The bare edition

about the bare edition

origins of the way—origins are in search for significant meaning (similar in sense to ‘meaning of life’) and becoming in the immediate and beyond; the aim of the way is the aim of being, p. 11; sources of the way are in ideas and action—their history and individual experience; outcome—it is found that while we approach the ultimate in some ways, we remain in the present or immediate—this is not just good but also true; in approaching the ultimate, the paradigm of the way goes beyond common received paradigms and seeing this and that it may take effort to bridge the paradigmatic gap will aid readers in understanding the development

about word and concept meaning—in approaching the ultimate, the way moves essentially beyond consensus experience, and so word and concept meanings (aspects of ‘linguistic’ meaning) must change; therefore, attention should be paid to the meanings given here; for concepts to be recognizable—new meanings have continuity but not identity with the received

the bare edition—initial development is informal, imaginative, and, in building on and going beyond sources, it aims at originality; so far as possible, the work would be self-founding: for this an exclusively axiomatic approach is inadvisable—foundation may best occur after significant informal and semi-formal development but before formal development and application; foundation is found in reason, p. 18; for rigor, origins, ground in history (in this edition, treatment relevant problems of thought, e.g., in philosophy, by incorporation or resolution, is implicit), elaboration, application, and consequences, follow resources, p. 24

introduction

introduction—this edition has no further introduction; motive and explanation are in the text, especially in the fundamental principle, p. 9, through metaphysics, p. 13

Contents

about the bare edition	i

introduction	iii

being and beings	6

reasons	7

the universe and the void	8

the fundamental principle	9

the ultimate	10

experience and meaning	10

pathways	11

aim of being	11

paths	11

ways	12

metaphysics	13

introduction	13

metaphysics	13

the real metaphysics	13

consistency	14

doubt and attitude	14

universe as field of being	14

dimensions of being	16

metaphysics, cosmology, and physics	17

reason	18

introduction	18

the meaning of reason	18

developing reason for the way	19

what the foundation in reason says	21

path templates	22

design	22

every-day template	23

universal template	23

resources	24

the system of concepts	25

The way of being
(a bare edition)

being and beings

being is existence—the quality of that which is described by a form or forms of the verb to be; a being is that which has being (noun, plural—‘beings’)

this raises concerns (i) significance of ‘being’, especially for foundation and grounding of the individual in the world for foundation, see reason, p. 18; (ii) what existence is (iii) whether existence and being are identical (iii) whether ‘existence’ is elusive (they are difficult when seen as detached from knowing beings—but more, whether detached foundation is possible at all); for such considerations for the concepts of the narrative, follow the resources, p. 24

if what a referential concept refers to is in or is effective in change of the world (which includes maintaining the world as it is), it refers to (‘is’) a being

the following is a detailed list of examples and kinds of beings (so far as not illusory), and may be passed over on casual reading

reasons (see below, p. 7), power (p. 8); facts (including fact of existence or being), states of affairs or being, events, objects, processes, interactions (i.e. cases of power; relations); laws (and patterns as defined below)—i.e., laws of nature; abstractions (p. 18) from beings (by removal of aspects of the concept), being itself, objects anywhere on a concrete-abstract continua, beings known perfectly or pragmatically; ideas, concepts including linguistic concepts, signs, letters of alphabets, parts of speech, clauses, sentences and other linguistic constructs, universals (e.g., redness, which is universal to all red existents), particulars (e.g., a red ball), tropes (e.g., the redness of a red ball); as defined through the universe and the void, p. 8—the universe, creators, the void, and a cosmos

a possible being is one whose concept alone does not rule out its existence

a pattern for a being obtains when the data to specify the being is less than the raw data

a law of nature or just law is a pattern that is identified as important, e.g., for a cosmos (an informal concept—defined, e.g., by coherent form and characterized by a system of laws of nature)

a law does not rule out existence of a possible being, for the being could exist in another cosmos

that which rules out possibility altogether is named necessary or deductive logic

as defined above, possibility is logical possibility; it is the greatest or least restrictive real possibility

reasons

a reason is an explanation

examples of reasons—reasons for existence of a being, e.g., or any of the examples of beings above

categorizations of reason include (i) logical, recognized in thought but of the real—possible, likely (probable as well as explanatory), and necessary (ii) material, recognized as of the world—power—i.e., material cause (and effect) including self-cause (the concept or a reason generalizes that of power)

the universe and the void

the universe is all being

a creator for a being is the cause of its existence

the universe cannot have a creator but may have a reason for its existence—and since it is clearly possible and probable, the only reason worth consideration is a necessary reason

the void is the absence of being

given a being, the void is there with the being, therefore the void exists; heuristically, the existence and non-existence of the void are equivalent

the void contains no beings; particularly, it contains no laws; therefore—

if from the void, there is a possible being that does not emerge, that would be a law of nature

all possible beings emerge from the void; this entails that the universe and its parts are mixes of determinism (a part determines the whole) and indeterminism

the fundamental principle

the universe is the realization of (the greatest) possibility (i.e., of logical possibility)

heuristic understandings include (i) the unconditional and necessary are the same (the unconditional non-occurrence and the impossible are the same); if unconditional non-manifestation of the universe were possible, it would be actual; but that is contradicted by the manifest manifestation; so, the universe is necessarily manifest at least once; but by symmetry of unconditional necessity, if one possibility occurs, all possibilities must occur; this can be stated simply (ii) all states are possible, so exclusive being in any limited state is impossible; hence the realization of the greatest possibility (iii) consider the next fundamental theory of physics—it can be guessed at; but subsequent theories become harder and harder to guess; however, the limit of all theories requires no guess—it is logical possibility

that the universe is the realization of the greatest possibility is named the fundamental principle of metaphysics (abbreviated fp); this idea appears in the history of thought under the name, e.g., the principle of plenitude; what is new here is the proof and development of the meaning and application of the principle

equivalently, the universe is limitless; which refers to more than limitlessness in space and time, but also to kinds of extension (e.g., space and time), and ‘things’—i.e., if a being is possible, i.e., if its concept does not violate logic, the being exists in the universe at least once (and as many times and places as not ruled out by possibility)

the manifest existence of the universe is necessary; the universe necessarily phases between manifest and void being

that we do not see all possibility in our cosmos is not a contradiction, for our cosmos is not the universe

the ultimate

identity is sense of sameness of self or object; here is a brief cosmology of identity

the universe has identity; the universe and its identity are limitless; e.g., there are beings and cosmoses with variety in kind and physical law, without limit; there are peak beings without limit and the ultimate is the greatest of these—whether a state or process; all beings, particularly individuals (beings with sapience), inherit or realize this power of the universe (the contrary would be a limit on the universe); realization occurs by transformation from the limited forms of beings; it occurs necessarily; death is real but not absolute; all these are in transaction with the void

experience and meaning

in talking, earlier, of concepts, p. 6, and their references, experience was already implicit

experience, in its first meaning here, is conscious awareness in all its kinds (e.g., cognition, emotion) and modes (e.g., of experience itself and interaction with the world which includes the individual); experience is the place though not the only source of significant meaning (e.g., of life) and without experience the individual is effectively non-existent; all real transformation of an individual and their continuation beyond death must effectively occur in experience

effectively, experience is the place of our being

with the later expansion of the scope experience, occurrences of the term ‘effectively’ in this division may be omitted

pathways

aim of being

intelligence is that which makes negotiation in and for the world effective; enjoyment is appreciation of all elements of experience, especially those of pleasure, pain, and intelligence; if enjoyment is a value (desirable), it is valuable (imperative) to pursue realization of the ultimate in and from the present; this is the aim of being, which is not exclusive of immediate value; there are ‘intelligent’ paths to the ultimate; to be on a path is not just to follow others or prescribed paths, which may be useful, but also to negotiate and develop pathways—and, especially, share and support others in the process

paths

experience and meaning, p. 10, suggests that a way to the ultimate is through the experiential self; regard meditation as the place of self and its transformation (i) by expansion of extent and scope (ii) by reflexive action upon the powers of meditation; it would then seem that meditation is the way to the ultimate

however, the experiential self has a ‘physical’ side and so the idea of meditation ought to be enhanced to include it; there seems to be no western term that corresponds to this idea but the eastern term ‘yoga’ (in the eastern sense) comes near to it; regard yoga as the place of the individual and its transformation (see resources, p. 24, for a yoga reference) (i) by expansion of extent and scope (ii) by reflexive action upon the physical and experiential powers of individual; then yoga is the way to the ultimate; yoga can learn from the eastern systems but it must be essentially experimental and experiential; and it will include and emphasize meditation; if it is to have universal purchase it will be synthesized with metaphysics, p. 13, and reason, p. 18

how and when is the ultimate attained? it may be achieved in or from ‘this life’ but this seems rare; more commonly this life is preparation for the individual and by sharing for the community; and in realization of the ultimate, the peak of peaks in dynamic and experiential unity—the peak individual sees and incorporates all beings—individuals and civilizations moving among the universe’s epochs of peak and dissolution, e.g., from cosmos to cosmos

ways

ways are traditional formulations, e.g., secular humanism, the religions, speculative and prescriptive metaphysical systems; they may have useful elements but are often touched by mere speculation, dogma, and limited viewpoints

metaphysics

introduction

the fundamental principle shows the peak of possibility; details and paths are left open (i) to imagination, action, criticism—rational and ethical, and correction and (ii) tradition, interpreted as cumulative human culture from ancient times to the present moment (it carries with it its own meanings and applications of ‘value’ and ‘validity’)

metaphysics

metaphysics shall be understood as knowledge of the real; the real may be understood as the valid referents of ideas (of some being)—i.e., to what is definitely knowable

the real metaphysics

the real metaphysics is a system comprised of ideal knowledge derived from the fundamental principle, and pragmatic knowledge of traditions; the ideal illuminates and guides the pragmatic; the pragmatic illustrates the ideal, for which it is instrumental; the criteria of this system appear to be dual—‘perfect’ for the ideal and ‘good enough but incomplete and perhaps possessed of some error’ (which may be accommodated on the way from the immediate to the ultimate); but the criterion is one as it derives from the (or an) ultimate value of enjoyment of paths in the present and to the ultimate

consistency

the real metaphysics is consistent with rationality, experience, and science because all these must be modified by the descriptor ‘so far’ and do not necessarily project to the universe; note—it is not claimed that this consistency is proof of truth, but proof was given earlier

doubt and attitude

yet it is good to doubt the proof; and, allowing for both doubt and consistency, and regarding the proof as heuristic, suggests alternate attitudes to the real metaphysics (i) as a metaphysical hypothesis in a scientific metaphysics (ii) as an existential principle of action

let us now look at some consequences of the real metaphysics

universe as field of being

an interpretation of experience is a picture of the world (or part of the world) that is consistent with experience and may be suggested by it

the common interpretation of the world of experience is that of selves that are experiential and others, in an environment that is not necessarily categorially non-experiential but possessed of experientiality that is low or numerically zero (just as in physics a force of zero magnitude may be seen as a zero force or no force; for beings for which experientiality it is zero and without significance, the fundamental principle implies that it may acquire experientiality); this interpretation is a weak form of materialism; as used here, the first meaning of experience, p. 10, has been extended to the root of being.

a second interpretation is that there is nothing but the experience (of an experiential whose existence would by hypothetical—all that is acknowledged is the experience); this interpretation is called (philosophical) solipsism; the fundamental principle permits and requires the existence of solipsist cosmoses; the difficulty in seeing our world as solipsist arises in relation to the common interpretation in which the individual is seen as limited in experiential scope relative to the world

a third interpretation is the same as the second—but rather than limited, the ‘individual’ is peak being; under this interpretation, experientiality extends down to the root of being, in fact and in potential, in muted quality and magnitude (as the material ‘side’ of the world); and the universe is a field of being (or just field, or field of experiential being); this reveals a second, enhanced, meaning to ‘experience’, in which experientiality extends to the root of being, not as we have it but as relation which, in human and other beings is additively constitutive of our level of consciousness; ‘matter’ and ‘mind’ are rough words for two sides of being

the common and field interpretations are adequate descriptions of the universe; but then, there seems to be conflict between them—they seem to compete as descriptions of the real; but there is no conflict—both are valid; the common interpretation is suited to living in our cosmos; the universal is suited to living in our cosmos but seeing and moving beyond to the ultimate

under the field interpretation, we can see god as ultimate peak being but not as distinct from persons or the world—in that the name ‘god’ has meaningful application (in view of its uses), persons, the world, are rising up from their primitive states, by evolution and saltational and other processes, pointing toward the ultimate, being there, and dissolution; the process is repeated eternally

the universe has phases of being an ultimate field of being

dimensions of being

the dimensions of being are variables whose values define kinds of being

experience necessarily has form, which necessitates extension (space); and change, which necessitates duration (time); difference with sameness of identity measures duration; with change of identity, it measures extension; therefore, there are no measures of such change beyond extension and duration (spacetime); but there may be other changes within identity (quality, property)

the pure dimensions of being are experiential form and formation as the world

pragmatic dimensions are chosen from tradition—from considerations of the real metaphysics, these need not be perfect; multiple traditions may be employed; an example from the modern western tradition follows

a system of pragmatic dimensions of being is nature (roughly, the world as found—simple or physical, complex or living, and experiential or of what we call ‘mind’), society and culture (a part of the world constructed by beings, defined in the tradition of a culture, and which includes knowledge or representation of itself and other pragmatic and pure dimensions—see the resources, p. 24, for a knowledge reference; some elements of knowledge are the pure and abstract sciences, art, technology, history, religion, and the humanities; some elements of society are politics, economics, exploration, building civilization, and pursuit of meaning and realization), and the ultimate or universal (the universe as beings become it via yoga, p. 12, which includes metaphysics, p. 13, and reason, p. 18)

metaphysics, cosmology, and physics

earlier, existence of the void was argued from equivalence to its non-existence; that the void exists and does not is an example, if it is true, of a dialetheia—a ‘true contradiction’; it has been argued, e.g., by Graham Priest, that there are dialetheias; that a dialetheia would not result in all statements being true, as it would in standard logic, would be ensured by somehow isolating it or via a para-consistent logic; however, many examples of dialetheias involve a shift in meaning such that the claimed contradiction is not a true contradiction; in the present case, again, there is no true contradiction, for the void is a ‘null universe’—and it is not a contradiction for a null universe or its ‘objects’ in a null universe to have contradictory properties as it would be for existing objects in a non-null universe (e.g., the tenth vs the eighth planed of the solar system being green and not green); what is interesting, however, is that this ‘edge case’ models (i) the equivalence of ‘nothing’ and a universe in which the energy of gravitation and matter add to zero (gravitation has negative energy) (ii) a logical precursor to quantum fields (iii) more generally the equivalence of being and non-being and the logical foundation of becoming from the void; why does quantum theory have a degree of indeterminism (if it does—the issue has not arrived at consensus)? perhaps in the emergence of form from the void (partial in quantum theory, complete in classical theories), quantum indeterminism is a residue of the indeterminism of formation from the void

reason

this discussion of ‘reason’ is about justification of the development; it is not necessary reading for readers not concerned with justification

introduction

though there is concern with validity in other divisions, developing the ideas has taken priority over validity; this section briefly addresses that lack; the concern is addressed via discussion of ‘reason’ (the meaning of reason in this division is quite different from its meaning in reasons, p. 7); see the resources, p. 24, for further sources on reason

in the western tradition, understanding commonly refers to direct knowledge and its criteria, and reason refers to reasoning or inference from understanding (and criteria of reasoning)

the meaning of reason

here, reason shall refer to the join of understanding and reason as conceived above (and because the conceptions include criteria, reason shall also be empirical or experimental—i.e., it shall extend to action—and reflexive, i.e., critical of itself and imaginative with regard to itself); an abstraction from a concept or abstract concept is one from which all distortable detail is removed (conceptually), leaving a perfectly known referent of the concept; used in this sense, an abstract or abstracted referent is not remote or abstruse but is more concrete in its certain knowability and reality than those existents we think of as concrete but whose knowledge is subject to distortion

with sufficient abstraction, being is a being

developing reason for the way

the main concepts of the ideal treatment are being (and experience), beings, the universe, the void, natural law, possibility, and logic; these concepts lend themselves to perfection (by abstraction) and completeness, as far as possible, by inclusion of being, universe, the void, and logic; this shows that the selected concepts may be foundational and grounding, but not why

classical approaches to foundation are (i) substances, which are simple entities or kinds of entity that generate the variety of the world—once we know substance, the argument goes, we know the world (ii) relative foundation that never refers to a final substance, e.g., infinite regress (iii) coherence of the concepts; but substance is elusive, the relative foundation is not foundational, and coherence is but pragmatic; the idea of ‘being’—that which is, i.e., that which is most immediate, alternatively written “that which may be validly known”—is against substance, but it is what we have and, epistemically we cannot go empirically beyond what we have; therefore should being (and the related concepts above) be capable of being founding, the foundation would be known to be secure; and what we have shown so far is that being is capable of being foundational, precisely, in part, because of its immediacy and givenness—which is unlike the remoteness of substance; further as that which is most immediate, being is grounding—and framing, for, as understood here, it frames the various kinds of being we encounter and which may have been what thought has hitherto sought in substance and varieties of being (it ought to be noted that similar thoughts regarding being are found in the writings of other authors)

the essential supplements regarding reason here are (i) the ideal account of being, beings (including, e.g., the universe and the void), is perfect because all that is employed in the account is an abstraction of those concepts—this leads to the certainty of the ideal side of the pure metaphysics (ii) the logic of the ideal account is so primitive—as immanent in the elementary grammar and lexicon of the abstracted fundamental concepts, i.e., being, universe, the void, law or pattern, logical possibility, logical proof here, for the fundamental principle, p. 9, involving implication and non-contradiction—that no further foundation is necessary (iii) the pragmatic side fits together with the ideal as described in the real metaphysics, p. 13, (iv) the result, the real metaphysics, is a priori not only to experience of the world but all experience including thought, and in this sense, the a priori would refer to a system of knowledge or metaphysics that is self-founding—i.e., makes its foundation apparent—with regard to depth, p. 21, but not breadth, p. 21 (v) the system is not just a system of knowledge but, as seen, incorporates value (e.g., ethics and aesthetics); it is thus holist, but this holism does not deny that the parts may often be treated independently—in fact or of necessity

are the cosmological consequences of this work speculative—i.e., are they rational speculation in the sense of being reasonable and neither containing nor entailing contradiction? recall that ‘every possibility is realized’ means that concepts that do not violate logic are realized somewhere in the universe (thus imagination is a fertile source of the variety, extent, and duration of being); all logically possible concepts must be realized as many times as do not constitute a violation of logic; if a concept is such that it can be realized only once without contradiction, there is no speculation in asserting its realization (but there may be speculation in asserting its significance); if the concept can be realized in more ways than one (e.g., by adaptive increment or by saltation), it would be speculative to suggest how frequent the ways are, but speculation may perhaps be improved upon by employing tradition and its paradigms; this shows the way to developing general cosmology, i.e., study of the extension, duration, and variety of being

what the foundation in reason says

in terms of the criteria above, it says that the foundation is perfect and complete with regard to depth—there is no need for another layer; with regard to breadth, i.e., the variety of being, the foundation is perfect but complete only for limitless being—for limited beings, though knowledge and realization of the variety is given, it is given only as a process (a good thing, for discovery and realization is an eternal adventure)

the foundation does not eliminate the need for modern studies in metaphysics (in the present and other senses of the term), epistemology, ethics, or philosophy of science; the foundation places those studies in context and (i) limits their significance relative to the value revealed (realization of the ultimate in and from the present) (ii) shows that final foundation of knowledge of our world and local ethics in its detail is not possible and therefore cannot be desirable (if it were possible it would not be desirable relative to the revealed ultimate value)

though only a hint of the case is given here, it reveals logic and the abstract and concrete sciences as empirical and rational in nature and as constituting a unity (with internal diversity); and it reveals that if the various logics concern modes of expression, then the range of developed logics must be enormously incomplete

science and necessary (deductive) logic can be brought under one umbrella, ‘general logic’, as follows; an imagined or created concept may or may not refer to anything; those conditions for valid reference that lie solely in the concept are of necessary logic; the conditions that, over and above those of necessary logic, lie in the world are scientific; but the necessary-logical conditions are not merely of conceptual structure, e.g., grammatical, for both the necessary logical and scientific conditions are of the real

path templates

this division presents path templates

design

two minimally prescriptive templates, every-day and universal, are derived from principle; the design of the templates is based on reason, p. 18, and the real metaphysics, p. 13, particularly the dimensions of being, p. 16, and received ways, p. 24; their presentation here is skeletal, so as to be adaptable to a range of individual orientations and cultural orientations; the templates cover the immediate to the universal, the community and civilization

every-day template

activities of a day are (i) rise, dedication, affirmation of the way (ii) contemplative review of priorities and plans (iii) realization—work, relationships, tasks (‘chores’), yoga—practice – action – sharing, engagement in the world (iv) supplement with physical activity and exploration (v) evening—rest, renewal, preparation and review for the next day, options of realization, networking, and community engagement

universal template

for engagement in the world (i) pure being, community, retreat, and renewal (ii) ideas, intellect, and yoga (iii) choice of options for engagement in the dimensions of being, p. 16—nature, society and its culture, technology, and exploration (all the foregoing in themselves and as vehicle and path to the real), and the universal (iv) being in the universe, realizing peak being (‘Brahman’ in Vedanta philosophy), in this life and beyond

resources

general resources are the way of being website, http://www.horizons-2000.org, and site development, http://www.horizons-2000.org/2021/plan.html

a knowledge resource is a system of knowledge, http://www.horizons-2000.org/2021/resources/system of human knowledge, reason, practice, and action.html (the page links to a supplement)

a resource system page, http://www.horizons-2000.org/2021/old/the essential way of being.html#resources

an every-day template, http://www.horizons-2000.org/2021/narratives/everyday template.pdf (as alternative to ‘pdf’, also available in ‘html’ and ‘docm’ versions)

a universal template, http://www.horizons-2000.org/2021/narratives/universal template.pdf (‘html’ and ‘docm’ available)

dedication and affirmation, http://www.horizons-2000.org/2021/resources/dedication-affirmation.pdf (‘html’ and ‘docm’ available)

yoga and meditation, http://www.horizons-2000.org/2021/topic essays/meditation.html

the system of concepts

main concepts are in italics; for convenience, some terms, here and in the main text, are identified as concepts in more than one place

the preliminary

origins and outcome—origins, significant meaning (‘meaning of life’), becoming, aim of the way; sources—ideas and action—history and individual experience; outcome—the ultimate, the present or the immediate; about word and concept meaning—consensus experience, concept meaning (‘linguistic’); the bare edition—imagination, originality, foundation, self-foundation, axiomatic approach, informal vs formal development, application; introduction—motive, explanation

being and beings

being (the verb to be), a being (plural—‘beings’), foundation, grounding, referential concept, kind, possible being, pattern, law of nature, law, cosmos, necessary logic, logical possibility, a reason

reasons

a reason, logical reasons, possibility, probability, explanation, necessity, material reasons, power, material cause, self-cause

the universe and the void

universe, creator, the void, determinism, indeterminism

the fundamental principle

the fundamental principle of metaphysics, the principle of plenitude, manifestation

the ultimate

identity, cosmology of identity, peak being, the ultimate, the individual, realization, death

experience and meaning

experience, significant meaning

pathways

aim of being—intelligence, enjoyment, value, imperative, aim of being, paths, sharing; paths—meditation, yoga; ways—ways

metaphysics

introduction—tradition; metaphysics—metaphysics; the real metaphysics—real metaphysics; doubt and attitude—doubt, heuristics, attitude, metaphysical hypothesis, existential principle; universe as field of being—interpretation, materialism, solipsism, field of being, field of experiential being, god; dimensions of being—dimensions of being, form, extension, duration, pure dimensions of being, pragmatic dimensions of being, nature, society, culture, the universal; metaphysics, cosmology, and physics—dialetheia, quantum field, becoming from the void, emergence

reason

justification; introduction—understanding; the meaning of reason—reason, abstraction, substance; developing reason for the way—grammar, lexicon, logical proof, implication, non-contradiction, the a priori, self-foundation, ethics, aesthetics, holism, rational speculation, paradigm, general cosmology; what the foundation in reason says—depth, breadth, science, general logic

path templates

template; design—principle, design, adaptability, individual orientation, cultural orientation, immediate, universal, community, civilization; every-day template—dedication, review, priorities, realization, (yoga) practice, action, sharing, engagement, networking, community; universal template—pure being, retreat, renewal, dimensions of being, being in the universe, brahman, this life and beyond

resources

resource, knowledge resources, resource system