Topics and concepts for the way

This document is outline and source of foundation for future versions.

Anil Mitra, Copyright June 20, 2020—April 29, 2022

Text that is crossed out has been absorbed to other documents

Home

Outline of Contents

Main system

I.	About the main system

About

Planning for the way

The main accounts for the way

Primary sources

Secondary sources

The versions

Execution—in the world

Temporary notation*

Notation**

Use

Symbols

Content

II.	The way in

Plan for this section*

Aim

Sources and reasons

Our place in the world

History

The world

Personal

The ultimate

Approach

Method

Method and its significance

General method for the way

The ‘method’ of the method

The elements

Naming and the given

How science and logic are both empirical

How there is contact with the concrete world

How and in what sense are traditional concrete limits overcome

Where and how the method is developed

An axiomatic – foundational framework

Reason

Special methods

Understanding the work

Plan for this section*

Anticipating the system of meaning

Absorbing the system of meaning

Anticipating other blocks to understanding the work

Addressing the other blocks

Prerequisites to real understanding

Function of the section*

What is real understanding?

Blocks to understanding

Seeing the boundary of the real

The universe

Connecting to the universe

Outline

Aim

Fundamental principle

Meaning and consequences

The way

III.	Experience

The concept of experience

An effective world

Intention and action

The range of experience

Significance of experience—general and for the way

The effective place of the world

Approach to the real—the world and the real world

The place of concept meaning, knowing, and acting

Interpretations of experience

The phenomenal or experiential world

What are interpretations and what is their significance?

The interpretations

IV.	Being

Beings, being, and existence

Power and effective cause

The universe and the void

V.	Possibility

The concept of possibility

Real possibility

Logical possibility

Metaphysical possibility

Necessity

The concept of necessity

Necessary being

Unconditional being

Identity of necessary and unconditional being

VI.	Metaphysics

What metaphysics is

The fundamental principle

The real metaphysics

Identity, the universe, and the individual

The universe and the individual

Identity, space, time, matter, and cause

Ethics

Universal

Local

The aim of being

The metaphysics of experience

Dimensions of being

Real

Pure

Form, relation, change

Pragmatic

The nature of being

In history and this work

Human being

Kinds of being

The abstract and the concrete

Reason

The block universe

Topics in metaphysics (A)

Applications emerging from the real metaphysics (A)

The fundamental question of metaphysics (A)

A principle of sufficient reason (A)

The abstract and the concrete (A)

A system of the world (A)

A metaphysics of questions (A)

Metaphysics, foundations, and method (A)

Problems of eastern metaphysics (A)

Problems of western metaphysics (A)

Pre-modern (A)

The nature of Being (A)

Categories of Being and universals (A)

The problem of substance (A)

Early modern (A)

Materialism and empiricism (A)

Idealism (A)

Immanuel Kant (A)

Modern and current (A)

Modality (A)

Identity (and persistence and constitution), space, and time (A)

Causation, determinism, and freedom (A)

The mental and the physical (A)

Cosmology

General cosmology and its method

Cosmology of form and formation

Cosmology of formation

Cosmology of form

Paradigms

Form and scale

Physical cosmology

The block universe

The universe—temporal vs eternal vs block universe

Temporalism vs eternalism vs block or temporally emerging

A choice of what is real vs alternate descriptions

A system of the world

VII.	A foundational framework

On reading the way

The system

The aim of the way

! Foundation and grounding

Preliminary ideas

The universe is the greatest possible

Characterizing the universe

! Doubt and response to doubt

General or Cartesian doubt

Doubt about the truth of the fundamental principle

The value of the search for realization

Doubt about the efficiency of the use of the real metaphysics

The universe and the individual

Apparent limits and real limitlessness of the individual

Paths to the ultimate

The aim of being

! The place and means of realization

Interpretations of experience

Resolution of the ambiguity in interpretations of experience

Ideal and pragmatic classes of being

Tradition and the real metaphysics

Using the real metaphysics

A program of realization

The structure of the templates

Everyday

Universal

! Reading

VIII.	The way

The aim of being

The means

Metaphysics and reason

Ways and catalysts

Reinforcing the way

The issues

Reinforcement

The templates

Principles of development and use

Everyday template

Universal template

Resources

External sources

Site sources

Source essays

Main resource work and essays

Resources

Reading

The way of being as a formal resource

Lessons for the way

The way of being as an informal resource

Lookup

Dictionary

Glossary

Index

IX.	Epilogue

The way as connecting past, present, and future as one

Communication—text, ideas, and being

The connection

A continuous stream of text

A guide for immersion and realization

Essential system

A system of concepts for the way

The system of concepts

The main concepts are—destiny, aim, being, awareness, universe, form, formation, reason for being, law, the void, the universe is the realization of the greatest possibility (‘the fundamental principle of metaphysics’), concept, object, action, possibility (logical, real, sentient), metaphysics (the real metaphysics, pragmatism), value, doubt, certainty, reflexivity, continuous text, reason, the a priori.

Destiny

Destiny is knowledge of and ability to realistically aim at valued outcomes.

Being and beings

Being is existence; a being is that which has being.

Perfect knowledge that there is being and that there are beings, follows when distortable detail is removed from the concepts.

Awareness

Awareness is conscious awareness in all its forms.

Universe

The universe is all being.

The universe exists. Since it exists, its existence is possible—with probability greater than zero. It does not follow that necessity of its existence can either be proven or not proven.

Creation

A creator is a sole material cause of the existence of a being. The universe does not and cannot have a creator (there is no creator god).

Law

A law is a pattern immanent in being or beings. A law is a being.

The void

The void is the absence of being. Its existence is necessary (i.e., follows from the ‘null premise’). The void has no laws.

The fundamental principle of metaphysics

The FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF METAPHYSICS, fundamental principle, or FP follows from the existence of the void.

Possibility

Possibility and its kinds are analyzed and will provide a unification of perfect but abstracted and pragmatic knowledge as a perfect instrument of realization.

Concept, object, meaning, and knowledge

Logic and logical possibility

Theoretical possibility

Real possibility

Sentient possibility

Scientific possibility

Mathematical possibility

Metaphysical possibility

Metaphysics, the abstract, and the concrete

Metaphysics is study of the real. It is exemplified by the fundamental principle, its foundation and derivation, its consequences, and its join to pragmatic knowledge to form a perfect instrument for realization of its revealed ultimate.

Value

Doubt, certainty, and ethics

Where certainty is a possible value, doubt is critical in (i) showing where certainty is valuable and (ii) showing where it may be attained, and where only a degree of certainty is possible and desirable.

Certainty and ethics

Doubt and criticism

Reflexivity

Reflexivity is the interaction of all phases of rational action and includes their meta-analysis aimed at improved outcomes (best if possible an appropriate).

In this document

Text

Doubting the real metaphysics

Though real metaphysics is consistent and demonstrated, it is important to doubt the demonstration because of (i) the non-standard character of proof (ii) the magnitude of the claim (iii) we may doubt the significance of ‘proof’.

Response to doubt

Attitudes toward the fundamental principle and the real metaphysics

To regard the fundamental principle of metaphysics as a metaphysical postulate on which to base knowledge, particularly metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and reason.

To regard the fundamental principle as an existential principle of attitude and action, which will maximize the expected value of the outcome.

Reason and denial of the a priori

For being (i) while in limited form there is effectively, no a priori (ii) otherwise, there can be no a priori.

Detailed System of Concepts for The Way of Being

X.	Introduction

Purpose

Sanskrit terms

English terms with Capitalization

Work needed

The flow of ideas—outline and main concepts

Overview

Being

Becoming

Being

Being itself

A relationship between Being and becoming

Experience

Experience as given

Experience and the world

On psychology

Ideal elements of Being

Kinds of being

Reason

The idea of reason

Ordinary or immanent reason

Doubt and dilemma

Possibility and logic

Argument

Science and religion

On science

Religion and its relation to science

Value

Metaphysics

Metaphysics

The fundamental principle of metaphysics

The principle

Consequences

The perfect universal metaphysics

Criticism of the metaphysics

Essential problem of metaphysics

Real elements of Being

On real elements

The system of real elements

The real elements: Identity

The real elements: Dynamics

The real elements: Experiential modes

Cosmology

Cosmology

General cosmology and method

Cosmology of form and formation, general and likely origins

Physical cosmology

Process

Mind and cosmos

Life

Psychology

Why psychology is placed here

What psychology is

Method

Identity

Experience

Dimensions of experience and personality

Agency

Metaphysics of value

Being human

Civilization and society

The Way of Being

The Way of Being

The aim of Being

Pragmatic agency and becoming

Path

XI.	The concepts

Being

Becoming

Being

Being itself

A relationship between Being and becoming

Experience

Experience as given

Experience and the world

On psychology

Ideal elements of Being

Kinds of being

Reason

The idea of reason

Ordinary or immanent reason

Doubt and dilemma

Possibility and logic

Argument

Science and religion

On science

Religion and its relation to science

Value

Metaphysics

Metaphysics

The fundamental principle of metaphysics

The principle

Consequences

The perfect universal metaphysics

Criticism of the metaphysics

Essential problem of metaphysics

Real elements of Being

On real elements

The system of real elements

The real elements: Identity

The real elements: Dynamics

The real elements: Experiential modes

Cosmology

Cosmology

General cosmology and method

Cosmology of formation, general and likely origins

Physical cosmology

Process

Mind and cosmos

Life

Psychology

Why psychology is placed here

What psychology is

Method

Identity

Experience

Dimensions of experience

Agency

Metaphysics of value

Being human

Spirit

Civilization and society

The Way of Being

The Way of Being

The aim of Being

Pragmatic agency and becoming

Path

XII.	Resources

Influences and sources

General resources

Meta-concepts for the database

XIII.	Footnotes

Main system

About the main system

About

Planning for the way

Planning is (i) here, (ii) in first priority.html (iii) site planning—at plan.html.

The main accounts for the way

This document is not an account of the way but a base for such accounts.

The aim is to have two main accounts, the précis (to be rewritten) and long (scalable, to be written).

This document is a source for topics, outline, and concepts; it is a minimal foundation for sharing, writing, discovery, and realization.

Where there is exposition, it is because the ideas are new.

Primary sources

Supplementary sources include a journey in being-outline.docm and the site and its offshoots.

Secondary sources

In the resources folder—main influences for the way.html and system of human knowledge, reason, practice, and action.html.

In the topic essays folder—concepts, meaning, knowledge, and language.html, experience and the dimensions of the world.html, traditional and modern approaches to living in the world.html

The versions

The long version will be scalable to

The main précis version—which may include informal elements (see §The way in). Resources are the earlier precis of the way of being.docm and the essential way of being.docm.

Teaching, axiomatic, poetic, and manual versions—see §An axiomatic formulation, in this document.

Execution—in the world

Edit, minimize, write versions toward transformation of the world, eliminate.

Temporary notation*

Heading 1

Heading 2

Heading 3

Heading 4

Heading 5

Definition—main definitions in the conceptual development (ALT + F)

Definition 2—secondary definitions (ALT + G)

Definition 3 (ALT + H)

Definition 4 (ALT + J)

Definition 5 (ALT + F)

Concepts—main concepts in the conceptual development (ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + C)

Concepts 2—secondary concepts (ALT + CTRL + @)

Concepts 3

Concepts 4

Concepts 5

Method (ALT + CTRL + 9)

PoeticStatement (ALT + CTRL + 8)

Normal—informal and undecided statements

Main—main statements for essentials or manual of the way (ALT + Z)

Main Definition—main definition for essentials or manual of the way (ALT + CTRL + 7)

Central—main statements in the conceptual development (ALT + M)

Central 2—secondary statements (ALT + SHIFT + C)

Central 3 (ALT + SHIFT + Z)

Central 4 (ALT + SHIFT + Y)

Central 5

Notation**

Use

The term ‘or’ has two uses—(i) exclusive as in ‘one or the other but not both’ and (ii) inclusive as in ‘one or the other or both’. Though the exclusive use is more common, the inclusive use is often more efficient in reasoning.

In any case, the distinction ought to be made. Where the use may be unclear, italicized form, or, shall denote the inclusive use.

Symbols

! An exclamation mark indicates a section of academic interest.

* A star marks a temporary section (all subsections of a temporary section, except as noted below just below, are temporary; any permanent material will be absorbed elsewhere).

** If a section is temporary, a subsection marked with two stars is permanent (and will need to be placed appropriately)

Content

Headings are black and formatted other than regular font.

Ordinary statements are black regular font.

Main concepts, definitions, and assertions in the conceptual development)

Level 2…

Level 3…

Level 4…

Level 5…

Topics and concepts for the way

The way in

This section is an introduction, emphasizing the net aim and arc of the way.

Plan for this section*

Kinds of audience—those who are interested (at least) in seeing and exploring the universe beyond what is revealed in common experience and science and who are not satisfied, fully or at all, with responses from humanities, philosophy, metaphysics, or religion.

Motivation.

It must be seen as a whole and written as conducive to this.

It does not contradict common sense, science, reason, or (true religion). There needs to be a fair amount of explanation of the truth of this claim (how to deal with religion has further issues of how to address faith, and I may therefore omit consideration of religion—or find a way to talk to people of faith).

Informal demonstration.

Visceral – intuitive appeal; with ways to reinforce intuitive meaning.

Formality in footnotes.

Aim

The aim of the way of being is living well and shared discovery and realization of the ultimate as a single endeavor.

Sources and reasons

‘Reasons’ include motivation to the way

Our place in the world

mystery of reason for our being, desire to live well, seeking to know and explore the universe

History

World and personal history suggest values, aims, motives, and means for living

The world

A tradition of discovery and realization—primal, secular (science and humanities), transsecular (religion and religious metaphysics)

tradition is (what is valid in) knowing, acting, and valuing from primal cultures through this very day.

Science is empirical, therefore is not known to be complete, even though illuminating and of pragmatic value

Religion attempts to go beyond but is dogmatic (even Buddhism), even where symbolically empowering toward the ultimate

The way beyond is openness, which will draw from tradition, but is primarily open, experiential, and engaged in discovery and realization

Personal

The seeking individual, persistence, a process of perceiving and judging

The ultimate

truth, the real, human being, and the universe—limited or limitless, ‘this precious life’

Approach

Tradition gives us knowledge, ways of knowing and becoming (discovery, realization, transformation)

Knowing and acting are inseparable

The way begins with personal reasons and tradition, and builds from there—it is open, in process, seeking, active, imaginative, critical, and learning.

It is not essentially ‘linear’ but reflexive in the interaction of all elements and particularly in reflection upon its own process; which includes that linear process is sometimes effective.

Method

Method is ‘how to’ and is often thought of as discovery (observation, imagination) and justification (experiment, action, criticism). Criticism, logic, are frequently thought of as more important. However, the situation appears to be that (a) discovery is relatively informal and often private and (b) justification is relatively public, formalizable, and formal, but (c) both are essential and interactive. Thus, without imagination there is nothing to criticize; but since method, as seen below, is part of content, without imagination there is no criticism.

Method and its significance

Method for the way concerns how to effectively approach the aim. But method is also a concern in the tradition—one that is regarded of utmost concern and treated widely since the enlightenment was followed by the critical thought, especially of David Hume and Immanuel Kant. It is impossible to do justice to this tradition.

However, it is not necessary.

However, it is critical that content (knowledge and so on) and method (understanding, reason…) emerge together, for otherwise, especially if method is ‘prior’ to content, the question of the foundation of method—the foundation of the foundation—arises.

But is that possible? For example, while knowledge is based in experience, is not logic a priori to experience? We shall find that it is possible to approach method and content simultaneously.

Indeed, this ought to be natural, for knowledge is in the world and therefore, method is content. Further, from the viewpoint that apprehension of the world never exceeds knowledge of the world, world and content and method ought to be able to be seen as one.

And we will find it to be so, for a vast and ultimate range of the world (knowledge of the immediate in precise terms remain elusive, but unnecessary relative to the ultimate).

General method for the way

From the aim, the way—imagination, action, criticism—ought to maintain contact with the immediate and the ultimate and all the places in between, and, so, with all the real

How to maintain contact with the everyday world and everyone’s world, without being limited by that contact, ought to be a topic in the theory of knowledge

The ‘method’ of the method

It shall begin with simple language, knowledge, and reason. Though useful, this is vague and imprecise, but, at least for elementary purposes, clarity and precision can be extracted by abstraction

abstraction is consideration of a partial aspect of some part of the world—it may be used for excision, leaving only faithful knowledge (if the concrete is thought of as the whole, the abstract-concrete distinction is relative to the mode of being of observers)

But can this knowledge also be potent? Yes, and we will develop universal and powerful knowledge

Part of the approach is to begin with experience—subjective awareness—and simple reasoning about it and, then, to abstract away, some perfectly known elements of the world and of reason.

The elements

Some abstract concepts are experience itself (as experience), the phenomenal world (as such), being, effective cause, universe, the void, possibility, necessity, and unconditional being

The elements of reason include necessary inference (laws of thought, logics) and likely inference (scientific)

Naming and the given

Let us conceive of the given as it is in Dagobert Runes’ Dictionary of Philosophy—whatever is immediately present to the mind before it has been elaborated by inference, interpretation, or construction. Wilfrid Sellars has powerfully denied the given.

However, like many critical thinkers, the criticism is too pervasive. Just as, if skepticism is the view that knowledge is impossible, then the concept of knowledge requires alteration, so, if there is no given, we must tinker with the concept of the given.

For if experience, the mind, is not given to itself, then, as Descartes’ powerfully argued, there is nothing.

The given that is our presence to and medium of knowing—the medium of our being, as it were—which is subjective awareness, is named experience.

The foundation begins with experience. This is one of two essential reasons for fundamental importance of the concept of experience. This reason is ontological and epistemic. In this connection, experience is the place of concepts (symbolic and iconic), existents (‘objects’), meaning, and knowledge.

The other reason is that experience is the place of our ‘being’, of all significance. This reason is existential.

How science and logic are both empirical

There are no things as such but all things (‘beings’), at least effectively, are experience of (concept in a general sense as actually or potentially referential mental content) and experienced (existent, ‘object’). Further the experienced are also located in experience.

Science relates experience (concept in a common sense as non-perceptual or ‘thought-like content’) to the world; and is thus empirical.

But logic determines whether a compound concept is realizable—also a relation to the world, where it is the form of compound concepts that is empirical.

Thus, logic and science are elements of the criteria for knowledge that derive from the same source—realism of compound experience.

The logics are further empirical in that (a) for applicability they presume a sub-world and (b) their form follows from the structure of that sub-world.

For example, the law of non-contradiction and identity apply only in worlds where definite states or things (‘beings’) can be recognized by recognizers, the excluded middle is possible only where there is definiteness of truth and falsity, and the propositional calculus is possible only where there is facticity (knowable states of affairs)

Neither logic nor science are a-priori or a-posteriori, but both are coeval with experience—the phenomenal and the real world. Logic and science are both nets within experience.

How there is contact with the concrete world

The abstract is an envelope or framework for the concrete and therefore illuminates and guides it; the concrete illustrates and is instrumental within the envelope. This observation is but a perspective on our limited knowledge and power.

But the limits will be substantially overcome.

How and in what sense are traditional concrete limits overcome

The system of abstract elements reveals the one universe as the greatest possible, which entails that individuals, too, realize this greatest. That knowledge is perfectly faithful. Concrete knowledge is the instrument and, with its enhancement from the abstract, there is no other. Therefore, there is no meaning to a need for another. Thus, while the concrete remains limited within its own domain according to criteria of perfect faithfulness, the dual system is perfect relative to the ultimate according to the value, potential, and givenness of realization it reveals.

Where and how the method is developed

The process of development was incremental, in which content, method, arose via imagination and criticism.

It then became possible to look back and pinpoint the critical points of development.

It is possible now to give a concentrated précis of the development.

An axiomatic – foundational framework

…and poetic-illustrated

See a foundational framework in this document and an earlier axiomatic framework.

The essential concepts are, tentatively, the ones in § The elements, above.

Reason

‘Understanding’ or direct knowing, which emphasizes perceiving and feeling, and ‘reason’ as inference or indirect knowing, which emphasizes conceiving and valuing, have been identified as the elements of knowing. Immanuel Kant found understanding more important. Epistemically, this may be so. However, both, and more are essential. There is a plethora of terms that amuse and confuse. I prefer one term and because I like it, I prefer the term ‘reason’. I define

reason is knowing and the process of coming to know; and it includes acting and learning from action; there is no meta-reason or, put another way, meta-reason is reason; and more generally, the elements of reason interact reflexively—vertically and horizontally, in securing, founding, and optimizing reason.

Reason and the real metaphysics of the narrative will be found identical.

Special methods

Methods will emerge for particular aspects (topics) of the way and are developed at appropriate places in the work.

Improve and expand this list.

Some particular topics are

In describing the features of the universe within but especially beyond perception of parts of the universe, imagination and criticism are ‘instrumental’.

For the general cosmology, the method is the real metaphysics (content and method including tradition), emphasizing imagination and criticism, with suggestions from established and speculative physical cosmology, and metaphysical and mythic sources.

For the cosmology of form and formation, the above, enhanced by the paradigms of (a) mechanism from physics and (b) incremental adaptive systems from biology and general systems theories.

For physical cosmology, modern physical cosmology—theoretical, computational, and observational; and computer and theoretical models of deterministic and stochastic systems games (simple to sophisticated and complex.

Ethical and population modeling.

Understanding the work

Plan for this section*

Minimize and integrate the following

Anticipating the system of meaning

Meanings are specific, the various types and tokens, which are so often taken so seriously are at most suggestive and interpretive.

The system of meaning is essential.

Absorbing the system of meaning

It is essential to see that the meanings are not received meanings (of course there are relations); it is therefore essential to follow the definitions and commentary that explains reasons for the choice of concepts and definitions—individually and as a system

Intuition of the meanings and system is essential and takes time to emerge.

Anticipating other blocks to understanding the work

Insistence of meanings of terms as given and awaiting discovery; whereas, the actual situation is that the process is discovery and creation in a dual space of concepts and referents.

Not seeing that meaning is icon-sign-referent or concept-object (i.e. a concept and its possible objects) and knowledge is meaning realized.

Not following the meanings of the text.

Not seeing that meaning of the system is systematic in that the system stands as one (this is not a holism in which the terms have no individual meaning), that this is horizontal and vertical and that all terms must be understood in their ‘new’ sense, for to analyze each term of focus in a new sense using other concept in received senses, is to never escape the chains of the received.

Not seeing the extent of the metaphysics developed—it goes far beyond the common paradigms… to the ultimate; not seeing what lies within this extent (possible worlds of imagination subject only to logic); not seeing that this is proven; not seeing alternate attitudes to the proof

Not seeing that this life is not just one but only opportunity to see and fulfil the amazing ultimate (it is the only opportunity in the sense that realization always begins in the present, regardless of ‘which life’ one is in); allowing diversion due to problems and mere entertainment; allowing the appealing delusions within both secular and transsecular views; projecting culturally sanctioned views of experience of the world to the universe

Addressing the other blocks

Readers will find that, to absorb the new world view, they must mesh it with their secular and other experience, that there is a tendency to see the new as intellectual and the old as intuitive and visceral and that this tendency must be overcome and what is desired is a seamless view of the old which is visceral and intellectual. An approach to this integration is

The approach from reason.

Sangha.

Ritual, dedication, affirmation.

Persuasion involving prepared speech and risk regarding unprepared or informally prepared speech (next)

Prerequisites to real understanding

Function of the section*

List the prerequisites systematically

Use them as motivation

Use them as topics in talks

What is real understanding?

A first prerequisite is to understand understanding.

Real understanding is more than just intellectual—it is emotive, intuitive, organic, seeking, and behavioral.

It senses that common accounts of the real are limited and seeks a true real amid and beyond the common.

It recognizes the hold of the common accounts, that going beyond them will be difficult, but that the reward may be transcendent.

Real understanding entails a spirit of exploration of the real.

Blocks to understanding

A second prerequisite is to see some common blocks to understanding, so that they may be overcome, and will not be hindrances to real understanding.

Thinking and feeling that the common every day, experiential, scientific, philosophical, and religious paradigms have shown the whole truth.

The foregoing derives from not seeing limits to our use of (i) experience (the empirical), (ii) imagination and criticism (the rational), or (iii) the empirical and the rational, jointly.

Now the limits of our use do not result from essential limits to #iii, just above, but to limited understanding of what the empirical and rational are, of how to use them, and of further elements that may be pertinent to understanding. Often, our critical and imaginative theories of the use of experience and reflection are based on partial critique that is projected as the truth.

Seeing the boundary of the real

It may seem difficult to know anything of the true and ultimate real. But we will find that we can say something about its boundary. And while concepts of what lies at the boundary may not themselves be of the real, they will say—beyond this place there can be no real. Which will be an immensely useful preliminary to any search because, unlike so much search, the boundary will illuminate the search.

So, then, what may we say about the boundary of the real? One definition of logic is that its satisfaction is the minimal requirement for realization, if not in our cosmos, then in some possible world.

Thus, logic is a boundary of the real. In fact, logic defines the greatest—most inclusive—possible universe. How so? One conception of logic is that a concept is realizable in some possible world if and only if the concept does not violate logic. So, now, (i) if a logical concept is not realized in a cosmos, the cosmos is not the greatest possible, but (ii) if it is not logical, it is in the nature of the concept that it is not realizable. Therefore, the greatest possible universe is the logically possible universe.

The universe

What is the relation between the universe and the greatest possible universe? Rather than talk about the relation, let us give a simple derivation of it. So as to show its essence, the derivation will omit concepts that secure its certainty and usability. Here is a derivation—

The universe is all that there is.

The void is the part of the universe that contains no parts except itself.

The void may be said to exist for its existence and nonexistence are equivalent.

A law of nature is a pattern, immanent to a part of the universe.

Though our expressions of the patterns are descriptions, there is a real, if local, pattern behind the descriptions.

Therefore, the immanent law or pattern may be said to exist.

The void has no laws.

If, from the void, some possibility did not emerge, the void would have a law.

All possibilities emerge from the void.

The universe is the greatest possible.

This violates neither science nor logic.

Connecting to the universe

As the greatest possible, the universe has peak realizations and dissolutions without limit.

The individual inherits this power, for otherwise the universe would not be the greatest. This is not a contradiction, for individuals merge in the realization.

Experience in the sense of consciousness or subjective awareness in all their forms is, essentially, our world (which is not to say that experience creates the world or that there is no real world).

Experience is therefore the key to realization (i) intrinsically, as the place of realization (via, e.g., mindfulness), and (ii) instrumentally, as the place of knowledge of the world—i.e. as the effective place of science and technology.

Outline

Aim

One line aim

Fundamental principle

One line demonstration

Meaning and consequences

Heuristics, main implications—perfect metaphysics, and illustrations (identity, the universe, and the individual—Brahman and Atman, path, imperative), doubt and response

On the perfect metaphysics—in the end the system is perfect in terms of the ultimate picture of the universe and value revealed but imperfect from a local perspective in terms of local values (and neither the perfect nor the imperfect eliminate or negate the other). Particularly, neither should hijack the other; and to make this real, following the metaphysics conceptually is not enough—it has to become visceral, part of intuition (via reinforcements, catalysts, sangha or community, art including poetry, and ritual)

The way

Experience

The concept of experience

experience, abstraction

There is experience and reflexivity—i.e., experience of experience

Experience of experience is a significant part of what makes intentionality possible.

An effective world

Why experience? Here is a preliminary answer—

There is a sense in which we do not get outside experience—for, beginning with the phenomenal, the real or objective is further experience.

Intention and action

Are experience +

Experience is relation, even pure experience

All experience is pure experience +

The range of experience

bound – free… or referential – null (null includes the case of potential reference)

attitudinal – agentive – pure

internal – external

iconic – symbolic

objective – qualitative

imperative – neutral

Examples

Perception is bound, external, iconic, close to neutral

Feeling is bound, qualitative, on the imperative – neutral spectrum, internal (but the distinction between perception and feeling is not always made)

Thought is free, symbolic with possible iconic content, relatively neutral (imperative arises in association with feeling)

Emotion is less bound than feeling, qualitative, and complex (interacts with and may subsume elements of the previous items)

Significance of experience—general and for the way

The effective place of the world

The place of individual being, becoming, relation, and significant meaning

The place of will, choice, foresight, designs and plans, action, and change

Approach to the real—the world and the real world

sameness, difference, identity (existent, person or individual), extension, duration

the world, the individual (self, other), the environment, real world as object of and including experience

The place of concept meaning, knowing, and acting

referential concept (experience of, symbolic-iconic—linguistic meaning is a part of concept meaning, for all icons are abstractions and a sign is a degenerate icon), referent (experienced)

in use, an ‘object’ is just the referent, supposed to have existence in isolation from the concept; in fact, this mistakes the nature of referents, which is better conceived of as the concept-referent, for which, the concept part is often dropped, unproblematically

intention arises from this notion of referent as concept-referent and the reflexivity of concepts

meaning (concept and possible referents), knowledge (meaning realized)

Interpretations of experience

The phenomenal or experiential world

experience (itself), real world (‘external’), experience (itself), individual (person, sapient being, human being, Dasein, thrownness), self, other, environment

What are interpretations and what is their significance?

doubt, interpretation

The interpretations

Consider the tentative interpretations (i) there is a real world which includes experience, persons—selves and others, and environment (ii) the world is the experience of an individual (iii) the world is a field of experience and being (and what we think of as nonexperiential interactions are experiential but of zero to low intensity and therefore, for which, quality and complexity, even if there, do not register)

None of these interpretations are logical contradictions of the phenomenal world, which includes one, and perhaps only one, real—i.e., experience itself

That is, they are logically indistinguishable

To reject (ii), then requires some assumption about the world, which need not be science, but may be something as simple as (a) in the world of experience of the individual, the phenomenon that the total experience assigned to phenomenal others is greater than that assigned to the phenomenal self (b) the phenomenal ‘I’ and the phenomenal ‘others’ are related in the phenomena, just as the phenomenal relationship according to which the I and others are communal constructs, or (c) the world is the greatest possible world.

Then,

Either (a) or (b) deny (ii), require (i), and allow (iii)

The case (c) denies that (i) or (ii) are the whole universe and requires (iii).

In the case (iii) there are sub-worlds defined by (i) and (ii)

A sub-world (i) cannot be a strictly materialist world if the individuals have experience

Case (iii) allows and has sub worlds (i) that are strictly materialist.

The foregoing contains a resolution of the problem of solipsism.

Being

Beings, being, and existence

Here being and existence are not distinguished

verb to be, a being (concept-referent or existent), being (property of beings, existence), nonexistent (the referent is null)

whole, part, null

Power and effective cause

cause (the concept), create (to cause to exist), power (effective cause, interaction, measure of being)

The hypothetical being that has no power, self or other, does not exist.

The universe and the void

universe (all being or beings), void (the being that has no parts—except itself)

All creation and effective causation are internal to the universe, which has no creator or creation, other or self (the former because there is no other being, the latter is because the created has no existence prior to its existence)

Possibility

possibility (the concept; unity and disunity among science and logic, real possibility (science, physical, living, sentient), logical possibility, logic

The concept of possibility

Real possibility

Logical possibility

Metaphysical possibility

Necessity

The concept of necessity

Necessary being

necessary being

Unconditional being

unconditional being

Identity of necessary and unconditional being

Unconditional being and necessary being are identical

Metaphysics

What metaphysics is

metaphysics,

Metaphysics has already begun. In that it is derived from direct experience it is trivial. What follows is nontrivial in that it goes beyond what is conventionally thought of experience (but only in that the common is not carefully critiqued or thought out).

The fundamental principle

The real metaphysics

Identity, the universe, and the individual

The universe and the individual

Identity, change

Method of seeing possibilities for beings—merging, levels – from elements to Brahman and their vision and interaction

Identity, space, time, matter, and cause

Ethics

imperative, value, enjoyment

necessary value—natural categorical imperative (Kant), or unconditional moral obligation; here the adjective ‘natural’ implies not that it is a law of nature but that it arises from the concept of enjoyment and the nature of the universe

Universal

Local

The aim of being

The metaphysics of experience

interpretations and resolution of the system of interpretations

Dimensions of being

categories

See the essential way of being.html and a journey in being-outline.html, where these are called categories.

Real

Pure

Form, relation, change

Pragmatic

The nature of being

In history and this work

Human being

Kinds of being

The abstract and the concrete

Reason

reason, method, doubt, skepticism, understanding, widest relevant context (is the logical universe)

The block universe

Topics in metaphysics (A)

These topics are applications or developments of the real metaphysics not covered above. They include (i) topics emergent from the metaphysics (ii) implications of the metaphysics for problems of eastern and western metaphysics. (A)

Applications emerging from the real metaphysics (A)

For a comprehensive set of topics, see a journey in being-outline.html and the essential way of being.html. The starred topics are topics elsewhere in this document. (A)

The fundamental question of metaphysics (A)

A principle of sufficient reason (A)

The abstract and the concrete (A)

A system of the world (A)

A metaphysics of questions (A)

Metaphysics, foundations, and method (A)

criticism, doubt, imagination, interpretation (A)

Problems of eastern metaphysics (A)

Metaphysics in Chinese Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (A)

Arabic and Islamic Metaphysics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (A)

Naturalism in Classical Indian Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (A)

Epistemology in Classical Indian Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (A)

Concepts of God (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)—Concepts of God (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)—Theistic Vedanta and God’s Relation to the World (A)

Vedanta - Wikipedia (A)

A Sourcebook In Indian Philosophy (Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore) (A)

Problems of western metaphysics (A)

From Metaphysics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) (A)

Pre-modern (A)

The nature of Being (A)

Being as Such, First Causes, Unchanging Things (A)

Categories of Being and universals (A)

The problem of substance (A)

Early modern (A)

Materialism and empiricism (A)

Idealism (A)

Immanuel Kant (A)

Modern and current (A)

Modality (A)

Identity (and persistence and constitution), space, and time (A)

Causation, determinism, and freedom (A)

The mental and the physical (A)

Consciousness, mind, and matter (A)

Cosmology

Cosmology is (a part) of metaphysics.

General cosmology and its method

The method is the real metaphysics, imagination, and criticism

Cosmology of form and formation

Cosmology of formation

The method of the cosmology of formation is (i) on the ideal side the method of general cosmology (ii) on the pragmatic side the adaptive systems paradigm as generalized from the Darwinian paradigm of evolution.

In metaphysical terms the outcome of the Darwinian paradigm, is that formed systems shall be near stable and near symmetric and, where observed, possessed of that symmetry that encourages high level experiential beings

Cosmology of form

Paradigms

The paradigms are mechanism, effective causation, and determinism with residual indeterminism

Form and scale

Scales and the meshing of scales

Physical cosmology

The block universe

Treated earlier

The universe—temporal vs eternal vs block universe

Temporalism vs eternalism vs block or temporally emerging

A choice of what is real vs alternate descriptions

A system of the world

See a journey in being-outline.html and system of human knowledge, reason, practice, and action.html

A foundational framework

The aim of this part is to find foundation and a way to an axiomatic system for the way of being. This entails finding a founded metaphysics.

This is the beginning of the poetic and manual versions.

The sections The way in > Approach and The way in > Method are pertinent to this part and the content ought to be combined.

On reading the way

small capitals mark a term being defined. A star* marks a defined term in an alternate, usually informal, use.

Dark red font identifies definitions, conclusions, and other main statements.

† Marks a consequence of the fundamental principle.

†† Marks a consequence of the real metaphysics.

• A single bullet marks what could be taken as primitive values, concepts, postulates, axioms, and essential arguments and conclusions for an axiomatic system.

•• Two bullets mark a subset of the single bulleted content. They mark the lowest level of a scalable version of the way. They may also be the basis for a poetic version.

! The sign of exclamation marks an informal or teaching comment, paragraph, or section title. The signs †, ††, •, and •• also mark informal or teaching material.

This shade of green font red font identifies those definitions etc intended for a pocket field manual.

Indigo font indicates a statement of methodological principle or element of proof that illustrates methodological principle. The intent is to have a sufficiently illustrative collection of such statements. Some statements of method are not indigo.

This shade of blue font is intended for poetic statements.

The system

The aim is systems of understanding and reason—in the sense of Kant—for the real or phases of the real. The formulation will be such that the systems may be also be written in abstract axiomatic form.

Given experience as defined in the preliminary ideas, below, a linguistic concept is a sign associated with an icon1. meaning is a concept and its possible referents (or objects); knowledge is meaning realized—i.e., concepts and their referents. A language is a system of concept formulation that expresses meaning and knowledge2. An axiom3 is a primitive principle of reason suggested by experience with inference and is either necessary or pragmatic4,5. A primitive term6 marks a concept defined by pointing at something in the world. A postulate7 is a primitive and basic assertion concerning the world that has meaning and is established as true; a hypothesis8 is an assertion that is established as likely and consistent with experience but not absolutely established. conclusions or results are derived via axioms, starting with postulates or hypotheses (or both) as premises.

If properly based in experience, truth of the system follows, which entails knowledge—i.e. that the system captures the real, only the real, and consistency, but not that all the real has been completely captured9. Then, a conclusion is certainly true if and only if based in necessary axioms and postulates and is known only to be likely true if based in either pragmatic axioms or hypotheses (but may of course in fact be certainly true even though this is not known).

Notes. 1 The sign and icon may be compound, and the icon may be a perceptually or internally generated visual or other image. 2 In abstract systems there might be kinds of terms and rules of formation, devoid of meaning but intended to be able to capture meaning and knowledge. 3 The terms axiom and postulate are used somewhat interchangeably but there is a distinction that is effective and the one here is Euclid’s. 4 In abstract systems axioms are posited and are usually principles of necessary inference. 5 Language and axioms are relatively context independent. Primitive terms, postulates, and hypotheses are relatively context dependent—i.e., they concern a phase of the world. Context dependence vs dependence is, however, not an absolute polarity. Further, the distinction between understanding and inference is not absolute for both concern the world and inference is an aspect of understanding. 6 In an abstract axiomatic system, a primitive term would be an undefined but of course intended as part of a system to be capable of expressing real content. 7 In an abstract system a postulate is primitive assertion with no particular meaning but capable of having meaning, e.g. in terms of models or phases of the world. 8 In an abstract system, the term conjecture might be used. 9 For abstract systems, modeling, consistency, and completeness, are meta-logical and meta-systemic issues; and it is not generally the case that only intended models are captured—e.g., if a countable first order theory has an infinite model, it has infinite models of all non-finite cardinalities (the Löwenheim–Skolem theorem). However, in the real case, to guarantee uniqueness of models requires care, since experience may have more than one consistent interpretation.

! We presume simple language as some ground for the real, with elementary principles of reason (axioms), and simple postulates chosen to perfectly capture2 the entire real (understanding, knowledge), and hypotheses chosen for reasonability and to capture, at least pragmatically3, a phase or phases of the real.

Notes. 1 We find that language, reason, and understanding—method and content—emerge together (see method). 2 An abstract or aspect of. 3 However, this does not imply that no final foundation can be found—we will find that there is final foundation in some directions (and limitless openness in other directions). We will find a metaphysics in which perfect and pragmatic capture of the real are woven together. The perfect side will reveal an ultimate value, in terms of which the woven result—the metaphysics—is itself perfect in the sense that ultimate is achieved and the pragmatic is the only and therefore ‘best’ immediate instrument. Another way in which the mix of the perfect and pragmatic is useful, is in bringing science and logic on the same footing. The inference to a logic is parallel to the inference to a theory of science, and inference under the logic and the theory are parallel. The difference is that on the logic side the inferences are seen as perfect. On the other hand, the science side may be seen as perfect if the domain of application and the precision are limited; the domain to which science may then be perfectly extended is not known. But lack of certainty is not peculiar to science. Some domains of logic do seem to be certain, but it is not clear that the ultimate extension of the idea of logic does or should be a domain of certainty.

The way of being presumes simple language and its use.

Primitive terms—experience (with sameness, difference, and identity), being (existence, the verb to be), power (effective cause, relation), universe, the void, possibility, form, formation, paradigm (interpretation)

Related terms—for experience: concept (experience of), referent (the experienced—or ‘object’), phenomenal world, real world; for being: nonexistence, beings; for form and formation: displacement (extension), change (duration); for possibility: necessity, relatively context neutral or logical possibility, logic, logics, contextual or real possibility, science, and sciences

probability, feasibility, real possibility, science, logical possibility, logic, logics, necessity

Inference—axioms—laws of thought, logics, pragmatic inference…

Postulates—the givens—there is experience, being, the universe, the void, possibility…

Hypotheses—the main hypotheses are projections of paradigms learnt in our empirical world (cosmos), projected to the universe (with arguments for their reasonability); and existence of the void (which is also entered above among the givens, for which reasons are given later)—or, equivalently, the fundamental principle of metaphysics.

The lowest level may also be poetic.

The system, especially for the axioms, requires refinement and completion.

The aim of the way

•• The aim of the way is living well in the present as inspired and shared discovery and realization of the ultimate.

The statement of the aim defuses tension between being* and becoming which are and should be sought to be in balance.

The way develops a non-standard and ultimate view of the universe as the greatest possible. To understand and use it, suspension of standard paradigms, immersion in the new, and then integration with the old, are essential. Except alternate, typically informal use, which is marked by stars (*),it is essential to adhere to the meanings below.

A base for living, discovery, and realization begins with knowledge in interaction with action. The aim is to be in discovery of paths to the ultimate (paths are without end, except from the vantage point of the ultimate). We will first set up a framework for discovery in foundation and grounding through the universe is the greatest possible, which is followed by filling in the framework.

! Foundation and grounding

A foundation for knowledge or action, in terms of a value, is a way of guaranteeing reliability relative to the value. A grounding is where the foundation is located.

Foundation has often been sought in substance. What is substance and what is the origin of the idea? The world is complex and changing. The idea of substance is something simple and unchanging, perhaps eternal, that generates the world and thus understanding and foundation. Perhaps the origin of the idea lies also in the observation that amid the complexity and change, some things seem to be simple and unchanging. Thus, Thales of Miletus held that water was the substance of the world. Later, the idea of substance became more abstract.

The elementary is that which has no constituent but itself. A mechanism is a way of change or transformation that is in principle transparent, understandable, and predictable. A substance (i) is elementary and unchanging (and therefore eternal) and (ii) generates the world mechanistically.

The idea of substance has the appeal that it promises rock-like foundation. However, substance foundation is illusory for its promise is an end to explanation but substances themselves lack final explanation. Of course, a substance could be regarded as a hypothesis or posit but that would negate the foundational quality of substance. Perhaps we ought to admit that there may be no true foundation of the world.

It is for this reason that the quest for foundation turns to being and experience. It turns to being because the concept of being is, simply, what is there. The seeming impotence from being is that since ‘what is there’ is there but is not obviously known, it would seem incapable of providing foundation. However, since ‘being is there’, if it can provide foundation, then the foundation would indeed need no further explanation. We find that a foundation can be built up, starting with being and thus it is an absolute, not relative, foundation. However, it would be an abstract foundation. We find that though being is foundational, it may further be founded in experience as defined below, which grounds the foundation in experiential being, e.g. human being. Though the entire story has further detail, we find that with foundation in experience, which we might have sought to avoid because experience is subjective, we are in fact able to embrace the real.

Preliminary ideas

The way is an orientation to a view of the universe. To use it, immersion is needed. Excepting informal use, it is essential to adhere to the following meanings.

•• experience is consciousness and conscious awareness in all its forms; it is the effective place of our being and kind.

The most elementary experience is sense of sameness and difference.

Without experience, individuals would be robots. An observer would see as-if existential significance, but existential significance would not register for a non-experiential ‘individual’.

• Identifying and naming a perceived real.

Though a perception can be an illusion, here apparent perception of experience is validated in that even apparent perception is (a case of) experience.

While definition does not generally entail a defined real, in this case it does. Such a definition may be called a real definition.

• There is experience.

Tautological restatement of a real definition.

The phrase ‘there is’ names a simple real.

There is experience of experience.

• Proof by contradiction—if there were no experience of experience, knowledge that there is experience could not be shown.

•• a being is that which is—i.e., which is or exists within, enmeshed with, or beyond the arena of space and time; being is existence; a use of being is to reject substance foundation.

•• There is being and there are beings.

• power is interaction or effective cause—having or receiving effect (from self or other).

The concept of being as being is primal to kind of being, and at the primal level there is no mechanism of effective cause without projection of paradigm.

The hypothetical being that has no power or interaction does not exist.

The measure of being is power.

That is, being is relational.

Naming the notion of ‘there is’.

A concept and object (existent) are an experience of and the experienced, respectively.

Without the concept, there is no object and so, as it is seen later, it generally essential to talk of concept-objects rather than objects (but it may be seen that sometimes, the name-object or sign-object suffices).

How are being and experience interwoven? The following observation of this paragraph is crucial to the nature of being. It was noted that being is relational. At the level of experiential beings, it is concept and object or experience of and the experienced; for such beings, being or a being is, effectively, knowledge of the same.

This may seem to make the concept of being essentially ‘subjective’ but, (i) the subjective is in fact the most immediate element of the real, (ii) later, in the real metaphysics, it is shown how perfection and fullness of knowledge emerge from experience, and (iii) at the level of being as being, being is essentially interactional—i.e., power is its measure.

A summary of the previous three paragraphs is—

Being is experiential-relational.

An abstract is a partial aspect of an object; abstraction is formation of an abstract.

Though the seeming object of experience, the world, can be doubted from illusion; that there is experience can be seen as abstraction experiential world—while the world can be doubted, experience is beyond doubt.

•• The universe is all being.

In greater detail, the universe is all being over all sameness and difference, particularly over all extension and duration.

The universe exists.

There is one and only one universe.

•• There is no other being to effectively cause the universe.

And effective self cause would presume the universe to be manifest while nonmanifest, therefore—

•• The universe has no effective creator or cause.

By abstraction from the welter of detail.

•• The void is the absence of being—the being that contains no beings.

•• The void exists. This is because its existence and nonexistence are equivalent. Given that it is consistent with experience and reason, its existence may be regarded as a rational and existential postulate.

The void is the absence of being—the being that contains no beings except itself.

Existence of the void follows from equivalence of its existence and non-existence. Given that it is consistent with experience* and reason, its existence may be regarded as a rational and existential postulate.

• First proof—existence and nonexistence of the void are equivalent. Appeal to a principle of indistinguishables.

Second proof—the void is there, beside every element of being.

Third ‘proof’—admit doubt; regard existence of the void as a postulate or principle of action (as explained later).

• A being is possible if the concept of the being does not rule out its existence.

• logical possibility is that which pertains only to the concept.

Logic is the corresponding constraint system on concepts; real possibility pertains, over and above the logical, to the nature of the worlds and individuals under consideration; and the greatest possibility is possibility in its most inclusive sense (‘greatest’ includes but does not mean ‘best’).

The greatest possibility cannot exceed logical possibility (but, of course, our logics do not exhaust logic).

probability is likelihood in a defined and limited range of the universe.

feasibility and worth concern the viability and ethics or value of an achievement for an individual, group, or civilization in a defined and limited range of the world and their being (existence).

• A being is necessary if the concept rules out nonexistence.

• A being is unconditional if, for all situations in which nonexistence is possible, it exists.

• Unconditional and necessary existence are identical.

Relative to the entire universe, unconditionality is the only measure of necessity.

• Identity is sense of sameness of self or other existent.

Duration marks difference in but not of identity (sameness with difference); difference in identity is change. Extension is marked by difference of identity.

form is what marks identities as similar or different; it has extension and is marked by quality. formation is emergence of identity or form and includes change; experience is experiencing—it is essentially formational; without formation, the world would be inert and not even robotic.

Form is subsumed under relation; relation and formation are essential to being.

• Being is essentially and interactively relational and formational.

• An individual or person is a being, with identity of form and awareness, for whom the awareness is perceptual, feeling, conceptual, and capable of choice, will, and action.

The universe is the greatest possible

•• laws of nature are patterns; patterns are immanent in the world and therefore have being.

Abstraction, the concept of being.

•• In the void there are no laws.

• Simple use of predicate calculus—there are no beings in the void, laws are beings, therefore there are no laws in the void.

Note. It is a use of syllogism. However, predicate calculus subsumes syllogism.

• The void is not ruled by laws, gods, or other beings.

If all that is possible, in the sense of logical possibility, did not emerge from the void, that would constitute a law of the void.

All that is logically possible emerges from the void.

The logically and greatest possible are identical.

A simple form of the above argument omits consideration of logical possibility:

•• If all that is possible did not emerge from the void, that would constitute a law of the void. Therefore—

•• The universe is the greatest possible.

•• This assertion is named the fundamental principle of metaphysics.

Note that while it is certain that all possibilities occur, this is not true for limited parts of the universe—e.g. the cosmos observed by human beings and, it is likely, delimited by the big bang. Within such limits, likelihood is also a concern and may be addressed by the real metaphysics, below, over and above logical possibility.

The universe has no beginning, end, or exterior.

If the universe has a cause, it is not effective cause. The cause of the universe is not that of a beginning, but of its entire existence.

Necessity may be taken to be the cause of the universe. In the sense of logical cause—

•• Necessity is the cause of the existence of the universe and realization of the greatest possibility.

Characterizing the universe

•• There is but one universe. The universe phases between manifest and void form; it has identity.

• The conclusions above are simple consequences of the definition of ‘universe’ and the fundamental principle. That there is one universe is also a dynamic consequence of the universe as the greatest possible. For, let a possibly limited being be the greatest being. Then, if the given being did not contain some other being, the given would not be the greatest. Therefore, the greatest being is all being.

• An example of a ‘method of using the fundamental principle’ now emerges. Imagine or conceive any being (or aspect of a being, which, in any case, is also a being); then provided the concept is logical, the being exists (this ‘method’ will be extended in § using the real metaphysics).

• Results that follow from this method or principle are marked with a dagger—†. Such results may follow directly from the fundamental principle or depend also on earlier results.

••† The universe and its identity are limitless in every possible way—particularly, in form, variety, extension, duration, and peak of being.

† The cosmos in which we live is one of limitlessly many, which are relatively stable and symmetric in form, and, which, together are limitless in magnitude and quality—and which are in transient transaction with the void. This description is—most likely—inadequate to convey the variety of being.

That our cosmos is the way it is and not another is consistent with the realization of the greatest possibility, for no thing can be what it is not, and the realizations of other cosmoses are events that are distinct from the realization of ours. It is clear, then, from its derivation, that the picture built above, is logically consistent. It is also consistent with our sciences and experience, especially physics and physical cosmology, for science is empirical and is not known to have purchase beyond the empirical boundary. The thought that our cosmology does extend beyond the empirical boundary is circular for it depends on tacitly thinking that the entire universe has been captured in science; to put this thought another way, if we have an explicit but limited or slanted view of the universe, it is because that view is already tacit or normative.

! Doubt and response to doubt

General or Cartesian doubt

Cartesian doubt and response are built into the development in a number of places, especially the choice of being over substance, the interpretation of experience, and the resolution of the ambiguities of the interpretations.

Doubt about the truth of the fundamental principle

Now that the fundamental principle has been shown logically and empirically consistent, the essential remaining doubt concerns its demonstration.

The essential doubts are as follows, (1) does the void exist, (2) do laws have being, and (3) the principle itself ought to be doubted even if the proof should hold, just from the enormity of the conclusion (certain technical doubts are addressed elsewhere in this work).

Now the fact that quantum theory does not permit a true void, is not a good reason for doubt for science is empirical. The real reason for doubt is simply that we do not (seem) to have experience of the void. But we can argue that the existence and nonexistence of the void are equivalent and therefore, the void may validly be taken to exist.

An argument that laws have being is that while our expressions of the laws may be mere descriptions, what they describe are immanent in being and therefore have being.

We could argue for the fundamental principle in other ways. An alternate proof is that the void plus universe have unconditional and therefore necessary existence; but by symmetry, the universe cannot be just one of what is possible and must therefore be all possibility. A heuristic is that logic is the limiting boundary of all science.

However, doubt ought to remain for (1) the absence of detailed empirical proof, (2) residual doubts even given multiple proofs, and (3) the magnitude of the conclusion.

So, given the consistency and reasonability of the principle, an alternative to regarding it as proven, is to view it as (1) a fundamental or hypothetical postulate upon which to base development the greatest possible true metaphysics or (2) an existential action principle.

The value of the search for realization

The skeptical secular thinker may assert, even if they accept the real metaphysics, that whatever is of value and whatever is real is found in more or less immediate experience. They may add that though this secular world is imperfect it is where our hearts, minds, and energies should focus. They would view these assertions as not only principled in terms of their secular, perhaps humanist values, but only plain common sense.

A response to the secular thinker is that the world of which they talk is what we have called the immediate world; that there is a far greater world; that there is an imperative even in terms of secular values to seek the greater world; that even if they do not accept that conclusion, knowledge of the greater world illuminates the secular; and that focus on the ultimate need not detract from the immediate but, with sufficient balance, may enhance it.

The dogmatic religious thinker will deny whatever here may contradict their faith. I have no response to such persons except perhaps to ask that they approach this work with an open mind.

The open minded transsecular thinker might criticize the real metaphysics as stretching credulity. The response to them is similar to the response to the secular thinker.

Doubt about the efficiency of the use of the real metaphysics

There is little doubt that the generic method outlined above and later may be inadequate in discovering and realizing enjoyable possibility.

The response is that I seek balance my own search with discovery and invite others to do the same.

The universe and the individual

••† Individuals inherit the power of the universe for, otherwise, the universe would not be limitless.

† The individual is the universe.

Roughly, this says ‘all possibilities are open to the individual’. However, this does not mean that all possibilities are available to the individual in a delimited situation, e.g. this life as interpreted in terms of its limits of birth, death, and form. Here, further issues arise. Feasibility is touched on below, especially in tradition and the real metaphysics and using the real metaphysics. What is worthwhile—of value—is touched on below, in the aim of being, but only briefly.

••† Individuals and civilizations merge with the universe in its peaks.

† This realization is given.

Whatever ought to be labeled ‘God’ is an ultimate of which we are part. In so saying we would call the ultimate God, which inverts the typical approach of describing a godlike being of our cultural choosing and then asserting its ultimate nature.

† In that it is itself, the universe knows itself. The highest possible being is and knows the universe, at least in abstract. This abstract is concrete in peak phases of the universe. In these senses, the universe is deterministic (for the highest possible being).

† Since the universe is the realization of all possibility, all relations among beings or states are contingent. In this sense there is absolute indeterminism, which requires, that there are phases of determinism—and phases of indeterminism superposed on determinism. This conclusion from the fundamental principle is instrumental—over and above explicit use of the principle—in the remaining conclusions of this section.

† For a limited being in a cosmos with presently limited causal connection to the rest of the universe, what obtains outside the being’s empirical limits, do not constitute facts. For the limited being, there is a domain of determined fact; outside this, the universe is not determined for the being.

† Whether the universe is deterministic is observer relative.

† While a ‘limited being’ has limits noted below, those are local limits; relative to the extent and duration of the universe, all beings are limitless; all beings have freedom without limit except the limits of all being.

† The universe may be viewed as a block which contains the trajectories of all beings. A given being is the intersection of multiple trajectories; the merging of individuals in peaks, followed dissolutions, occurs in the intersection and divergence of the trajectories.

Apparent limits and real limitlessness of the individual

There are apparent impediments to realization—the limits of pain, birth, death, and physical form.

•† Birth, death, pain, and physical form are real but not absolute limits. Knowledge and fear of death may be employed as cathartic in living well in the present as one with endeavor toward the ultimate.

If they seem absolute it is because the elements of perception and thought are part of the form of individuals.

† That the ultimate is realized by all individuals is given. But effective realization of the ultimate is found in commitment to this life and the ultimate. Intimate acquaintance with death and fear is transformative.

† For some individuals, seeing and realizing the ultimate is a continuous and visible thread, beginning in this life. It is so for all beings, except when the quality of vision is limited and, therefore, the truth may be hidden. Where we do not have full vision from the present, it is acquired in merging with others, beyond this life.

Paths to the ultimate

••† There are effective, intelligent, enjoyed paths to the ultimate.

The paths are incompletely known—to be on a path is also to engage in its discovery in perception, feeling, thought, experiment, and action.

•• sangha—community and sharing pathways—is effective in discovery and realization.

The aim of being

•• If enjoyment is a value, to be on a shared path is a human and moral imperative.

• This is a source of ethical principle.

• The aim of being is the aim of the way of being—living well in the present as the way to inspired and shared discovery and realization of the ultimate.

•• The best address of pain and other impediments is dual—therapeutic and being* on a path.

! The place and means of realization

What is the place and means of realization?

Experience is consciousness and conscious awareness in all its forms (as defined earlier)—

From perception and thought, to feeling and emotion, to will and choice in action.

There is experience.

Being is existence (as defined earlier).

Experience is the place of our being.

The phenomenal world or world of appearance is the range of experience. The real world is the true object of experience.

There is experience of experience. Thus, experience itself is part of the real world. Experience of experience is essential to directing experience to efficient use—i.e., to intentionality and intelligence.

Since memory is imperfect, even the phenomenal world as it seems to present itself may be doubted. However, that doubting is part of the phenomenal world.

Interpretations of experience

An interpretation of a range of experience is a description of the real that is self-consistent and consistent with experience. If the range of experience is the entire range, the interpretation is an interpretation of the world.

† The broadest interpretation of the world is the world as a field of being and experience, in which individuals—selves and others—are bright centers of intelligent experientiality, and the variety and limitlessness are as in the earlier description of this greatest universe. Here, experience as relation is employed in the conclusion, over and above explicit use of the fundamental principle. That there is no higher kind than experience, follows from experience as relation, for a higher kind would be relation of relation, which is relation (which, incidentally, negates Spinoza’s assertion that there are an infinite number of attributes beyond form and thought; but of course form and thought may have degrees and qualities without limit).

Consider the following kinds of world—(i) a world that is just the experience of what we call an individual (ii) a world in which behavior is the same as in our world but is strictly of form without experience (‘strictly material’) and consequently there is no experience (this may be called a ‘zombie world’) (iii) a world as in #ii except that it is not strictly material and in which there are true selves and others in an environment where the experientiality from zero to low in level, but not null, and (iv) the greatest universe as described in the previous and earlier paragraphs.

All those worlds are logically possible.

Resolution of the ambiguity in interpretations of experience

† The universe is (identical to) #iv and contains such worlds as #’s i, ii, and iii without limit.

#i, however, is not consistent with a world in which either (a) the information content assigned to the phenomenal is greater than the content assigned to the individual or (b) the term ‘I’ is indexical. In its common interpretation as a world of selves and others in an environment, our world is just like #iii, but cannot be #i or #ii.

Further resolution requires pragmatic considerations, which are taken up in § using the real metaphysics.

Ideal and pragmatic classes of being

• The categories, dimensions, or classes of being are classes at or just below being in inclusiveness, chosen for effectiveness in understanding and reason.

• We begin with a pair of ideal classes of being, that are intrinsically and instrumentally, being itself, for experiential and non experiential being. These classes are experience of and the experienced—i.e., mind and world (world includes mind). The entire world falls under this umbrella, provided that indirect experience is included.

This choice was given justification in The place and means of realization.

Experience of corresponds to the notion of concept and the experienced to existent or object. An object without a concept has no meaning, let alone being. We regard a concept and its possible existents as meaning and meaning realized, i.e. a concept and its actual existents, as knowledge. Since the object or existent without a concept is without meaning, being or existence is essentially relational.

The ideal system of thought emerging from the universe as greatest, implies that experience is the intrinsic place of becoming. The truth of this system is perfect (in contrast to pragmatic truth, which is ‘truth’ for limited contexts).

As the place of art, science, and technology it is also the pragmatic instrument. Art shall include the humanities, especially philosophy. Logic and mathematics may be assigned either to science or the humanities.

• To render the ideal system practical, we may use the system of the culture in which we live. Such systems are invariably imperfect relative to ‘ideal knowledge’. However, if imperfection is invariable, the imperfect is the only instrument in realization of the ultimate and, given the inevitability of the ultimate, the imperfect is perfect relative to that goal. We may begin in terms of the ideal classes—of the mind, or psyche, and of the world. In a western worldview, the world divides into nature (which contrasts to the artificial or constructed and includes the elementary or physical at a range of scales from micro to cosmological and more, the complex or living, and the experiential or mind), society (which is at least partially constructed and includes civilization and artifact or technology), and the peak, part known, and unknown elements of the universe.

The worldly classes may be further divided—e.g., the physical into physics, cosmology, astronomy, chemistry, earth sciences; the biological into evolution and function; the psychological into the philosophical and the scientific; and the social into sociology, culture (language, knowledge and its development—and communication and transmission). A system of human knowledge, reason, practice, and action develops a comprehensive system based in the real metaphysics, below. See reading, for details.

The ideal classes are chosen for truth, realism, and to cover all being. The pragmatic classes are chosen for instrumentality. They are not unique and are the expression of a western world view. Other classes could be employed and those who would prefer that may use this work to frame the details of their ideas; multiple systems of pragmatic classes could be used. One aim here, however, is to avoid proliferation of the categories.

Tradition and the real metaphysics

• tradition will mean—what is valid in cumulative cultural history (inclusive of art, science, and technology), of in process and enhanced by reflection, experiment and action, and learning.

These disciplines of tradition are understood as mind engaged in transformation of the world (via understanding and reason), and in transformation of mind itself (yoga and meditation, adequately understood).

† There are two systems of understanding—the ideal and tradition or the pragmatic. The ideal shows an ultimate real and value and so illuminates and guides the pragmatic; the pragmatic illustrates and is instrumental toward the ideal. The pragmatic is ‘limited truth’ according to traditional criteria of perfect faithfulness. However, the pragmatic is the only and therefore ‘best’ instrument so far in realization. Thus, in terms of the ethic of realization, the pragmatic has an ideal or perfect character (and the ideal may be seen as a limit of the pragmatic). Thus, the ideal and the pragmatic constitute a single perfect system for living in the world and realization of the ultimate. This system is named the real metaphysics. In summary and conclusion—

• A synthesis of (i) the universe as the greatest possible, (ii) pragmatic knowledge, (iii) experience*, (v) reflection, and (v)action, results in a real metaphysics that is a perfect instrument of realization.

Using the real metaphysics

•• To employ the system, we have appeal (i) to tradition and its approaches or methods, of which the foregoing captures a framework (ii) for the ideal part, to imagination subject to critical thought (iii) for likelihood of occurrences, to various paradigms such as mechanism and evolution as known in our cosmos. Consequences of the real metaphysics are marked ††. Examples follow.

†† To see how individuals merge into one, consider that the ‘individual’ is a unity of individuals, and, by analogy, the one is a unity of the many. Though introduced by analogy, this is logically possible and therefore necessarily realized.

†† To see why the majority of cosmoses would be formed, analogy from the theory of evolution, suggests an incremental emergence in which forms with near symmetry are more stable, and it is longevity, which results from stability, that accounts for the majority. Cosmoses with intelligent experiential beings would obviously the ones that are recognized.

A program of realization

•• A program of realization may use two templates—everyday (immediate) and universal (toward the ultimate). An outline of templates follows (links for detailed templates are in reading, below). The templates, derived from experience*, are rendered adaptable to a range of circumstances and personal orientations. To make the range comprehensive, they draw from the ideal and pragmatic classes of being.

The ideal classes are experience of and the experienced—or concept and referent (object) – or intrinsic and instrumental (because experience is experienced, the distinction between intrinsic and instrumental is a continuum; and note that ‘pure experience’ is the case that the external object is null). The intrinsic is experiential—how, for example, may an individual experience (truly) being* a peak form of the universe? Intrinsic means, e.g. meditation, is supported by the instrumental—e.g. hatha yoga and technology (for most individuals it is likely that realization only begins in ‘this life’ and even then, has an implicit character). The ideal classes are reflected in both templates.

The pragmatic classes of being are psyche, nature, civilization (society), and the peak, part known, and unknown. These classes are reflected in the templates, especially the universal template.

! Outline of the everyday template—rise early (dedication and affirmation), meditative review (life – the way – the day), realize (yoga – work – share; reflection and work on projects), physical exploration (nature, art, society), evening renewal and community, and sleep early. Notes—yoga, which includes meditation, is not just a practice, but is intended to extend into action throughout the day (the reading has sources on yoga).

! Outline of the universal template—pure being*, ideas (reflection – writing – sharing, publishing), becoming (nature with psyche; civilization, society, and artifact (technology), and community; the universal—peak, part known, and unknown—universal being*. Notes—the areas of activity are driven by the ideal and pragmatic classes of being.

While the outline forms above are too short to constitute an explicit program, details are provided in the universal template below.

The structure of the templates

Supporting material and versions of templates with greater detail and explanation are linked in reading.

Everyday

#	Time	Activity
Rise early—before the sun, dedicate to the way and its aim, affirm the universal nature of being. Morning reflection in nature. Breakfast.
Meditative-contemplative review priorities and plans—life, the day, the way. Reflect on realization, priorities, and means; employ simple reflection, (calming—Shamatha—for re-orientation of purpose and energy, contemplative or analytical meditation—Vipasana—to see what is essential now and in other time frames; see the discussion of experimental yoga).
Realization—(a) work, (b) care and relationships—networking, (c) ideas and action, (c) experimental and structured yoga-exercise-meditation-share in practice and in action, (d) other activities or ‘engagement in the world’—e.g., languages, art.
Tasks—daily and long term; midday meal. Attitude—in tasks and toward others and the world—an element of realization; light; yoga in action. May merge with Realization.
Physical activity—exercise and exploration of the worlds of nature and culture for discovery and inspiration.
Evening rest, renewal, review, meditation and realization, network, community, tasks, supper, preparation-dedication for the next day and future. Sleep early.

Universal

Being in the world—Dimensions (a) Pure being (b) Community (c) Retreat for experience of the real.
Ideas—Dimensions (a) relation, knowing (as relation to the world); reason and art (b) acting (effectively, creating the real). Means—reason, yoga (meditation), and the real metaphysics.
Becoming—Dimension: nature as catalyst to the real.
Becoming—Dimension: society. Civilization as vehicle and path to the real. Transformation via psyche—by immersion in social groups as place of being and catalyst to the real.
Becoming—Dimension: artifact. Civilizing the universe (especially technology as enhancing being in the universe)—universe as peak consciousness via spread of sapient being.
Becoming—Dimensions: universal, incompletely known. The common way from self to Peak Being (Atman to Brahman), via the block universe and extended secular worlds consistent with experience of and in the world.
Being in the universe—Dimension: universal. Realizing Peak Being (Brahman) in the present. Apparently, rarely achieved in ‘this life’ which is a beginning that is continued beyond death. Outcome of items #2 to #6. The means are in the previous dimensions and open.

! Reading

This work outlines a way shared discovery and realization of the ultimate. It does not define a complete program. Indeed, it ought not to, for a real program, it was found, is not just to follow but also to forge paths. Some reading suggestions for development of a program are

The essay The way of being (http://www.horizons-2000.org/2020/precis.html) and others linked from the website http://www.horizons-2000.org.

From the same website, the main influences (http://www.horizons-2000.org/2020/resources/main influences for the way.html).

Everyday and universal templates for action—with further resources (the template addresses are, respectively, http://www.horizons-2000.org/2020/narratives/everyday template.pdf, and http://www.horizons-2000.org/2020/narratives/universal template.pdf).

For its suggestiveness for the background metaphysics, the framework of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (https://people.umass.edu/klement/tlp/tlp.pdf) by Ludwig Wittgenstein (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Wittgenstein).

For a system of knowledge based in the real metaphysics, A system of human knowledge, reason, practice, and action (http://www.horizons-2000.org/2020/resources/system of human knowledge, reason, practice, and action.html)

For a program of action in our world, A journey in being (http://www.horizons-2000.org/1.%20World%20and%20Being/realization/being-elements/2010/2011-2012%20jib%20in-process/second%20production/1/Journey%20in%20Being-detail.html#Challenges_and_opportunities).

For background on Yoga (http://www.horizons-2000.org/2020/topic essays/traditional and modern approaches to living in the world.html) as a system of realization and on the ultimate nature of the self, A Sourcebook In Indian philosophy (https://www.booklibrarian.com/pdfepub/a-sourcebook-in-indian-philosophy-pdf/) by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore.

Some references with notes—

Ian Baker, The Heart of the World: A Journey to Tibet’s Lost Paradise, 2004. An exploration of travel to the heart of nature as means of self-transformation.

Chagdud Tulku, Gates to Buddhist Practice: Essential Teachings of a Tibetan Master, 1993, Rev. 2001. A readable account of Tibetan Buddhism, its world view, and practice.

John Hick, The Fifth Dimension: An Exploration of the Spiritual Realm, 1999. An excellent account of ‘higher realms’ from within the modern world view of science.

Christopher Wallis, Tantra Illuminated: The Philosophy, History, and Practice of a Timeless Tradition, 2nd ed., 2013. An immense source of ritual for those who may be interested. Somewhat aligned with Tibetan Buddhism.

Pema Chödrön, How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind, 2013. On the practice of meditation. The book is open with regard to aims of meditation.

Eknath Easwaran, trs., The Bhagavad Gita, 1985. A practical guide to a world view similar to that in this work, as well as an account of the realms of Yoga.

Richard K. Nelson, Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest, 1983. Nice account of a primal world view and way of life.

The way

The aim of being

The means

Metaphysics and reason

Ways and catalysts

Reinforcing the way

The issues

Some issues in achievement are (i) clear knowledge of the goal (ii) knowledge of the context and means (iii) commitment—i.e. over and above just knowledge: visceral knowledge, belief in the truth and value of the goal and means (iv) steadfastness of commitment and action in the face of doubt and other internal blocks and lack of energy and material resources, lack of support and affirmation and opposition from others and the community.

In the way (i) there is knowledge of the goal but it needs elaboration (ii) there is knowledge of the context and means but these need continuing development as part of the process (iii) the individual may face blocks as in #iii above and, further, as the way is relatively new and contrary to the standard secular and many transsecular paradigms, there is little community support and much inertia. Commitment to other limited and false paradigms may manifest as opposition.

Reinforcement

The individual—(i) strengthening self: meditation (on internal blocks, resentments, and resolutions) and therapy, (ii) healthy living with moderate diversion (iii) having source literature with proof, example, and inspiration, e.g. the way of being (iv) ritual, dedication, and affirmation (v) a community of similarly minded persons and travelers (vi) nature as source.

These are addressed in the templates.

The templates

Principles of development and use

Everyday template

Universal template

Resources

External sources

Begin with the same section in a journey in being-outline.html.

Site sources

Review (1) main source essays (2) resource works.

As of April 29, 2022 the main sources are—

Source essays

The introductory essay, precis.html.

In process work at the site plan.html.

Main resource work and essays

Priorities for integration of my life and the way at First Priority.html.

The main influences for the way.html.

The system of human knowledge, reason, practice, and action.html.

Some traditional and modern approaches to living in the world.html.

Resources

Resources for The Way of Being

Reading

This is currently in reading; continue to compile from the bibliographies.html and the Internet…

The way of being as a formal resource

The way of being constitutes a formal resource, i.e. emphasizing formal method, for the history of significant meaning, common paradigms and their limits, metaphysics as knowledge of the real, the real metaphysics as ultimate metaphysics, knowledge and reason, developments in metaphysics, a system of the world based in the real metaphysics, and ways of realization of the ultimate.

Lessons for the way

See lessons for the way of being.html.

The way of being as an informal resource

The way and its discovery as an informal resource are about discovery rather than justification, process rather than outcome, and creativity or construction over criticism.

The topics emphasized are the thread of the way in history, my search in nature and culture, and reflexivity in reason.

Some sources are—the realizations-resource version.html—2015 (Chapter: Resource), Journey in Being-detail.html*—2014 (Chapter: Reference), Journey in Being-full.html—2013 (Chapter: Reference), system of human knowledge, reason, practice, and action.html (since it covers discovery as well).

Lookup

Dictionary

The terms here are important to the way. However, the meanings, while they are not and cannot be the received meanings, ought to have some relation to the receive.

The aim of this dictionary is

Resource for received meanings—it is not the aim to be definitive but only to provide a sampling of the received,

To emphasize that the meanings in the way are related to but different from the received, and

To remind readers that whereas received meanings constitute families of meaning, the meanings employed in the way are definite, and yet significant.

The main source for the received meanings is Dagobert D. Runes, Dictionary of Philosophy, revised edition, 1983.

axiom, postulate	axioms and postulates are primitive or given truths of an axiomatic system, sometimes regarded as self evident; sometimes, as used by Euclid, the axioms are general truths or principles of deduction, while postulates are the primitive truths of the particular system
method	any procedure employed to attain a certain end; any knowledge techniques employed in the process of acquiring knowledge of a given subject-matter; the science which formulates the rules of any procedure.
experience	the condition or state of subjectivity or awareness; the term differs from consciousness by emphasizing the temporal or passing character of affective undergoing; usage is not uniform… thus, Bradley identified it with consciousness, while W. James used it to mean neutral phenomenon without implications of either subjectivity or objectivity
empirical	relating to experience
given	whatever is immediately present to the mind before it has been elaborated by inference, interpretation, or construction
abstract	designation applied to a partial aspect or quality considered in isolation from a total object, which is, in contrast, designated concrete
concept	any generic or class term (Kant), as abstract object vs mental representation (general)
intentionality	Latin intentio, from intendere, to stretch; the property of consciousness whereby it refers to or intends an object; the intentional object is not necessarily a real or existent thing but is merely that which the mental act is about; intentionality is the modern equivalent of the Scholastic intentio.
object, existent	that toward which consciousness is directed
meaning	a highly ambiguous term, with at least four pivotal senses, involving (a) intention or purpose, (b) designation or reference, (c) definition or translation, (d) causal antecedents or consequences; yet other meanings or variants are (i) linguistic meaning (a variant of b) and (ii) significant meaning or ‘meaning of life’ somewhat related to a)
type-token ambiguity	for a word with multiple meanings, the individual meanings are tokens, which belong to the class of meanings or type; often but not always, the class is a family but generally the class may be multiple but unrelated families
knowledge	relations known; apprehended truth; opposite of opinion; certain knowledge is more than opinion, less than truth; theory of knowledge, or epistemology (which see), is the systematic investigation and exposition of the principles of the possibility of knowledge; in epistemology: the relation between object and subject
epistemology	the branch of philosophy which investigates the origin, structure, methods, and validity of knowledge
empiricism	that the sole source of knowledge is experience; experience may be understood as either all conscious content, data of the senses only, or other designated content; may deny that any knowledge, e.g. universal and necessary truth, can be obtained a priori
rationalism	a method, or very broadly, a theory of philosophy, in which the criterion of truth is not sensory but intellectual and deductive.
existence	the mode of being which consists in interaction with other things; opposite of essence; in Husserl’s writings “existence” means being of any kind (or, more restrictedly, individual being)
foundation	foundationalism concerns philosophical theories of knowledge resting upon justified belief, or some secure foundation of certainty such as a conclusion inferred from a basis of sound premises the main rival of the foundationalist theory of justification is the coherence theory of justification, whereby a body of knowledge, not requiring a secure foundation, can be established by the interlocking strength of its components, like a puzzle solved without prior certainty that each small region was solved correctly
substance	the term used to signify that which is sought when philosophers investigate the primary being of things; in metaphysics, primary substance is the individual unity of matter and form, and secondary substance is the universal form which is individuated in each thing
neutral monism	the doctrine that regards neither mind nor matter as ultimates
materialism	that only matter is existent or real (matter is the physical or sensible)
idealism	any system or doctrine whose fundamental interpretative principle is ideal (emphasis—of ideas rather than of values); metaphysical idealism identifies ontological reality exclusively with the ideal, e.g. mind, spirit, soul, thought
to be	several wholly different meanings of the verb to be should be distinguished, including at least the following—predication of a monadic prepositional function of its argument (the sun is hot, seven is a prime number, mankind is numerous); formal implication (gold is heavy, a horse is a quadruped, mankind is sinful); identity (China is Cathay, that is the sun, I am the State); formal equivalence (lightning is an electric discharge between parts of a cloud or a cloud and the earth)
being	that which is, without qualification (Spinoza); the varieties of meaning and distinctions therein are of interest here in their multiplicity and which are excised; here the lack of qualification includes that ‘is’ refers not to temporal, nor spatial distinction, nor, except so far as it may be necessary, even to lying within space or time
nonexistence	non-being: (1) non-existence or the non-existent; absence or privation of existence or the existent; (2) absence of determinateness or what is thus indeterminate j (3) unreality or the unreal either lack of any reality or what is so lacking (absence, negation, or privation of reality)* or lack of a particular kind of reality or what is so lacking; otherness or existents of another order of reality than a specified type* failure to fulfill the defining criteria of some category, or what so fails 5 (4) a category encompassing any of the above. Confusion of nonexistence and unreality renders paradoxical the question whether non-being is
power, effective cause	the physical, mental, and moral ability to act or to receive an action
causa sui	cause of itself; necessary existence
part – whole	most applications of the concept of whole explicitly resort to a principle which asserts that a whole is more than the sum of its parts; a theorem in the logician Lesniewski’s formal theory of part-whole relationships (mereology), states that every object is identical with the sum of its parts
world	the domain of human experience
interpretation	the assignment of meanings to various concepts, symbols, or objects under consideration
universe	metaphysics—(1) the complete natural world, (2) that whole comprised of all particulars and of all universals, (3) the absolute; logic—the universe of discourse in any treatment is the class such that all other classes treated are subclasses of it and consequently such that all members of any class treated are members of it
void	the philosophical concept of nothingness manifested (“nothingness” is a philosophical term for the general state of nonexistence, sometimes reified as a domain into which things pass when they cease to exist or out of which they may come to exist)
modality	the name given to certain classifications of propositions which are either supplementary to the classification into true and false or intended to provided categories additional to truth and falsehood namely to classifications of propositions as possible, necessary, actual (vs potential, possible; also different from necessary in that necessary existence implies but is not actual), problematical, and the like
possibility, necessity	see above; according to distinctions of modality, a proposition is possible if its negation is not necessary; a proposition is necessary, if its negation is not possible
necessity	a state of affairs or being is necessary if it cannot be otherwise than it is
real necessity	real necessity is that whose negation would be contrary to the nature of the world—e.g., negation of physical necessity would violate laws of physics
logical necessity	that whose negation would violate logic
formal logic	investigates the structure of propositions and of deductive reasoning by a method which abstracts from the content of propositions which come under consideration and deals only with their logical form
probability	chance, possibility, contingency, likelihood, liveliness, presumption, conjecture, prediction, forecast, credibility, relevance; numerical value associated with likelihood of an outcome based on identifying equally likely events and number of events and counting the number of events that count as the outcome vs total number of events; associated with lack of knowledge vs properties of physical reality vs conceived implications of conditions of creation
unconditional being	in one meaning, a being that exists for all of its existential markers (of sameness-difference) is said to be unconditional in another related meaning, a being that exists for all existential markers of the universe is unconditional note that this are my definitions
metaphysics	traditionally given by the oracular phrase, “the science of being as such.” To be distinguished from the study of being under some particular aspect; hence opposed to such sciences as are concerned with ens mobile, ens quantum, etc. The term, “science”, is here used in its classic sense of “knowledge by causes”, where “knowledge” is contrasted with “opinion” and the term cause has the full signification of the Greek aitia. The “causes” which are the objects of metaphysical cognition are said to be “first” in the natural order (first principles), as being founded in no higher or more complete generalizations available to the human intellect by means of its own natural powers
systematic metaphysics	in the early modern period (17th and 18th centuries), the system-building scope of philosophy is often linked to the rationalist method of philosophy, that is the technique of deducing the nature of the world by pure reason. The scholastic concepts of substance and accident were employed. (1) Leibniz proposed in his Monadology a plurality of non-interacting substances. (2) Descartes is famous for his dualism of material and mental substances. (3) Spinoza believed reality was a single substance of God-or-nature.” Source—https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics. There is overlap among speculative and systematic metaphysics. Speculative philosophy may go beyond the empirical but does not eschew the empirical altogether; rather, it uses reason to reveal and build upon ideas intended to capture the essence of the world; and thus favors rationalism over empiricism; and it is the choice of the basic ideas that is speculative
metaphysical possibility	metaphysical possibility is either equivalent to logical possibility or narrower than it (what a philosopher thinks the relationship between the two is depends, in part, on the philosopher’s view of logic). Some philosophers have held that discovered identities such as Kripke‘s “Water is H2O” are metaphysically necessary but not logically necessary (they would claim that there is no formal contradiction involved in “Water is not H2O” even though it turns out to be metaphysically impossible). In reality though, water also contains H3O+ and OH− ions (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subjunctive_possibility)
category, dimension	In Aristotle’s logic a category is (1) the predicate of a proposition) (2) one of the ultimate modes of being that may be asserted in predication, viz.: substance, quantity, quality, relation, place, time, position, state, action, passion.
identity	in psychology: personal identity, or the continuous existence of the personality despite physiological and psychological changes
duration	a limited extent of existence in time, more or less long, from a fraction of second to countless ages
extension	physical space, considered as a single concrete, continuum as contrasted with the abstract conceptual space of mathematics
history	ambiguously used to denote either events or records of the past (‘historiography’ is used for history as record); also ambiguous in denoting natural as well as human events, or records of either
ethics	that study or discipline which concerns itself with judgments of approval and disapproval, judgments as to the rightness or wrongness, goodness or badness, virtue or vice, desirability or wisdom of actions, dispositions, ends, objects, or states of affairs
cosmology	a branch of philosophy which treats of the origin and structure of the universe. It is to be contrasted with ontology or metaphysics, the study of the most general features of reality, natural and supernatural, and with the philosophy of nature, which investigates the basic laws, processes, and divisions of the objects in nature
form	substantial form—substance distinct from matter to sensuous intuition; with prime matter it constitutes a natural body; there are as many substantial forms as there are different bodies metaphysical form—is the substantial essence of the whole thing as rational animal is said to be the metaphysical form of man
imagination	imagination designates a mental process consisting of: (a) The revival of sense images derived from earlier perceptions (the reproductive imagination), and (b) the combination of these elementary images into new unities (the creative or productive imagination.) The creative imagination is of two kinds: (a) the fancy which is relatively spontaneous and uncontrolled, and (b) the constructive imagination, exemplified in science, invention and philosophy which is controlled by a dominant plan or purpose.
criticism	(Kant.) An investigation of the nature and limits of reason and knowledge, conducted in a manner to avoid both dogmatism and skepticism
skepticism	(1) a proposition about knowledge that (i) no (almost no) knowledge is possible or (ii) that all (most) knowledge is associated with doubt (2) a proposition about a method of obtaining knowledge: that every hypothesis should be subjected to continual testing
doubt	philosophical doubt has been distinguished as definitive or provisional. Definitive doubt is skepticism. Provisional doubt is the rule proposed by the Cartesian method of voluntary suspension of judgment in order to reach a more dependable conclusion
evolution	the development of organization. The working out of a definite end; action by final causation. For Comte, the successive stages of historical development are necessary. In biology, the series of phylogenetic changes in the structure or behavior of organisms, best exemplified by Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species. In cosmology, cosmogony is the theory of the generation of the existing universe in space and time. Opposite of: epigenesis
determinism	the doctrine that every fact in the universe is guided entirely by law. Contained as a theory in the atomism of Democritus of Abdera, who reflected upon the impenetrability, translation and impact of matter, and thus allowed only for mechanical causation; the doctrine that all the facts in the physical universe, and hence also in human history, are absolutely dependent upon and conditioned by their causes; in psychology, the doctrine that the will is not free but determined by psychical or physical conditions
accidentalism	the theory that some events are undetermined, or that the incidence of series of determined events is unpredictable (Aristotle, Cournot); in Epicureanism such indeterminism was applied to mental events and specifically to acts of will—the doctrine then assumes the special form: some acts of will are unmotivated. A striking example of a more general accidentalism is Charles Peirce’s Tychism
tychism	a term derived from the Greek, Tyche, fortune, chance, and employed by Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) to express any theory which regards chance as an objective reality, operative in the cosmos. Also, the hypothesis that evolution occurs owing to fortuitous variations
destiny	future necessity; the legal outcome of actuality; divine foreordainment, or the predetermined and unalterable course of events; defined by Peirce (1839-1914) as the embodiment of generals in existence
indeterminism	theory that volitional decisions are in certain cases independent of antecedent physiological and psychological causation
free-will	the free-will doctrine, opposed to determinism, ascribes to the human will freedom in one or more of the following senses: (a) The freedom of indeterminacy is the will’s alleged independence of antecedent conditions, psychological and physiological. A free-will in this sense is at least partially uncaused or is not related in a uniform way with the agent’s character, motives and circumstances. (b) The freedom of alternative choice which consists in the supposed ability of the agent to choose among alternative possibilities of action and (c) The freedom of self-determination consisting in decision independent of external constraint but in accordance with the inner motives and ideals of the agent

Glossary

Index

Epilogue

The way as connecting past, present, and future as one

Communication—text, ideas, and being

The connection

A continuous stream of text

Every generation ought to its way as grounded in and summarizing the received ways.

This may inherit the virtue but not the burden of the past.

A guide for immersion and realization

The way in paves the way; experience, being, and possibility, provide foundation; and metaphysics, in turn, founds the way, for which there are resources.

It is all tied together in a foundational framework.

The way, is the path.

Essential system

(Tentative)

A system of concepts for the way

The following definitions are a reference and springboard for further reflection and development. The material is not essential to understanding and employing the way of being.

Small capitals mark definitions.

The system of concepts

A concept marked by stars is the main of two or more occurrences. The number of stars shows the number of other occurrences. A dagger† marks a significant concept that, even if noted, is not yet defined in this appendix. Brackets mark (i) explanations (ii) related terms (which are not necessarily less important than the ‘parent’ term).

A system of concepts for the way is—destiny, knowledge, aims, aim, action, being** (the other occurrences are as ‘beings’ and ‘kind of being’; related terms are substance, the immediate†, the ultimate†, becoming†, process†, relation*, reasons), abstraction* (the other occurrence of ‘abstract’ has a rather different meaning), beings, awareness, universe, form (relation*), formation (change), determinism, indeterminism, cause, material cause, reason (necessary reason), creator, god, law (pattern), the void, the universe is the realization of the greatest possibility (‘the fundamental principle of metaphysics’), concept (object, linguistic concept, meaning, knowledge*, action*), possibility* (kind of being and possibility, the following kinds of possibility—logical, theoretical, real, sentient, scientific, mathematical, and metaphysical), metaphysics (the abstract, the concrete*, the real metaphysics, pragmatism, perfection, logic, mathematics, the concrete sciences), value (ethics, pathways, realization, aesthetics, enjoyment), doubt (certainty, criticism, conceptual creativity, reflexivity, text, continuous text, knowability, metaphysical postulate, existential principle), reason*** (this is main in the sense of being primitive rather than important; related terms are understanding, inference, induction, deduction, certainty, the a priori, negation of the a priori).

Summary

The main concepts are—destiny, aim, being, awareness, universe, form, formation, reason for being, law, the void, the universe is the realization of the greatest possibility (‘the fundamental principle of metaphysics’), concept, object, action, possibility (logical, real, sentient), metaphysics (the real metaphysics, pragmatism), value, doubt, certainty, reflexivity, continuous text, reason, the a priori.

Destiny

Destiny is knowledge of being higher than the knowing beings and of its possibility and realization (and of course, meaning of the term ‘higher’).

The real metaphysics shows that destiny is real (but not that its realization is given to beings while in limited form or that it is ‘linear’) and that the term ‘high’ has definite if abstract meaning. It allows the variety of aims, coherent and otherwise, of beings including societies to be subsumed under one cohesive aim.

Realization requires knowledge in interaction with action or knowledge-action.

Essence

Destiny is knowledge of and ability to realistically aim at valued outcomes.

Being and beings

Being is the property ‘what-there-is’, where ‘is’ is a form of the verb to be without restriction, spatiotemporal or otherwise.

Thus, being is a property (with sufficient abstraction, distinctions between entities, properties, relations, processes, and even reasons are vanishing; the outcome of such abstraction is not abstract in the sense of remoteness—rather it is most immediate, perfectly knowable and known, and immanent in or part of the concrete).

A being is whatever has being. The plural of ‘a being’ is ‘beings’.

To talk of beings without qualification lacks meaning and invites (i) absence of true reference or (ii) paradoxes of reference. Therefore, with reference to the discussion below in concept, object, meaning, and knowledge, a being is the knowledge object or referent of a concept.

Essence

Being is existence; a being is that which has being.

Perfect knowledge that there is being and that there are beings, follows when distortable detail is removed from the concepts.

Awareness

In its least inclusive meaning, awareness is conscious awareness in all its forms, attitudinal or active (in other essays on the site for the way of being, ‘experience’ is used instead of ‘awareness’).

It includes pure awareness, which is the case where the attitudinal or active object is nil.

Since pure awareness is internally and potentially relational, all awareness is relational.

In its most inclusive meaning, awareness will stand for proto awareness, which may be nil in magnitude, which is the property of all being, necessary that there be awareness in the universe at all.

Essence

Awareness is conscious awareness in all its forms.

Universe

The universe is all being over all form (includes relation) and formation (merges with change of form) (i.e., over extension-duration-being).

Form and formation lie on a continuum of determinism with poles of absolute determinism and absolute indeterminism.

The universe does exist. This does not entail that it must exist.

The universe is a being. It is the being for which there is no other (external) being.

The reason for the being of the manifest universe cannot be a cause in the sense of interaction with another being (i.e., material cause of the manifestation is logically impossible—where the sense of the term ‘material’ includes any god or purportedly supernatural entity).

The cause, if any, must therefore appeal to a reason in a sense other than material cause. It could be an argument of the form “if the universe did not exist, there would be no meaning in the sense of significance”—which would be deficient primarily in presuming that there must be meaning. But the form of the argument is more interesting than its truth. A reason is a reasoning for a fact or a being—it may be a material cause but the emphasis here is on an argument, which may be relative or absolute (in the absolute case there is no premise—i.e., the premise is null), deductive or inductive (in the deductive case the inference is certainly true if the premise is true; and the inference may but need not be material cause). An argument that is absolute and deductive is a necessary reason.

But we have seen that the void must exist, and so FP holds, from which the universe must exist (and be the greatest possible).

In other work at the site for the way of being, necessity of the universe and that it is the greatest possible are shown from an analysis of necessity.

Essence

The universe is all being.

The universe exists. Since it exists, its existence is possible—with probability greater than zero. It does not follow that necessity of its existence can either be proven or not proven.

Creation

A creator is a sole material cause of the being (existence) of a being.

A being cannot create itself, for to do so would presume it is, at least for an instant, at once manifest and non-manifest.

All creators are external creators.

Since the universe is all being, relative to the universe there is no other being.

The universe cannot have a creator, for an external creator would be another being, and no being can self-create.

There is no god, the creator of the universe (this does not rule out gods).

The god that is the creator of the universe and has other characteristics of higher being, e.g., intelligence and compassion, does not exist.

Essence

A creator is a sole material cause of the existence of a being. The universe does not and cannot have a creator (there is no creator god).

Law

A natural law is a reading of a pattern immanent in being or beings.

A law is a being.

The term ‘law’ may be used to refer to the pattern.

Though the terms ‘law’ and ‘theory’ have the above use, but in a more specific form, the given definition is sufficient to the use of ‘law’ in this text.

Essence

A law is a pattern immanent in being or beings. A law is a being.

The void

The void is the absence of being.

That it may be taken to exist follows from the equivalence of its existence and non-existence.

The void requires no reason for its being.

The existence of the void is necessary.

The void has no laws.

Essence

The void is the absence of being. Its existence is necessary (i.e., follows from the ‘null premise’). The void has no laws.

The fundamental principle of metaphysics

The FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF METAPHYSICS, fundamental principle, or FP follows from the existence of the void.

Possibility

A possible being is a concept that may be realized (as a referent or object of the concept).

The criteria of realizability define the kind of possibility or being.

Before considering kinds of possibility, let us discuss a preliminary—concept, object, meaning, and knowledge, which is important in itself.

Essence

Possibility and its kinds are analyzed and will provide a unification of perfect but abstracted and pragmatic knowledge as a perfect instrument of realization.

Concept, object, meaning, and knowledge

A concept is ‘experience of’ and an object is ‘the experienced’.

It is presumed that the concept has the intended kind of possibility.

As in awareness or experience of awareness, a concept may also be an object (and this is essential to Descartes’ cogito argument).

A linguistic concept is a (otherwise association free or meaning-devoid) sign-concept association (the sign and concept may be compound).

Meaning is a concept and its possible objects. Knowledge is meaning realized.

Logic and logical possibility

The criterion of logical possibility is that realizability is inherent only in the concept.

Given a form of expression, the requirement for realization of the concept falls under logic.

Our standard logics are but some logics.

All possibility presumes logical possibility

Theoretical possibility

In theoretical possibility, presumed realization is restricted by a theory, hypothesis, or law.

Real possibility

In real possibility, realization is restricted by a being or kind of being.

In a final analysis there is no effective distinction between real and theoretical possibility.

Logical, sentient, scientific, and mathematical possibility fall under real possibility.

Sentient possibility

Sentient possibility is what is realizable for sentient beings and their designs.

Under FP, either (i) there is a highest possibility, which is sentient, or (ii) given a form, there is a higher sentient form. If form includes process or if there is a highest form, the foregoing can be interpreted—the highest form is sentient.

Scientific possibility

Scientific possibility is possibility according to the known theories of science (and perhaps their paradigms tentative but reasonable extensions).

Physical, cosmological, chemical, geological, biological, psychological, social, economic, and political sciences are examples of scientific possibility.

Mathematical possibility

A mathematical system is a system of undefined terms, axioms, rules of definition and inference, and definitions and inferences.

Mathematical possibility is the property of consistent mathematical systems.

Knowledge of possibility (consistency) of a mathematical is either demonstrated or relative. For systems so large that they cannot be directly examined, proof of consistency, it seems, is invariably relative.

The object of a mathematical system may be seen as (i) its syntactical system (i.e., the system itself without interpretation) (ii) interpretation in terms of mathematical models (iii) real, on FP (the real metaphysics). Item ii is questionable as a measure of consistency where the semantic definition of consistency is that a model should exist.

Metaphysical possibility

In a general sense, all consistent systems are realizable. In this sense, logical and metaphysical possibility are identical, and all the foregoing kinds fall under metaphysical possibility.

However, there is a more restrictive use of the term ‘metaphysical possibility’, which is appropriate when it is desired to model some real or conceptual aspect(s) of the world without being quite as concrete as to be scientific or entirely empirical.

Metaphysical possibility is a restriction of logical possibility to modeling of real, hypothetical, or conceptual aspects of the world.

The concept of metaphysical possibility is useful in building special and general-purpose metaphysical systems and ontologies.

An example of metaphysical possibility occurs in considering whether ‘mind’ is possibility without ‘body’. Insofar as mind requires form, and form requires body, mind is (a part of) body. This is a consideration of metaphysical possibility in that it was not necessary to invoke science.

Metaphysics, the abstract, and the concrete

Metaphysics is study of the real.

Examples in the text are sufficient to show that metaphysics in this sense is possible—i.e., it is not ruled out in saying ‘all knowledge is tinged with possible error’.

How is that so? In the first place, the ideal side of metaphysics was possible by abstraction—i.e., by conceptually filtering out distortable detail, leaving only the undistorted (and thus the abstract in this sense is concrete and definitely known). The concept of being is sufficiently abstract, that no error occurs in saying ‘there is being’.

On the other hand, the sciences of nature, society, and mind have at least pragmatic or merely concrete truth, which, we saw fell under the real metaphysics (the concept of pragmatic knowledge—of pragmatism—is that which enables success according to an accepted value without reference to the meaning of the concept). This invoked an extension of the concept of metaphysics occasioned by the value of ultimate realization revealed from the ideal side. This in turn is entirely rational (with best or optimal realization as the criterion), provided it is not thought that perfect representation is entailed (note that it is entailed on the ideal side).

The meaning of perfection is emergent rather than imposed.

The Kantian and post-Kantian objections to metaphysics have been removed, not by saying that the absolutely non-empirical (i.e., what cannot be sensed by any conceivable being) can be known, but by an analysis that has broadened the range of the empirical.

Note that there is no essential distinction between the abstract and the concrete—rather, they lie on a continuum. This stands in contrast to most modern conceptions of abstract objects—see Abstract Objects (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Without FP, all abstract concepts are potentially realizable (as are all concrete concepts). With FP, the abstract and the concrete are equally realized. What is different may be that since the abstract and concrete lie toward ‘opposite’ ends of a continuum, they would be studied or known differently. The abstract generally tend to (non-perceptual) conceptualization, the concrete to perception. In any final analysis, however, it may be noted that the distinction between non-perceptual conceptualization and perception break down.

Thus metaphysics may be seen as a collection of abstract and concrete sciences—particularly, logic, mathematics, and the ‘concrete’ sciences (see the system of human knowledge).

Essence

Metaphysics is study of the real. It is exemplified by the fundamental principle, its foundation and derivation, its consequences, and its join to pragmatic knowledge to form a perfect instrument for realization of its revealed ultimate.

Value

As seen above, the real metaphysics has an emergent system of ethics (i) in showing an ultimate value that is interwoven with the immediate (in part via pathways of realization (ii) in showing that there is an aesthetics of enjoyment in balancing being on a path, joy, pain, and their appreciation (ii) which is interactive with knowledge in contributing to determination of criteria of validity.

In this short work, no further remark will be made on value theory, axiology, ethics, or aesthetics, except to say that the real metaphysics provides a source of (some) foundation for these endeavors.

Doubt, certainty, and ethics

We will look at certainty, its significance, where it is significant, where it is not, and what approaches and attitudes may emerge where absolute certainty is less than certain. We will find that doubt is essential to the establishment and critique of certainty. Though traditional epistemic criteria are not seen as value related, here we show that ethical and aesthetic concerns are important. We take up approaches to constructive creativity, using the concept of reflexivity.

If doubt is central to certainty—to truth, why was it not taken up earlier and in the main text? The response is that it is implicitly present in the early sections of the main text where we considered questions such as what might order the diversity of human ways of life. It is implicitly present in the introduction of being and awareness as fundamental concepts, for in the history of thought both of those concepts have been part of a response to the question What is fundamental or foundational to knowledge, rational action, and our place in and relation to the world?

Essence

Where certainty is a possible value, doubt is critical in (i) showing where certainty is valuable and (ii) showing where it may be attained, and where only a degree of certainty is possible and desirable.

Certainty and ethics

We saw that knowledge is meaning realized. The claim of certainty is not just that the concept relates to the object but (i) in some sense there is an object and (ii) the concept is faithful to the object. Of course, this raises questions of epistemology—e.g., what does this faithfulness mean (what it is), and what are or may be its criteria. And it also touches upon ethics for the choice of criteria and perhaps, therefore, of the meaning of faithfulness, might depend on what we value.

1. We sometimes want certainty in knowledge, but not always. Regardless, analysis of certainty may inform us—

2. Where certainty is possible and where it is not, where it is trivial, and where it is significant,

3. How to attain it where it is possible and significant,

What criteria may be employed where certainty seems difficult, impossible, and not relevant or fundamental.

And analysis of certainty where it is trivial may inform us—

4. How to attain it where it is not trivial.

Appreciate that these issues touch on epistemology (obviously), metaphysics (because analysis of the world may show its knowability—or even be inseparable from knowability), ethics or value, religion and lifeways (metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, especially point 3), and reason (as intersecting epistemology and as tying the issues together). Note that point 4 exemplifies the significance of philosophical focus on what may ordinarily seem obvious—as informing us (i) as to the nature of our being-in-the world (ii) how to move beyond the immediate and the ‘obvious’ to the ultimate and not so obvious.

Doubt and criticism

Because we sometimes fail to know correctly, we come to doubt knowledge (perhaps we are ‘essential doubters’ in that doubt is natural rather than consequent on failure)—we doubt that the concept is faithful to the object.

So, when I doubt my knowledge or when someone else asks me “How do you know?”, I might indeed reflect on how I know, and to then seek to know how I know and implement it. Of all the things we think we know, there are various reasons to doubt them (the main one being that concept and object are not identical and that consequently any knowledge may be uncertain until established otherwise). This is roughly the line of reasoning that led Descartes to his method of doubt and his resolution that began with the cogito argument. While that argument, especially if refined to tie up some loose ends, is widely accepted as convincing, we may find disagreement with parts of the remainder of his argument (e.g., is there a need to find bodies with extension, over and above the establishment, for does not any form, even a concept require extension, and if so, then, if the concept is spatially extensional, the existence of the object would imply its extensionality). But regardless of what we think of his entire argument, one thing seems established—doubt is a potent approach to establishing truth and (degree of) certainty.

But to leverage doubt, it is not enough to just have doubt—it is not enough to stop at doubt. One has to do something with it. What? Not just to think “this may be wrong” but to question “how or why it is wrong”, i.e., to criticize, and then to ponder (creatively), how to establish it right or wrong, and if wrong, how to find what may be right. That is, criticism ought not to stop there (as is often imparted in education) but to move on to creative thought—essentially new thought, not arising out of method or what came before. And once having had creative thoughts, again to criticize… and so on and so on.

Doubt and certainty are dual.

Criticism and creativity are dual.

In the history of thought, established approaches to criticism have arisen. A modern stand out example is Wittgenstein’s critiques of philosophy (this is not intended as endorsement).

Criticism and creativity are sources of logic and arrival at logical systems, scientific method and sciences, mathematical systematics and mathematical systems, moral criticism and ethics.

Reflexivity

But criticism and schools may overreach their own validity. Generations may accept a critical school, e.g., logical positivism, only to find it wanting.

There needs to be—it is effective for there to be—criticism of criticism.

Criticism of criticism is an example of reflexivity—a discipline reflecting itself, a ‘meta’ discipline.

The notion of reflexivity may be extended to potentially every element of reason, critical and creative, interacting with every other (of course with attempt at and practice of good judgment, formal and intuitive).

I leave general ‘reflexivity’ at that—a potential and powerful element of ‘method’.

Essence

Reflexivity is the interaction of all phases of rational action and includes their meta-analysis aimed at improved outcomes (best if possible an appropriate).

In this document

We saw that the possibility of metaphysics arises not because we somehow transcend the empirical but in questioning (i) what it is to be empirical and (ii) what things are or may be empirically known. The response was, effectively, not to jettison the empirical but (i) to expand to knowability and its elements, of which one is the empirical and (ii) to see that while certain objects are not known and perhaps hardly knowable in detail, yet they are knowable with sufficient abstraction and / or with appropriate criteria. Abstraction led to the ideal side of the real metaphysics, pragmatism even of a rough sort leads to the pragmatic side, and while the pragmatic is imperfect by, say, correspondence criteria, the join of the ideal and the pragmatic, the real metaphysics, was perfect by criteria that emerged with the metaphysics.

Its significant to see this simultaneous and reflexive emergence of knowledge (metaphysics), method (epistemology, criteria), and ethics (value)—in fact, to see their inseparability.

Text

A text is something (an object) that can be read, regarded here in terms of its content (rather than its physical form).

In publication, texts are often seen as ‘units’ that are or ought to be complete in themselves, and that are the product of an author or authors.

The completeness of a text in itself has efficiencies and inefficiencies.

Usability is an efficiency. Specificity of authorship is an efficiency from some points of view. That a text can be a self-contained unit has efficiency.

However, the following may be seen as inefficiencies discreteness, lack of coherence and continuity and meaning with other texts over time and geography, repetitiveness, lack of directedness, false starts, incompleteness owing to the limited life span of given authors. That a text is a self-contained unit emerges also as inefficient with regard to a desired coherence and directedness of knowledge and the human endeavor.

These ‘inefficiencies’ may be seen as the result of just the way thought and its publication are—and even productive of contribution to creativity.

It may be asked, however, whether there is a means of overcoming the inefficiencies in parallel to (without eliminating) the efficiencies of unit text.

Journals are of course one way.

However, especially in philosophy there is another—it is interpretation, in which older texts may be positively interpreted in terms of the thought of a later time.

Yet, interpretation becomes burdensome. We seek a concept and way of continuous text. The idea is that authors—some authors—would write their text in such way as, perhaps, beginning with a summary interpretation and reformulation of relevant extant literature, develop theses—particulate or entire, and conclude their texts in an open-ended manner rather than just conclusions. Many texts do that and so what is important is the manners and kinds in which the texts would be open-ended.

These manners and kinds would include (i) problematic issues (ii) areas in which thoughts may be elaborated (iii) areas for development (iv) how the text fits together with others and how it might be continued (v) the author’s plans for further writing and translation of the ideas into action (which may already be part of the text).

The aim of continuous text is to encapsulate a search—individual, cultural, human, or more—over history. With regard to philosophy, it would emphasize philosophy as reason and understanding of the world and ideas (a notion which has been more or less abandoned in the face of the putative intellectual hegemony of science).

Text is an element of reflexivity.

Doubting the real metaphysics

A proof of the metaphysics was given in the main text. Another proof was noted in this appendix > universe. Heuristic arguments can be given which though they are not proof, support the reasonableness of FP (see the site for the way of being).

However, doubt remains (i) because of the appeal and significance of tangible (strictly empirical) demonstration (ii) regarding the necessity of the given proofs (iii) from the magnitude of FP and its consequences and (iv) because I present the real metaphysics as a contribution not just to knowledge but also to destiny and the consequent (a) responsibility to society and (b) ego burden (with regard to which I ought perhaps to be neutral but am not).

Essence

Though real metaphysics is consistent and demonstrated, it is important to doubt the demonstration because of (i) the non-standard character of proof (ii) the magnitude of the claim (iii) we may doubt the significance of ‘proof’.

Response to doubt

What can we do about this residual doubt?

It is critical to note that while we doubt the proof of FP and may doubt some interpretations and consequences, it remains that FP is logically, experientially, and scientifically consistent. That is, there is and can be no rational disproof of its validity, and an empirical disproof is hardly at hand.

Further, consider the value suggested by the real metaphysics, e.g., the magnitude and realization of the ultimate which is ‘real realization’ and not just knowledge of the ultimate (I say ‘suggested’ because we are contemplating doubt of the metaphysics, but if the metaphysics is true, the value is real).

This value may lead us to consider the principle as valid so as to maximize the expected value of the outcome, should we choose to base our knowledge and action on the principle.

Attitudes toward the fundamental principle and the real metaphysics

Concerning the value of knowledge, we propose—

To regard the fundamental principle of metaphysics as a metaphysical postulate on which to base knowledge, particularly metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and reason.

Concerning the value of the outcome of action, we propose—

To regard the fundamental principle as an existential principle of attitude and action, which will maximize the expected value of the outcome.

Reason and denial of the a priori

Reason is the means of knowing, whether of knowledge or value or effective action, and includes understanding or direct knowing, indirect knowing or inference as arriving at conclusions from premises, and experiment (Immanuel Kant conceived of reason as indirect knowing or inference).

While we sometimes think of reason as associated with the critical side of knowing, the creative side is essential to knowing; it is essential for the critical and creative sides to interact at more than one level—in regard to knowing the world, and in regard to reason itself (which in principle need not be mentioned since reason is part of the world. That the critical and creative sides ought to interact is an aspect of reflexivity.

Under the real metaphysics, induction or inductive inference (e.g., generalization) and deduction or deductive inference (to what is implicit in premises), are (of course) different with regard to degree of certainty (ability to predict without error), but not fundamentally different with regard to value and realization. Similarly, certain direct knowledge (by abstraction) and uncertain concrete direct knowledge are not fundamentally different with regard to value and realization. Thus, it is seen again, how logic, mathematics, and science are brought under the umbrella of metaphysics (note the parallels: arriving at a concrete scientific theory as well as a mathematical system is an inductive process of trial and error, while inference under the theory or system is as certain as given by the nature of the system and in this sense is ‘deductive’).

Knowledge is a priori if its ground or foundation is independent of experience of the world (which is sometimes specified to exclude experience of learning the language in which the knowledge is expressed). In a more inclusive meaning, the a priori is also independent of reason.

Thus the a priori is that which is received without foundation, partial or total.

The development of the real metaphysics has shown regarding the ideal side of the metaphysics that results from abstraction has no a priori. There is an a priori in contexts where certainty is a value. However, from the point of view of the value of ultimate realization revealed by the ideal side of the metaphysics, the a priori to concrete knowledge has no significance. Thus, for the join of the ideal and the pragmatic in the real metaphysics, knowledge and its ground emerge together. Further, regarding the individual or society as part of the universe of experiential, given the fundamental principle, there is and can be no a priori—the meaning of ‘the a priori’ is nil in that there is nothing underlying experiential being in terms of cause or reason.

There is no ultimate a priori.

Essence

For being (i) while in limited form there is effectively, no a priori (ii) otherwise, there can be no a priori.

Detailed System of Concepts for The Way of Being

To a detailed supplement

Introduction

Purpose

The purposes of the document are

To list the main concepts for the way systematically

For use in the database.

Sanskrit terms

The document has a number of Sanskrit terms for which I do not yet have adequate English terms:

atman—the self that in Advaita Vedanta is identical to Brahman

brahman—ultimate real

citta—particular meaning is the ‘heart’ aspect of mind; here it refers to mind in all its aspects

sangha—community of individuals, giving mutual support to realize Brahman in this life and beyond

tat tvam asi—“Thou art that” meaning that the individual is ultimate reality.

yoga—system of ideas and techniques from Bhagavad-Gita and Yoga scriptures to realize Atman as Brahman… to yoke self to universe… here used in a general sense of any such way, regardless of cultural origin

English terms with Capitalization

Following are some important concepts. Note the capitalization.

Being—the quality of what is; that of which it may validly be said that it “is somewhere and somewhen” and for which the where and when need not be simple or connected; not defined as a substance; and indeed not a substance

a being—anything that has Being; a part of the universe; plural: beings

logic—generally any system of inference; most commonly deductive logic which is obviously distinct from induction (however that this distinction is absolute is not absolutely clear even thought it seems so)

Logic—logic to which fact is appended; also: argument

matter—first order Being; Being as elementary Being; elementary matter is sensed; as Being is not a substance, matter and mind are not substances

mind—refers to all aspects of mind, not just cognition; Being in experiential relation; second order Being; elementary mind is sensing

reason—critical imagination and experiential learning in relation to thought and action—the proliferation of words such as rationality, logic, argument is quite unnecessary as though there are so many different activities (except of course that some technical distinctions have easy technical significance)

the void—the null part; absence of manifest Being

universe—all that has Being

Work needed

Consider marking concepts repeated in The concepts.

The flow of ideas—outline and main concepts

This section lists only essential and main ideas; for secondary ideas see the main part—The concepts.

Ideas in the overview are also listed in the subsequent sections; ideas that are listed more than once in those subsequent sections, are numbered with subscripts.

Overview

becoming, sangha (sharing community dedicated in truth)

Being, ideal elements of Being

reason

metaphysics, fundamental principle, Brahman (ultimate real)

system of real elements (system of real categories)

cosmology, agency, being human, tat tvam asi

The Way of Being, yoga, death

Being

Becoming

This section is about the cultivation and aim of Being

becoming

destiny, edge of the known, paradigm, (limit), sangha, truth (sharing community dedicated in truth), persuasion, the greatest truth, understanding

Being

Being itself

Being, sameness, difference, existence, verb to be, abstraction, concretion

A relationship between Being and becoming

Experience

Experience as given

experience, concept

Experience and the world

self, object

On psychology

Ideal elements of Being

ideal elements of Being, (categories), ideal element, (all, whole, part, null, manifest, possible), power

Kinds of being

conceptual model, linguistic model

Reason

The idea of reason

reason

Ordinary or immanent reason

Doubt and dilemma

We should doubt everything, even doubt itself—i.e. we should doubt but still engage in becoming (absolutes, e.g. ‘doubt all’, should be rendered logical).

Possibility and logic

possibility, limitlessness, necessity

Argument

argument

Science and religion

On science

science

Religion and its relation to science

religion

Value

Value(1), art

Metaphysics

Metaphysics

metaphysics, possibility of metaphysics

The fundamental principle of metaphysics

The principle

fundamental principle

Consequences

consequences for identity, peaking, merging, Atman, Brahman, Aeternitas

The perfect universal metaphysics

perfect metaphysics, perfect epistemology

Criticism of the metaphysics

Essential problem of metaphysics

¿what has Being?

Real elements of Being

peak realization

On real elements

perfect instrument

The system of real elements

system of real elements (system of real categories), (real element, abstract, concrete)

The real elements: Identity

identity

The real elements: Dynamics

dynamics

The real elements: Experiential modes

experiential modes

Cosmology

Cosmology

cosmology

General cosmology and method

method

Cosmology of form and formation, general and likely origins

form

Physical cosmology

Process

Mind and cosmos

matter, mind

Life

life, evolution

Psychology

Why psychology is placed here

What psychology is

psychology, function, personality

Method

Identity

Experience

Dimensions of experience and personality

dimensions of experience

Agency

agency

Metaphysics of value

value(2), axiology

Being human

being human

becoming human, emergence of reason

reflexive reason, life roles, remaining human, function roles

tat tvam asi, transcendence

Civilization and society

civilization, civilizing the universe

The Way of Being

The Way of Being

The Way of Being, the highest pursuit

The aim of Being

aim of Being

Pragmatic agency and becoming

pragmatic agency

yoga, way of life, catalyst

Path

path

death (as fulcrum), openness to the infinite, finite resolution of significant meaning

The concepts

This part is a detailed listing with explanation.

Being

Becoming

This section is about the cultivation and aim of Being

becoming and manifestation; also see a relationship between Being and becoming

destiny (the unrealized that is thought to be foreseeable and realizable), cycle of being (i.e. of becoming), life, form, birth, stages of growth, limit, possibility, decline, death (reckon, day), merging with universal identity, yoga (meditation), peaks of identity, limitlessness

means, ideas, action; speech, persuasion (sharing, rhetoric), writing (text), and life; text: resources, adaptable templates (universal, everyday, program and priorities, stories)

edge of the known (and unknown); (givenness of balance in) stability and fluidity in worldview, paradigm paradigmatic limit and flux, knowledge, and concept meaning (distinguished from significant meaning which are the two uses of meaning in this document)—primal (holist), secular (open vs closed: science, art, humanities), and suprasecular (secular plus: religion, dogmatic vs open)

sangha (sharing community dedicated in truth) and persuasion—state first and always: the greatest truth and way (to other and self); then: explanation, reasons, lesser truth and means

civilization

culture, significant meaning, the immediate and the ultimate, tradition, paradigm

prologue (introduction, preface)

history of the way (stories, drama); a human endeavor; an individual life (personal story, autobiography) and motives

understanding narrative (difficulty at the edge of the known)

reeducation of understanding—intuition and system of referential concept meaning

Being

Being itself

Being, sameness, difference

I.e. existence; not contrasted to change—becoming—or non-being; derived from the verb to be used in a tense, place, and quality neutral sense)

¿how Being? It is precise by abstraction—there is existence; concretion.

¿why Being?

A relationship between Being and becoming

When and where Being emphasize being-in and being-in-relation to the immediate and the ultimate, becoming emphasizes being-toward an end. From this characterization, ethics is immanent in Being.

Experience

Experience as given

experience, (concept), experience as fundamental or primitive and so given; ostensive definition

near synonyms and related terms: consciousness, subjective awareness, phenomenal awareness, ‘what it is like’, qualia

alternate meanings not used: cumulative experience, common experience, external experience

Experience and the world

a standard model of the world (of experience)—the following are real

experience as: given, experience-of: pure experience, attitude (aboutness, of the world, intentionality), volitional, action oriented (internal, external)

experience and effective Being (effective existence)

self (‘I’, experiencer) and world (experienced; object, null object) or real world (metaphorically but mistakenly thought of as the external world—for the world contains the self and experience), freedom of will, other minds and agents

standard model: details

reflexive experience (experience of experience), referential experience

recall (memory)

methodological skepticism, (‘agnosticism’), system of philosophical problems to reconstruct the world

skeptical doubt: standard model—givenness of experience etc; solipsism

reconstruction of world: world as maximal field of being-experience (standard maximal field of being-experience and its reduction), necessity of from possible interpretations—world as field with selves and universe as self, world as material—and their logical indistinguishability; strict solipsism (untenability of), probable reconstruction

On psychology

Study of all things of mind and behavior; it is not academic psychology—i.e. not merely academic psychology of the twentieth and twentyfirst centuries.

Development is deferred to psychology where reasons for deferment are given.

Ideal elements of Being

element or ideal elements of Being (or categories, ideal and real)

ideal element of Being (known perfectly, typically abstract—i.e., sufficiently abstracted from experience to permit perfect knowledge; note that even the concrete are abstracted)

a system of ideal elements

Being (i.e. Being itself, which is an element or category)

the universe (all, whole), beings (singular: a being or existent or part, which may include the whole, proper, and null parts), the void (null or null part), reason, manifest, possible (relative to the universe the possible is manifest somewhere in the history of the universe), power (experience as effective power), (possibility, and potential

Kinds of being

Purpose: Kinds of being fleshes the bare concepts of ‘Being’ and ‘beings’

kind (of Being), elements of the world

natural (material, living), experiential (sentient, referring, standard psychological, free willing or agent, human), social-civilization, pan-universal

models of the world (developed later)

E.g. dynamics (entity, interaction, change), form and formation (paradigms of)

conceptual model, linguistic models

linguistic referential meaning (or linguistic referential concept meaning) (repeated later: [symbol-object] or sign-concept-object) and its elements

examples: noun-object, verb-object, trope-object, sentence-object

Reason

The idea of reason

reason (abstract – allows perfect-ion, concrete – pragmatic to perfect)

rationality, method, reflex process, truth, knowledge, knowledge system, culture-tradition (validity), action (technology), cumulative experience, correction, learning

Ordinary or immanent reason

Entire mind—cognition, criticism and construction (imagination), emotion and feeling as guide and datum

Doubt and dilemma

Role of doubt; canonical dilemmas

Possibility and logic

possibility (logical possibility, limitlessness real possibility—(logical), universal possibility, natural possibility, agentive possibility; metaphysical possibility—as real and as hypothetical-for-argument); necessity

Argument

argument

fact, observation (experiment, observation, repeatability, corroboration, consistency with other observation), pure fact, confirmation (abstraction)

inference, necessary inference, deduction, logic, Logic, validity, soundness, likely inference (generalization, conduction, scientific method—details below, under science), strong argument, weak argument

Science and religion

On science

science, scientific method (data: see fact, under argument above; law, theory: induction, hypothesis generation, abduction, also see likely inference, under argument above)

sciences

metaphysics as science

concrete sciences—natural sciences, social sciences, historical sciences, linguistics

abstract sciences—logic, mathematics, statistics, computer science

nature, pattern, law (Law, theory), pure history

Religion and its relation to science

religion (as exploration of the trans-empirical realm by intuition, symbol, metaphor, art, metaphysics, and so on; without claim as literal knowledge or science; but without violation of reason)

study of religion cannot be scientific or empirical alone but must be empirical, conceptual, and ideal in light of the perfect universal metaphysics

religion and spirituality intersect; some people prefer the latter term but I prefer religion in all its aspects including those that we see as limiting and destructive

Value

value (sources of; as premise) or axiology

art aesthetics, ethics

affect (emotion)

Metaphysics

Metaphysics

metaphysics, (possibility of), (abstract, concrete)

method(s)

The fundamental principle of metaphysics

The principle

existence of the void

heuristic (if the universe is in a void state), proof (nature of the void and law)

the fundamental principle of metaphysics (FP): the universe has limitlessness i.e. is realization of logical possibility

A perspective on the universe as the logically possible. A common approach to ultimate physics is projection from history of physics. An uncommon approach is to enquire of the outer limit of all knowledge so as to project in. What is the limit? It does not exceed logical possibility.

And we have just shown it reaches this limit. We are about to find this immensely empowering in itself and addressing questions of science, the meaning of its fundamental concepts, and a broad perspective on its future trajectory.

Consequences

consequences for identity

universal, individual, finitude

limitlessness

peaking, merging Atman (individual real, self, real self, permanent self, soul), Brahman (ultimate real, Aeternitas)

The perfect universal metaphysics

perfect metaphysics (dual, abstract-concrete integrated)

perfect epistemology (dual, integrated), meaning of the phrase ‘object of thought’ and possible objects of thought

local metaphysics, local epistemology, science metaphor, art, religion

the perfect metaphysics gives context to the local and alters its significance—enhancing its existential significance if somewhat diminishing its pragmatic significance, particularly the significance of the standard paradigms primal, secular, and suprasecular; these do retain significance as in systems of human knowledge (knowledge system) but they are no longer ultimate in significance

Criticism of the metaphysics

criticism

existence of the void

response: heuristic (fundamental explanation will be necessary and make no assumption; will not distinguish among manifestation of logically possible states), proof (equivalence of existence and non existence of the void)

consistency

response: internal consistency (reason, logic), empirical consistency (science, common experience)

doubt: magnitude of claim, utility of claim, triviality (including triviality of Being)

response: rationally irrelevant, yet

magnitude—motive to doubt and resolution as above and comparison to science: the metaphysics is more rational and globally empirical; less locally empirical, which is irrelevant as the metaphysics is trans-local

utility—the metaphysics is existentially powerful and, with local knowledge, powerful both locally (the local is enhanced) and in realizing the ultimate

triviality—it is trivial but powerful

Essential problem of metaphysics

essential problem of metaphysics

¿what has Being?, subsumption of the problems of metaphysics

The ideal elements were real and perfectly known by abstraction. Via abstraction of the essential from the particular, there is Being—there are beings. From an abstract perspective, Being as quality may be seen as a being.

Real elements of Being

peak realization

On real elements

The ideal elements were real and perfectly known by abstraction.

The perfect universal metaphysics extends the metaphysics of the ideal elements (the pure or abstract metaphysics). The pure shows the ultimate; the unattainability of the classical local ideals and therefore the absence of need for it; and the local pragmatic knowledge as perfect instrument for attainment of the ultimate and perfect in its pragmatism; and therefore a dual metaphysics and epistemology as perfect (this does no negate the classical ideal in that we want better local knowledge even though we know it cannot be perfect).

The real elements are a perfect instrument, interacting combination of the ideal and the pragmatic.

The system of real elements

(the ideal and abstract as real)

system of real elements (system of real categories)

real element of Being

the abstract and the concrete (elements)

truth (or knowledge) as correspondence distinguishes the abstract as ideal from the concrete

on dual correspondence-pragmatic truth the abstract-concrete merge as perfect

dual correspondence-pragmatic truth

The real elements: Identity

identity-extension

modes, e.g. sameness, difference, proximity, unimodal extension, spatial extension, duration, and spacetime

The real elements: Dynamics

dynamics (triad of object-interaction-process or identity-interaction-change at material and agent levels, form and formation (paradigms of)

identity-interaction-change

The real elements: Experiential modes

experiential modes

experience-experienced (roughly mind-matter)

attribute, experience as the single world attribute

Cosmology

Cosmology

cosmology is general cosmology and all its divisions

General cosmology and method

general cosmology, method

method(s) (reason, descriptive paradigm: the metaphysics, possibility, models of universe—of Being and identity)

universe as limitless arrays of cosmoses (in extension) and identities, merging into, peaking as, dissolution from one identity; manifestation as one-step and multi-step with transient emergence from the void (emergence from the void); there is no external creator for the universe but one cosmos may be implicated in the creation of another

Cosmology of formation, general and likely origins

form, cosmology of formation and origins

one-step as remote possibility, multi-step with transient emergence and adaptation (adaptation paradigm: random variation and selection for stability) as ‘symmetry capture’, stability and relative stability (symmetry and near symmetry), cosmological scales

Physical cosmology

physical cosmology

standard cosmology and physics—big bang, general relativity, quantum theory and standard model of elementary particles

physical models of formation—out of quantum chaos, multiverse (bubble universes), adaptive systems models

ab initio models—see cosmology of formation, adaptation, stability, symmetry, dynamics (superposed residual indeterminism—e.g. quantum, models of cosmos), and conservation laws; conservation and second order dynamics; transience of origins as source of immanent physics: physical identity-dynamics-extension (as in general relativity); quantum behavior and quantum vacuum as vestige of transients from the void

Process

determinism (general, absolute determinism), indeterminism (general, absolute indeterminism)

cause, causation, causality, acausal process

mechanism, teleology

Mind and cosmos

With Being as Being or first order Being as the preferred concept of matter, mind is Being in relation (experiential relation) or mind is Being in relation or second order Being, the preferred concept of mind, which always has the potential to be experiential (from FP, and from which there must be mind). Here, ‘mind’ is the most general term for the mental, covering sensation, perception, cognition, feeling, and emotion.

Form is logically necessary for mind but further material substrate is not—the form is (part of) the material; multiple modes of mind (and matter) are possible even in a single cosmos but in stable cosmoses it may be expected that there is a single mode of matter and correspondingly a single mode of mind; different modes from the same or different cosmoses may merge and emerge as other modes or a single mode

Life

life

ecosystem, organism

biological function

scales, micro to meso; molecular, chemical, and physical biology

reproduction

genetic material

evolution

theories of evolution, variation, selection, adaptation

history of life

Psychology

Why psychology is placed here

Psychology began in Being, particularly sections experience and the given, experience and the world, ideal elements of being, and kinds of being. It is placed here to keep early development direct, to benefit from the metaphysics, to use terms for mind and matter that are as broad as possible in scope and that avoid their distorted connotations, and to avoid circularity.

What psychology is

psychology

Here psychology is broader in scope and method than academic psychology which has appropriated the term ‘psychology’ in such a manner as to distort it.

Psychology will mean study

Of all things about mind—all function: cognition, emotion; memory; aspects of function, e.g. learning; personality and growth

Of all things related to mind—body and brain (biological psychology), mind and world

By all means—description; academic psychology; conceptual or philosophical psychology (initiated earlier)

Method

reason, methodological skepticism

objectivity of experience (see being, experience, and objectivity)

philosophy of psychology, science of psychology

Identity

See the section real elements of Being.

Experience

It is convenient to repeat some terms from section Being—the subsections experience and the given, experience and the world, and kinds of being

experience

experience-of

effective Being (effective existence), real Being (existence, existence and effective existent are the same; power and effective power are the same)

reflexive experience (experience of experience), referential experience

recall (memory)

concept (as general mental content, as object capable of referring; higher concept), object, referential meaning (referential concept meaning) as concept-existent or concept-object

language and linguistic referential meaning (or linguistic referential concept meaning) as [symbol-object] or sign-concept-object)

Dimensions of experience

experience, dimensions of experience, experiencer, experienced (inner, psyche, body, recall (memory); outer, world, other; holist), form-quality

(not currently for development: phenomenon, subject, object or as-if object)

bound-free content

bound content (percept-feeling), free content (higher concept, emotion or concept-feeling), freedom of will, foresight

focal-background

intense, neutral, imperative

psychological function

cognition (perception, conception, language), emotions (fear, joy), pain

personality

development, plasticity-fixity, elements, type and relationship to Being

Agency

(conceptual) (see pragmatic agency and becoming, below)

agency (deployment of ability, emphasizing the following)

foresight, dynamics, will, metaphysics, reason

transformation

intrinsic transformation, instrumental transformation

Metaphysics of value

value, or axiology

aesthetics, ethics

value as real (from the metaphysics and nature of the abstract)

The Way of Being—the highest pursuit as seen from the metaphysics—see the Way of Being.

Being human

recall that reason involves the entire being

being human

Being at the intersection of the limited and the limitless; finite Being capable via mind of understanding and negotiating the infinite in abstract and the concrete beginning of limitlessness.

Grounded in the world (nature and civilization) by body (and mind) and by mind in the universe.

becoming human, growth

emergence of reason, childhood

reflexive reason

understanding reason, reasoning about reason

culture, role, adjustment, and achievement

life roles: student, adult, relationship, parent, maturity, ageing and dying

remaining human, time, death, authenticity

function roles: play, education, life path (career: maintained, maintainer, forerunner or outlier, leader), seeking

tat tvam asi (“you are that”; self as ultimate real)

transcendence: self-transcendence, culture-transcendence

defining limits of culture and paradigm, reason and the ultimate, actualizing

Spirit

In on the idea of spirit.html, the concepts of spirit, soul, (and God), are found ontologically superfluous.

There is no ontological need for the concept of spirit over and above that of Being.

Civilization and society

civilization

local civilization, human civilization, universal civilization, civilizing the universe

society

instruments (of civilization)

reason, metaphysics, social science, information and technological science of universal civilization, art, religion, pragmatic agency

The Way of Being

The Way of Being

The Way of Being—the highest pursuit as seen from the metaphysics—to know and realize the real and valuable in the immediate and the universal. From the metaphysics this is rates enjoyment over avoidance of pain in realizing, merging in peaks of Being.

The aim of Being

aim

endeavor, goal, path, destiny

aim of Being

The way of Being

Pragmatic agency and becoming

(continued from psychology > agency above)

pragmatic agency (feasible agency; as follows)

principles of agency (the metaphysics, dynamics, reason)

knowledge system (intrinsic—‘internal’ and self-mind oriented, instrumental—external and world-body oriented)

yoga (intrinsic), (principle, nature—to bind or yoke self to universe; practice, action—yoga as instrumental), (traditional and non-traditional means to “apprehend” the universe—i.e. to know – understand – become the essence of the universe), meditation

art (iconic, literature, metaphor, drama, ritual, architecture)

way (religion)

way of life (knowledge, metaphor, attitude, action phases of life, sangha)

walks of life

impediments (resentment, fear, anger, …), overcoming in balance with achievement; external resources (the exemplary, the way, community), internal resources (reason…)

catalyst (catharsis)

physical

emotional

cognitive (citta, vijñana)

mystic

beyul

science (instrumental); science, sciences and immersion (intrinsic)

sciences of nature, psyche, society and civilization; technology

Path

(epilogue)

path

eternal process

journey of Being, individual journey, being in the present, the immediate and the ultimate

death

this life as finite, death as end to this life

knowledge of death to enhance meaning and experience in this life and beyond: the finiteness of this life as fulcrum to openness to the infinite dual to finite resolution of significant meaning in the present

planning <the date of> one’s death

planning death

templates (universal template, everyday template, program and priorities, stories—drama, myth, metaphor, allegory, parable, novel)

Resources

Concepts are marked below but unnecessary to the database. Appropriate resource concepts are in the section on becoming.

Influences and sources

sources

concepts

topic, influence, thinker, school, actor

General resources

work

discipline

publication (primary, secondary, tertiary)

document (personal, shared), biography, autobiography

library, media

Meta-concepts for the database

database

database theory, knowledge generation, knowledge assistance

general, knowledge, metaphysics

concept

reflex concept

source

author, text, literature, writing (personal, shared), resource

Footnotes

The presence of these notions, secular and other, at this point is ‘for consideration’, not as fact or dogma.

‘To be’ may be specific or nonspecific respect to place, tense, and quality. For Being, the nonspecific is the primary interest. In abstraction suppresses the distinctions.

More on abstraction and the related notion of meaning later. In an alternate development, language, meaning, and reason could be preliminary to Being.

Definition and explanation. Elaboration could fit here but is more effective in psychology.

An ideal element is perfectly known, typically in a correspondence sense by conceptual abstraction. Thus the ideals are typically abstracta. However, the abstract are real. What we call concrete tend to be objects-in-direct-experience which are also known by abstraction—i.e. perceptual abstraction. If pragmatic knowledge is admitted then the concreta are also perfect. The abstract-concrete distinction or continuum is rather metaphorical in character.

Plurals are ‘beings’ and ‘existents’.

A part need not be simple or connected and the defining feature of a part need not be based in spatiotemporal-like sameness and difference; a set of entities specified by the number ‘two’ or exhibiting ‘two-ness’ or a range of energies (where energy has meaning) are a part. A part is a being and a being is a part. There is no further connotation to ‘Being’ and ‘beings’. Connotations are introduced via kinds of being.

As defining the world, elements and models are essentially metaphysical. The degree to which these may be precise in general is not given in advance of identifying or defining and critiquing the metaphysics.

Mental.

Mechanics is an alternate term. What are some further possible terms?

See linguistic referential meaning in the way-main.html. See language, meaning, and metaphysics for elements of language.

See grammar, language, and metaphysics in language, meaning, and metaphysics.

See system of human knowledge.html.

Kept separate from argument because possibility has a special role in developing the metaphysics

As science, metaphysics is not essentially as concrete-empirical as the concrete sciences and not essentially as abstract-conceptual as the abstract sciences but employs method, the abstract, and the concrete as they are useful in a science of Being, beings, and the universe.

Refers to the temporally indeterministic side of history.

Value falls under reason and rationality because many of their uses require input from values and affect. Further, though objectivity in values may be elusive, they will be seen real and subject to critique and improvement even where consensus may be difficult.

Previously ‘pure metaphysics’.

Extended category; equivalent to ‘element’. Includes the ideal elements or categories.

Identity is (sense of) sameness with difference (change)—as experienced, existent, or object. Obviously some kind of continuity is involved; it may be in memory and identification rather than ‘material’ continuity. As far as the principle of identity is concerned, it is not necessary to explicitly resolve the nature of the continuity.

Generalized spatiotemporal—identity derived—sameness and difference. Difference with and without identity mark local time and space, respectively.

Why second order? Perhaps for conservation and translation invariance.

I prefer experiential-experienced over the varied and limited connotations ‘of mind’ and ‘of matter’ because of the varied connotations of the latter. Thus, ‘mind’ often omits emotion; and these equivalents all limited: material, physical, sensible, manifest, effective, causal, energetic and so on. Some possibilities for matter are first order Being; possibilities for mind are second order Being, psyche, the Pali ‘citta’. Citta would be in an abstract-general use that suppresses distinctions of process vs. entity etc and includes manas and vijñana.

In the sense of Spinoza who identified our two attributes as thought-extension, or mind-matter. Spinoza explained world as God who had an infinite number of attributes. I argued that there can only be two attributes in the mind-matter series but that beings can have an infinite number of properties. I now argue that there is a single ‘attribute’.

I.e. the major components of Darwinian evolution. Not a reference to Lamarck’s theory or any teleological theory.

Meaning that existence and some of its facets, e.g. freedom of will, are or can be known objectively… and not that the putative objects experience are known ‘objectively’, or not, without investigation.

What it is and how it is done.

Our civilization is the web of human culture over time and continents; greater or universal civilization is the interacting matrix civilizations and Being across the universe.

See system of human knowledge.html (repeated footnote).

Concepts are objects or parts of objects that refer to other objects. Not all objects are capable of having reference but some beings with minds are. See referential meaning in the way-main.html.