowledge but finds that this emphasis is dependent on values, i.e., on the intended application. Although the conclusions are general, my intent in taking up this topic (in this essay) was to evaluate the role of knowledge and understanding in the journey and as part of it; the usefulness of the post-enlightenment emphasis to real knowledge and transformation; and limits to the boundaries that are thought to be set by the post-enlightenment emphasis – indeed to any emphasis that sees knowledge as a distinct phase of activity
The final section, Prospect for the Journey and its Foundation, describes the functions of the two main chapters of the essay and how they constitute an elaboration of the themes of the journey that have been set up in the introduction. The purpose of the foundation is to show the range of the possible, to show that that range far exceeds the possible of conventional wisdom, to demonstrate the possibility, to distinguish the probable from the less probable and to show approaches that may bring the less probable into the realm of the probable. The foundation is universal in its nature; the chapter on the JOURNEY is less so since it focuses on actual achievements – my achievements and the achievements of this (our) civilization. In describing the achievements of civilization, I have been concerned with the ‘outer boundaries’ and not with a development of the details
Eliminate the summaries and style ‘summary’ when done
Central Summary: A Very Short Account of the Journey in Being** … Key section
Summary Sections. When done with the summary sections, eliminate style ‘summ_achieve’
The **topics are overall summaries or plans. The *topics are local or chapter summaries. Other sections are contributing
Central Summary: A Very Short Account of the Journey in Being** … Key section
Core Concepts, Arguments and Conclusions**
Prospect for the Journey and its Foundation*
Conclusions and Critical Review. Prospects for Journey in Being*
Plan. The very short account should be combined with the Outline and Structure from the PREFACE. Together with the other summaries (Level 2 Headings in the overall table of contents) these may constitute a ‘central summary.’ The sections also have overlap with The Nature of the Journey
The Nature and Goals of the Journey
In this essay, I have narrated a journey in perception, understanding, and transformation. Sources are not always obvious but it is roughly true to say that the journey began as my attempt to achieve with my life the highest end – whatever that might be. What stood out above other possibilities was understanding the world in which I live: the journey was both personal and universal in its intention. In seeking understanding I was guided by the great works – the accomplishments of statesmen, religious leaders, philosophers, scientists, poets… My interest was not solely in ideas but in action as well – with my own life and for society. In its origin, the goals of the journey were simply the path of personal learning and growth as more or less conventionally understood. The actual nature of the possibilities –the highest end– remained implicit for many years that covered a number of phases of my life and much study and thought. Finally, I discovered that the understanding and realization of all being is accessible to the individual. This statement is subject to a number of criticisms. What does it mean? Is it not impossible, i.e., does it not contradict common sense, common wisdom, philosophical thought and science? Is it not grandiose? Is it not escapist in that it appears to seek flight from the immediate world?
A Scientific Theory Captures the Essence of a Phase of Being
Here are some brief responses to the criticisms. To realize all being there would have to be some at least apparent knowledge of that state of being in the individual’s awareness; therefore, the meaning of the realization must be tied in to the nature of personal identity. In this essay I have developed the concept of identity in such a way as to give ‘realization of all being’ meaning. This does not prove that such realization is possible. The possibility is developed as a topic in logic however it is important to state that the concept of logic is significantly more comprehensive than implied by the traditional meaning as the science or art of argument. In this essay, the subject of logic is the form of being; the possibility of understanding and realizing all being stems from this source. It is significant to note that although this statement appears to be dry, the understanding and realization of all being also has a place in intuition and feeling. The criticism of impossibility is addressed as follows. The conventional concept of impossibility is replaced by improbability. Thus, since common sense, science and so on are about a phase of the universe –a phase of all being– there is no logical conclusion from science or common sense to the impossibility of realization of all being. It follows, then, that the only impossibilities are logical impossibilities. One of the goals of this essay is to cast these thoughts in a precise or rigorous form and to seek ways to bring the improbable into the realm of the probable, i.e., to seek connections between the immediate and the ultimate. This approach includes a response to the charges of grandiosity and of escapist flight. The search for the ultimate is not grandiose because it is known to be possible and it is not taken as a given that it will be achieved but only that the search has value. There is also the point of view that the ultimate is already present but what is missing is the awareness or knowledge of this fact. Some individuals would claim that any thoughts of a world beyond the immediate is escapist or a sign of hubris or that a greater humility is required in the face of the ultimate. This is of course a point of view or value and not a fact and there is an opposing value that the humility in question is a false humility based, perhaps, in fear. In seeking the ultimate, there is no actual rejection of the immediate and its enjoyment – there is no essential escape. The essay includes an elaboration of the meaning, truth, logic and passion of these thoughts. A brief elaboration follows
It should be clear that the goals of the journey have become more definite and more clear; this is necessary since, as the understanding of being becomes clearer, possibilities of understanding and transformation open up
‘Journey in Being’ is the story of two interwoven paths. It is simultaneously an individual story and the story of all being. I have not emphasized the personal aspect of the story except to illuminate the universal one and as an example of an individual story that may be useful to others in their lives
What does (or can) it mean that the individual can realize all being? In the first place, before the question of possibility can be discussed, it is necessary to specify what is meant by all being. It is shown that ‘all being’ is infinitely greater than the traditional understanding of the known universe. Thus the claim that the individual can realize all being is a greater claim than the traditional or common or scientific interpretation of the claim; it is shown in this essay that, except for logical contradiction, ‘all being’ is greater than what is known or thought to be known in common thought (or common sense,) in science (the known universe,) in imagination and dreams, in religion, poetry and myth. It is important to recognize that the traditional view has no rational concept of ‘all being’ and that this is the logical source of the idea of limits, of the idea that all being is unrealizable. (There are other sources including the practical needs of the finite individual and society that necessarily invest in the survival needs of the finite; including fear; and including manipulation and control. Thus the sources of the idea of that being is unrealizable are both realistic and unrealistic; the realism is practical and the lack of realism lies in that practical needs are not ultimate, i.e., in that practical ‘reality’ is not ultimately real.) The understanding that the individual may realize all being occurs simultaneously with the understanding of the concept of all being
One of the objectives of this essay is to show and illuminate the foregoing claims regarding the relation between the individual and all being. I.e., the objective in question is concerned with the relative nature of the individual
The focus on the ultimate does not exclude concern with the immediate. The immediate has value in itself and in community: every life contributes or detracts from community. However the immediate and the ultimate are not distinct; they interact; they require, constitute and illuminate one another. However, this is not meant to imply that there is but one way of life; rather, I think that there should be a complementary plurality
There should remain a concern with the contrast or conflict between the immediate and the ultimate. Is not the thought that the individual may achieve the ultimate a contradiction of common sense, of science? One of the objectives of this essay is to show that, whereas the boundary between the immediate and the ultimate has been thought to be absolute, it is in fact relative. Reasons that this relative distinction has been taken as absolute have been discussed above. What is the nature of the distinction? It is, first, that transition from the immediate to the ultimate realm is extremely improbable. However, this statement is an approximation. Improbability itself is based on knowledge and understanding. The theory of being that is developed in this essay itself shows that it is necessary that what is traditionally improbable may, necessarily, be brought into the realm of the immediately probable, the immediately possible. It is a central objective of this essay, of the theory of being, to demonstrate the validity of these claims. This demonstration is not difficult; it is our natural prejudices that make it difficult to see. A second central objective of the essay and a primary objective of the journey is the discovery of ways to bring the infeasible into the realm of the feasible
Thus, the journey was, in the beginning, a personal journey that grew into understanding and transformation of all being – of the universe
That it is possible to understand and realize all possibilities of being requires (1) an adequate concept of what would constitute such understanding and transformation, (2) showing that the goal is achievable, (3) an idea of how it may be achieved, and (4) an attempt to achieve it
The goals of achieving all understanding and all possible transformation may seem to be impossible and the ambition futile and grandiose. It is shown in the essay that the only true impossibilities are logical. All other ‘impossibilities’ are (at most) very improbable or infeasible to a high though not absolute degree. Additionally, consideration of ‘all understanding and transformation’ is important because one of the aims of the essay is an analysis of the concept of possibility
Desirable Goals
Even if ‘all understanding and transformation’ were possible, what could it mean and what would be its value? Would it not involve both immoral and irrelevant ends; and so much detail as to obscure what is worthwhile – and might not a focus on the ultimate obscure the immediate, the here and now? As a result of such considerations, the phrase in quotes may be replaced by ‘all desirable understanding and transformation.’ The idea of desirability (link) includes what is truly worthwhile – of high value, what is moral, and what is feasible
The ideas of desirability, value, morality and feasibility are discussed in the essay where it is found that the meanings of the terms are not given – especially in the realm of all being where it is found that the meanings are interdependent and unfolding. In addition to these general considerations of what is desirable are distinct from the particular events and choices that distinguish a culture or an individual
Foundation
The approach to foundations for the journey include review the traditions, modern and ancient, of understanding and transformation. Although the essay includes an account of some pertinent aspects of the traditions, I have not intended to provide a comprehensive review; such a review is not necessary to the essential conclusions and, therefore, I have described and summarized only the pertinent aspects of my studies and investigations. However, in my investigations and attempts at transformation I have occasionally been able to carry forward the traditions and in some fundamental directions the result may be described as a logical or final conclusion
The studies, investigations, conclusions, and transformations are described in the essay. The nature of the finality of the results is made clear and the claim of finality is justified
Why ‘Journey’ and why ‘Being?’
I have described the total process as a journey because it has not been at all linear and because it has involved study of many ancient and modern disciplines of knowledge and many dimensions of experience and transformation
When an individual –or a civilization– undertakes realization of all being, a journey is required. There appear to be two journeys that weave together – that of the individual and that of all being. Since the individual is a part of the whole the two may be seen as a single journey
Why have I focused on ‘being?’ The concept of being, that which exists or which has existence, may appear to be trivial because ‘everything’ has being. However, the apparent triviality or, equivalently, the universality of its range of application permits profound consequences to the study of the universe in terms of being. One result is an understanding of the nature and origin of the universe without need for further foundation or regress; a related consequence is that, since the approach from being is not dependent on the (possibly) limited categories of mind, matter, or substance as they are traditionally understood, the foundation requires no substances and, additionally, the traditional mind-matter or mind-body problems and the questions of monism versus dualism do not beset the study in terms of being. The metaphysics or Theory of Being that is developed in the essay, is neither monism nor dualism; it is not a metaphysics of substance at all. This remains true even when ‘substance’ is included liberally to include process, extension and relationship. Thus, the Theory of Being has the potential to provide a basis of a foundation to the concepts of time, space, relationship and causation – to the extent that the universe is temporal, causal and so on. It is useful to note that, in the approach from being, it is not being said at the outset that the universe is or is not material or mental in nature. Instead, if there are ultimate categories such as mind, idea, will, spirit, matter, process, or relationship, that determination should be a conclusion rather than a premise of the analysis. In the Theory of Being to be developed, it is determined that there are no ultimate categories such as mind or matter unless they are so extended as to be identical with one another and with being and, as will be seen, the absence of being also called the void. It is found that the classical categories, though not fundamental, have practical uses especially in limited domains such as our cosmological system that is commonly referred to as the universe but is, as will be seen, an infinitesimal part of it
What is the source of the fundamental nature of being? The following considerations arise. As ‘that which exists,’ being excludes no actual thing or kind. Psychologically, taking being as primitive, there is no a priori commitment to the fundamental or non-fundamental character of mind, matter, process or relationship and so there is no existential alienation of individuals of different orientations – materialists, idealists, process thinkers, those whose focus is the immediate, those whose focus is the ultimate and so on. The approach from being may, perhaps, be criticized as lacking in commitment. However, while it is true that there is no a priori commitment to any particular view of the nature of being, there is a commitment to following the adventure and logic of discovery to their outcome. Additionally, since the approach from being permits an a priori admission of partial ignorance, given that knowledge is used in action, there is no absolute prohibition against ‘acts of faith.’ I.e., it is consistent with the approach from being to be an occasional materialist or an occasional idealist; however, the approach from being does show exclusive or absolute ideological thought to be limiting and therefore undesirable in relation to the aims of understanding. These considerations lead to a conclusion regarding the real power of the approach. The idea of being straddles what is known and the unknown; therefore it allows what is known without requiring commitment to it; it values this world without asserting that it is the entire universe; it avoids the perversions of and entrapments in premature ideas regarding the nature of the real; and, as confirmed in principle and by example through the Theory of Being of this essay, it encourages and permits discovery of the real – and an understanding of what constitutes such a discovery
Reasons for the choice of ‘journey’ and ‘being’ and understanding of the concepts is elaborated in detail in the essay. Additionally, the categories of mind, matter, process, relation and others receive further analysis and clarification
Some essential elements and paths: understanding and the journey
Understanding: concepts, meaning, analysis and explanation
Action: experiment, transformation, construction, becoming… and the journey; it is important to emphasize that actual realization (the author’s at publication of this essay) has limits whose nature is not completely understood. What does it mean that I do not completely understand my limits? It means that, when I take a limit to be real I may have misunderstood my limits and actuality. It is common to think that ones positive abilities are limited but ones negative abilities are absolute. This is ‘humility’ and is thought to be a virtue. That it is thought to be a virtue is a kind of sickness if truth is an absolute value even if the virtue has ‘survival value,’ even when it is admired as in ‘he is so accomplished yet so humble.’ I do not understand my limits; this is both realism and a consequence of the theory of being of this essay. The next objective of the journey is an immersion in the realms of being that have been revealed as both possible and necessary in the developments of the ideas outlined in this essay
From the discussion so far, it may be seen that ‘being’ has critical and constructive functions. The critical function includes elimination of the limited categories that have resulted in a limited view of the nature of being and have remained problematic even when called into question. The constructive function includes the development of a Theory of Being that, as will be shown, in eliminating all categories that are limited relative to ‘that which exists,’ provides a foundation without need for further foundation. That is, at least in the question of what underlies the universe, the foundation is final and ultimate. However, the study of being alone is inadequate to the development of even an acquaintance of the variety of possibility and being within the universe so as to complete a ‘Journey in Being’
Some additional elements to the study may be identified. Firstly, the concept of being is not taken as given but is subject to analysis in a number of ways. One way is to address the possible distinction between appearance and reality. The nature of this distinction may be formulated, ‘from among all appearances, which ones correspond to actual things?’ This leads to an analysis of the meaning of being which is taken up in the essay where it is shown that the questions, ‘What is being?’ and ‘What is the meaning of being?’ are identical in their meaning. Another way is to ask, ‘At what time(s) does an object have to exist to count as existing?’ One answer is ‘now.’ Another is to allow an extended meaning of ‘exist’ to allow existence at ‘any time’ to count as existence; this is equivalent to an atemporal or super-temporal view. The super-temporal view, however, is not altogether distinct from the temporal view because ‘now’ is rather indefinite and may for some things count as a fraction of a second and for others count as a duration of eons of time. The super-temporal (and super-spatial) view of being will be shown to provide an approach to a foundation of the concepts of space and time or space-time and, an extension of the meaning of the words (verbs) ‘to be’ and ‘is’… Just as the fundamental concept of being may be subject to analysis, so the meaning of all fundamental concepts may be called into question (simultaneously and interactively) and subject to analysis with fruitful outcomes. Generally, the traditional or usual meanings are not abandoned (those meanings must have some value in understanding the world) but are modified and extended
A second element of the study, then, is the analysis of a system of concepts that provide an understanding of the universe, that is, an explanation of the universe and its contents in ‘simple’ terms. The first concept is that of the universe itself which is ‘all being’ and ‘outside of which there is nothing.’ There is a vagueness to this meaning of the term ‘universe’ that arises on account of the fact that what is in the universe now may be not in it later. This vagueness is eliminated by the atemporal view described above. Although the meaning of ‘universe’ just given is innocuous, it leads to deep consequences, for example, while parts of the universe (may) have been created and have origins, the universe itself cannot have a creator or an origin. Another concept is that of the ‘void’ or absence of being. Absence of being means not only absence of things but absence of patterns and laws and, as will be shown, it is this that permits the foundation without substance or further regress. In addition to universe, being, void (which may be thought of as non-being,) the entire system of concepts that forms the basis of understanding includes logic and logos (divested of any necessary theological connotations,) becoming, form, object, symbol, cosmology, normal cosmological system, order and chaos, the individual and identity (whose analysis reveals relations among individuals and the universe,) human being and society, and knowledge and faith
A third element of understanding that goes beyond ‘study’ is based in the temporal view of the individual. In this view, the individual does not have access to his or her potential at a given time. What is that potential? Mention of the relations among individuals and between the individual and the universe, above, suggest the idea that behind temporal limits, there is an identity. Of course, suggestion is not proof; however, this identity (referred to in many traditions) is demonstrated in the essay. How can I relate this identity to other views, also traditional and including traditional science and traditional common sense, of laws and limits? How is it related to my personal experience as a discrete individual? Conceptually, an ultimate or super-temporal identity can coexist with temporal discreteness of experience. What may be traditionally regarded as impossible, is seen on account of the Theory of Being to be improbable – at least on the account of traditional knowledge which includes science and religion and which seems to be, at least in this life, the best knowledge actually available to me. Therefore, the overcoming of the traditional limits is a process that involves understanding and, on account of incompleteness of my understanding regarding the concrete particulars of my being in this world, should also involve action and experiments in the transformation of being. Here, in the concrete particulars of his or her life, the individual faces a divide between what is actual and what has been revealed by the Theory of Being. What may be seen as a limitation or negative may also be seen as positive, as an adventure, as an invitation to becoming. The Chapter, ‘Journey in Being,’ of this essay describes my experiments in transformation and their foundation in the Theory of Being
Thus, in a number of ways, the adventure of becoming is an open Journey in Being. This central aspect of this essay is motivated in the Introduction (link) and is the theme of the chapter, Journey in Being (link). The emphasis in Foundation is to provide grounding and though its approach is direct, the process of discovery for the ideas in it has been a journey in itself
The Journey So Far
How may these considerations change the world or universe and views of the universe? How may they change an understanding of what is possible for an individual or society?
When writing within a tradition, writers do not need to specify the worldview and assumptions of that tradition and, therefore, it is possible to specify the results of an investigation or discovery in a few words and without confusion. I have drawn much from the traditions and I sometimes write from within a traditional point of view, e.g., a scientific point of view or a myth laden one. (It is important to note that, here, I am neither equating nor distinguishing science and myth and that the definition of what constitutes such activities is, generally, a process. This essay includes, especially, reflections on the nature of science and other ‘kinds’ of knowledge such as myth and religion. I find that, although definition is a process, it is incorrect to assume that the processes of definition are without end. Thus, it is not outside human ability to understand human abilities and institutions)
Although I draw from and embrace tradition, the core of my thought lies at the limiting edges of common thought. Here and there, in the history of discovery and exploration ideas at these edges, windows from ‘our world’ into the entire universe may be found. There is no common context that gives meaning to my thought and its conclusions and, so, it is necessary to read this essay to fully appreciate its meaning and implications
A brief but necessarily inadequate summary is as follows. In general, traditional views such as the cosmology of modern science or myth are found to be local pictures that are roughly valid in their domains of application which are, however, infinitesimal relative to all being. In the normal view, human (animal) being and culture lie within the local pictures and, as such, are severely limited relative to absolute possibility. In the view developed in this essay, these limits are real but not absolute. ‘Journey in Being’ negotiates these limits and, in the realm of understanding, I have been able to encompass –in principle though not in detail– the ‘end of understanding.’ This understanding is not a refutation of the common human experience of limited awareness and being; rather it places those limits in context and denies their absolute character. In the realm of transformation, I have laid out a path from the local to the universal – from the infinitesimal to the infinite; my endeavors thus far remain in-process. Although (my) thought has fathomed unlimited depth, my being, in so far as I am immediately aware of it, remains finite. This finitude is an aspect of experience since I know that one aspect of infinitude lies in the relative nature of limits and boundaries that are taken to be absolute. This could and occasionally does result in a tension between the actual and the possible. The rewards of the experience of infinitude are clear. However, in the wonder of the world there are rewards to finitude
Comment. To a significant degree this has been discussed earlier
Import. PROLOGUE to the original Journey in Being
Alternative title. ‘Journey’
Repetition? Is this not contained in the next and previous headings? In some ways. However, it is also being asked why ‘journey’ is used and not ‘becoming?’ It is not merely that ‘The Becoming of Being’ is awkward. ‘Journey’ signifies: that, at outset, the paths and destinations are unknown – their creation or discovery is part of the journey; that the story follows many threads of which some are dead ends; that the journey is wonderful – enjoyed also for its own sake even in its aspects of boredom and dread; and that the journey continues…
Comment. Explained earlier two (or three in the chapter, ‘Journey in Being…’ reconcile this) interwoven journeys…
Planning. To the following from v2004, add comments that the individual is the generic individual. (In the introduction, I the account includes what is specifically mine.)
‘JOURNEY IN BEING’ is the Journey of all Being; and the story of the universe
‘Journey in Being’ began as my Journey; it began in awe and wonder in being and its variety – revealed in the world, told in words. In the beginning there was enjoyment and not questions, not the word ‘being.’ Enjoyment led to its cultivation; cultivation to search for knowledge –understanding– and then for transformation; and, later, I came to prescribe the search by fundamental goals and questions
Place. The special formatting ‘Journey in Being’
‘Journey in Being’ is the name of two essentially interwoven journeys or stories of being – an (the) individual journey and the journey of all being
The first is an individual story (journey) – that of the author’s travels in being where transformation and understanding interact. Understanding shows what is possible and guides experiment in action and transformation. A greater understanding of the universe – of being, brings a greater degree and variety of being into the realm of what is known to be possible. This connects to the second story
The story (journey) of being – of the one universe requires no motivation to be told. Being is known through its possibilities. Being is conceived in its aspect as a Journey. That is, the trajectory is more a meander than a linear path. Understanding and design interact with chance and undirected change
Journey in Being is all being, all journeys, seen as a journey and includes the individual, society, all disciplines… the universe. However, it emphasizes the dynamic and transforming aspect derived from the nature of being. There is transformation without absolute transformation of identity. It is multiple paths –branching, recombining, originating, terminating– seen as one path
Note: use questions 8 and 9 of TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT BEING
I said that the concrete goals of the journey have been in evolution. This is a consequence of my ambition to explore what is most fundamental for, even though I have always had some feeling for what is most foundation, the exploration has opened up unseen possibilities. Alternatively, conceiving a journey as an open ended exploration or travel, it may be said that there are journeys to be had. The Theory of Being developed in this essay shows the fundamental nature of being without need to refer to another more fundamental level. Therefore, I feel I have achieved some equilibrium with regard to ‘concrete’ goals. This is not altogether given since the nature of the goals has become more clear, more elaborate and more definite since my early recognition in the fall of 2003 of the nature of the theory. As examples, the intimate connection among –perhaps even identity of– metaphysics, logic and cosmology that is well recognized in the literature has become much clearer as a result of application of the theory; and the mutual development of the theory and a variety of disciplines has become possible since the establishment or demonstration of the theory
Ambitions include motives or motivation and goals include objectives and purposes
It is not to be assumed that every being or all being have ‘intrinsic purpose’ or that such purposes are identical to the stated or avowed purposes of any particular individual. Intrinsic purposes are to be shown
Although human ethics or morals are bound to human life they are not unquestionable even to human beings. However, ultimate being is integral over all being and there, perhaps, proximate morals have no meaning
The ultimate purpose of the Journey in Being is the realization of all being… which is not (merely) because all being illuminates individual being but because it is the limit of individual being
Comment. The original title was ‘Central Goal and Ambition’
Comment. This has been discussed earlier
Note. Keep only essentials in simple but charismatic language here and details to the part, ‘Journey in Being’
The central ambition and goal is the understanding and realization of all possibilities of being
The foundation of the goal will be shown to be in metaphysics (logic.) Questions of significance – of desirability, feasibility and meaning (awareness and identity) are also considered. Finally, although the foundation of the goal may be found in metaphysics, realization requires process and experiment
All possibilities… include the immediate (living-in-the-present) and the ultimate… and the continuum that lies between the limit points. The theme of the immediate and the ultimate and their mutually sustaining relation is developed in the essay. I have given some justification of the following beliefs that some will regard as common sense but with which others will take issue. Practice and thought, the immediate and the ultimate, and the particular and the universal are mutually sustaining and enhancing; and further, this truth is not merely a practical truth but a necessary one. It is necessary in that the pairs, practice-thought and immediacy-ultimacy cannot be separated in a way that allows practice or thought, immediacy or ultimacy, or particularity or universality to exist in isolation
In the early origins of the ideas developed in this essay, it was not an intent –or thought– to address every significant problem and issue of metaphysics and every significant human problem. Later, when the main ideas had become a part of my intuition, it seemed that a complete treatment of metaphysics might be within grasp. Finally, the analysis of being developed in this essay provided a framework for both metaphysics and human concerns. Specifically, a complete treatment of ‘general metaphysics’ became possible. Human concerns are, perhaps, more varied and singular in nature and so a complete treatment does not seem within grasp – even if it were desirable. However, the ideas developed do provide a framework for understanding the scope of human concerns and addressing those concerns. Thus the theory of being has the following implications…
These ambitions and goals are on the way to or serve the central ones
Achievements are discussed below
An enumeration and resolution of the problems of general metaphysics… and an elaboration in terms of implications for the nature and content of the more specialized disciplines
The Theory of Being developed in this essay has implications for the problems of metaphysics and, more generally, for thought and action. These consequences, in turn, clarify the meaning and significance of the theory. An objective is to develop the framework of interactions, to work out details for some topics of especial interest and to systematically list possibilities for further development
A framework that makes possible an intelligent though open understanding of the scope of human concerns and an approach to their address… and an elaboration in terms of implications for specific areas of activity
An individual goal includes the experience of limits and the nature of limits and the enjoyment of possibility (the experience of all modes of being, knowing and transformation are included)
To achieve the goal of realization, the individual must retrace, to the extent possible, in knowledge and action, the journey of all being
Thus, ‘journey in being’ refers to an individual journey –in this introduction I emphasize my journey– and to the journey of all being
It is now clear that the ambitions and goals of the journey were not given from the beginning. Instead, they have arisen as part of the process. As my concept of the nature of being and possibility grew so, too, did my ambition. At first there is the glimmer of an idea whose source may be a stray thought or something read somewhere in myth, science, logic, Vedanta… Various ideas come into focus, initially as a loosely bound intuition. As the intuition becomes definite, it becomes possible to subject it to analysis; demonstration of its theses becomes possible. This makes possible further development. Some such ideas are the identity of the individual with all being and the nature of limits, that the only absolute limits are those of logic, that all other limits are limits of feasibility, that what is possible is in some sense necessary, the place of ‘normal reality’ in such an ultimate perspective, the thought that while the ideas can be given a logical form their realization requires application in the life of an individual and community
Normal limits include those of common and normal scientific sense but is certainly not rational and certainly various individuals –the makers of myth and art and literature, the great charismatic figures of religion and human action, scientific revolutionaries– have questioned such limits in various ways.
Review title and place. The title is about the agent: who or what is doing the realizing and should be more direct, more revealing…
Who or what is to understand and to realize all possibilities? The response is any entity, e.g., (1) An individual, and (2) All being. (The uses of ‘Being’ in this essay are clarified later; here, being may be thought of as similar to ‘entity.’) The realization by ‘all being’ is identical to the universe (taken to be all being, outside of which there is nothing) in its evolution or history. Thus the understanding and realization in question must include the valid parts of all traditions of knowledge and transformation… The idea that an individual may achieve what is accessible to all being appears to be paradoxical. ‘Achievement of all possibilities,’ taken literally, would be futile and without any value; however, modification to ‘achievement of all significant possibilities’ does not remove the sense of paradox; this apparent paradox is addressed in what follows
Duplication. Note that there is a similar comment in the preface under ‘The Audience.’ This duplication is unnecessary and unenlightening; one of the locations may merely reference the idea and the other location…
Placement. This discussion may have parts placed here and (overlapping) parts placed in the section, ‘foundation.’ The parts placed here should be relatively non-technical
Replace: ‘cool,’ the phrases ‘whole systems’ and ‘cool systems’ by something more descriptive; and ‘lazy complacency…’ by something that sounds less angry but is more critical
Why ‘Whole Systems’ and not the modern tendency to ‘Cool Systems,’ to lazy complacency and mere icon smashing which can be done by any raging bull or impotent cow with one or two neurons? In the end, it is the whole that is cool… that provides the greater insight into a greater variety of possibilities, that enables discovery, creation and transformation, that provides the reader with the tools to engage in the journey as participant rather than spectator. One source of ‘Whole Systems’ is recorded thought of the traditions – past and present. These are not complete as may be recognized and as is demonstrated by the Theory of Being developed here. However, the traditions are a source towards completion – as far as it is possible – and this is a reason, in addition to others including the practical ones, to analyze all significant issues of Being including Human Being especially including, as a test, Complete Systems of Problems of Metaphysics. Formally, a Theory of Being, a World View, or a Metaphysics is an attempt at a whole system. Because the elements of the world (universe) interact, so may the concepts interact under the relational (theoretical) structure of the metaphysics – this is why it is essential to consider a metaphysics as a whole rather than piecemeal. However, how can the completeness of a metaphysical system be known? Two ways arise: logical and empirical verification. The Theory of Being of the present document contains both elements. In its most general features, the theory follows from logical considerations and the only empirical elements are given e.g. being i.e. existence (something exists) and, in the understanding of the local phase-epoch of the universe, the existence of experience. In the more detailed development, the present Theory of Being has (necessarily) both logical-conceptual elements regarding the structure of the subject matter and empirical elements concerning the ‘facts’ of the subject
Origins and Paths of the Journey
Alternate title: paths ® trajectories
Eliminate specific references such as ‘Glacier National Park, Montana?’
Although an individual may have an origin, there is no origin to all being
Time is essential to the individual in various ways: time of day, season, phase of life… this does not diminish being-in-the-present or timelessness
In the live of the individual: the individual comes to realize that she or he is on a journey… and then comes to cultivate the journey and its dimensions and possibilities
Explains the significance of the individual story or journey. Not biographical in nature i.e. does not emphasize what is distinctive about the author’s life but what may be universal to individual effort: contains information that displays the process as a journey, that may inspire and concern others with similar ambitions, that shows the relations between the individual and the universal… and that may be useful, in later sections, in illuminating the process of discovery and creation. When greatness is assigned to individual effort it is often done in a way that depicts the individual as destined for greatness. There is a view, according to the Theory of Being developed in this essay, in which there is intrinsic significance to the efforts of the individual. This significance does not lie in mere effort but in dedicated effort, effort that is both synthetic –therefore sustained and holistic– and reflective or critical and analytic. Thus while some works achieve recognition and ‘greatness’ these measures of accomplishment are not measures of the significance of individual effort. The significance of these thoughts is not that they constitute justification for effort but that they give effort meaning that is independent of the outcome. At the same time, the same Theory of Being, shows effort and hypothesis to be a form of contact with the real. The personal elements of the story are segregated to this section
Topics may be as follows
Add comment: In the beginning I emphasize the INTUITION regarding the journey and its dimensions; justification, logic come later in the section ‘Foundation’ and elaboration in the section ‘Journey in Being’
Intuition first, in this introduction; logic, later in ‘Foundation’
Incorporate the following
The origins of the ‘Journey’ in my life are in my explorations in ideas, life and the world, initially unstructured and naïve. There is an account of my explorations in the NARRATIVE [see the SOURCES] for the journey. As the idea of the journey grew so, too, did my understanding of the nature of the process that I had undertaken. Thus, the essay has two main sections: a foundation in BEING and an outline of the JOURNEY. Another personal source of the idea of a journey came from my enjoyment of hiking in ‘primitive’ places. I have spent four to twelve weeks every year in such places from Barranca del Cobre in Mexico to Glacier National Park, Montana. The physical beauty and aloneness, the physical exertion, and the extended reflection have been a source of inspiration. I have had my best ideas in these periods. Typically, the remainder of a year is spent working out and writing down the ideas in essay form. I came to think of my periods of extended hiking and living under the stars as a ‘Journey-Quest…’ For the last fifteen years, I have been employed in a psychiatric hospital. Working for a living outside the academic environment has given my life and my work a certain truth. While I miss the luxury of extended research in an academic environment, regular work has forced me to focus on essential truth – the truth of my being and the truth of the typical individual and her or his life
What is the essence of the learning from nature? There are the secondary factors: being away from distractions; of the pressure to conform; there is a space for cognition-feeling to have a freedom to expand; there is health factor, beauty and rhythm…However, the main intrinsic and positive factor is that the natural world evokes a dimension of self –as do many other situations– that include the attunement and presence of senses and body; that that dimension includes intimation of the infinite is secondary
What are the origins of my journey? It is essential to the journey that my ambitions, the goals of the journey were not determined in advance. I was encouraged, early in life, to choose a path and follow it – to devote all my energies to the chosen path: this was the way in which my father had lived his life. The intention was that I should choose from among the traditional careers and follow the chosen one. Although I elected to follow a career, it was by default – not because the chosen career was in any way compelling. My relationship to any career has been tenuous. There is a sense, however, in which I did select a ‘path.’ It seems to me that I have always wanted to do ‘the most fundamental thing.’ Early, it seemed that the most fundamental thing might be one of the conventional ways – scientist, writer, poet and so on. Although each way had some appeal, no particular way had enough appeal to compel. This is characteristic of my journey. Whatever is most fundamental is not given in advance and, to the extent that it has been determined, it is a result of the journey. I.e., discovery of the goals of the journey has been a part of it. Even though I am satisfied that the goals of the journey as stated here have some finality, I am not sure that these objectives are to remain my goals until I die – or whether I am going to continue to have such goals. I have given much to my purposes and much has been ‘taken’ from me; it is not my hope to journey outward forever – in addition to a journey in becoming there is also a journey within being… I could describe the openness of the journey as perceptive – in contrast to judgmental. Here, the meanings of the attitudes of perception and judgment are as follows. In making any commitment, the perceptive attitude is one of seeking and being open to further information; the judgmental attitude hastens to make and be final. Clearly, in view of practical limits to human abilities, some combination of the attitudes is good. There is, however, no universal optimal combination of the attitudes. If someone is threatening to shoot me, I need to commit very rapidly to action – so rapidly that the process of perception, evaluation of the situation, commitment to action and action is not fully implicit. On the other hand, if I am asking about the nature of being there is no need for haste in coming to a conclusion. Haste, in fact, may detract from the quality of the conclusion. However, any conclusion about the nature of being is not without practical consequences. Therefore, conclusions may be made and are consistent with the perceptive attitude: even though conclusions are made and applied they continue to be regarded as tentative. The theory of being has shown, however, that some conclusions are final. The perceptive attitude accepts this but retains some doubt: perhaps there has been some error or some incompleteness in coming to the conclusion. This attitude has been useful for it has led to improvement, refinement and application (testing) of the theory. What is the source of my attitude of perception? As far as it has to do with my socialization, the primary source is in my mother’s attitudes. Although my mother was not a pure perceiver, perception may have been one of her ideals and she encouraged openness in her children. As the older child of two siblings, I was perhaps influence more by mother but it is clear that my attitudes bear the imprint of the influence of my father as well. There were other influences. I was lucky to have a small number of remarkable teachers in high school – teachers who encouraged understanding over rote memory though not at the expense of technical mastery. However, I cannot explain the perceptive attitude, the years of openness in search of the ‘most fundamental’ entirely on the basis of ‘nurture.’ My emotional makeup includes joy and therefore wonder at the experience of the world. This was encouraged (by my mother) but encouragement alone would not be sufficient. A modern theory of personality holds personality development to be the result of the mutual interaction of social influence, more or less innate traits and personal history. Thus, an individual without a certain degree of emotional sensitivity will not develop in certain ways. In addition to the positive contribution of my makeup and the incidental contributions of my life to my ‘journey’ there may also be certain ‘negative’ influences. The positive contributions include my emotional makeup and my conceptual ability. The negative may include a good but not excellent memory that may have encouraged the conceptual development and my intolerance for what seems to be pointless activity and sacrifice that makes my personal goals more important than the traditional opportunities provided by society
An individual may identify a beginning to his or her awareness. However, beginnings and ends have an arbitrary character. I did not create myself – I am not immediately aware of having created my ‘original’ being. A time arrives at which the individual realizes that a journey has been undertaken – perhaps by choice. Thereafter, there may be neither beginning nor end. One is on the journey. The landscape – the character of the journey changes on the way. The naïve phase of my journey, a part of The Journey, was filled with experiment and wonder: a travel through knowledge and being. I read, thought, experienced, and traveled. I was able to build what I thought to be a detailed and comprehensive picture of many areas of knowledge. There was labor and enjoyment. The distillations from the details, the pictures I built, aided by the intuition, were metaphors whereby to see all being. Metaphor builds upon metaphor – I use the term to emphasize the building of a picture. On the way, I arrived at a place where I thought, ‘I understand the extent of knowledge and being.’ I characterize that thought as confident but not as arrogant. The force of thought itself may be such as to give confidence. A journey through ideas presents, at times, with such force and clarity, as if it is perception of a landscape rather than creation or discovery. Strangeness and familiarity are bound together. Cognition is as if re-cognition. The force of vision says, ‘Anyone can know, who will see.’ Doubt is never absent but stands in balance with confidence. Doubt and confidence are mutually generative. Confidence makes for the freedom of absolute doubt rather than of merely neurotic doubt. Doubt is a dam, thought is the river that feeds the reservoir until it breaks through… Every plateau of confidence is an occasion for celebration but as familiarity sets in may also be a reason for dissatisfaction. At first, there is a vague discomfort, a message – perhaps from the dim- or the un-conscious. Old metaphors are subject to criticism; their inadequacy becomes obvious – at the same time their realm of adequacy becomes clearly defined… I sought new metaphors, found fresh vision. A closed view of being gave way to an open view… and, in openness, I was able to see once more: the world revealed something of itself – a perspective with an end to questions. On the way, I arrived at a place where I thought, again, ‘I understand the extent of knowledge and being.’ The place was familiar and new. The cycle is recognized but cynicism is held at bay: eternal trial, success and dissolution is not ultimate; freshness remains. Fresh metaphors, fresh pictures, fresh distillations continue to be sought. Understanding of the nature of metaphor is sought: knowledge as a picture or representation has limits. Knowledge arose in the world, was not imposed from outside – there is no outside. From time to time, knowledge appears to gain independence –validity is determined by criteria– but this occurs only in limited fields of endeavor. The feeling of walking on water is an illusion; one is immersed in the water; this is recognized as good. There is a place of repose where one sees that one’s metaphors have a character, not only of being of the world, but also of being in-the-world. Knowledge and action remain intertwined and no final foundation is available or desired to be sought… Doubt, if absolute, applies also to itself. Thus, doubt has a self-limiting character. Absolute doubt is not possible. It is conceivable that being may arrive at a place of completion without foundation… It is with these characteristic thoughts in mind that I permit myself, in the following, to use the phrase, ‘All essential dimensions of being.’ While the phrase may lack absolute justification, its use may be explained. Arguments for completeness of the justification may be contemplated. The journey continues…
This is a new section. What is the proper title, location? What is its purpose? The purposes are as follows. (1) Reveal implicit deceptions in thought so that they can be eliminated, and for personal benefit, self-deceptions –intellectual and other– in my life. (2) It is my experience that in exposing deceptions, whether personal or those of the cultures within which I live, the result is at first a constraint but then as the entire web of untruth is revealed, way is made for truth itself. This I have experienced in many ways, not the least of which is the theory of being of this essay and its consequences. It is not my intent, here, to be self-indulgent or to provide easy justifications. The following is a beginning
Attempt to expand my vision to the actual universe. This is in contrast opposite of conceiving the universe in one’s image. It is admitted that escaping one’s image is not easy and there may be some inherent limitation even though I have argued that this inherence does not obtain in all ways. Examine this
Adventure. That I conceive being as a journey
Power and will: first, power is the ability to have an effect, to influence… and this is not inherently ‘control’ … ‘power’ is broad and the idea includes control even though control is not the intended connotation in all uses of ‘power.’ however, ‘power’ does include: the sense of power derived from vision, making a contribution, making a mark, influence, control, ‘in your face’ to the cultural and logical police, my development –my father, working out of expectations– others’, my own, creatively and slavishly and compulsively… the central meaning of power at this level: development and application of one’s abilities and influence according to values (refined or raw)
Even though I have confidence in it, it is important to expose the logic – my logic (theory of being.) It is years of living in the perceptive mode (Jung: relegate to the section, ‘Sources and Influences’) that made emergence of and confidence in the logic possible. The stages of the development were (1) the intuition that the universe is equivalent to nothingness based, in part, in the ‘tyranny of necessity,’ (2) the thought from theoretical physics that a coming into being of a physical universe is not a violation of conservation of energy and though it would be an apparent violation of classical physics it does not appear to violate quantum theory, (3) the thought, however, that the argument from physics is suggestive but not a justification, (4) living with the intuition and working out various consequences, (5) meanwhile continuing to develop my ideas about various special topics such as mind and consciousness, the nature of identity and its possibilities, the categories of intuition, the nature of cognition and emotion, mechanisms for the origin from nothingness, (6) similarly, meanwhile continuing an interest and studies in various disciplines such as theoretical physics, evolutionary biology, (7) continuing a practical interest in using relations among the levels of awareness –from bright and central consciousness to dim and peripheral awareness to the unconscious– and the ‘material level’ toward greater awareness and transformation, (8) attempting to prove that the universe is equivalent to nothingness (which now finds form in sections such as SCIENCE AND REALITY the nature of possibility and necessity and an investigation into the extent of possibility or kind of being) (9) the thought to investigate the nature of nothingness itself, elaboration of its nature and consequences including the idea that there are no laws or patterns in nothingness and the consequent proof of its equivalence to all being, (10) subsequent insights into metaphysics, the nature of the universe, logic, mind, value and faith, and (11) a ripple of consequences through all the specialized developments of item 6 of the consequences of the ‘new’ metaphysics with simultaneous enhanced understanding of the nature of being... In summary, the metaphysics significantly informs the component studies while the studies taken together in light of the metaphysics provide a detailed picture of the universe that is in a number of ways a significant advance over the traditional pictures. It is worthwhile emphasizing that I have only pointed out some of the component studies in the foregoing list and that some of the studies such as those on mind, identity and possibility are fundamental, in parallel with the metaphysics, in building the picture. A consequence of this picture is that the possibilities in the of areas of transformation and action are significantly enhanced
… And, if the logic is in error or if there are correctible errors in it, or if it is incomplete (which it surely is at least in the sense of elaboration) then it is exposure and the mode of perception (as an arrow and not a mere inert openness) that will show the necessary error, correct the contingent errors, and provide some valuable elaboration of detail and human element
Alternate title: paths ® trajectories
The Second Set of Discussions from ‘Metaphysics and Philosophy in Light of the Theory of Being’
Philosophy and Journey in Being. The Nature of Changing Conceptions of Philosophy: Essential or Whimsical
Comment on the role of ideas and thought – and, in particular, philosophy. It is obvious that ideas and action interact. What is the nature of the interaction? Thought conditions and learns from action (experiment is a form of action.) What is the role of philosophy, i.e., philosophical thought in the ‘journey?’ An answer to these questions will draw from and may contribute to the concept of philosophy and understanding of its role in the world. In order to answer the questions, it is useful to make some distinctions. The first distinction is that of thought as an end in itself vs. thought as an instrument. Obviously, the distinction is not absolute or clear cut and is a distinction of an attitude toward thought rather than thought itself. However, when thought is cultivated as an end there may be a freedom whose result is a productive and useful fertility of imagination – both constructive and critical. At the same time, there is an opposite to fertility where thought is cultivated as sophistication and whose result may be sterility. Remembering that thought has or may have application and occasionally subjecting the direction of thought to the needs of action is useful. (This includes experiment and logic for experiment is, as noted, a form of action and logic may arise in the application of thought to thought. In the origins, thought and action arise mutually and it may seem that action is an application of thought; however this view may warp understanding of the originally connected nature of thought and action.) How thought is subjected to the needs of action requires care or else the needs of action may be exaggerated and may eliminate the freedom that is necessary to fertility of imagination and of criticism. A second distinction that of philosophical reflection vs. the tradition of philosophy. Again, there is no absolute distinction. The traditions of thought are historical in their development; traditional problems of both content and approach do not appear in mature form at the outset but arise in natural, though not altogether inevitable, sequence as a tradition develops. To even become aware of certain problems requires earlier thought that reveals the problems. In the working out of the issues, there are traditions of fruitful thought but there are also dead ends that arise because it cannot always be known in advance whether a line of investigation will be fruitful or whether a set of concepts and analysis are appropriate to a problem. It be known precisely when adherence to a paradigm becomes perverse. However, perversion is not avoidable. Here and there, in the history of philosophy, a line of investigation becomes a fashion, a critical endeavor is taken too seriously – as complete in itself, or philosophers set up walls that effectively isolate it. Fashion in thought arises, in part, the value of an approach cannot always be predicted but also because thought is a community endeavor. ‘Philosophical reflection’ is useful in an understanding of the world; the traditions are important to reflection. Some immersion in a tradition of thought is necessary to understand it, to see why its problems are problems, and to see its significance. The best reflection is informed by the traditions, has freedom of imagination and criticism, and combines these elements with care and criticism. In my thought there have been periods in which I cultivated reflection (including philosophy) for its own sake, i.e., for enjoyment; I now see that this cultivation may have been described as ‘for its own sake’ but was, and continues to be, in fact, for enhanced perception, for a greater vision and understanding of the world (the importance of both tradition and criticism is the contribution to this end.) Thus, reflection, including reflection that is philosophical in nature and is informed by the tradition of philosophy, is and has been an element of my journey
Evolution and materialism, search for the absolute, the theory of being… dynamics of being and transformation
Experience, Projects and Commitments
Details: work; relationships; therapeutic relationships; living in nature; travel; learning and thought; seeking transformation
The significance of ‘projects’ and ‘commitments’ is important in the literature of existential thought
Experience: what is significant is the contribution of experience and its enjoyment to ideas and transformation. Work: teaching, consulting, restaurant, healthcare including mental health. Relationships. Therapeutic relationships: learning aspects of relationships in general; being real in the presence of others – being with feeling in the moment. Living in nature: the positive aspects of being; reflection; being apart from human culture. Travel. Learning and thought: education, research, development, world of ideas; writing, construction and criticism. Seeking transformation: dreams, meditation, dynamics
I am not implying that experiment as a search for experience is ‘necessary’ but that there is in my case a contribution to the development of the ideas
The Theory of Being stands close to the logical center of this essay and has significance for any understanding of being and the possibilities of being. The deep and, in a number of ways, final character of the significance of the theory is developed in FOUNDATION (link). A review of the development illuminates the nature of discovery and of knowledge
In the outline of the development earlier, I emphasized that discovery occurs in a ‘dual space.’ The theory and its constituent concepts are not known in advance even though there may be some intuition of what they might be. Therefore, the development of a theory is not merely one of proof or demonstration. Rather, the search for the correct form of the theory and its concepts and the demonstration of validity occur together; and, once a satisfactory theory has been attained, ongoing elaboration and application of the theory, in broadening its known domain of validity, constitute an ongoing demonstration… The Theory of Being has been shown to have ontological finality. Therefore, the development of the theory involves (1) continuing to criticize the argument for finality, and (2) developing the application of the theory to the range of knowledge and experience, which process has implications for the significance and meaning of the theory and the development and (re-) foundation of the disciplines of knowledge and dimensions of experience
Some key stages in the development were: emergence of the idea and outline of the theory; the intuitive phase of reflection and tentative application; key insights; the logical development of the theory; criticism, elaboration and application of the theory
In the growth of my thought on knowledge and being, in reflection on what must be their nature, there was a gradual transformation of my understanding. The outcome was an intuitive outline of the elements of the theory of being. I had the intuition that the theory was essentially true and the insights that it would provide the foundation for the journey as follows: the theory would show or, at least, illuminate the variety and extent of what was possible, that it was possible and how it might be possible. Additionally, the theory would be the core of a revolutionary metaphysics. I did not initially anticipate the extent of the revolution – that the metaphysics would be one that grounded all being without need for a more fundamental level or regress of explanation. However, although I felt that my intuitions were true, I was unable to prove it for roughly five years from the original glimmer of the theory and its potential. I did not have a clear idea of how to provide proof or whether a proof was possible. It is certainly true that I had no clue as to how simple it would be to show the truth of the theory or how universal that truth would be – its universality would not merely be that it applied to all being but also that it would show the extent of all being. I sometimes wrote and thought as if the theory were true. The question arises whether, in the absence of certainty, there was something ‘wrong’ in that manner of behavior. Did I actually have an intuition of the theory and its truth or did I merely hope that it might be true? Certainly, the intuition was not merely based in hope. There was basis, not only in my intuitive experience of being, of my seeking and reading of the searches of others, but also in science. It is a simple fact of theoretical physics that, since the energy of the gravitational field is negative, the net energy of the actual universe may be zero; therefore, the universe may be equivalent to the void. At least, origin of the universe from the void does not necessarily violate the conservation of energy principle. However this was not proof. It is fortunate that it was not proof or, more accurately, it is fortunate that I did not take either my intuition or the insight from physics as proof for the lack of proof required that I continue to search for a way to see the truth of the theory and the outcome was a proof that was simple, universal and independent of my feeling, my intuition and the insight from science. I could not the intuitions and insights as proof for they were not proof. Additionally, the statement of the theory and its interface with the ‘known universe,’ including day-to-day life, seemed to disrupt common sense and, perhaps, science and reason as well even though the energy principle was not violated. In this phase I had times of confidence and times of doubt in the ideas. In times of doubt I would sometimes reflect as follows. There is a perspective in which knowledge is always tentative but its purpose includes action. Therefore, when action is indicated, either because immediate action is necessary or because there is perceived value in action, e.g., potential for positive outcomes despite risks, it must be based in random choice or in choice based in tentative knowledge. This is the root meaning of faith as I am using it in the present section. However, faith has a further connotation that may enhance the quality of action. A ‘lukewarm’ faith may result in hesitation or an action that is lacking in adequate vigor and trust of the intuition. Therefore, confidence is a valid aspect of faith – over and above self-affirmation. The extreme case of absolute faith may have indication in dire crisis or perception of great value to the potential outcome. However, I did not achieve absolute faith in the intuitive phase and this is, undoubtedly, a function of my system of attitudes. I.e., the partial ‘faith’ that I carried also contained doubt. I cannot say that this is ‘the’ best course of action but it served the development of the theory and my ego-orientation well. An outcome of partial faith, doubt, criticism and reflection was the mature Theory of Being. Once the rational development was in place, faith was no longer necessary except that arguments against the theory continued to occur to me and some faith was required to address those arguments and, especially, with the thought that I might not be able to overcome all arguments. I continue to maintain this small degree of faith. Since the rational development, then, faith, to the varying degree that it occurred, has been displaced and this has made possible sharpening of the theory and the broadening of its application. However, the need for faith has arisen again
The next phase of the Journey in Being, already begun years ago, is the phase of transformation, experiment and social action. I expect and have the intuition that what is necessary will be to live as though the theory is true which is not the same as knowing it is true. Since this involves at least two risks, firstly that I might not achieve success and secondly that I will need to give up some part of my secure and comfortable life, faith will be necessary to commitment and intensity of action
Additionally, I hold living-in-faith-and-action (as I have described faith) to be at least equal in value to a life in which action is a consequence of knowledge and faith
These reflections raise and illuminate the following question about the kind of value that may be attached to knowledge in relation to action. Is it a universal value that the highest action should proceed rationally from certain knowledge? The reflections go toward showing that while a basis of action in knowledge is sometimes possible and good, to make this a universal requirement would stultify life – would have stagnation as its consequence. However, the questions raised are not merely those of the values of knowledge, of the ways in which knowledge may be used, of the occasions for use of knowledge and of occasions for (relatively) direct action. Fundamental issue that are also raised are those of the nature of knowledge and its relation to being. The following conclusion, implicit though not demonstrated in these reflections, is taken up and developed in KNOWLEDGE AND CERTAINTY and subsequently in this essay: although there is a place for accumulating knowledge and using it in design and action, ultimately and in their root natures, knowledge and being are interwoven, that there is no ultimate justification of knowledge in isolation from being – and, since such an isolation is constitutively impossible, it cannot be necessary or needed
Alternate title: ‘Form of the Narrative…’ the reason I consider this alternative is so as to avoid confusion with the later section, ‘Introduction to the Essay’
Content of the section. Briefly, (a) the form of the narrative is the form of the journey, (b) there is utility to this form of presentation – as expressing value and in displaying a model, and (c) the inadequacies of what has become the supposed impersonal and objective mode (in the end, it is the individual combined with the universal that is ‘objective…’) Refer to the ambition above and that it is of necessity a journey; further there are two views of being of which one sees it as a journey of becoming. The contents of this section are: (1) That the essay is a narration of the journey and its in-process outcomes. (2) That the journey has two main elements or phases: understanding and transformation. (3) The understanding is laid out in the first main chapter, ‘Foundation,’ and is an interactive one of the universe of being and of those aspects of this world that I think intrinsically significant and pertinent to the journey, i.e., to the understanding as a whole and to transformation. The development of the understanding is a part of the journey but also a partial foundation for transformation. Although I think that essential the core of the understanding is complete I remain open to new learning regarding the core and the details in light of new thought and transformation. Emphasize that the understanding necessarily covers much of the traditions of thought but is not intended to be complete or a review. Instead it focuses on what is important to the objectives; this necessarily covers some central themes from the history of ideas; the themes and concepts are always subject to evaluation; as necessary they are combined with new concepts and arguments into a connected account which is often an advance upon the traditions as they stand until the present time; such advances may be pointed out at their locations. (4) The second main chapter, ‘Journey in Being, reviews the understanding and its significance and lays out the in-process phase of transformation. The developments of ‘Foundation’ make it possible to describe a “complete and minimal system of experiments” in transformation. The relation between this chapter and the tradition of disciplines of transformation is similar to the relation between ‘Foundation’ and the traditions of thought. In the discussion of transformation, I have described my progress in transformation – and designs, plans and hopes for the future. Placement. Abbreviate and place / eliminate excess. Since ‘FORM’ has been imported from the preface, at least some of its contents should be placed in the sections, ‘THE CENTRAL GOAL…’ and ‘WHAT IS THE JOURNEY IN BEING?’
The table of contents points to explanations of the significance of the title, ‘Journey in Being.’ A very short explanation will be useful here
The origin of this essay was in an early interest in my immediate world. I asked, “What is the nature of that world and what is possible within its realm? What can I understand? What can I do? What can I become?” I found, inspired in part by the traditions of ideas, that the immediate and the ultimate (which includes the immediate) are interwoven. The main ambition that has motivated the Journey in Being is understanding and realizing all possibilities, ultimate and immediate, of being
An objective of this essay, noted in the previous paragraph, is to show relations between (understanding of) the immediate world and the Universe (outside of which there is nothing.) In the essay that follows, I have developed an understanding of the universe that, in its foundation, is shown to be deeper than that of science and the traditions of ideas. Although I have supported this assertion with precise arguments, readers must, of course, evaluate this and all other claims for themselves. The core of the understanding is more precise than science and the precision is obtained by maintaining the description at a level that (1) permits the application of reason (logic) and (2) avoids conflict with science in its domain of application. In the introduction, I have emphasized what is universal and foundational and what may be revolutionary
Since the outcome of my efforts is an understanding of (all) being and of transformation (realization) in process, the essay combines two forms: (1) Presentation of ideas, concepts, arguments and conclusions regarding being, and (2) Narrative of the journey in transformation and understanding – and the underlying ideas and motives
Note the repetition of the following in The Significance of the Journey
Presentation of the narrative as a journey is important to understanding the essay and to its usefulness to others who would undertake or continue a journey…
I said that the essay is about all possibilities. A number problems with use of the word, ‘all’ should be mentioned. I will mention some problems here and provide a more complete discussion later
One problem is that in attempting to list all things there is a potential for paradox. Another concern is that, even if paradox is avoided, how is it possible to know that every thing has been included or listed in a descriptive (conceptual) scheme? The nature of the paradoxes, the meaning of ‘all,’ and (attempted) resolutions of the problems are taken up, later, in the essay
It might seem that my interest in all possibilities excludes an interest in the immediate present. To assume so would be in error and extent of the error would exceed the logical point that all possibilities include immediate actualities. My interest began in the immediate world – the world of people, of blue skies and of the day-to-day. In order to maintain an interest in the immediate, I do not have to try – it is sufficient that I am alive. Even in the theoretical developments of the essay, there is concern with immediate and ultimate affairs and in their interaction. The interest in the ultimate illuminates the immediate – in terms of understanding and significance.
Another concern with the ambition to understand and realize all possibilities is that some may not be good and others may require an enormous commitment of resources. This concern is the occasion to consider the related concepts of feasibility and desirability that are taken up later
Plan. This is a new section that takes up the Two Paths as a Journey-Quest. Emphases: (1) That the Journey-Quest is my life as a quest in integral interaction with my designs and experiments in transformation, (2) Journey-Quest also refers to the designs and experiments in transformation, (3) That the modes of transformation include transformation of being itself including my being and body and the special but essential case of transformation in ideas and knowledge, and, most importantly, (4) The methods (Yogas) of transformation which include:
Contemplation. I could use the phrase Gñana-Yoga except that this might be misleading. Although this usually means ‘concentration on spiritual things as a form of private devotion,’ I use the term to refer to reflection and discovery in ideas as in the Theory of Being and so on and the aids to discovery which include study, incubation and reflection, environment including routine and travel in nature
Transformation. My intention in using this phrase requires careful elaboration; perhaps another word or a qualifier ‘x-transformation’ would be appropriate. I could use the generic phrase ‘Yoga’ as including the four traditional Yogas of the Gita but this might be misleading and limiting. What I mean: I mean to include all modes and methods of transformation of identity (body, mind etc. and including complete change so long as there is a sense of continuity of identity) from ‘individual’ to ‘all being,’ i.e., Atman ® Brahman. Naturally, contemplation is a special case. All the Yogas are included. I include personal identification with Brahman that I have sought in my travels in nature, i.e., away from immediate civilization in which no more than openness is prerequisite and the identification comes while walking or contemplating over extended periods in the woods, up the side of a mountain trough trees, grasses and above the tree line… or at a lakeside… I also include all the specific experimental modes that have been extensively cataloged in the 2003 version of Journey in Being and other documents
Plan. Consider replacing the word ‘achievements’
My central ambition in ‘Journey in Being’ is to understand and realize all possibilities of being. ‘All possibilities’ include the immediate and the ultimate and their relations and interactions. In this essay I will show that the Universe (which is made up of all things) is infinitely greater than the ‘universe’ of various conceptions such as modern science and traditional religions and mythologies
How can this be shown? How is it even possible to conceive of ‘the Universe which is infinitely greater than the universes of modern science and traditional religions and mythologies?’ ‘All possibilities’ may seem to be not only impossible but not even desirable. The phrase may be changed to ‘all meaningful and significant possibilities’ but the question, “What is the meaning of the phrase, ‘meaningful and significant’?” immediately arises. Providing a satisfactory answer to these questions is one of the purposes of this essay
Plan. The following distinctions and comments constitute an emphasis of the material on being that should be in the introduction vs. in Chapter 1 – Foundation
The history of thought may be characterized by a ‘tension’ between reduction and understanding. This may be key to selection of material on being for the introduction is the issue of reduction vs. understanding
Reduction: Judgment, I know, the universe is like the world I know, ego before reality, conservatism, will to power and judgment
Understanding: Perception, I don’t know, the world is like the universe which I don’t know, reality before ego, liberalism, will to understanding and perception
When I look at the characteristics, I see that both ‘reduction’ and ‘understanding’ are significant. I can have empathy with both motives. The history of thought is a balance between the imperatives
Philosophy developed in Youth vs. Maturity
However, it is not altogether clear why thinkers do not synthesize both approaches within their own thought except for the fact that it is rare for people to change their attitude to being and perceiving (repudiating one’s earlier philosophy is not necessarily an example of such a change in attitude.) This is an example of the reasons for Plato’s (eliminate name and place reference in sources and influences) thought that philosophy should not be done before the age of fifty. The lack of synthesis is the philosophy of ‘youth’ ... and of an imperative to publish
Significance for the concept of being is that being is an open concept while (normal) materialism is closed
Significance for the Journey in Being is the give and take between reduction and understanding... and the resulting depth and breadth of the conclusions
Being and the Concept of Being
Being and the Concept of Being GENERAL
Note. In the following paragraph, I introduce ‘metaphysics.’ Add a comment that, for the present purposes, a metaphysics is a ‘world-view’ or a picture of the general nature of the entire universe and that metaphysics and its meaning are developed in detail in the foundation chapter which also addresses issues such as the completeness and precision (rigor) of any metaphysics. Also note that the word ‘metaphysics’ occurs above in the present version of the introduction: what should I do about this? Should I send / consolidate some of that material to the foundation? May combine with On Being
BEING is the main concept in this essay. At least, all other concepts fall under its umbrella. What is being and why have I chosen it as central to the Journey? Or, since one approach to foundation for the journey is via metaphysics, why have I chosen being as the central concept of metaphysics? Why have I chosen the word, ‘being?’ In this section, I will sketch a preliminary response to these questions. A detailed picture and questions regarding its precision and completeness are deferred to the FOUNDATION. In this section, ‘later,’ ‘subsequent,’ or ‘deferred’ material refers to this foundation
In the history of attempts to understand the world or universe various entities or kinds of entity have been thought of as fundamental to the makeup of the world. These include mind and matter, and atoms or ultimate particles of matter and monads or atoms of mind. They include substance, thought of as that which lies at the root of the constitution andor form of all things. Process is an alternative to the idea that substance is fundamental. Although the list of fundamental ideas just given is brief, it includes many of the most important and fruitful ones. Although they are important, problems arise when one (or more) of them is taken to be constitutive of the universe. Why is this? A characteristic of many of the fundamental kinds is that they focus on a deep aspect of the world and take it as fundamental. It is the depth –and breadth of application– that is thought to guarantee the fundamental nature. However there is no a priori guarantee that any such kind, regardless of depth and range of application, should constitute the entire universe. Therefore, it is not unexpected that the approach through ‘kinds’ should result in deep problems: Is the world made up of mind, or matter or both – or some other unspecified kind? Are there atoms – ultimate particles of mind or matter? Is there one substance or are there many substances? Is there any fundamental substance at all or is change or process fundamental? Is it possible that both process and substance are fundamental or that neither is fundamental?
It seems better to select as fundamental something that is not a kind. Such a selection does not reject substances or kinds – either as fundamental in nature or as fundamental to the entire universe. If substance is fundamental, then that should be a result rather than a premise of the development. If, for example, all is matter then the approach from a neutral concept can only strengthen the claims of materialism. It will turn out, however, that the neutral approach invalidates the idea of substance as fundamental
Being is one of the ideas that has as arisen in the attempts to understand the world and has a long and varied history; it has a variety of meanings and connotations. It has been opposed to becoming and to non-being. Everything real and every possible object of thought have been said to have being. Being has religious or divine connotations. Being has been said to be that which ‘is’ but which has no further qualifications or properties, i.e., if an entity or object has properties, they do not arise from its being. In many of these meanings, being is subject to the same problems that beset the other kinds
In this essay, I select one meaning and, at the outset, reject all others. The criterion of selection will be one suggested by the observation that a . In selecting a meaning or use and in developing it –in building a metaphysics around it– the use and therefore the meaning of ‘being’ will change or –at least– shift. The meaning that I select is one in which being is not a ‘kind’ and, therefore problems of attempting to reduce the entire universe to it do not arise. In the meaning that I will select, being is not a kind and therefore there is no reduction. Other meanings and connotations are not absolutely rejected but obtain only if they follow from the chosen meaning – if they are included in the chosen meaning
In this essay, being is that which exists
Philosophy and Intuition
A root meaning of ‘to be’ is ‘to exist.’ However, there is in the philosophical literature from the Classic (Greek and Roman) to the Modern Era, a distinction between being and existing. As an important example of the distinction, existence has been called ‘the mode of being which consists in interaction with other things.’ Being then might be ‘being-in-itself.’ There are problems with this distinction. It is not clear or given a priori that there is being-in-itself. Perhaps all things can, perhaps all things do interact with all other things; perhaps there is no existing without interacting. Perhaps, also, being-in-itself and being-in-interaction are not fundamentally distinct but are different modes of description – or the pictures that result from different perspectives such as one based in contemplation vs. one based in perception (which, perhaps, merge in meditation.) It may turn out that there is a distinction between the in-itself and in-interaction modes of being but it is the purpose, here, to start with the most neutral characterization of the world and let distinctions arise as a result of analysis andor investigation instead of artificially imposing distinctions. Reasons for artificial imposition of essences and distinctions may be based in a desire, explicit or otherwise, to see cherished notions such as thought, human being, spirit, God at the core of or characteristic of the universe; or to see the universe as essentially similar to the familiar world of day-to-day activity, of common sense or of science. Surely the impulse to impose our intuitions is not bad metaphysics – it is not metaphysics at all. Although metaphysics and philosophy have beginnings in the intuition, they do not end there. To say this is not to refute or negate the immediate world or intuition; metaphysics, the system of universal understanding, must account for this (our) being, for this (our) intuition and may use it as a ‘data point’ but will not have its entire basis in the intuition. The imposition of prejudices leads to confusion, paradox and unnecessary limitation on the possibilities of thought and being. These problematic issues can be eliminated by eliminating the a priori imposition of prejudice. Simultaneously, it is possible to allow those distinctions that may be real by permitting them to fall out of the analysis. Therefore, in view of a central objective of this essay, to find a universal understanding, I will not make a distinction between being and existing. This does not disallow the classic distinctions which may arise as kind or mode of being or existence
Therefore, in the meaning that I will use in this essay, being has no a priori characterization other than existence; and existing has no a priori characterization other than being. (This may seem to entail circularity of reference but, relative to the objective of neutrality, it does not.) That is, being may turn out to have a fundamental characterization such as matter –or mind, or substance– or process or even being-in-itself but this is not specified at the outset. The concepts of mind and matter, of substance and change are not implicit in the meaning of being. Being may turn out to have religious connotations (it will be necessary to carefully specify the meaning of religion) but these connotations are not implicit in being unless the meaning of religion is as neutral as that of being, e.g., ‘religion is truth’
Immediately, of course, a number of do questions arise. Should being be used as a noun or an adjective – do entities participate in being or do they have being? Is or should ‘Being’ be a predicate, i.e., does being refer to a special kind of existing thing such as God, human being or sentient being; in such a meaning a mere material particle would not have being? (This raises the question whether there is such a thing as a ‘mere’ material particle, i.e., perhaps all ‘particles’ have ‘feeling’… and if all particles have feeling then every particle necessarily has feeling.) Perhaps being is so fundamental that ‘having being’ or ‘being being’ are identical. Being can also be seen as a verb – if an entity has being it may, depending on the nature of being, be in a process of being, i.e., actually dynamic even though static for some purposes, e.g., gross appearance. What is the meaning of ‘exists?’ ‘Exists’ is related to the verb ‘to be’ whose forms include ‘is’ which has various uses. Of these uses, which one (or ones) has significance for being? Further, does ‘exists’ mean ‘exists in time’ or ‘exists in space’ or do time and space or duration and extension arise or occur within being? All such questions are taken up subsequently
The fundamental character of being is now apparent. Since it is not specific with regard to the variety of distinctions that have characterized the history of thought regarding the fundamental character of the universe it avoids the problems associated with those distinctions. Since there is no commitment to any substance or to substances at all, the problems of substance theory do not arise. Since there is no commitment to universal space and time or to space time as things or a mode of describing things the philosophical problems regarding these distinctions are not inherent in ‘being.’ Thus, as a result of its neutrality, the concept of being is not beset at the outset with the paradoxes and difficulties of the more specific concepts. This power of the idea of being may be recast as follows. In saying that being is that which exists and in saying no more there is an implicit admission of a priori ignorance. It is not being said that there are substances or that there are no substances but that the status of substance theory is not a premise but may be an outcome of a system of understanding based in being. It may be thought that, as a result of the neutral or general character of being that the system of understanding will be empty. However, this is not the case. Subsequently, being is shown to be the basis of a system (metaphysics) in which there are no fundamental substances or extension, no fundamental processes or time and in which there is no need for such
The conclusion regarding substances is negative in content. However, the system is not merely negative and provides an understanding of what does exist. It will be shown, for example, that all concepts or descriptions that do not contain or result in contradictions are realized in the history of the UNIVERSE and therefore, that the actual universe, which I take to be all being, is infinitely larger than this (our) cosmological system or the known universe – the universe as normally described in science. The demonstration will be based in the concept of the VOID or absence of being. That all non-contradictory descriptions are realized seems to violate the ‘laws’ and stability of this cosmological system but this apparent paradox is shown to be illusory. The laws are NORMAL in that they do not obtain for all cosmological systems or the universe as a whole; however they normally obtain within this cosmological system. Additionally, the system is seen to illuminate and, in many ways, significantly extend the understanding of the variety of immediate and esoteric human concerns and academic disciplines. The development of the details and logic for the following statements is deferred: (1) an understanding of the world based in being is an ultimate system there is no need for foundation in some even more basic thing or level; (2) such an understanding is complete in principle in that all things fall under it and are illuminated and, typically, their understanding is extended by it; and (3) such an understanding shows what transformations are possible for an individual being
The possibilities of such developments by simple arguments shows that being is associated with a form or order for which I use the term LOGOS from Greek and scholastic philosophy. Five basic ideas that have arisen above and that constitute a basis for the foundation are being, universe, void, logos and the normal
Relevance for the Journey
As noted, all states whose description does not contain or imply a contradiction are realized. The assertion raises many issues: there is an apparent violation of common sense andor science; however, the resolution of this issue was addressed in the previous paragraph. Further issues are: there is no discussion of the range of possibilities; of why a transformation may be undertaken or how it may be accomplished; whether there is a relevance of general transformations to everyday life. The variety of concerns are raised and addressed in the subsequent chapters. A most important issue is that of the significance of a general transformation. Suppose that an entity A transforms into another entity B. What significance can this have if, normally, A and B have no knowledge of each other? A source of the significance of an individual life is that the individual can look back and see the progress of his or her life. But what, for example, is the significance of a transformation in which I become a distinct individual? The system or metaphysics based in being develops the significance in showing the participation of all individuals in a more encompassing being… It is now clear that the idea of being is (a) fundamental to the journey, and (b) to the understanding of the entire universe
Why have I chosen to use the word ‘being’ to refer to the idea of being that has emerged as fundamental?
‘Journey in Existence’ would be somewhat awkward but I could have used another word such as ‘essence’ or ‘presence.’ However, the ideas behind these words do not have the neutrality and, therefore, potential for power of the idea of being. I could have coined another word. To some extent the choice is arbitrary. I like the sound of ‘being.’ It is more significant that the history of the idea of being enables an empowering connection with the tradition of ideas and even though some of the historical uses of being are excluded in my thought, I can specify what is excluded by being clear about my use. (I am not necessarily avoiding the traditional uses. Instead, I am avoiding their association with the word ‘being.’) As a result of the connection my thought may be empowered and there is a potential to clarify and extend the pertinent aspects of the tradition
Core Concepts, Arguments and Conclusions
Core Concepts, Arguments and Conclusions**
Comment. To a significant degree these has been discussed earlier
Title. Change (or eliminate section) in view of earlier discussion of all elements of the title
Place idea. ‘Ghost universes passing through ours like ships in the night… not felt or seen as such but, perhaps, as a shiver in the darkness, pondered briefly and then forgotten’
Edit. The following discussion regarding possibility, necessity and logical impossibility should be tightened and condensed
It has been seen that the core concepts of the development are BEING, UNIVERSE, VOID, LOGOS and the concept of the NORMAL. These concepts have been introduced and illuminated above where their mutual significance has been explained. Additional key concepts of the metaphysics include, in order of development in the FOUNDATION, MIND, BECOMING, ORDER and CHAOS, MECHANISM and EXPLANATION, FORM, OBJECT, The INDIVIDUAL, TRUTH, LOGIC, COSMOLOGY, IDENTITY, HUMAN BEING and SOCIETY, DESIRABILITY, and FAITH
All the core concepts are included in the keywords below
Eliminated and placed at the introduction to the metaphysics and in the section on mind
Combine With ‘Achievements,’ below and ‘The Idea of Being,’ above
It is shown immediately below (and with greater precision later in the foundation) that all possibilities are accessible to any individual and, so, there is no need to include the phrase, ‘as far as possible’ after ‘understanding and realization’
…and that only what is logically impossible is actually impossible. All other states of being are achievable by any individual and will, necessarily, be attained by some individual being
An example of a logical impossibility is, ‘There is an apple that is completely red and completely blue.’ Since, in the normal meanings of the terms, an apple that is red is not blue, the statement in quotes is equivalent to ‘There is an apple that is not at all blue and is completely blue.’ Thus the logical impossibility is trivially obvious. However, not all logical impossibilities are obvious. The significance of this observation is considered later
Here are some examples of possible transformations (realization) of interest. (1) The natural processes of the world or universe that appear to occur without external intervention. (2) Individual achievement. (3) Traditional life; living in the present. (4) Negotiating or stepping outside (transcending) limits of or implied by individual identity, by regularities expressed in common sense and the sciences, e.g. the physical and economic sciences – except when to negotiate such limits would violate necessary or logical limits
The idea that what is not logically impossible is possible appears to contradict science and common sense. Many logical possibilities appear violate the known laws of physics. An example is the idea that ‘something may come from nothing.’ In fact, it is not clear that this is a violation of physical law. It is easy to show that ‘a universe from nothing’ does not violate the principle of conservation of energy – the negative energy of the gravitational field may balance the energy associated with matter; additionally, in the quantum world view, spontaneous creation is not absurd in the way that it is in the pre-quantum, Newtonian world view. However, the theory of being provides a deeper argument whose precise version and details are given later. In outline the argument is as follows. The idea of the void is that of nothingness – of complete absence. The void is not merely the absence of things; it is also the absence of pattern, form and law. The void ‘exists’ for it is what is left when the universe is subtracted from itself. That nothing ever came from the void would be a law; therefore, it is necessary that something will come from the void. More precisely, for any actual or possible state of being, that it never arises out of the void is a law; therefore, all such states of being, including the entire universe or all being, must arise from the void. I.e., the void is equivalent to any being, to all being, to the universe; and to the annihilators of all these entities. Here is a preview of some additional results of the theory of being; the complete account and arguments are given later. (1) If a creator is separate from what is created, then the universe (all being) cannot have a creator. However, parts of the universe may be created. This has implications for the nature of both physical law and God… If what is possible (what is not a logical contradiction) is necessary the following are true. (2) Every ‘particle’ of the universe is capable of ‘self-annihilation’ as is the universe itself (the later arguments show this to be ‘colossally’ improbable.) (3) Every actuality and every possibility must repeat infinitely in extension and duration i.e. in space and time; this recurrence constitutes a form of karma which is given meaning by the next conclusion. (4) There is a being that spans the recurrences of discrete being(s.) (5) The conclusion, seemingly paradoxical in this secular world, ‘Jesus Christ is risen from the dead’ must obtain in countless cosmological systems. I said earlier, that the intent in this essay is not specifically religious. However, it is shown that truth and religion have some intersection. It is important to ask what is the significance to the articles of faith such as the ones regarding karma and resurrection whose occurrence is one of infinite repetition. Since the establishment of the theory of transfinite numbers in the late nineteenth century, it is known that there are orders of infinity. The infinity of all occurrences may, and undoubtedly does, unimaginably exceed the infinities of karmic recurrence and of resurrection. So, the Theory of Being developed in detail later in this essay requires both karma and resurrection and lends credence to possibility but not at all to the actuality or necessity of local karma or of the resurrection on this earth or in the local cosmological system
These considerations do not imply that achieving any given state or all states is feasible or desirable
Here are some examples of infeasibility. In our world or corner of the universe, violation of the laws of physics is not impossible, i.e. not logically impossible, but is, normally, staggeringly infeasible. Even while satisfying these laws, some goals may be economically infeasible
What is the meaning of desirability? It includes what is good, what is ethical but the meaning of desirability and of the ethical must be left open. Finding those meanings is part of the Journey. Feasibility and desirability are not independent. Something that at first seems desirable may turn to be not desired if it is highly infeasible. A goal whose achievement seems unlikely may be a worth investing some effort if the outcome has great value or desirability
If all goals that are not logically impossible are achievable, what is to be made of the value of effort, of respecting traditional wisdom regarding unlikely goals, of what is usually considered to be possible and what are usually considered to be limits on possibility?
These concerns are addressed by introducing the idea or concept of the normal. The traditional limits, possibilities and impossibilities are normal limits… Thus what is usually considered to be impossible is normally infeasible. However, we have seen that what is infeasible may be a worthwhile goal and, additionally, since feasibility is relative to knowledge, new insight may transform formerly infeasible goals into feasible ones
Do these considerations invalidate traditional ways of life and typical goals? Is it being said that enjoyment of life as it is –of the present– is not good? No; the experience of an intrinsic worth of tradition and enjoyment of living is recognized as among what is desirable; the worth of a variety of ways of life is recognized; and enjoyment and achievement are not exclusive but are mutually supporting
Alternate title: consider alternates to ‘Importance’… e.g. ‘Significance’
Discuss: and elaborate upon ‘importance;’ derive the discussion not only from common considerations but also from the Theory of Being
From the nature of the individual (feeling as a bound element) and the conditions of existence, significance is given… it is not being implied that the feeling may not be questioned from time to time or that feeling may or should not be analyzed from other perspectives for understanding or evaluation. However it is clear that significance is an essential part of being
Surely some possibilities are extremely remote and some are undesirable. A proper objective is to realize what is possible within the boundaries of what is feasible and moral
An impossible objective cannot be realistically desirable. However, pursuit of less practical but possible goals may be preferred when their value is sufficiently great
In asking what means and objectives are ethical, the question of the meaning of ethics, morality, value, desirability, and importance are at least implicit
Comment. The essay itself is a more detailed and systematic account of ‘results.’ In order to avoid unnecessary duplication, the discussion here is brief. There is also some discussion of the achievements in the subsequent section, ‘The Audience,’ where the interest to workers in various fields is described in greater detail. The later section, ‘Understanding,’ in the chapter, ‘Journey in Being,’ recounts the developments in metaphysics and other fields. There is further discussion in ‘The Fundamental Problems’ and there are additional developments in the ‘Sources’
Word. Replace ‘achievements’ by ‘results,’ ‘outcomes,’ ‘conclusions’
The primary achievements or results, in the sense of significance, are: an understanding of all possibilities of being; of an understanding of the process or Journey of realization; that understanding is (a form) of realization – this includes perceptions of identities among self and universe; of a concept (design and evaluation) of and being in actual realization of ‘all being’
It is shown (shortly) that we may look at this, (our) time and place, which could as well be anywhere and when, and see, somewhat as we may have judged other times and places, but with necessity and without judgment, its prevalent views and ways of life as infinitely primitive. The systems of vision are mutually supporting; the interest in this essay is in the immediate and the universal
The essay itself is a more detailed and systematic account of ‘results.’ There is also some discussion of the achievements in the subsequent section, ‘The Audience,’ where the interest to workers in various fields is described in more detail than in this section. The later section, ‘Understanding,’ in the chapter, ‘Journey in Being,’ recounts the developments in metaphysics and other fields. There are additional developments in the ‘Sources’
I said above that goals of and approaches to the journey were in understanding (knowledge) and exploration (transformation.) These are the overall and interactive areas of achievement. Understanding guides exploration and exploration adds to understanding by increment and by confirmation or disconfirmation; thus understanding guides exploration (reason.) Understanding is a phase of exploration and may apply to itself in the form of ‘logic…’ The achievements in understanding: The results may be stated and their truth shown in a number of ways; these developments, the special areas and details, and the implications (practical, conceptual and for the significance of being) are part of the substance of this essay. The basic achievement is an understanding of being and its varieties and possibilities. This understanding is provided by the development of a metaphysics or theory of being in interaction with related and more specific areas of knowledge. The main features and logic of this development are complete and there is a sense in which the foundation is final and without the possibility of further regress (refinements and elaboration are possible and necessary.) A central result is about ‘limits’ to being and transformation. There are two kinds of limit – necessary (logical) and all other or practical limits. The practical limits are not absolute but difficult or infeasible; they may have been thought to be impossible on some views of reality which are themselves limited. However, new insight and new understanding may transform what was thought to be infeasible into something eminently possible… A sample of implications and developments includes an understanding of the significance of being (living,) a tentative and qualitative development of quantum theory – with thoughts toward a quantitative treatment, development of an account of (the structure, function and development of) human mind that is consistent with the theory of being and that has application to exceptional achievement and disorder, an understanding the nature of faith and religion and a novel evaluation of the ‘articles of faith,’ a final metaphysics (in the sense noted above) and resolutions of a number of classic problems of metaphysics such as the question of substance ontology, the mind-body problem, the question ‘Why there is something rather than nothing?’ It is shown that there is no ultimate, unchanging substance; that substance ontology serves no useful and realistic purpose; that the ‘foundation’ of being is in nothingness or the void; that there is no necessary need for further foundation; that, therefore, the final metaphysics is neither monism nor dualism; that the demonstration of these assertions is possible by logic (logic requires to have and is given an interpretation that is alternate to and includes the traditional one.) Finally, the understanding provides partial foundation for the explorations. Achievements in exploration and transformation: The understanding is a basis to develop a system of transformations that draws from various traditions and synthesis. Though tentative, the system of transformations and experiments is designed to be minimal and complete. This system is made possible as a result of the account of human mind and theory of being described above. The understanding is itself a form of transformation. The actual transformations (my experiments) in the form and identity of being include two kinds: development through growth, commitments, projects and endeavor; and ‘real’ transformations in form and identity (the boundary between the kinds is not definite.) My projects and commitments include ‘Journey in Being,’ and its phases of ultimate, personal and social experiment. A systematic exposition of the transformational journey that includes its foundation and the experiments (in-process) is found in the body of this essay, primarily in the chapter titled, ‘Journey in Being.’ A basic approach, founded in the theory of being and labeled, ‘The Dynamics of Being’ has been developed. Actual developments are based in the dynamics and experiment. Specific experiments may be classed as immediate or ultimate (the distinction is blurred.) The following examples are a sampling from the essay. Immediate transformations: Self and body awareness in healing, interactions cultivation of the unconscious (and its interaction with the conscious) in the creative process and achievement, use and cultivation of dreams, self-awareness and self-expression in interpersonal interaction and charisma, the physical journey (journey-quest) as a source of inspiration… Intermediate level transformations: use of the immediate transformations in growth and in projects, projects in group action, projects in symbolic representation and machine realization of being… Ultimate transformations: It is convenient to distinguish inner (mind, awareness, identity) and outer transformations (identity – identity is at the boundary of the distinction, body, and world.) My experiments in ultimate transformations are still in their early stages (I will report on developments in later editions of this essay.) The development of the understanding (theory of being…) is an exception to the preliminary character of these transformations. Approaches to transformation identity (self vs. universe or all being) include yoga, other disciplines, and their combination with the theory of being and physical action (journey.) The continuation of the approach to transformation of identity may result in self-transformation and actual transformation of being to other forms including all being – and may be a most efficient approach. It is an open question whether death shall be the only practical approach to such transformation in my life. However, it has been shown from the Theory of Being that there must be an approach other than death; such an approach may be equivalent to a realization of the ‘relative’ nature of death. Here, then, it is clear that the distinction between inner or mental and outer or actual transformation is also blurred, incomplete and relative to a limited awareness; and it is also clear that cognitive understanding alone is incomplete and needs to be supplemented, at least, by an understanding based in all dimensions of mind (which is found to be continuous with the actual or the body)
On Mind: In v2004, this section was called ‘Symbol and Error,’ and had a sub-section, ‘Mind and Error.’ The discussion now does not depend on the nature of mind which is taken up later. I will occasionally refer to ‘mind’ to illuminate the discussion but there will be no dependence on the concept of mind
May combine with: Object
Here are some examples of knowledge or claims to knowledge. Today is Sunday. The Sahara is 3000 miles wide. How to repair a car. The sciences of physics and biology. Systematic accounts of human knowledge such as those contained in encyclopedias such as Encyclopaedia Britannica that focus primarily on universal aspects of knowledge such as the sciences, the arts, technology, religion, history; and the study of the (symbolic) instruments of knowledge – symbol and language… logic and mathematics… the study of the sciences, humanities and history… and philosophy
Obviously, knowledge is useful: how to repair a car is useful in repairing a car, the sciences are useful in designing and in building cars. Our civilization is made possible largely through its accumulated knowledge. The arts, religion, history and philosophy are, to some extent, instrumental in defining our civilization. In this essay, one approach to the journey in understanding and transformation of all being has been through knowledge. Additionally, since it has been necessary to extend knowledge (in some directions to its ultimate limit) through experience and thought which are among the ways that knowledge may be generated
Since knowledge is instrumental in achieving results it is natural to question whether it is reliable. There may be other criteria of what makes something count as knowledge but if it is not reliable it is not useful either as an element of culture or as something that can be used to achieve results
One measure of reliability is certainty. If the laws of physics are certainly true, that is if it is logically absurd to doubt their correctness, then we should be able to place complete trust in their predictions. That statement is a simplification of the actual situation since for predictions to be certain there should also be no errors of observation in the facts on which the computations are based and the computations themselves should be exact. Even though there are inaccuracies in observation and most computations except the simplest ones are not exact we may have more confidence in the results when the laws are certainly true
As I argue below, however, it should not be necessary for laws to be certainly true. In so far as the laws are useful, it should be only necessary for results based on them to be more accurate (and therefore more useful) than predications made without the laws. Thus certainty is not necessary for utility even though certainty may be most useful. Additionally, although universality is one guarantee of certainty, it is not necessary for certainty and precision and it is not the mark of all ‘good’ laws: a law is good, in one sense, if it captures the essence of a phase of being. Even though all this is transparently obvious, there is what may be labeled a ‘cult’ of certainty that has become part of modern culture
Why has this happened? It may be in part due to a need for security, a fear of uncertainty. However, despite the vast and impressive accumulation of knowledge in our civilization, reflection shows that there are few certain guarantees of security in civilization or without. Perhaps the idea of certain knowledge appeals to the ‘egos’ of the generators, keepers of knowledge – and to the fears of those who use it. However, it is not entirely conceit or fear that is involved. There is something exciting about the idea that we have penetrated to the core of things with our science, our art and our philosophy. Simultaneously, not every individual experiences this appeal; to some people, the aesthetic of knowledge is repugnant precisely because they may not want to penetrate the core
It may be questioned, not only whether it is certainty (truth) vs. utility that is the more proper measure of knowledge, but also whether there is or should or needs to be an ultimate mark of knowledge – or any mark at all. From a perspective in which knowledge and action flow into one another it appears that there may be no need for (universal) measures or criteria but that criteria are possible and arise only in special circumstances
Here, in asking what is best for knowledge –whether there should be criteria for knowledge and, if so, what they should be– a concern with ethics has been raised. The example shows, simultaneously, that the distinction between fact and value is not altogether sharp
Is certainty possible? It is possible to doubt any empirical claim to certainty by referring to the meaning of knowledge; however, if the meaning of knowledge is in question it is inconsistent to avoid the question of the –possibility of the– meaning of certainty. Thus, although the possibility of certainty may be in doubt its impossibility should also be in doubt. Such claims are general in nature and do not rule out the possibilities of particular claims to knowledge. ‘There is being’ is analyzed later and shown to be true without doubt. It may be thought that the claim is analytic, i.e., true in virtue of its meaning; however, it has empirical content and the empirical content is shown to be implicit in its meaning. This discussion remains limited in that it is in terms of a particular view of knowledge
In what follows I shall discuss two views of knowledge. In the first or transitional view, I shall conclude that criteria do arise but that none can or need be considered to be ultimate. In the second, the absolute view, I shall show that there is an ultimate realm regarding which truth is transparent and, therefore, that no measure of validity is needed. The two views are complementary and may be used simultaneously and in interaction – provided, of course, that they are not confused; in the area of interaction, there is again, no possibility of an absolute measure but there are layers or levels of knowing which, as the highest extreme is approached, the need for measures disappears
A central concern so far has been being and aspects of being. There may come a point in awareness or knowledge when the individual has the thought, ‘the content of my awareness is not the world itself but an image of it.’ There are various difficulties with this thought. There does not appear to be an actual image; perhaps the term ‘image’ can be no more than metaphorical. However, something similar to this idea occurs in many traditions of thought and may arise in a given tradition at more than one time and in more than one way. Two kinds of problem may occur to the thinker. The first is ‘empirical.’ One sees a tree and estimates it to be, say, forty feet tall but can one know the height of a tree precisely? (Do objects have precise dimensions? It is not the objective here to develop or review a theory of verification of knowledge. Therefore, I do not, for the present purpose, need to answer this question. Since the development is not intended to be a systematic account of verification I will raise issues and discuss them primarily as necessary to the objective which will become clear shortly.) Another empirical concern is that of illusion in which the object is something other than the appearance. I think I see a tree but it is a mirage. Or, I think I see a tree but it is a drape over a statue. Inaccuracy can be seen as illusion: my best estimate of the height of the tree is forty feet but someone with better instruments or better technique measures it at forty-one feet. A hallucination is an illusion in the sense that there is no object but there is an appearance of one. The literature on ‘appearance and reality’ has discussions of many kinds and examples of empirical error including illusion in knowledge. Although an account of this variety is fascinating it would not serve the purpose of the present discussion to review it… A primary source of empirical error is sense perception but theory can also be a source of empirical error since theories are often used to supplement direct measurement. Another kind of problem is as follows. I think of the tree as having certain boundaries but are these boundaries not arbitrary? Obviously, since the tree functions as a unit the boundaries are not entirely arbitrary. However, consider the life-cycle of a tree from mature plant through pollination to seeding and germination to sapling to mature tree. If one imagines the process speeded up, a tree may seem to have animal-like features. There are fungus-like organisms, the ‘slime-molds,’ whose life-cycle include animal-like, plant-like, and cell-like phases. The point to these examples is not to say that a tree is not a tree but that that the perception of an object is not the passive perception of ‘external reality’ but that the individual’s perceptual system contributes to the percept. I think I see a tree but I think I know that it is made up of molecules – or other structures. Is it a ‘tree’ or is the ‘molecules?’ Clearly, whatever ‘it’ is, how I see it depends on how I look. One concept of the nature knowledge called empiricism according to which all knowledge –concepts and facts– originate in experience, implies the thesis that knowledge can be justified only by experience. Another theory, rationalism, holds that some part of knowledge –especially concepts– must have some origins in the individual’s cognitive system. The discussion to this point shows why one might consider empiricism or its alternative, rationalism. However, it clearly shows that while experience is necessary, it is not sufficient. Individuals of an empiricist persuasion often argue that knowledge cannot be rational for then there would be no objective knowledge. A form of rationalism called transcendental idealism reconceives the object to be the object-as-perceived in which perception is not limited to sense perception but includes other aspects of cognition such as thought, concept formation and, perhaps, innate concepts. This may appear to be a kind of trick but is because, it appears from the discussion above that there is no objective knowledge and, additionally, this rationalism holds that no other kind of knowledge is possible. Further the impossibility is thought to be logical, i.e. not based on an empirical limitation of the cognitive system but based on the forms that the cognitive system may entertain. This might seem to be disappointing, especially to persons who would like to believe in ‘objective reality’ but, from the perspective that there is a logical gulf between percept and external object, there is no gap to be overcome and, therefore, there is no occasion or need for a desire for the overcoming. The human cognitive system is quite impressive (to some human beings.) It might not be immediately apparent but another way of saying this is that even to the limited form of life that human being appears to be, the world is wonderful. (Even wonder is seen to be perspective dependent when I acknowledge that some individuals find the world to be uniformly horrible or repugnant.) What is the significance of the forbidding name, ‘transcendental idealism?’ The philosophy is an idealism because it emphasizes the necessary role of cognition in the form of knowledge and it is transcendental in that knowledge is not of ‘reality itself’ but in terms of the forms that have origins in the cognitive system (you may have noticed that I have avoided use of the word ‘mind’ in the argument of this paragraph because that would introduced unnecessary complications.) Transcendental idealism may be put in a positive light as follows. I said at the beginning of this paragraph that ‘the content of my awareness is not the world itself but an image of it.’ This statement, too, is a content of my awareness via cognition and therefore appears to lack objectivity. That is the foundation of the idea that knowledge is not objective appears itself to lack objective verification and this provides the thought that at least some knowledge may be objective and certain – if only denial of positive claims to knowledge (which would be a positive claim – at a general rather than a particular level.) Consider the idea that ‘the content of my awareness is not the world itself but an image of it’ a little more. I have a perception that has some positive connection to the world even if it is not objective or certain. I try to improve upon it by building concepts, improving measurements and so on. In the end, I have never escaped the confines of my own cognitive system. There is no knowledge in the universe that is not the knowledge of some being. Thus, in its cognitive limitations the lowest of organisms is in exalted company. I am still left with the thought that ‘the content of my awareness is not the world itself but an image of it’ and ‘knowledge has never escaped the confines of the cognitive system of some being’ are themselves not objective. Therefore, at this level of discussion certain and objective knowledge are in doubt with regard to both possibility and impossibility. I will take this discussion up further in (foundation/metaphysics/symbol and object, link) where I first consider the root nature of mind (in contrast to human experience of human mind) and then consider that, as suggested by the thought that ‘there is no knowledge that is not the knowledge of some being,’ there is no root distinction between mind and object
In this section I want to approach the question of knowledge, objectivity and certainty from an alternative perspective. This alternative depends on an analogy between being and knowledge. As suggested in the previous paragraph and shown later there is no root distinction between being and knowledge (and mind) but the present line of thought does not start from the implied identity. The discussion of knowledge and certainty here is in terms of two frameworks for knowledge that correspond to similar frameworks for being – that of becoming and that of all being… The first framework for knowledge is the transitional framework. In this framework, it may be questioned even whether the ‘function’ of knowledge is ‘knowing’ (this consideration is taken up elsewhere, link, and must depend on an analysis of the concept of function whose outcome may find function to quite different even though continuous with function as understood by other writers.) The possibility of certainty and objectivity is taken up within this framework and at various levels of generality, abstract, and concept. The second is an absolute framework in which the level of concept is such that combined objectivity and precision is not logically impossible. Examples, with proof of objectivity and precision have been shown earlier. In this section, I will elaborate the discussion and instances (examples.) Further demonstration and examples are provided later, in ‘Foundation’ (and other links.) It may seem that, as a result of the level of abstraction, such objective and precise knowledge, even if true, is without significant content. An central objective of this essay is to show that such knowledge is true, profound in its general and deeper implications, and has application in the ‘normal’ world that is both broad and deep
There is a view of the transitional account of knowledge in which the negative judgment is the peak of intellect, in which positive judgment is not possible, in which the meaning of positive judgment is not clear at the outset, in which hypothesis is the correct form of assertion, in which hypotheses are made and subject to negative empirical, conceptual and or logical judgment, i.e., to experiment and criticism. Surviving systems of working hypotheses are perennially provisional and subject to revision. The process is thought to be ongoing and without end. These negative conclusions are the apparent outcome of any line of reasoning that starts with a positivist program for the foundation of knowledge within a transitional framework
However, that a process has been ongoing up to the present does not imply that it is endless. If the supply of ‘facts’ is unending in all directions the ongoing character of the process necessarily follows. However, if the facts are infinite in some directions but finite in others there may be an end to inquiry in the in the ‘finite directions.’ The idea that that there are always new facts in all modes of viewing and being-becoming in the world is a metaphysical assumption of positivist thought. Without this assumption, there would be no occasion for positivism; facts would be given but this would not warrant a philosophy. Although increment and hypothesis constitute what may and has been been considered to be a normal way of knowledge-understanding, it is metaphysical positivism to consider it the only way. However, it is not necessary to develop a universal counter to either the positivist or nihilist view within the transitional framework. As seen both views have validity but neither view is necessary since the transitional is but one framework
However, the idea that hypothesis is the correct form of assertion has value. What is that value if ‘hypothesis as assertion’ is not ultimate? It is that it is valuable as a transitional tool in any search for proximate and ultimate accounts and realizations of being. That is, in the transitional sense, knowledge remains in interaction and bound to action and knowledge-in-and-of-itself is at most an ideal whose realization is always partial and temporary. The Theory of Being to be developed shows that the ultimate may be realized by individual being but every individual has the option of such realization. A given realization is not a realization for all individuals and each individual faces life and being afresh. In facing the possibility of infinity, the tentative view of hypothesis as assertion permits freshness at every point in the journey and renders infinity which might otherwise be experienced as a nihilist burden as luminous and possible. I.e., even though it is necessary that some being will realize the infinite, it remains possible for all beings; and being-in-the-present is an implicit enjoyment of the luminosity of the infinite
Attitudes toward Knowledge and Certainty
Comments to integrate. Here, I consider two views of knowledge that correspond to the distinction, being vs. becoming. In the normal view, becoming is necessary to being. In the corresponding view for knowledge, process is necessary for knowing. In an ultimate view, being is seen as being over all time and space (and other possible indices.) The corresponding view of knowledge is ultimate and final. It is shown in the essay that such knowledge is possible. The primary case of such certain knowledge is of all being and its possibilities but does not refer to the local details of such possibilities except as elements of the universe but without focus on their details. Similarly, the primary view of ‘knowledge in transition,’ the more common view of knowledge, and one that corresponds to ‘becoming,’ is knowledge of the ‘details’ (which, relative, to this world may be very general, inclusive and abstract but relative to all being is extremely particular and concrete.) What is the place of certainty –the possibility of positive judgment– in transitional knowledge? (It is not a positivism that is sought.) I will identify two related motives to certainty. Fear and obsessive attitudes have a role in the urge certainty but I am not focusing on what may be pathological. There is a healthy psychological motive to the certainty that constitutes common faith in the world as it is. To not have such faith is neurotic. In any endeavor to improve upon common knowledge, common faith must be questioned as part of the process. Therefore, paranoia and obsession are among the traits that foster creativity even though paranoia and obsession in themselves are not desirable: one does not foster paranoia to be creative but if one has a degree of paranoia, it might be a spur to the use of intelligence. Thus some of the most creative thinkers have suffered from paranoia but perhaps, at the same time, the greatest of thinkers have been robust. A second ‘healthy’ motive to certainty is the urge to build and, more generally to have a healthy, satisfactory existence or life. Building, whether of artifacts or of knowledge, requires foundation and it is in the foundations that certainty is sought. In the transitional case, such certainty is relative and not absolute for as is known even in the heart of symbolic logic there is no absolute certainty except certain cases that correspond to ‘abstract knowledge of all being and its possibilities.’ However, there may be relative certainty and it is this upon which the building of new thought is relatively secure. The foregoing thoughts are conditional. If you find yourself in quicksand, you will not acquiesce in the force to be sucked in because ‘the foundation is insecure.’ And if you are stuck in it, you need not hesitate to have what enjoyment there may be. Oh! but some pessimist is sure, perhaps in seeking to secure his or her self-image, to say, “you are doomed so you should have no enjoyment…” (thinking, perhaps, at a repressed level, “I have worked so much toward happiness and yet I am unhappy. How is possible for you who are doomed to be happy? If you could be happy in that condition, surely that would make me a miserable creature. I already feel miserable, but if you can be happy, that would make me objectively and inescapably miserable.”) And, given the history of our transitional experience in ‘coming to know,’ it does not follow that this path cannot flower into the absolute, i.e., the fundamental criticism of ‘inductive logic’ must also apply to induction itself even when applied to negative conclusions. This said, on the transitional view, the primary argument against a search for certainty is that the goal of certainty assumes determinism, that the future is contained in the present – for this is what certainty would amount to and, while in the transitional state, this is not possible in a temporally indeterministic cosmological system. ‘Temporally indeterministic cosmological system’ requires explanation. As is explained, (link,) in the essay, there are outcomes that are possible but not necessary in this system but are necessary in the universe. In the transitional view, the capacity to be right presumes the capacity to err; right presumes error; but, in the end, it may be possible to live in the right
In the ultimate framework, metaphysics or positive knowledge or judgment is possible. Knowledge of being is possible. Both frameworks are made possible by the free symbol. Science to the present time (c.2006) is an example of knowledge under the transitional framework. It is often assumed that because the ‘series of scientific discovery’ is incomplete, it can not be completed in any way. This may be shown to be false, in the quantum framework, by application to observation, so that observation is subsumed by and not superposed on the formal theory. This may be regarded to be, in outline, an example of completed science. The Theory of Being of this essay, is another example, also in outline, of a completed theory… It is important to note, however, that the present Theory of Being is demonstrated, at its level of generality, to be a complete theory of being
In the transitional view hypothesis or readiness for action is one essence of knowledge. In this framework, knowing or coming to know is a process in which discovery (creation) is possible only when error is possible. One way of saying this is that, in this framework, hypothesis is the essence of knowledge – because, not only is hypothesis on the way to knowledge but because being-in-process is fundamental rather than result or ‘end point’
The ‘free symbolic capability,’ an idea developed in detail later, is ability to form knowledge and to have knowledge that can be deployed toward an identified objective (to have and form images, iconic or otherwise, that are depictions of the world.) At one extreme, that of pure imagination, there is no immediate intent to connect to the world. The individual who possesses the free symbolic capability has a degree of freedom in the creation of images
Without the free symbolic capability, there is no possibility of error. Error is not an intrinsic property of being. Thus, a rock cannot be wrong even though it can be more or less symmetric and more or less stable. Error is an ‘invention’ of the organism with the symbolic capability
Commission of error in concept or knowledge is possible and meaningful only for being that has the free symbolic capability. Simultaneously, this capability is the foundation of the ability to have knowledge, truth, logic, science, to discover and to create. However, possession of these capabilities does guarantee of freedom from error. Therefore, where there would be otherwise be silence, there is an imperative to act, to Journey, to action, and to transformation of being. ‘Silence’ is an approach but not necessary to the real whose depth may be plumbed by the depth and essential transformation of being… regarding which, thought is a fragment
Being closed to error is stagnation – generally, and in particular realms of activity; belief that method e.g. scientific method, ethical theory, professionalism, or administrative principles can avoid all error is a sign of a closed society. Life, freshness and growth require openness to error. This includes acting on belief, on possibility or on an imperative to action, rather than only upon certainty. It is life as a Journey-in rather than as a guided excursion. Being closed to error, whether of thought or action, is a luxury whose indulgence entails exclusion from the real and the ultimate
A previous few paragraphs have been devoted to the transitional view of knowledge. There is a viewpoint or state where, in the very immediacy of being as transitional, in which being-in-process is eternal life and similarly in which error (except unnecessary and gratuitous error) is divested of its negative connotation and living in hypothesis is living in knowledge
Note. Here as elsewhere, the influence of Wittgenstein is evident. My reasons for not making extensive citations has been discussed elsewhere (link) and include that what is radical in this essay is essentially mine even though there are intimations in the thought of the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Buddha, Christ, the Mystics, Leibniz, Wittgenstein…
The nature of embedded knowledge includes that knowledge which is not separated, and may not be separable, from the loop of knowing and acting. I have said that it appears that absolute embedded knowledge may be impossible. It would make more sense to say that absolute embedded knowledge does not have meaning
It is essential to note that any distinction such as embedded-action vs. symbolic-knowing, while fundamental in some senses is arbitrary in others. The arbitrariness derives – at least in part – from the lack of complete distinction between the embedded and the symbolic
The range of attitudes may be characterized by two extremes. One extreme is that certainty in knowledge is possible that there are examples of certainty in, e.g., science, logic, mathematics, the categories of intuition (such as the intuitions of time and space,) certain aspects of metaphysics, theology, the articles of religious faith… The other extreme is that all thoughts of certain knowledge is an illusion or self-deception. There are moderate views that lie in between the extremes. One is the view of science in which an accepted theory is the ‘best’ one thus far in some sense, e.g., it should explain or predict the bulk of relevant data, should have no currently known serious and relevant exceptions. Another defines the objects-in-perception to be real and, according to this concept of knowledge, it is clear that knowledge can be simultaneously certain and in error
The two extreme views described above may be described as ‘conservative’ or critical and ‘liberal’ attitudes toward knowledge
There are various motives for holding extreme views. These include various ‘psychological’ needs. However, there is a central motivation that is based in the idea of knowledge itself. If knowledge is about the world, then it is desirable to know an article of knowledge is correct. Perhaps the origin of this need is in the fact that knowledge can be in error and that knowledge is a basis for action
Another important motive is the desire for universality. This motive is, apparently, not merely psychological in nature for, if an item of knowledge is known to be universal, then it is possible to act upon it in confidence. However, if it can be shown that there is no certain and universal knowledge, then, to hold to such a view of knowledge have a origins in a psychological need such as the need for security or the bonding that results from shared faith. However, when it is noted that confidence in knowledge (regardless of correctness) may lead to confidence in action then, regardless of whether the knowledge is regarded as justified, the attitude of certainty is not merely psychological in origin. This example shows that to it is not always correct to label an attitude as based merely in a psychological need even when the attitude has no obvious justification and when there is reason to have doubt. Another way of saying this is that when an attitude has an origin in a psychological need it may also have some other, perhaps unrecognized, basis
What attitudes toward certainty are proper? The considerations just given show that a valid response is not necessarily clear cut. Clearly, there are occasions when a skeptical attitude toward a claim of knowledge is appropriate. However, there may be times when it is good to set aside skepticism. This suggests that it is not valid to have a uniform attitude toward skepticism and optimism in knowledge. It is perhaps proper to say that the value of the great critical theories of knowledge of the past is not that they point to error but that they motivate revaluation and, consequently, improved understanding
The view adopted here and justified later is that there are two modes of (confidence in) knowledge. I.e., there are two frameworks for knowledge that correspond to two frameworks for being – that of becoming and that of (all) being…
Note that the phrase ‘hypothetical knowledge’ is not a reference to mere hypothesis but to knowledge that has passed all critical tests (internal coherence, tests of its predictions) so far but may need revision when further information becomes available
These considerations call the value of certainty into question. In the hypothetical mode error is not only possible but necessary. The kind of error in question is not gratuitous or willful error. It is an openness to the possibility of error whose discovery is the basis of correction and improvement. In this mode it is appropriate to base action on the best knowledge available even though it is accepted that the knowledge in question is not certain. “Crisis is opportunity.” Alternately, though the individual may fail, even die, in his or her attempts, success follows only from someone’s attempt. This action in the absence of complete certainty may also lead to correction and improvement. In the hypothetical mode, absolute certainty is a disvalue. In the second mode that might be called ‘absolute’ certainty is given; there is no sense in desiring what is given
At the divides between the two modes it may be unclear what mode an item of knowledge falls under. In this grey area there is significance to a concern with certainty…
On of the concerns in the developments that following will be to identify and clarify the divide between the hypothetical and the absolute modes. The developments justify the following guiding principle
Claims that are universal with respect to the universe of discourse have the possibility of certainty
Consider, for example, a scientific theory. As long as its application remains within its (known) realm of validity it is reasonable to have a degree of certainty. For example, although the mechanics of Newton is no longer the most fundamental dynamical theory, it continues to have a broad range of precise application. Consider, next, the realm of all being. in the Theory of Being that is developed below and has been previewed above, there is shown to be a significant realm of absolute certainty that is made possible when the items of knowledge are of universal application. A number of observations are significant to this general result. (1) Universality alone does not guarantee certainty. E.g., unless care is taken, paradox may result from universal claims. (2) The Theory of (all) Being that is developed has practical significance beyond its use in illuminating the nature of our being. The practical gains arise when the general theory is combined with a special area of interest or discipline. (3) Whereas analytic or logical and synthetic or empirical claims are distinct in a limited sphere, their distinction vanishes in the universal
In this section, I will summarize and consolidate my reflections on the relations among knowledge and action and their significance for the nature of knowledge. The discussion is continued later (link)
The main ideas are as follows. A common concept of knowledge, that, it is a representation of the world may serve as the concept of knowledge for day-to-day purposes and need be criticized only when there is a need to be concerned with the nature of knowledge and its faithfulness to what is thought to be known. It was observed, in essence, that knowledge and what is known are different in kind and, therefore, any ideal of accurate representation is based in an illusion of the nature of knowledge. Knowledge, then, is a construct which has roots in the subject and the external object. From the point of view of function, knowledge has origin and remains in relation with action. I.e., although knowledge may be come removed from immediate action, it ultimately remains in relation with action if only in its potential. In this sense, there is no need for representation. However, surely, when knowledge corresponds, in some manner, to an abstraction from the external object, it makes for efficient action and, therefore, evolutionary selection. E.g., the geometry of perception has some degree of congruence to the geometry of the world; and, the form (contours, shapes, colors) of perception reflects this congruence
The following is an elaboration of some of the ideas of the previous paragraph. Start with the idea that knowledge is a picture of the world, of reality. However, examples of illusion and error and analysis of knowledge show limitations in that view. What, then is knowledge; is there any objectivity at all? Whatever framework that may be used to found objectivity, to analyze the original idea of knowledge as a picture is itself a picture… and, therefore, there is no objectivity. This is one reason why, in some views such as transcendental idealism, the object has been redefined as the ideal object, i.e., as the object as in awareness; this amounts to ‘cutting the Gordian Knot.’ However, the concern still remains, ‘whither objectivity?’ A main reason for the formulation of transcendental idealism is the idea that objectivity is logically impossible. This does not remove the concern with objectivity; nor should it, for while we may learn from the idealism, its analysis has presuppositions and, therefore, its logic is not unassailable
… in the first place, the idea that knowledge is a picture of the world is itself a picture and this is a more primitive level at which the knot may be cut. To question that knowledge is a picture, even a distorted one, is to question whether it the function of knowing is to know. Or, so as to remove the sense of paradox that that question may suggest, it may be formulated as the ‘question whether it is the function of knowing-as-we-experience-it to know-as-in-knowing-the-object.’ At the primitive level, it may be said that ‘knowing’ is simply being-in-relationship
The idea that knowledge is a picture derives from a number of thinkers and is a special case of a concept of what knowledge is. What does not seem to be generally acknowledged is that for different concepts of knowledge, there may be different criteria. If knowledge is justified in action, then, for example, the criterion of knowledge as justified true belief is not necessarily applicable. In general, it is not the case that knowledge shall have criteria; criteria are pertinent only for certain kinds or modes of knowledge. The variety of kinds of and criteria for knowledge and their relationships (embedding) will be taken up in OBJECT
Emotion, Belief and Faith… HUMAN. significant to mind for the discussion of emotion
I have not been criticizing certainty but some ways in which it is valued. In some enterprises, certainty –insofar as it can be achieved– has value. However, an insistence on certainty as a requirement for knowledge that is to be used in action is (1) based in limited understanding of the (indeterministic) nature of being and consequently, (2) a limitation on the possibilities of being. The point is not theoretical: if certainty were prerequisite, America might not have been discovered and there would be no hypotheses and therefore no science. A requirement of certainty for action, the fear of all risk is a kind of sickness
In the subsequent discussion of MIND, et. seq., which elaborates the thoughts that follow, I have identified two modes of symbol: free and bound. The bound symbol is an immediate connection with the world and is exemplified in sense perception and in emotional feeling. The free symbol may have the same form as the bound symbol but is not immediately connected to the world. Its connection to the world is not immediately actual but potential. There is no necessary connection to the world and this is the source of its strength: in its potential for connection lies the possibility of understanding previously unknown phases of the world – of being. (Even if the origin of the free symbol is in the advantage gained from potential connection, it does not follow that all uses of the free symbol must be toward potential connection. However, even when there is no intent to connect, as in dreaming and as in some literature and art, connection may result. Even the bound symbol has no absolute connection to the world but the immediacy of its connection is normally strong. When the bound symbol is unbound it may be labeled ‘hallucination’ which has an interpretation as sickness; however this interpretation is not necessary and hallucinations may also be a source of insight, understanding and new knowledge.) The nature of feeling (in the sense of emotion) is not fixed. Even if in the origins, emotion has a function that is primarily bound it need not remain bound and it may grow to have free aspects as in, e.g., subtle or higher emotion. There is a way in which emotion can be simultaneously bound and free. In an organism with the free symbolic capability, the cultivation of the free symbol may have emotional (aesthetic) worth. Thus, emotion sustains insight, understanding and knowledge in more than one way. In the aesthetic, emotion or passion provide an impulse to wonder, to awe, to joy at understanding and insight. As bound, however, emotion, feeling (and perception) provide connection to the world. Thus, emotion and feeling are not devoid of knowledge or cognitive content even when they are not expressed in the symbolic mode that is normally associate with cognition. Thus, disruption of feeling and emotion leave the individual disconnected with the real and apathetic regarding such connection. Although there are conditions in which emotion is poorly regulated (depression) excessive cultivation of certainty and excessive dependence on codified knowledge may have a similar effect
I have inserted ‘belief’ in the title in order to make an observation about its nature. From the cognitive point of view, belief combined with justification have been thought to constitute knowledge. However, the thoughts regarding knowledge and faith have application also to belief. Belief has shades of meaning according to the commitment accorded the belief. However, even in its most neutral interpretation, ‘belief’ has no significance unless there is some commitment (feeling) associate with it; this feeling can range from strongly positive (faith) to neutral but potential (one meaning of belief) to disbelief in which the feeling is negative
Faith, emotion and cognition: an example. In the development of the theory of being, I would not have entertained its core ideas if I had relied on certainty and cognition alone. Faith, even though it was not absolute, was sustained by emotion in the two ways described above: (1) There was an intuition of the core ideas with partial roots in feeling; and (2) Passion sustained partial faith toward greater ends – toward wonder and understanding of all being. (I should note that even though in this example, faith has been partial, there is a place for absolute faith in crisis situations and where ‘knowledge’ fails.) Further, now that the theory has been developed it is still emotion, feeling and perception that connect me to the world and passion that sustains my studies and travels. It is important to note that emotion and cognition are intertwined at the core and it is not that emotion is merely a sustainer of cognition: without the bound forms of emotion and perception there is no cognition. However, in what may be labeled higher thought, the relations of emotion and cognition are not fixed; even while they are intertwined, there are times when one or other is ascendant and times when the stand more or less in balance. In providing this personal example I have not thought that my development is unique or that my recognition of the relations among bound and free symbols is novel. However, I have not seen explicit recognition in the literature of the concept of the bound and free symbol and the essential character and modes of relation among them. As far as I know, symbol, feeling and emotion have not been recognized as being among the categories of intuition –the characteristic modes of mind as adapted to the world and as constituting the elements of the sense of the real– as has been done in the discussion of MIND
Location. Why should this be placed here? It might be a good place for this topic because a discussion has been begun toward the end of the section, above, ‘Attitudes toward Knowledge and Certainty.’ Sources: note that there are numerous sources of (my) thought on this topic in the various essays. These include the topic, ‘Hume’s Brilliant Error,’ and various discussions and criticisms of Wittgenstein’s writings (Hume, Kant, and Wittgenstein may be regarded as being among the great critical thinkers of Western Philosophy. Of these, although none was merely critical – the value of criticism includes its constructive intent – Kant’s thought and achievements was most balanced by its focus on criticism and construction.) Note that what Whitehead calls ‘speculation’ might be called ‘construction;’ and that, while Whitehead might be lauded for his honesty, the word ‘speculation’ is bound to put off many angry and otherwise immature and careless thinkers
Planning. This section, ‘On Criticism’ was not in FOUNDATION. It fits here and its essential details might also fit into ‘Principles of thought.’ Details are considered in this outline because the idea is new
From a requirement of certainty and on a transitional view there is, in some important directions of inquiry, no possibility of positive judgment. In other directions, positive judgment is possible. In the ultimate framework of knowledge, positive judgment is the necessary mode of knowledge. Here, I want to question the assertion that there is no possibility of positive judgment in certain directions of inquiry. The impossibility in question depends on the requirement of certainty. Alternatively, if hypothesis is regarded to be the correct form of assertion there is no essential problem of positive judgment for the meaning of positive judgment is different under this view. This does not imply the commission of gratuitous error. However, it does mean that when I am at the edge the gain from the pretension that certainty is necessary, I am not at the end of possibility. Rather, I am at a beginning in which my actions may be based, not only on what has not been invalidated but also on what has not been validated, i.e., on hypothesis. In extreme situations this may require action rather than inaction. In normal situations it requires only reasonable action
Before life, there were no ideas –valid or invalid– on earth. (Here, idea does not include perception.) Ideas did not originate from criticism but from having ideas. The ‘original idea’ was a hypothesis or speculation. Without the idea, there is nothing to criticize. Without criticism, there can be no validity to the hypothesis or speculation. There is no progress in conceptual or theoretical knowledge without both speculation and criticism
In formal theories and application of criticism, hypothesis and criticism are often viewed as distinct
In actuality, while forming hypotheses –while speculating or imagining– criticism is always present either explicitly in the ‘back of mind’ or implicitly in the quality of the hypotheses
Criticism is present at all levels
… and must be held in check sufficiently to allow the development of lines of thought
Criticism alone does not produce criticism or indicate when criticism is effective; speculation is necessary in the production of efficient critical thought and approaches
Criticism must be subject to criticism; must be self-referential
Proper combinations of critical and speculative thought lead to much more effective hypothesis and creative thought than speculation alone; and to much more critical thought and critical tools than the critical attitude alone
Question of an intrinsic function of cognition. The introduction will consider the question, for example of whether the function of cognition is knowing or knowledge or whether there is an underlying dynamic of the instruments of cognition in adaptation of which the cultivation of a system of knowledge –practical, theoretical and interpretive– is a useful but specialized example that has a specialized apparatus and creates its own context which appears as a universe
Contextual surrogates for the universe. Contextual universes whose character is such that they are often taken as the entire universe
The problem of infinite regress in analysis of the faithfulness of representation. In some modes or according to some models of representation, the analysis of the faithfulness –what makes it valid– never comes to an end; on the utilities of such analyses; on their limited applicability; and how, although the analyses have utility, the underlying models are based on a picture of cognition which also has utility but that neither the picture or the utilities are necessary even though they lead to elaborate and powerful results; that even within the picture there are sub-pictures that may avoid the criticisms; and that the way out of the necessity, the grip, of the regress is to recognize its relative or contextual nature: that it contributes to life but that good living does not require it to be absolute… and that there is a universe of being, of living and, even of striving –although striving is also contextual– beyond it
The conceptual problem is not new but is a repetition of what has been already said. It is the problem of the possibility of knowledge of the object or thing-in-itself. I bring this problem up in a separate section because it is analogous to what may be called the conceptual problem of mind or of consciousness. The conceptual problem of consciousness is the problem of how consciousness may arise from ‘inert’ matter (that matter is inert is a metaphysical assumption.) This problem has been called the ‘hard problem of consciousness.’ The ‘other’ problem of consciousness concerns how the different aspects of consciousness are related to the organization of the brain. In fact, it is the ‘other’ problem that is hard or, perhaps, difficult. The difficulty, however, is scientific perhaps but not conceptual. It may never be completely solved because of the complexities of consciousness and the brain but there is already, c. 2006, significant progress in explaining the aspects of consciousness from neurology. On the other hand, the conceptual problem appears to be impossible on some accounts because ‘consciousness’ and ‘brain,’ on those accounts, are distinct categories. However, as will emerge from the treatment of mind (link) and as suggested earlier (link) mind and matter are not distinct categories. In fact, one way of looking at matter and mind is that they are not categories or substances at all but only appear to be so in limited domains. On this view, the ‘hard’ problem is not a problem after all. Similarly, the problem of knowledge of the external object may be called the ‘hard problem of knowledge’ because it is a conceptual (logical) problem and, as such, its solution will be impossible on some views and (conceptually) trivial on others, especially on the Theory of Being of this essay
Relative to the discussion of knowledge and certainty, the conceptual problem of knowledge is not a distinct problem. However, I have brought it up here because of the analogy to the conceptual problem of consciousness or mind
The problem of the possibility of knowledge of the object –the external object or thing-in-itself– may, in analogy to what has been called the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness i.e. The mind-body problem in the case of consciousness, be called the hard problem of knowledge. These two problems have in common that they are conceptual problems. For such conceptual problems, the conceptual framework that is used may profoundly affect conclusions regarding the problem
Thus, for example, if we accept that (aspects of) relations among the elements of being are in the same category as awareness, there is nothing to explain regarding the conceptual aspect of the mind-body problem. This, of course, is not saying that there is no mind-body problem, no problem of consciousness. Rather, the problem becomes one of discovering and explaining where, in the body –in the organs, cells and bio-chemicals– are the loci of mind-at-the-human-animal-level, of consciousness-as-it-is-like-for-animals
In the case of knowledge, confusion of the concept of the concept and the concept of the noumenon or thing-in-itself leads to the idea that the noumenon, but for practical difficulties, could be seen. The error is that concept and noumenon are, at the level of discourse, different categories. Which implies that there are other levels or slants in which the categorial distinction breaks down as, e.g., in free symbolic creation and as, e.g., in the view of the noumenal aspect of the concept itself
Thus these ‘hard’ problems are result of conceptual confusion or, equivalently, misuse of language. I.e. concepts or, equivalently, words have become unmoored from their context or pattern of use. Note, that it is not being said that there should be no experimentation with novel uses of words or novel words but, simply, that while such experimentation may be a source of growth in understanding, it may also be a source of error
Prospect for the Journey and its Foundation A SUMMARY
Prospect for the Journey and its Foundation*
Original title for this section: Summary and Prospect…
Edit: This section needs rethinking and rewriting – especially in light of the changes since the ‘September 2004 Edition.’ Here is a brief and tentative rethinking
In describing –deriving– the nature of the journey, I have discussed the meaning and significance of the terms ‘journey’ and ‘being’
In FOUNDATION, the use of the concept of being enables (assists) the development of an absolute foundation for the understanding of all being. The foundation is absolute in the following sense: it requires no reference to, no further foundation in a more basic level
I have explained that the journey is both individual and universal. Although it is personal in that it is my journey, this personal aspect has no final significance. The journey is individual in that it is the travel of an individual through all being. Although such a travel might seem grandiose it is not in that, at the outset, it is not assumed that there is any guarantee that all being will be realized in any sense. However, the theory of being developed in FOUNDATION shows that the realization of all being is not only possible but also necessary – even though it is not necessary in every lifetime (however, the theory shows that the meanings of ‘death’ and ‘lifetime’ are relative and when the full nature of the individual is understood, realization is always necessary.) JOURNEY IN BEING describes the journey thus far. It includes an exploration of human knowledge and experience. It is neither possible nor desirable to describe all human knowledge and experience or their development (personal and general) in detail. I have included enough detail to show the possibilities – that the theory of being does indeed provide a foundation for determining the range and validity of knowledge; this includes a critique of the nature and functions of knowledge. I have also described where the journey has gone beyond the limits of human knowledge and experience, to what extent the developments are absolute and what remains. Although there is some overlap between the two main chapters, FOUNDATION and JOURNEY, their functions are different and, therefore, some overlap, as necessary to the functions, is acceptable. What are these functions? The purpose of the FOUNDATION is to develop an understanding of the possibilities of understanding and realization. In JOURNEY, I have described what has been achieved thus far. It may be noted that the foundation has two functions: it serves as foundation and its development is a part of the journey
…
I discussed the origins, nature and significance of the journey in the understanding and realization of the possibilities of being. I discussed the concept of being and reasons for choice of being as fundamental rather than the more familiar mind, matter, person, and so on
The discussion draws from and lies partially within the traditions of thought. I have listed the main influences on my thought in the sources (link)
Review: need and placement for the following
Developments of the metaphysics will include:
Prospect from the introduction: what the developments of the metaphysics will include
Metaphysics is clarified as the discipline whose only limits are necessary limits and the consequent possibility of metaphysical theory. Metaphysics is extended from its status as of as a discipline of thought to a discipline of thought and action
The outer limits of philosophy and metaphysics are identical. In this role, philosophy and metaphysics are names for ‘understanding as a whole.’ At the inner limits, however, there is a distinction between philosophy and metaphysics. Metaphysics is significantly concerned with the outer limits. Philosophy, on the other hand, includes metaphysics but also includes various special studies. In essence, however, philosophy, metaphysics, and the most general study of being and the world are identical. This stands in contrast to the post-Hellenic establishment of philosophy as a distinct discipline. It also stands in contrast to some of the modern, c. 2006, understandings of philosophy as analysis, as therapeutic, as edifying, and as unable to instruct the other disciplines regarding their proper business. The position here is as follows. One factor in the establishment of the academic divisions is the issue of ‘territory’ as in a ‘democracy’ of the disciplines. Such considerations are not disvalued; however the issue is addressed as follows. A philosopher may hesitate to ‘instruct’ scientists on the conceptual issues of science. However, there is occasional need for general conceptual thought within science – especially at the foundations in times of ‘revolution.’ I prefer to label the umbrella discipline ‘philosophy.’ Further the various special conceptions of philosophy find a place within the general activity. I will be shown that there is a clear and definite general activity – that philosophy as the discipline whose only outer limits are necessary limits is a cogent conception that is continuous with the tradition of philosophy
The theory of being results in elimination of the need for substances and categories and absolute distinctions between particulars and abstract objects such as forms and universals; and in a foundation without infinite regress. Substances, categories and the distinction between particulars and abstract objects are practical rather than essential or necessary
Review: need and placement for the following section
Placement. The ideas of this section should be placed earlier. The ideas should now include: being, possibility, the concept of the normal, normal cosmology and limits, origins, life within normal cosmologies
Possible combination and modification: combine ‘The Central Conceptual Issues” with ‘Summary’ and make ‘Summary and Prospect…’
The central conceptual issues of ‘being’ of primary significance here are the nature and origin of being, the possibilities of being, what possibilities are ‘desirable,’ ways in which the possible may be actualized, and the issue of how to think about these questions i.e. the nature of LOGIC. Whether being has an origin or origins, and what could be its source is a further question, for, if everything has being then it would seem that there is nothing outside being. Paradoxes associated with the word ‘everything’ have been considered and treated in the SOURCES
Thus, the concern is with being as existence and with the nature of existence. The word ‘being’ may be used in the sense of being-in-time or in a sense in which it includes process, i.e. in which it includes becoming, sustaining and dissolution. The latter meaning may be indicated, where necessary, by writing the hyphenated form ‘be-ing.’ It is not given that the conceptual distinction corresponds to an actual one. An entity may be thought of as static in its being but, in fact, it may be sustained in its being by an underlying process or dynamic. The developments here found the latter view. In the actuality of being and becoming, it is found that, state, process and relation are mutually sustaining
Consolidation. The final sections, ‘Realization…,’ ‘The Central…,’ and ‘Summary,’ require review for necessity, title, content and placement. Solution. Since most of this section, ‘Realization,’ is going to a later chapter, ‘Foundation,’ the section can be eliminated – some material may be placed above or in a consolidated section, ‘Summary and Prospect…’
Purposes of this section: (1) Prospects for the journey, and (2) An informal review of where the Journey stands. It is at the ‘cross roads’ between ideas and transformation… is ‘cross roads’ a good metaphor – what would be better
Relatively complete. Being and Aspects of Being
In-process
Note. The Preview and Overview may be placed here
Introductory Comment: this chapter, Foundation (for the Journey in Being,) is in its development also part of the Journey. When no longer necessary, eliminate the following boxed outline and the bookmark ‘foundation’
In this chapter, I develop and apply a metaphysics or Theory of Being whose purpose in this essay is as a foundation for the journey. Although its motivation has been application to the journey, the Theory of Being may stand as an independent development. Four core concepts of the metaphysics, whose meaning is clarified in the development that follows, are BEING which incorporates becoming, primal mind and primitive forms of extension or space and duration or time; the UNIVERSE that is all being; the VOID or the absence of being; and LOGOS – necessary or constitutive but perhaps implicit order. Since ‘universe’ and ‘void’ fall under ‘being’ the four concepts could be reduced to two; however, it will be most effective to begin the development of the metaphysics with the four stated concepts. Although the meanings or uses of the terms in this essay have continuity with their general and classical meanings, it is necessary, in the formulation of a comprehensive framework whose intention includes anchoring in what is real, to anticipate transformations in meaning. Therefore, real appreciation and criticism of the system is possible only after the meanings have been established, i.e., meanings-in-transition clarified. As an example, being has a number of meanings and connotations and in one of these, being is distinguished from existing. However, in this essay, the core meaning of being will be that of existing. If other meanings and connotations have relevance or application, those should fall out as particular concepts of the theory
The four concepts constitute the core metaphysical framework. It might be thought that the core framework is so general as to yield no conclusion. However, the ensuing metaphysics includes and is an advance over the classical western and eastern metaphysics. An example the advance, developed below, is that the framework provides a rational understanding of being –and becoming– with basis in the void that requires no substance or regress to a more fundamental level. A related development is that if the conception of a state of being has and entails no contradiction, then that state is realized. It follows, then, that the actual universe is infinitely larger and more varied than the known universe including the universe as described in science. The substance-free ontology and the condition of realization have basis in logic and the given that there is being. This appears to contradict science and common sense in that it allows violation of the known laws and regularities. The development brings out the meaning of these conclusions and addresses their paradoxical nature in a way that embeds our world in this broadest of contexts. This is done in terms a fifth concept – that of the NORMAL: the ‘laws of nature’ are not normally violated in, e.g., this (our) cosmological system. That is, ‘the’ laws of nature are regularities of this cosmos but not of the entire universe. Further, the being-universe-void triad will be seen to have a Logos, e.g., the trivial conclusion that the Universe has and can have no external creator. Thus, in resorting to the most general of frameworks, the metaphysics yields powerful general conclusions of an ultimate nature. While this is positive it may seem to be a limitation in that it seems that more specific kinds of conclusion should not result from the general framework. However, the power of the metaphysics is not limited to the general and the ultimate. Specific contexts may have their own logos whose rational study falls under logic and science. The power of the metaphysical framework is brought out by application to a variety of relatively broad ‘contexts.’ In this essay it is shown that the theory has consequences in terms of providing foundation for broad contexts such as classical metaphysics, logic and the nature of possibility and necessity, cosmology, anthropology and human society, faith and religion, the nature of the individual and his or her relation to and continuity with the universe – all in this chapter and exploration and transformation of being in JOURNEY IN BEING; and specific contexts such as language, object, form, property, disorders of organisms, and foundations of quantum mechanics… I.e., metaphysics or the Theory of Being may be regarded as a foundation for all knowing, action and transformation
Philosophy and language: from the foundation
One important consequence is an illumination and evaluation of the problems of knowledge. The validity and therefore the nature of knowledge are important because claims to knowledge may be mistaken. The problems of knowledge have been implicit since the beginning of reflective thought; subsequently, in a turn that peaked with Kant, the problem of knowledge –and later, that of language– came to occupy the role of foundation in western philosophy. However, as elaborated in this essay, including what is revealed by the theory of knowledge itself, in the later considerations, knowledge as knowledge-of-things must take second place to being. However, METAPHYSICS may be seen as constituted of two aspects of knowledge: the intensional – nature, possibility and status of knowledge and the extensional – knowledge of the world which implicitly includes the intensional
The degree to which these applications have been worked out is not uniform. The purposes to the system of application include the following. (1) To develop and bring out the power of the metaphysics which, in turn, establishes confidence in its use both generally and in the Journey in Being. (2) To provide clarification, foundation – including revision as necessary, and further development of the classical disciplines such as metaphysics, logic, cosmology… (3) To establish and firmly anchor the metaphysics as the foundation of a ‘worldview’
The metaphysics is developed as a hierarchy with knowledge embedded in action or knowledge-in-action as fundamental and symbolically expressed knowledge as its peak. I.e., this essay develops metaphysics as a metaphysics-in-action as ground and the theory of being or symbolically expressed metaphysics as its peak
The metaphysics makes it possible to touch upon and approach a resolution to every essential problem of being with emphasis on human being. In other words, the metaphysics has practical and conceptual application – it has application in being, transformation and living and in understanding the world. This will be shown explicitly (1) By demonstrating the completeness of the metaphysics. The sense of the completeness of the metaphysics is that all essential problems may be illuminated and founded but not that every detail of fact may be generated without reference to information that is more specific than the metaphysics or theory and (2) In the provision of a general account of being that requires no further regress to a more fundamental level and by addressing, illuminating and providing foundation for a range of problems that is sufficiently representative of being. Since the account requires no further regress, it requires no foundation in another idea or theory, i.e., the theory provides its own foundation. It is also shown that although absolute completeness is possible at the abstract level of being-as-being, it is not possible with regard to the motives and possibilities of all individuals. There, however, a kind of completeness of being- or knowing-in-action is possible
These developments shed light on the nature of metaphysics and of ‘theory.’ It is often thought that, since a theory is a generalization of or abstraction from what is known, despite their usefulness, theories cannot be proven. In general, even though theories may be overturned, a good theory captures something of the essence of its subject. That a theory may be overturned means that it is not universal in some sense and not that it does not capture an essence of some phase of being. Thus, theories are, in terms of providing explanation, understanding and prediction, more useful than facts. The word ‘theory’ is sometimes used in a derogatory sense, e.g., in association with a qualification as in ‘… is only a theory.’ In some uses it is true that the meaning of ‘theory’ is close to that of ‘opinion.’ However, a good theory of some phase of being captures an essence of that phase. In that sense, a theory is more an essence than a hypothesis; in that sense a theory is a fact but not a mere fact. This is not inconsistent with the fact that theories may be overturned: the theory captures an essence of some phase of the universe but not necessarily of a larger phase and, so in the progression of knowledge into realms previously unknown, a more encompassing theory may become necessary
This much is true of the Theory of Being developed in this essay. However, as noted above and shown later, this Theory of Being has an absolute foundation which is possible on account of its sole premise: there is being which, on account of some presence such as the experience or illusion of writing or reading these words, is beyond doubt
In an earlier writing a section titled ‘Principles of Thought’ was placed here for usefulness in the development. However, it is now placed below at Principles of Thought due to the diminished theoretical importance of such principles and because the discussion benefits from the Theory of Being. The reasons for the placement are elaborated in the section. The principles may be used at any appropriate place in the development and this is not prevented by their placement below
Five core concepts
being, universe, void, logos, normal
Additional key concepts of the metaphysics
mind, becoming, order, chaos, mechanism, explanation, form, object, individual, truth, logic, cosmology, identity, human being, society, desirability, faith
Key terms for metaphysics and cosmology
absence, achievement, action, actual, actuality, actuality: see possibility and necessity, annihilation, annihilator, article of faith, becoming, being, being: all, cause, chaos, cognition, common sense, concept, constitutive, contingent, contradiction, contradiction: law of, cosmological system, cosmology, cosmology: physical, creation, creator, criticisms, death: finality: transcending, definition, desirability, domain: phase-epoch, duration, dynamic, dynamics, effect, empirical, enjoyment, error, ethics, exists, experience, explanation, extension, faith, faith: article of, fate, feasibility, feeling, finite, form, foundation, god, human being, identity, implication, importance, index, individual, induction, intrinsic worth, journey, karma, knowledge, law, life, living in the present, logic, logos, luminous: metaphorical, magic, magician, meaning, meaning: use, mechanics, mechanism, metaphysics, mind, miracle, motive, necessity, normal, nothing: something from, nothingness, object, order, pattern, phase-epoch, physical, physical law, physics: theoretical, possibility, possibility: see actuality and necessity, power, real, recurrence, recurrence: span of, regularity, relation, religion, science, selection, shaman, society, span, state, symbol, symbolic system, theory, tradition, transcending limits, transformation, truth, universal, universe, use, variation, void, void: the, word, world
Key terms for epistemology
a posteriori, a priori, acquaintance, apprehension, belief, category of being, category of intuition, causation, certainty, cognition, comprehension, concept, conception, correlation, deduction, description, determinism, direct, dispositional, emotion: not excluded, empiricism, epistemology, experience, experiment, explanation, fact, faith, function: mental, hypothesis, immersion, indeterminism, indirect, induction, intuition, justification, knowledge, language, law, logic, logical positivism, mathematics, meaning, memory, noumenon, object, occurrent, opinion, percept, perception, phenomenalism, phenomenon, presentationalism, rationalism, rationality, realism, reason, representation: iconic, representation: symbolic, representationalism, science, scientific positivism, skepticism, substance, symbol, theory, thought, truth, understanding, use, value
Key terms for mind
See the discussion on mind
Explanations of the terms
Complete the following; place in the Lexicon
Theory (of being) – the nature of the foundation
Action – foundation requires more than ‘knowing’ but, in the sense of significance, is no more than knowing-in-action
Power – the ability to have an effect, that which has effect… power as the measure of being, i.e., power is measured by direct or indirect effect on sentient
Alternative title: The Metaphysics, General Metaphysics, or, simply, Metaphysics. Development of the Theory of Being with the Metaphysics, Logic, Cosmology and Theory of Knowledge: use the multiple outlines below
Heading levels: In this Heading 2 section, it is necessary to rationalize the heading levels
The Purposes of this Introduction are
To discuss the nature of being, i.e., to consider, ‘What is Being?’
To simultaneously discuss the nature of ‘definition’ and to some inadequacies in some traditional concepts of definition and in the idea of foundation through definition; and the related issue that definition in advance of discussion provides clarification. To discuss the relation of ‘being’ to ‘existence’ and the verb ‘to be;’ and the concept of existence. To note a number of meanings of the word ‘is’ and to show which meanings (or meaning) are fundamental to ‘being’ and ‘existing.’ To discuss the role of time in the meaning of being. To question whether there is a distinction between ‘being’ and ‘having being,’ i.e., to question the meaning of ‘property’ and whether the distinction between a property and a thing is fundamental – and whether there are properties or whether, instead, there are but constitutions of objects and relations among objects and a property is, at root, a kind of relation
To explain the choice of being as foundational for metaphysics and metaphysics as foundational for the journey
To discuss the relation of being to metaphysics and metaphysics to the Theory of Being
To identify included and excluded meanings of ‘metaphysics
To explain the two related senses of ‘metaphysics’ used in this essay – a specific sense in which metaphysics is ‘ontology’ or the theory of the most general features of being – the theory of being as being; and a broader sense in which metaphysics is the study or theory of being and its general application. In the broader sense, metaphysics could encompass all disciplines, action and exploration but is traditionally restricted to ontology, logic, philosophical cosmology and the general study of mind. To these general studies, I have added the theory of knowledge and called the result The Theory of Being
The use of the adjective ‘philosophical’ does not imply that philosophical cosmology is distinct from cosmology. Instead it implies something about the focus of investigation and the approach used. In philosophical cosmology, the focus is on the nature of the study, i.e., what it is, on foundations and principles and not on detailed development; however sufficient application to illustrate the nature, foundations and principles, and significance of the subject may be appropriately included. Philosophical cosmology does not exclude physical cosmology – the study of the local cosmological system as known to science. However, philosophical cosmology concerns itself with the details of physical cosmology and its scientific study to draw general conclusions and with implications for physical cosmology and science that arise. The approach in philosophical cosmology does not exclude science but the general nature of the study results in a focus on construction and analysis of symbolic description. The empirical basis of philosophical cosmology includes general features of scientific cosmology, the fact of being, the possibility of logic and the contingent nature of the local cosmos… With ‘philosophical’ used in a similar way, the constituents of the Theory of Being are ontology, philosophical logic, philosophical cosmology, philosophical psychology and the philosophy of knowledge
To consider what is expected of a Theory of Being
To explain why I include the philosophy or theory of knowledge in the inclusive sense of metaphysics. To explain why the inclusive sense of metaphysics is coherent. I.e., to explain why ontology, logic, cosmology, the study of mind, and the theory of knowledge stand together as a mutually supporting, coherent system
Finally, to motivate and explain the structure of the subsequent development of the theory of being and an alternative structure suited to the next chapter, Journey in Being
Note. In describing the structure, note (1) The ultimate consolidation into four topics: being, form, explanation, cosmos or –for the journey– identity, cosmos, explanation, being (2) The consolidated structure in which, as one example, logos, form and logic are a unit. (3) The actual structure in which logos, form and logic, are separated for practical reasons as are other sections. Mention that science is placed under logic because of certain affinities and contrasts whereas the theory of knowledge is placed under ‘object;’ and that, however, the separation of science and theory of knowledge is only incidental because the individual sections could be consolidated
Alternative titles: The Concept and Nature of Being or, simply, Being…
Collect all ideas and sections on being. May repeat / absorb / send some material from ‘Introduction to the Journey in Being’
From supplement
There is no foundation of being outside being; therefore, for the journey, foundation is at most illumination
Placement. Becoming is discussed above in the ‘Introduction to the Journey in Being;’ determine the parts of the discussion to be placed there, parts here, and parts to be repeated…
This discussion is relevant to the section, ‘Focus on Being’ and overlapping parts may be placed there
How important to being is becoming? In the end, I think that being is found to be fundamental – not because becoming is not fundamental to being in a normal sense but because (1) fundamentally, in the Theory of Being, becoming, relationship are implicit in being – as are many other apparently fundamental concepts such as ‘form’ and ‘substance,’ and (2) Even in the normal or practical sense, the form of being can be understood either through becoming – evolution – or through adaptation i.e. symmetry of the elements. Note regarding importing material from the compound section that includes ‘necessity of becoming’ from FOUNDATION: the necessity is that in the void – which is present even when there is being – there must be becoming i.e. it follows from the meaning of void or non-being that being will occur; it is not being said that the concept of becoming is necessary for or prior to that of being
Alternative title: Emphasis on Being
Content: Why focus / emphasis on Being?
Review title. Alternatives, ‘WHY BEING?’ ‘WHY FOCUS ON BEING?’
The focus on ‘being’ and ‘Journey’ has been motivated in the Introduction. Here, I further establish the significance of being for the understanding of the universe. The significance is inherent in the concepts as used here: being – that which exists or which has existence, and the universe – all that exists
In metaphysics, the understanding of the universe, some aspect of being has often been taken as fundamental. Examples are MATTER – that which is tangible or that which is the subject of modern physics; MIND – the aspect of being that makes it capable of sentience; PROCESS and numerous others. Taking any such aspect of being as fundamental is necessarily an ontological commitment precisely because it is an aspect of being. In practice there is often a further ontological commitment in that not the aspect of being that is taken as fundamental but, rather, the aspect-as-we-know-it. However, since being is that which exists there is no a priori ontological commitment. I.e. in taking being as fundamental there is no original ontological sin. As an example even the most committed materialist will agree that there is a conceptual distinction between being-as-fundamental and matter-as-fundamental. The materialist will argue that, in fact, matter is fundamental and although there may be a conceptual gap between being and matter there is no actual gap. The materialist may further argue philosophically that being must be defined as what is perceived and therefore whatever exists is capable of perception and that is matter. However, in so doing, the materialist continues his or her original ontological error and further compounds it with an epistemological error called empiricism. Empiricism is subject to a conceptual error that is similar to the ontological error and it implies an ontological commitment that is avoided in taking being as fundamental. The materialist could continue to argue, however, that being is too general a ‘category’ and repeat his or her argument that being, although different from matter in concept, conflates to or has the same extension as matter
As it turns out, however, the use of being is extremely powerful and the theory of being, within which the various aspects or categories find fundamental interpretation, enables a fundamental understanding of the possibilities of being, cosmology, and mind and its nature and prediction of a fundamental results that are both surprising and profound. As an example, the theory of being at once deflates the classical mind-body or mind-matter problem and, in so doing, founds the insight into the nature and relation of mind and matter that mind may be seen as an aspect of the relations and mutual effects within matter. This point is not emphasized in the ontology because of the risk of falling back into the use of the prejudiced categories. Further, the insight does not imply that there is no mind-body concern but only that that concern is not part of the fundamental ontology. Instead, there is a problem of showing and conceiving the aspects of human mind – and their mutual relations and relations with the human body and its environment; the problem may be thought of as scientific. Suppose, instead of mind-as-we-experience-it i.e. instead of human or animal mind, the focus turns to MIND. It is here that, in addition to other considerations such as evolutionary biology, that the fundamental ontology provides illumination. The insights that are developed in detail in what follows include a reinterpretation of the traditional functions of emotion, cognition, drive, memory and other elements into a necessary framework of understanding and a reinterpretation of MIND that permits its equation with BEING
This reinterpretation is not a form of pan-psychism which is the ontological position that there is a fundamental substance and that substance is mind-as-we-experience-it or as we conceive it in theory without reinterpretation of the fundamental concepts
‘Being’ is not prejudiced – is neutral with regard to ontological commitment: unlike, e.g. mind or matter, the ontological character of being falls out of the development – it is not posited at the outset. Being lies at the intersection of the known and the unknown – this is, in some ways, our eternal situation. Even what is known and what is unknown are not given. In talking of being as the concept is used here no position is taken with regard to substances, categories, levels – fundamental and universal or local and structured or formed. Neutrality with regard to substance is not only a lack of a priori commitment to any given substance as fundamental; it is also neutrality with respect to the possibility of substance ontology. I.e., in the fundamental ontology it is allowed but not required at the outset that there may be a substance or substances and the these may be chosen from the traditional categories
The theory of being that is developed is that posits no substances or traditional categories such as space, time and causation. Instead, the traditional categories and substances find interpretation in the theory. In this interpretation the traditional system is found to have limited rather than universal application over the span and depth of being
It may seem that the extreme neutrality and generality of the concept of being would make it unsuitable, not only as a foundation for – understanding of – the world or universe, but also as a concept about which anything may be said. However, such a position is a prejudice that is extremely limiting. Simultaneously, being is most fundamental –the common character of all entities or things– and, in talking of the being of specific entities, most formed. In the interaction of understanding – in the Journey of becoming, at the intersection of the known and the unknown – the formed and the formless, the stable and the ephemeral lies the potential for discovery and transformation
In addition to the fundamental character of being as conceived here, there is also an established tradition of a theory of being whose concepts and foci are similar to those of the this essay. Thus the present essay has continuities with and inspiration in the tradition
…
‘Why Being?’ has the following responses
Because it is most FUNDAMENTAL
But can we know about it – yes: analogy with [theory of] evolution… TWO OR MULTIPLE POINT THEORY AND KNOWABILITY
And, we discover about our SELVES and ESSENCES in the analysis of ‘TWO POINTS’
Basic use of the word being; ‘ALGEBRA’ and THE UNKNOWN – BEING AT THE CUSP OF THE KNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN
There is a TRADITION to the use of ‘being’
HEIDEGGER’S MANEUVER and the study of the nature and possibility of BEING. [Note: the eliminate reference to Heidegger here but add comment in ‘Influences’]
Planning. Incorporate the following comments
The observation, ‘Given the characteristics of any kind of being or world, the concept of being may be used to develop a powerful and necessary understanding of the origin and nature of that world.’ was made above. What is it that enables a particular being to identify other being and so connect the local and specific to the universal and abstract or general?
It is power, the ability to have an effect –it will be seen that ‘having effect’ is more accurate than ‘the ability to have an effect’– that enables this identification or ‘measure of being.’ Power connects individual being to all being
It might seem that power is a special –and therefore restrictive or prejudicial– concept that is deployed to a more general purpose. However, this is not the case for the use of power to identify or measure being is equivalent to saying that ‘the measure of being is being.’ I.e. power is immediate, not an abstract concept
This section is new to the outline. There is discussion of the point in this outline, the supplement and foundation. Is this the best location for the discussion?
CUT FROM INTRODUCTION.BEING. Incorporate into the foregoing discussion of being the following discussion that extends to Expectations for a Theory of Being
Distribution of discussions of Being. Discussion of being and topics under being is below, cut from the introduction, and in a number of sections in ‘Foundation:’ three main sections in ‘The Theory of Being,’ and a section in ‘Metaphysics.’ Here, I introduce the concept of ‘Being,’ the significant connotations (existence, power, being-in-itself) and how the valid connotations flow from existence, the significance of being despite apparent triviality. There, I provide more careful explanations (definitions, as far as is useful,) more careful justifications of claims, and further elaborations of what is here. Some repetition is good. There, under Metaphysics/Being, I outline the ‘analysis of being’ which is important
Plan. Note that there is repetition in what follows. It is necessary to eliminate the repetition and tighten the argument with respect to identifying and sequencing its phases, and getting the conceptual phases right
In this section I will address the questions, ‘What is Being?’ and ‘What is the meaning of Being?’
These two questions will be shown to be equivalent. Such an equivalence is not true for all concepts or ideas but is dependent on the nature of being. The identity of the questions is a logical identity for the first question invites a discussion of significance and examples (perhaps listed systematically) while the second invites elaborations of meaning
Being and its meaning and significance are discussed in greater detail and precision later in the essay, especially in the ‘Foundation’
Although the meaning of being is given very clearly, the generality and abstraction of the concept and the breadth of its extension (extension and intension and their use is discussed below: link) provides room for interpretation, variety, subsumption of everything in the universe outside of which there is nothing
Comment on meaning. There are a variety of meanings of ‘meaning.’ In this essay, two meanings are used and are roughly specified by the use in this section, ‘the meaning of a word,’ which is the default when no specification is made, and the alternate as in ‘the meaning (significance) of life.’
Although every meaning may change as a conceptual system (there are formal systems such as theories and explicit metaphysical systems and informal ones such as the system of concepts implicit in a natural language) grows to encompass a wider range, the meaning of ‘Being’ is, perhaps, too fundamental to change. This is true even as understanding and knowledge grow so that the class of entities that is recognized as having being grows. ‘What is Being?’ is answered, in principle but not in detail, by analyzing the meaning of ‘Being.’ What remains to be given or discovered is the elaboration of being – its analysis, significance and kinds or possibilities. Note that ‘meaning’ has more than one meaning of which two significant families are those centered around the uses ‘the meaning or sense and reference of a word or term’ and ‘the meaning or significance of life.’ Which of these two families is being used should be clear from the context
From the supplement
It is a direct consequence of the absolute level of generality or extension of the concept of being, that the questions ‘What is being?’ and ‘What is the meaning of being?’ are identical. I.e., the ostensive and conceptual definitions of ‘being’ are coextensive
In contrast, it is a problem in the understanding of more specific kinds of being that their ostensive and conceptual definitions are not a priori coextensive. Consider, for example, the idea of a tree or plant. For simple practical purposes, it is not necessary to define the concept of ‘plant.’ However, in order to decide marginal cases, a concept is necessary; the problem, then, is that for a given concept of ‘plant’ that clearly identifies the status of some marginal cases, there may be others whose status is unclear. This is precisely a part of the problem of clearly formulating a concept of such kinds of being as ‘tree,’ ‘plant,’ ‘life,’ and ‘matter’
The foregoing problem does not arise in the case of being or the concept of being which, therefore, have an a priori clarity. This clarity will be used in what follows to determine what things have being. It is usually considered obvious that such things as atoms, trees and teacups exist. However, it is not considered to be similarly clear whether numbers exist. One source of lack of clarity in this question is that the mark of existence is, sometimes implicitly or unconsciously, taken to be that of material existence. Once this confusion has been eliminated, it becomes clear that numbers do not exist-as-simple-material-objects but may and, as it will turn out, do have existence
In determining the existence of some ‘thing’ there is always the issue of whether the thing actually exists or whether the appearance of a thing is due to the projection of a mind upon a relatively formless background [or a selection from a multi-form background of a specific form]
The THEORY OF BEING developed here is instrumental in resolving the problems raised in the immediately foregoing paragraphs
…
There is a FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL or meaning of being – that which exists or has existence
It is possible to doubt whether anything exists. However, this doubt is really a question of the meaning of ‘existence.’ Without existence there is nothing, not even doubt
The world in which we live, in which the question of existence arises, is a world whose existence is given. Even if the reality of the question –the understanding– is an illusion, the illusion is in a world – ‘all is illusion’ is incoherent, i.e. illusion is not possible without a world. Investigation may provide insight into what is illusion and what is not. Even if, for example, this world is the dream of some cosmic dreamer, its existence as dream is given. While the ‘dream theory of our being’ is possible there must, ultimately, be something, perhaps some original dreamer whose being is given. Further, even if the ‘dream theory’ is conceptually possible, its complication must be exponential in comparison to the simple ‘theory that the world exists.’ For the latter theory requires no explanation but the dream theory requires an explanation of how it is that a dreamer may ‘compute’ the complexities of the world
That there is experience is in the meaning of existence of being – even if the experience is illusory or about no thing, even if there is no one that has the experience. There is no need for further analysis of the root meaning of existence. The analytically inclined may be used to the expectation of further meaning behind every meaning. This expectation is especially acute in the case of being on account of its fundamental nature. However, there is no necessity to the infinite regress of meaning. While analysis of deep concepts is expected, the deepest of concepts should be incapable of regress. (It will be seen later that a logical foundation of being and its meaning without further regress is possible. Link: void; also above in previewing the basic ideas.) Still, that there may be nothing further upon which existence or being may be founded may leave a feeling of discomfort. This is, again, a function of the attitude of ever seeking explanations which itself has no final necessity. We seek explanations of things beyond those things but, regarding being, there is no beyond, before or outside
Significance of the Concept of Being
Repetition. This point is also discussed in the Heading 4 section of the same name below
It may be asked, then, whether the concept of being is trivial – even profoundly trivial. If the analysis of being were to remain arrested at the stage of being-as-such it might be interesting (link: void) but without significance (any thought of significance would be the intuitive apprehension of the following.) The power of the concept of being is revealed in application to particular cases – and in application to the spectrum of cases. Examples and developments, anticipated earlier and developed in this essay have the following significance. The examples provide illustration of the concept of being and simultaneously show that stopping consideration at what is known, especially at what is normally considered to be known, is infinitely premature. Simultaneously, the concept of being together with the system of kinds of being provides interpretation of the nature of the kinds of being and prevents assumption that special kinds or modes of being, e.g. matter and mind, are representative of all being
This simultaneous concern with the general and the specific, with being and kind of being, illuminates all further understanding. All further understanding? It is not implied that every thing and every concept will receive illumination. However, the Theory of Being developed in FOUNDATION (link) is, in a sense that is made clear, an ultimate foundation for the understanding of all being. It brings together all categories of being and understanding so that, while there are always questions of detail, there is no further question or possibility of any further question of fundamentals. The theory and its developments clarifies a distinction between significant and contingent issues
The question of existence, i.e., whether there is being, then, is trivial. What, in addition to the foregoing general considerations, is the significance of being? The first issue that arises is ‘What exists?’ The foregoing discussion shows that the question of whether there is existence is trivial but does not shed light on what exists. ‘What exists?’ will be analyzed in terms of experience (something exists,) power (the relation of what exists to other things that exist,) and the theory of being that provides a framework for all being. Further issues include the following
What Exists: Intension; Appearance and Reality
Repetition. This point should be combined with the later discussion – there or here
Note. Use alternate words for intension and extension?
I see a tree; it seems obvious that it exists. However, I may doubt its existence. Firstly, I may be hallucinating; there may be a mirage; I may have an optical illusion; or, perhaps, a swarm of locusts or micro-robots, some green and some brown, have come together to give the appearance of a tree. These doubts are not the primary concern regarding existence, i.e., the primary concern is not whether there is some mistake in perception. Mistakes in perception are always possible: the capacity for (non-gratuitous) error in perception and the capacity to have new perceptions go together. However, in the following discussion regarding existence, I assume that mistakes are not being made. Mistakes may be corrected; the discussion is at a deeper level than that of a mere mistake
Note. The next two FONT.RED paragraphs are temporarily so set to indicate their use for the later sections, FORM and SYMBOL AND OBJECT
A question that I can ask regarding the existence of the tree is why I identify the tree as an object when what I have in my experience is not a tree but an impression of a tree. I am not sure, without further analysis of experience, whether the language of the previous sentence is correct but it is sufficient to raise a valid doubt concerning the existence of a tree that I think I observe. The doubt may appear to be neurotic. There is of course a practical sense in which it is neurotic but the analysis and resolution of the doubt has profound implications for understanding of knowledge and of being. The present question regarding existence may be formulated as a question regarding the relation between appearance and reality. Even if I analyze my experience of the tree, the grounds for my analysis are also based in experience. It therefore appears that I cannot escape experience. Is it possible to go beyond experience and be objective? Can I know the thing-in-itself or noumenon? It may appear that the ‘difficulty’ of knowing the thing-in-itself is not practical but conceptual: thing-in-itself and thing-as-known appear to be categorially distinct. These questions are addressed in FOUNDATION (link: Symbol and Object; link: Theory of Being for objective existence)
Consider next the question of whether a unicorn exists. I know (assume) that there are no actual unicorns. What does it mean to talk of something that does not exist? I.e., when I say the word ‘unicorn,’ to what am I referring? This question has been regarded as a paradox regarding the concept of existence. However, the resolution of the ‘paradox’ is straightforward. I have an idea, a picture or a concept of a unicorn. When I say that unicorns do not exist, I am saying that there is nothing in the universe that corresponds to my concept of a unicorn. Similarly, in saying that a tree exists, I am saying (at least) that there is something that corresponds to my idea, concept or picture of a tree
Do numbers exist? This question can also be written as one about appearance and reality. We have the idea of number, developed for human beings by human beings at an early stage in the history of mathematics. Is there any real or actual thing that corresponds to this idea? The question has philosophical or metaphysical interest. One answer to this question from the history of philosophy is that there is, in addition to the world of real or material things, an ideal world, perhaps a world of forms and that numbers exist in that ideal world. In this essay, I will give a different answer to this question in FORM (link). That discussion is motivated, firstly, by the concept of the UNIVERSE, in this essay, as ALL BEING, i.e., outside of which there is nothing; and secondly, by the concept of POWER (link?). Starting with the observation that experience is the initial mark of being, anything that affects experience, i.e. has power, also has being and this is used as the basis of the later argument to show that forms do not lie in a separate universe but are things in this universe. The word ‘things’ in the previous sentence is intended to be taken literally: it will be shown, in an ARCHETYPAL ARGUMENT (link: form), how the generic categories, e.g. mind, and the apparently abstract categories such as number, universal and form may all be seen to be possessed of the same degree of ‘concreteness’ as the particular entities
Immediately a doubt regarding the existence of numbers and forms in this universe comes from materialism which has been the dominant paradigm of thought a number of times in the history of ideas including the present time since the early twentieth century. Materialism is the idea that everything in the universe is made of matter. If all things are material in nature then, given a material object such as a rock, its existence requires no demonstration. On the other hand, given an idea such as a form or a number, its existence in material terms –the criterion of existence under materialism– requires demonstration
Materialism is a form of monism: the idea that only one kind of thing has being. The difficulty with showing the existence of non-material things on a material basis is one source of dualism, i.e., a metaphysics (ontology) in which two or more kinds of thing are admitted to exist. A system in which both matter and ideas are posited to exist is a form of dualism. It is also possible to have a pluralism, e.g., a metaphysics in which there are numerous categories of existence or being such as matter, mind or idea, form, number, relationship, process… An appeal of monism is its simplicity and apparently fundamental character: all being is founded on a unitary basis. An apparent weakness of monism is the embarrassment regarding non-material ‘things.’ A primary appeal of the dualistic systems is that it is not required to explain the being of different kinds of thing: they all exist in a separate but equal status. In a dualism the categories have a dual function in that they found being and its variety
It is possible to take a pragmatic view in which a number of categories is admitted but no assertion is made that they are fundamental in nature. In such a view it may be said, e.g., that ‘a rock exists as matter,’ ‘concepts, numbers, forms exist as ideas,’ ‘forces exist as relationships,’ ‘time exists as a measure of process’ and so on; and all of these exist in that they have power which is taken to be the common ground of being
What Exists: the Theory of Being (link) and the Void (link)
The foundation of the Theory of Being (linked) developed in this essay is in terms of the concept of the void (nothingness) or, equivalently, in terms of logic (this is parallel to a number of developments in the history of ideas where a fundamental concept is first introduced as an artifice, e.g., the entropy in the theory of energy)
In the Theory of Being, there are no fundamental substances. In the history of thought, it has been sought to found being in doubt; this foundation, such as it is, is relative to thought: there is thought or experience hence there is being. Here, one foundation of being is sought in the absence of being, i.e. in the void; this is found to be an absolute foundation for it is not required to posit or assume the existence of the void: the existence of the void may be demonstrated without assumption. Further, the properties of the void may be derived and have profound consequences that include the necessity of becoming and therefore of being; the universality of power – that any being can interact with any other being, i.e. that though, in local or practical frameworks, there may be ‘ghost universes,’ there is ultimately one universe in the sense that all things have mutual power (i.e., that there is one universe is more than a mere definition of the universe as all being;) that, since there is one universe, there is no ultimate measure of possibility other than actuality somewhere and when; that, since there is one universe, laws, patterns and forms cannot be imposed from without but must be immanent in ‘things’ and, therefore, the void is not merely an absence of things but also an absence of law, of form, of pattern, of ideas, of relationship and process, of God, soul and spirit, of space, of time, and of causation – even the quasi-causation of modern quantum theory; that what does not involve logical contradiction is possible; that what is possible is necessary somewhere and when; that local actualities have infinite recurrence (over space and time) and therefore that ‘Jesus Christ is rising from the dead in countless cosmologies; that there is being whose identity spans all individual identities and therefore gives meaning (significance) to recurrence and, therefore, to the idea of karma; that, while in this life, the doors to BEING may appear to lie in shadow regions of awareness, death is an explicit doorway to identity with all being and therefore to all good and all evil, to all pleasure and all pain, to all unities and all distinctions... The possibilities, listing, demonstration and significance are discussed in detail in (links). These consequences may assault common sense and reason, and may be thought to violate the laws of physics and, perhaps, the principles of biology. One reaction may be ‘I cannot imagine how something may come from nothing.’ However, since the becoming from nothingness has been demonstrated, imagination is not required for acceptance of the claim (imagination is possible provided the common intuition is open to re-education.) A more serious objection is the apparent negation of common sense reality, of the given nature of this world with its practical limits and necessities. However, the common sense or ‘normal’ reality is not negated; in the Theory of Being it is shown that our local cosmology must be a relatively stable cosmology (an explanation of the population of the universe by stable systems may be given and the theory shows that it is necessary for this normal explanation or mechanism to obtain with infinite though not universal recurrence) and that violation of its limits and necessities, including its laws, are normally extremely improbable on local scales even though they are not absolute
Being that spans all being may be identified with ‘God.’ Although it has not been my intention to identify ‘being that spans all being’ with ‘God,’ the identification is possible. However, care is required in the identification for ‘God’ has numerous connotations – abstract connotations such as ‘the most perfect being’ and anthropomorphic connotations such as justness and mercifulness. Such connotations, especially when they are thought to exclude their contraries, are not implicit in the idea of ‘being that spans all being.’ Confusion is encouraged by the use of the same sign, e.g. ‘God,’ to denote different meanings or symbols. ‘Being that spans all being’ is an open symbol in the sense that there is allowance for indefiniteness in acquaintance with the object. The idea that ‘Jesus Christ rose from the dead’ is absurd is also a confusion in the equation of likelihood or practical necessity with logical necessity
Thus the theory of being is not monistic, dualistic or fundamentally pragmatic: its ontology is not a substance ontology; however, it does provide a foundation for being (in the void) that is logical in nature and does not require the axiomatic introduction of any category. Substance ontology posits categories whose logical basis is taken as axiomatic, i.e., an unexplained terminus or end to explanation. In the Theory of Being, the void is demonstrated to provide an end to explanation; further, the void has an implicit character that may also demonstrated on logical grounds. Therefore, in the Theory of Being, there is no foundation or need for foundation in an unfounded category, no explanation in terms of an unexplained terminus, no infinite regress of explanation. Given the concept of some category of being then, provided that there is no contradiction implicit in the concept, the Theory of Being provides a foundation for the being of that category. Further, the theory provides a foundation for the concept of power: every being may interact with every other being (absence of observed or known interaction is explained by saying the probability of interaction is extremely small)
What is the status of matter, mind and so on in the Theory of Being? The various modes or categories may be called pragmatic because, even though they are not ultimate in character, they provide ways to describe the variety within the world; the categories have common pragmatic, scientific and metaphysical uses. However, the categories are not fundamental. So, instead of talking of mind and of matter, it would be more accurate and make clear the possibility of further development if we were to talk of mind-as-humans-and-animals-have-it or matter-as-we-experience-and-have-theories-of-it. It may then be possible, on the basis of the Theory of Being, to extend the concepts of mind and matter to some primal level where, perhaps, they have some root identity. This development will be taken up in FOUNDATION (link) where the extension of mind-as-we-have-it will be shown to be necessary and based, among other things in POWER that, in turn, has foundation in the void. When the concept of matter is similarly extended, mind and matter will be found to be different aspects of being
It has been seen that, even on a pragmatic view, power provides a common ground for being, i.e., the concept of power may be used to show how all the categories have an equal status with regard to being. I may have chosen knowability since it is a kind of power and, to a sentient being, it is more immediate. However, at the earlier level of discussion, power was more basic or fundamental. Just as being is fundamental with regard to existence, power is fundamental with regard to relationship or interaction. However, when the concept of mind is extended to the primal level, there is no distinction between power and knowability
Science and the Theory of Being
Why do I turn to the Theory of Being and not to science? In the first place, it is clear that being is more fundamental than the concepts of science: there is no category more fundamental than being. Additionally, it will be shown that the world described in science (as usually understood) is an infinitesimal part, with regard to kind and range, of the universe of all being
Science and the Characterization of Science
Comment. The following is one of a number of discussions of science in this essay. As a human institution, science is multi-dimensional in its nature and varied in its subject matter. Therefore, it is not possible to characterize science in any brief discussion. Together, the various discussions provide a better though still incomplete characterization of science
Since the rise of science, its fundamental theoretical concepts have often been regarded, especially implicitly, to be fundamental substances. Use of fundamental concepts from science as categories or substances is especially problematic in the assumption that the precise concepts of science have universal application. The precision and definiteness of the concepts of science is a primary source of the problem: they are achieved by a limitation of perspective which is the source of their local power and universal weakness. Science has been thought to characterize the entire universe; however, the theories of science, as is seen in this essay, characterize at most, this (and similar) cosmological systems. It is further seen that the universe has no laws; i.e., in describing the universe there is but one law: that any description that has no actual or hidden contradiction must obtain. There is no question that the beautiful and elegant laws of physics are contingent to an extremely limited cosmological system; that those laws are not without wonder in their application and that, beyond their domain of application, laws are rich sources of analogy
What Exists: Discussion of Intension and Extension
In discussing ‘what exists,’ some clarification of the meaning (intension) of existence or being has been made. A second issue concerns identifying or cataloging things that exist, i.e., determining the extension of the concept of existence or being. Together, the intension, discussed above, and extension, discussed next, provide an answer to the question ‘What exists?’ or ‘What has being?’ If the discussions of intension and extension were complete, the question would be answered completely
What Exists: Extension
In this essay, I have discussed a wide range of being. The Theory of Being (link?) makes it possible to assert the being of things that are not known directly to human beings (they must, of course, be knowable to us and known to some beings.) Direct and conceptual (theoretical) knowledge, together, make it possible to determine, in principle, the entire range of being even if it is not practically possible (or desirable) to do so. Although it is my intention to discuss a wide range of being as illustration of the Theory of Being and for the intrinsic interest (what is the nature of the universe, what things that human beings have thought to exist actually do exist) it is not my intention to attempt an ‘enumeration’ of being
In discussing the meaning of ‘existence,’ a number of things or kinds of thing that exist have been identified, some only by implication: experience (and implicitly the individual,) trees and other living things, material things, ideas, forms, and numbers. Except for experience, the identification is tentative and pending later discussion as noted for objects, ideas, forms and number. The existence of the individual is clarified in the discussion of identity (link). I will subsequently take up the being or existence of mind, soul, spirit, God, energy, and other entities or categories from myth, religion, and science and will find a listing of any ‘chain of being’ to be severely limited unless it is founded on the Theory of Being of this essay or its logical equivalent. I will further show, on grounds of logic, that the Theory of Being is an ultimate theory in senses to be identified and it therefore appears that all being may be anticipated, in principle, from the Theory of Being
Before leaving this discussion of the extension of the concept of being or existence, I will mention the idea of nothingness or the void whose nature and existence has been discussed in detail (link.) The void contains no things, no forms, no patterns, no laws. That it does not contain any existing thing does not mean that it does not exist. One might say that the void contains all logically contradictory states of affairs and other non-existing ‘things’ but that would still be equivalent to saying that it contains no things etc. It might seem to have no consequence whether nothingness exists. However, it will be seen in developing the Theory of Being, that nothingness is equivalent to the entire universe, i.e., to all being. Therefore, nothingness has power
What is the Nature of Existing Things?
A second concern is ‘What is the nature of the things that exist?’ These two broad concerns are related. The nature of an entity in its being-concept can be nothing other than its ‘elements.’ The idea of element is conceived in a general way as ‘kind of being’ and is not limited to ‘part’ but may also include relation, process and other kinds that may arise in the understanding of being. The point of view that this can be done precisely, definitively and, perhaps, uniquely has naturally been called LOGICAL ATOMISM. The history of LOGICAL ATOMISM is one of limited success and one of the limits is that at any point in human thought, the given system of concepts cannot be reasonably expected to be complete with respect to the apparently endless possibilities of fact. A conclusion arrived at in this essay is that there is or appears to be no given atomic structure to being-thought but that there is a terminus to ALL BEING-concept in the void. A second conclusion is as follows. Implicit in the discussion of the present paragraph, and earlier in the INTRODUCTION, is the issue of the nature and relation of object and subject. It will be shown that object and subject are not different modes of being but are equi-present in ALL BEING; that object and subject may be regarded as distinct modes of description but subscription to an absolute rather than pragmatic distinction is in error; that object and subject are fused at all levels of being from the elemental and the void to the ultimate
Further Significance of the Concept of Being
Repetition. This point should be combined with the later discussion – there or here
The interest in being, in the nature of existence, is not in the question of whether there is existence… The interest includes [1] to place ALL BEING on a common ground – this will provide an answer to the question of the nature of being and, simultaneously, reveal the nature of the question; specifically, in placing ALL BEING on a common ground, it will be possible to elucidate the existential character, i.e. the nature of the being, of the objects to which the variety of the categories of the concepts correspond, [2] to center ourselves in being… to understand the nature of our being, and [3] as foundation for all further understanding
In FURTHER UNDERSTANDING being, we may look, initially, to examples of being – to life, to human being
There is a sense in which human being is most fundamental to us and it is not a parochial or anthropomorphic sense but, rather, the sense in which, no matter to what degree ‘we’ transcend our perspectives, to what degree we import other perspectives e.g. by understanding other cultures, other species and categories, and even in symbolic freedom, ‘we’ still remain within the human perspective. This is of course conditionally true upon the human form being immutable and upon ‘us’ remaining within unchanged form. The limitation on human –any– being is normal; therefore HUMAN BEING IS MOST FUNDAMENTAL, though true, ultimately says nothing more than BEING IS BEING
The sense in which human being is most fundamental is a personal sense, it is a beginning, for human being, in a process of outward discovery of all being. As living in this world, a phase of all being, human being is neither at the beginning nor the end of this discovery. Although it may be natural to take human being as most fundamental (for human beings) at the outset of discovery, to continue in this attitude has no foundation for human being, as for all proximate being, is in transition: human being is neither elemental nor final
In looking at the variety of being and, then back at the basic level of being, we can see what ELEMENTS OF BEING are FUNDAMENTAL – have SIGNATURES IN THE FUNDAMENTAL levels and what elements are contingent
It is not being said that THE CONTINGENT is irrelevant; it is the source of much meaning – what is CLOSEST TO THE HEART
In this way it is possible to flesh out a metaphysics
A case of one word, two symbols which is distinct from the issue of ‘On Meaning,’ above. The use here is the existential use, ‘Water is H20’ or, simply, ‘Water is’ and not the use as a copula or linking word, ‘Water is wet.’ ‘Water is H20’ may, with qualification, be written, ‘Water = H2O’ but ‘Water is wet’ may not be correctly written ‘Water = wet,’ or, even, ‘Water = wetness’
Combine and condense: the following comments from v2004 with the above; delete ‘comments’ bookmark when done
The potential for confusion is avoided in some languages where ‘The fence is white’ may be written, ‘The fence has whiteness’
The senses are related but not identical. In saying ‘I am’ or ‘The fence exists,’ there may appear to be a predication. However, the significance goes beyond mere predication. In saying ‘The fence is white,’ there is usually no explicit intention to assert the existence of the fence in question or of whiteness: existence is assumed. In saying, ‘The fence exists,’ existence is asserted. Insofar as there is an external object ‘fence,’ the predication of its existence is empty in that existence is predicative of all actual external objects. Therefore, existence will be more informative when predicated of a concept e.g. the concept of ‘fence.’ The further development of the concept of existence will depend crucially upon the nature of the ‘concept,’ of the ‘object,’ and of the ‘external object.’ The question arises, ‘Is the external object ever apprehended?’ If not, what is the nature of the –ideal– object and its existence? Discussion of these issues is taken up in what follows
Further, regarding predication in the famous quotation of the first paragraph of this comment on being, the question arises, ‘What is being predicated of what?’ That is, to what does ‘I’ refer, what is the nature of its being, and, furthermore, regarding the connection between the ‘I’ and the ‘thinking’ or experience, what is the nature of the connection and how is it sustained?
‘Being’ is used in reference to existence, the nature and quality of existence and to specific beings, individuals and entities. Both uses occur in this essay and where confusion might arise in the use of ‘being’ as an entity, I have used ‘entity’ or ‘individual’
The COPULA ‘IS’
Plan. Combine ‘The Idea of Being (1)’ with ‘… (2).’ Rename the combined section and combine it with earlier sections as necessary. Place the material that describes the origin and consequences of the idea in other sections, e.g., ‘Achievements’
Why / What they are / Which is significant?
Abbreviate and place: abbreviate the discussion and place material as appropriate
A being is an entity that exists and the quality of being is the quality of existence, i.e., something has being if it exists. To have being is to be – to exist; the basic meaning of being is no more and no less than this. Being is understood (used) in a general sense that includes becoming or process (important in the history of ideas) or coming into existence: the concept of being forms the framework for the Journey. The concept of being may appear to be trivial: since all things have being, to say that something has being is to state what is obvious. Although the concept of being may appear to be trivial, it is, perhaps, the most fundamental of concepts and is pivotal in understanding the nature of all things and their possibilities
From the supplement
In the beginning, the idea of being may appear to be so general as to be empty. However in developing an understanding of the entire SPAN AND VARIETY OF BEING, the generality is necessary
Although a materialist may argue that matter is coextensive with being, such positions cannot be conceptually necessary and would be, at most, factually contingent. I.e., materialism is an empirical position. Therefore, in more specific approaches such as materialism, understanding is necessarily prejudiced at the outset
It may be seen that the idea of being without restriction and in isolation is empty. However against being without restriction as background, the requirement that being be determinate or have FORM results in an extremely powerful and general yet concrete understanding of the SPAN OF BEING. Given the characteristics of any kind of being or world, the concept of being may be used to develop a powerful and necessary understanding of the origin and nature of that world. In particular, the THEORY OF BEING necessarily provides the most powerful foundation available for the understanding of human and animal being and of this world
The apparently trivial character of the concept is a result of the fact that it is so basic: all things have being. However, it is this very basic character that is responsible for the significance of the concept: use of the concept being is a means to avoid the assumption that some special aspect of being –mind, matter, process, relationship and so on– captures the essence of all things. A focus on being helps to avoid (tacit) assumptions about the nature of all things; and, if there is a nature or essence to all things, the focus is instrumental in preventing a premature commitment to that nature. Thus the study of what is real through an understanding of being is not, for example, a commitment to or against materialism. An understanding of ‘matter’ and whether it exists and is all that exists should be a conclusion rather than a premise of the study. Since the nature of matter, mind and other substances is an outcome of study, the investigation will not be burdened with the need to reconcile concepts such as mind and matter that are introduced into thought without clarification of their nature. This is not equivalent to saying that there is no mind-matter problem. Rather, the existence of the problem and, should it exist, its proper statement and resolution will be the result of investigation
Further, it does not follow that to every idea there corresponds something that exists or has being. A consequence, developed in the essay, is that the use of the concept of being enables depths of understanding that might otherwise be unrealized. How is this possible? The concept of being makes what may be labeled ‘negative’ and ‘positive’ contributions
A positive contribution of the use of ‘being’ is that all actual things are admitted into consideration. That is, the idea of ‘all being’ is inherent in the idea of ‘being.’ Additionally, reflection on the concept of being in combination with other concepts or disciplines may result in significant conclusions – and clarifications of the concepts. These other concepts or disciplines, though more specific than being itself, range from ones that are specialized to ones that are quite general, e.g., mind and its nature. The negative contribution, i.e. one that helps prevent error, includes that limited concepts such as matter, mind, process, and relation as definitive of being are neither admitted nor denied at the outset. Therefore any inherent inadequacies in these limited concepts are not tacitly admitted. As a result, supposed problems such as the well known mind-matter problem will be found to be a problem only they are truly problems. (Later in the essay, there is a resolution of this problem.) Another result is that the meaning and significance of the more specialized concepts –their nature and whether they can be a basis from which to understand the entire Universe– falls out of the analysis. A related outcome is that limited conceptions of the Universe itself are not admitted in advance of the analysis
Another contribution follows from an analysis of the idea of being itself. I said, two paragraphs earlier, that ‘all things have being.’ It is valid to ask whether only ‘things’ have being. This amounts to asking whether the concept of being can be extended or, equivalently, what counts as a thing. If this direction of thought is useful at all, what might make it most useful? What idea is least associated with ‘thing-hood?’ This question leads to the possibly perverse thought that nothing or nothingness, which I will also call ‘the void,’ might have being. I have been fascinated by this thought. My thought went through a period when I labored to show that the Universe was equivalent (in some sense) to nothingness even though I was aware that the idea might be perverse. My motive was, in part, a search for simplicity and unification; these motives are common themes in the history of ideas and lie behind, e.g., the idea of substance. My initial, unfruitful, approach was to focus on properties of ‘the universe.’ I used quotes in the last sentence because my concept of the Universe was limited, at the time, to this (our) cosmological system, i.e., to what is often regarded as the known physical universe.. After putting a fair amount of time and energy into the initial approach, I had a simple idea – instead of the Universe, focus on nothingness itself. This thought resulted in a breakthrough and, looking back, I sometimes wonder why the idea had not occurred before. What are the properties of nothingness? A simple, obvious and apparently defining property is that it contains no things. It seems to be a sort of opposite to the Universe which contains all things. Since nothingness contains no things, adding it to something –e.g., itself, an atom, the Universe– makes no change or difference to that thing. I.e., it makes no difference to the Universe whether nothingness is considered to have being (it will be seen shortly that there are significant properties of nothingness that are present regardless of whether it is considered to have being.) I enquired further into the nature of nothingness. Physicists have studied the quantum vacuum – what is left over when all objects are removed from ‘the universe.’ The quotes in the previous indicates, again, a limited concept of the Universe, that of the universe defined by the (known) concepts and laws of physics. The quantum vacuum is not nothingness because it has ‘zero point energy’ among other things. These are required by the nature of the ‘quantum universe.’ However, in nothingness there should not even be the zero point energy; this is required by the concept of nothingness. This appears to contradict physical law; however, the contradiction is only apparent because nothingness should not contain any laws, especially physical laws. At this point in the reflection, I considered the possibility that ‘there is a state of being that does not come from nothingness.’ Naturally, if the idea of that state of being involved a contradiction, i.e., if it were logically impossible its realization would also be impossible and therefore it was necessary to eliminate such states from consideration. I therefore focused on states whose idea or concept involved no contradiction, i.e., on logically possible states. ‘There is a logically possible state that does not come from nothingness’ is equivalent to saying, ‘nothingness contains laws.’ That logically impossible states do not come from nothingness may be interpreted as ‘the universal laws of logic, if any, hold in nothingness’ however it is clear that such ‘laws’ would not be real laws – a real law is one that restricts possibility. At this point it has been concluded that there is no state that does not come from nothingness, i.e., nothingness is equivalent to all actual and possible states (thus actuality and possibility are identical) and, specifically, to the Universe of all being
The conclusions of the reasoning in the previous paragraph include the following. Nothingness may be regarded as having being and is equivalent to the Universe (of all being.) Thus, it may be said that nothingness is a ‘thing.’ There are many concepts in the history of ideas, both academic and ‘common,’ regarding whose existence (i.e. whether they define something that exists) there is a long tradition of doubt, discussion and debate. These ideas include form, universals, God, articles of faith such as ‘Jesus Christ is risen from the dead,’ karma, the recurrence of being. It is remarkable that the Theory of Being that is developed in the essay resolves these questions of existence directly and conclusively – and usually positively by demonstrating existence. That Universe contains but its extent is not limited by the extent of this cosmological system or the universe defined by the laws of physics or any laws whatsoever. It is clear then, that The Universe is infinitely greater than the ‘known universe’ in extent, duration and possibility. The Universe is infinite; it contains time and space and some of the instances of time and space are necessarily infinite in extent, dimension, and complexity but it is not clear that it exists in time and space (this point and the nature of space and time or space-time receive clarification later in the essay.) In the one Universe that contains all things something that is (logically) possible must ‘be’ actual and something that is actual is (obviously) possible; therefore possibility and actuality (and necessity too provided that it is appropriately interpreted) are identical (the concepts differ when considering limited universes to be the Universe.) In the previous sentence the quotes indicate that although to be usually implies being in time that there is no particular time associated with the use there. Although nothingness has no thing (or law) it ‘results in’ or is equivalent to all things. Thus, the concept of nothingness is ‘rich’ even though nothingness itself is marked by ‘poverty.’ I said earlier that joint analysis of being and other concepts may lead to significant conclusions; the analysis of all being (the Universe) and nothingness is an example of the power of the approach
The conclusions that we have arrived at have logical necessity but (may) appear to contradict common sense and science. However, the resolution of the conflict is already contained in the argument and is elaborated in detail later in the essay
Detailed and more complete reasons for the use of ‘being’ and further clarification of its use or meaning in this essay and the consequences that follow from the use are given later. Because of its traditional uses, being may appear to be a specialized and esoteric concept. However, it is not specialized – it is, perhaps, the most general of concepts (all things are suffused with being, the theory of being is at the foundation of all disciplines of knowledge) and it is the generality that may make it appear to be remote. Specialized conclusions –conclusions that apply to a restricted phase or class of being– follow from combining the general (theory of being) with specific concerns, e.g., an activity or an academic discipline. As a result of the power of the concept of being, such specialized conclusions may be deeper and more reliable than results that stem from the limited concern alone… Being is sometimes used with religious connotations, e.g., as a substitute for ‘God’ or ‘soul.’ Here, being is not used in such senses. The primary importance of the use of being is that it encourages reflection on and analysis of what it is –and what it means– to exist and, so, to deep conclusions about the nature of the Universe as a whole. Naturally, analysis of being may have implications for the possible nature of God and soul but a primary interest here is that there are implications for the nature of mind, of matter and of the Universe
The ubiquity of being and the generality of the concept require an effort to grasp the idea and its magnitude but, if what I have been saying is true, there is a great reward to the effort. I might have used an alternate word to ‘being.’ I chose to use ‘being’ rather than some other word, not only because I like its sound, but also because there are deep, though sometimes misleading and confusing, traditions to its use in the history of ideas. Choice of ‘being’ has encouraged use of and connection with those traditions
I have learnt much from the traditions –modern and ancient, western and eastern, secular and religious– in the study and realization of being. ‘Being’ is the most basic and general of concepts and, although it has religious and other special connotations, e.g., as in existential thought, my interest is in the very basic character of being
The reader will now recognize that the study of being as undertaken here does not presume or deny the special connotations. Instead, however, the study may have implications for (and learn from) them
From the supplement
The COPULA ‘IS’
Earlier, in ‘The Form of the Essay,’ I introduced the significance of ‘Journey’ in ‘Journey in Being.’ In this section, I will further consider that concern
The significance of ‘journey’ is multifold. A journey has an intrinsic significance in the enjoyment of process and unanticipated encounter; this is especially true for human being for whom so much action is directed to external ends, to final moments of enjoyment. Ends, too, have intrinsic significance. Processes and goals interact; one gives significance to the other. The goal of understanding and realizing all possibilities of being is achieved, not in a moment, but in a journey. Although the Journey began as an individual one (my journey) it acquired a universal character – the journey of all being, in which individuals and the whole are mutually interacting and creating or generating: ‘Journey in Being’ is a narrative of the individual and the universal journey and their relations. The process has two interacting, interwoven aspects of which each has the character of a journey: understanding and realization or transformation. Understanding and transformation draw from and build upon the traditions of ideas and practices – of knowledge and discipline. Immersion, open and critical, in the traditions is significant, perhaps essential, to the understanding of being and to transformation. Transformation, especially, even realization of the ultimate, has the character of a journey within which individuals remain immersed. Transformation includes exploration and travels. However, an essential part of exploration is not only experience of change but, also, change itself – transformations or mutations of the world and of the individual in form and identity. The explorations may be seen as ‘experiments in the transformation of being’
Presentation of the narrative as a journey is important to understanding the essay and to its usefulness to others who would undertake or continue a journey…
The description of interactions between process and outcome may be interpreted in terms of (constructive) achievement. There may be one or more main or overriding objectives or goals. Each goal will have sub-goals or tasks; this division of goals and labor may continue to an elementary level. (Additionally, there are supporting and co-occurring activities of which some are automatic and others require attention.) Goals may be definite or open ended. The goals are, naturally, interactive but, at times a constituent task will be the temporary overriding concern. Later, such temporary importance may change in character, merge with other concerns, or fade into insignificance. The establishment of even the main objectives is never completely final; and when a main goal is thought to have been achieved, a further horizon may appear. Thus, even from the perspective of achievement, the process or journey is ever present and significant
I said that the essay is about all possibilities. A number problems with use of the word, ‘all’ should be mentioned. One is that in attempting to list all things there is a potential for paradox. Another concern is that, even if paradox is avoided, how is it possible to know that every thing has been included or listed in a descriptive (conceptual) scheme? The nature of the paradoxes, the meaning of ‘all,’ and (attempted) resolutions of the problems are taken up, later, in the essay
It might seem that my interest in all possibilities excludes an interest in the immediate present. To assume so would be in error and extent of the error would exceed the logical point that all possibilities include immediate actualities. My interest began in the immediate world – the world of people, of blue skies and of the day-to-day. In order to maintain an interest in the immediate, I do not have to try – it is sufficient that I am alive. Even in the theoretical developments of the essay, there is concern with immediate and ultimate affairs and in their interaction. The interest in the ultimate illuminates the immediate – in terms of understanding and significance.
The use of ‘all’ means that the focus is the universe outside which there is no thing. This includes a focus on the immediate present, on this world and on the lives of individuals – and on the relation between the immediate and the remote that gives significance to both
(‘Outside’ is not to be taken in a merely spatial or temporal sense. Note that the phrase, ‘outside which there is nothing’ has two interpretations. One is the concrete meaning that all things are in the universe. Another interpretation is that it is immaterial whether nothingness is regarded to exist, whether it is regarded to be inside or outside the universe – or even whether there is an infinity of nothingnesses, e.g., one attached to every element of being)
A final concern with the ambition to understand and realize all possibilities is that some may not be good and others may require an enormous commitment of resources. In realizing an ambition, it is important to consider what is desirable or good and what is feasible, i.e., requires no more than reasonable commitment. Desirability and feasibility are not independent of one another. An objective that seems to be good might lose some desirability if it is infeasible; and a goal that does not seem particularly feasible might merit some commitment if it is very desirable. New discoveries show some possibilities that had been thought infeasible to be feasible and some thought feasible to be infeasible. New information show some goals that had been thought desirable to be undesirable. An example of the latter is ‘technology or progress without constraints.’ The Theory of Being developed later in this essay shows that much that may have been thought to be impossible is not so but only infeasible. Such possibilities, if desirable or possibly desirable, merit at least some effort especially if the desirability is high. An example of such a possibility is the transformation of identity. The concepts of feasibility and desirability are discussed in greater detail in the essay
Placement. Perhaps in chapter, ‘Journey in Being’
Extended perception versus judgment. Openness to new vision, ideas, directions, objectives
Persistence and satisfaction
Doubt and assertion
Intuition and reason
Analysis, realism, holism – and how analytic philosophy and continental philosophy create environments that seem to be the world. This is done in much more limited settings
Experience – breadth (multiple) and depth
Problems of radical criticism
Problems of exclusionary thinking
Comment. To a significant degree this has been discussed earlier
Alternate titles: ‘Focus on Being,’ ‘Importance of the Concept of Being,’ ‘Significance of Being…’
In this section, I explain the power of the focus on being
1. Being is the most general of ‘things.’ Therefore, its understanding may (its successful understanding, as in this shown later, will) be the source and precondition of all understanding (in a sense described briefly above and later in FOUNDATION: link)