A JOURNEY IN BEING
…or The Way of Being
OUTLINE

Anil Mitra, Copyright © September 7, 2019—May 1, 2022

Related links and documents Home | Essential version | Complete version

CONTENTS

Main sections the outline | appendix: this document and its use

The outline

Notation

Preface

A preface to the essay and its place in the world of text

About the essay

External sources

Prologue

General

Precursors

External sources

Journey in Being website sources

The precursors

On text

Reading the essay

Word and concept meanings

Meaning of the narrative

1	Introduction

An introduction to the content of the essay—metaphysics and the world

Journey in Being website sources

A search for the ultimate

Limits of the secular and transsecular

Foundation in Being

Preview of the essence of the journey or way

Narrative content and flow

2	Foundation

2.1	On foundations

About foundations

Skepticism and knowledge

2.2	The foundation

External sources

Preliminary analysis of experience*

On Being and beings

2.3	On metaphysics

2.4	Metaphysics as knowledge of the real

2.5	A perfect metaphysics of knowledge, practice and action

2.6	Brahman

(…and Atman)

Process

The absolute

3	Development of the metaphysics

Developments in metaphysics

3.1	Metaphysics of experience

External sources

Analysis of experience through the metaphysics**

Implications of the metaphysics

The real

3.2	Metaphysics and its possibility

External sources

What is metaphysics?

The possibility of metaphysics

Metaphysics, epistemology, and their inseparability

Some major metaphysical-epistemological systems and how the metaphysics affects their significance

3.3	The principle of sufficient reason

The principle

Necessity as cause of the universe

3.4	The Fundamental question of metaphysics

The traditional question—Why is there Being at all?

A new fundamental question—What has Being?

3.5	Kinds of Being*

External sources

Kinds of Being

3.6	The abstract and the concrete

The concepts of the abstract and the concrete

On abstract objects

All consistent (abstract) systems are realized

Theory of abstract and concrete objects

3.7	Identity, space, and time

3.8	Problems of metaphysics

Pre-modern

Early modern

Modern

4	A system of the world

4.1	The system

Journey in Being website sources

The system

4.2	Cosmology

External sources

General cosmology

Cosmology of form and formation

The block universe

Physical cosmology and the physical sciences

4.3	Biology

Biology

Origins and evolution

4.4	Psychology and the dimensions of Being

4.5	Ethics and purpose

External sources

Journey in Being website sources

Ethics and purpose

4.6	Problems and opportunities

Journey in Being website sources

Problems and opportunities

5	Reason

External sources

Journey in Being website sources

5.1	Introduction

5.2	The concept of reason

5.3	Practice and action

5.4	Identity of reason and the perfect metaphysics

5.5	The means of realization

6	The way

A way of realization—with traditional ways

6.1	Aim

6.2	Means

6.3	Ways and catalysts

Traditional ways

Catalysts

Integration of ways, catalysts, and reason

6.4	Templates

External sources

Journey in Being website sources

The templates

The future—with epilogue

Resources

This site

Other resources (current focus: transformation-realization)

Appendix

(The document and its use)

About the outline

A comprehensive resource for Journey in Being and the website

But still minimal so as to be revisable in structure and resources

Resources in the outline

Sources

Sources for planning the website http://www.horizons-2000.org

General sources for content of the essays

Specific sources for the structure of the outline and content of the essays

Writing the outline

Integration with the site plan (site plan.html)

Immediate plan for this outline

Details of the plan

Writing

Styles for structuring the essays

A JOURNEY IN BEING

The outline

Notation

An asterisk (*) marks a repeated entry; in the case of a source, the source is relevant and more than one place; in the case of a concept or section name a single asterisk indicates the place where the concept or topic would be naturally placed and a double asterisk (**) indicates the actual place that the concept or topic is developed; where multiple identical entries are marked with a single asterisk and no entry is marked with two, either the two entries are parallel developments or a decision on primary vs secondary sections has not yet been made.

Level 1, 2, 3, and 4 headings are respectively Bold capitals, Bold, Underlined, and Italicized.

In the body text, bold font is reserved for definitions.

Preface

A preface to the essay and its place in the world of text

The preface is about the essay—and the world of text; the introduction is about the content or substance of the essay

essay (the work), prologue, text, continuous text

a journey in being.html (for newness and continuous text)

About the essay

External sources

See The foundation and Metaphysics of experience

Prologue

Origins—prologue—personal and universal drive to meaning and destiny; the secular and the transsecular: their individual and dual limits; search for meaning and journey of realization of ‘the greatest Being’.

General

The essay records search for the universal in and from this world. The aim and culmination is realization—The way. What comes before, starting with the Foundation is preparatory (the Introduction is orientation)—based in a system of primitive concepts and (entailed) necessary truths; these stand in relation so as to constitute a coherent and necessary metaphysics.

To understand the system—its meaning and necessity; its ultimate character that supersedes and subsumes valid prior metaphysics—it is essential to follow the terms as defined here and to set aside other meanings (and worldviews), at least temporarily, and to endeavor to see them as elements in a structured whole.

Newness relative to (a) what has been written, (b) my writing; no claim to originality.

Precursors

Precursors to the ideas and developments in this work

External sources

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/platonism-mathematics/ Platonism in the Philosophy of Mathematics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Journey in Being website sources

For the principle of plenitude see fresh.html, my journey.html; for other precursors see my main influences.html*

The precursors

principle of plenitude

On text

Continuous text.

Reading the essay

Word “essay”

Alternative “To readers”

Word and concept meanings

Necessity of the concept (remark on rigidity of signification with regard to open meaning)

Meanings are related but not identical to received meanings; in seeking to understand the world as a whole, this is necessary—readers should put received meanings aside to understand individual (and system) meanings

Meanings stand in relation to one another

The main concepts

Meaning of the narrative

Concept meanings stand in relation to one another

The system of concepts

Meaning cannot be fixed until knowledge (metaphysical system) is final

Introduction

An introduction to the content of the essay—metaphysics and the world

Introduction to the content—and the world; with reason and reasons

Journey in Being website sources

the essential way.html

A search for the ultimate

For the individual and in the history of the world.

Limits of the secular and transsecular

Foundation in Being

Preview of the essence of the journey or way

a journey in being.html—the synopsis

Narrative content and flow

Flows from the preview

The ‘logic’ of the content and its arrangement.

The description will refer to the outline and this will (a) explain its arrangement and (ii) permit this section to be short.

The description begins with the essentials of the journey—

A statement of the fundamental principle and that it is proven and consistent with experience… and consequences for the nature of the universe, identity, and realization—the centerpiece of Foundation.

A way of realization—in The way (Alternate title: Realization).

It then explains

The structure of the foundation—why and how Being, universe, void, and logic; the abstract and the pragmatic come together in the perfect metaphysics; comments on doubt, skepticism, proof, postulate, and attitude; the rest is development.

The structure of the way.

Foundation

On foundations

About foundations

External sources

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/justep-foundational/ Foundationalist Theories of Epistemic Justification (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://www.iep.utm.edu/found-ep/ Foundationalism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Journey in Being website sources

fundamental problem of metaphysics.html—has material on relative vs non-relative foundations

About foundations

foundation, non relative foundation (infinite regress), relative foundation (terminating, substance)

foundationalism; and not taken up here but see the IEP article below—coherentism, infinitism

Theses—(a) some terminating and non relative foundations are possible (and how—without substance but with Being, with the superficial) (b) here we will develop such a foundation for a worldview – metaphysics – philosophy that is ultimate in scope (though pragmatic in fine detail)

Skepticism and knowledge

A more complete title is doubt, skepticism, knowledge, and understanding.

Previously, I would likely have titled this section Doubt and certainty. However, while certainty is possible for some knowledge and outcomes, it is not possible or desirable for all—in fact living with doubt is an existential virtue (but it is not a virtue to pretend doubt or to mistakenly introduce it from some paradigm where there need be no doubt).

This section may perhaps be better placed at the end of the chapter Development of the metaphysics.

External sources

https://www.iep.utm.edu/descarte/ Descartes, Rene | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

https://www.iep.utm.edu/skepcont/ Contemporary Skepticism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Skepticism and knowledge

methodological skepticism

doubt, skepticism, strange world or interpretation, imagination, criticism

Skepticism will thread through the narrative.

The foundation

Redistribute the entries here and those in Metaphysics of experience between the two sections.

External sources

These sources may be distributed between this section and Metaphysics of experience.

https://www.iep.utm.edu/mod-meta/ Modal Metaphysics | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/nothingness/ Nothingness (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/spacetime-bebecome/ Being and Becoming in Modern Physics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/transcendentals-medieval/ Medieval Theories of Transcendentals (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/heidegger/ Martin Heidegger (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/existence/ Existence (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

http://metaphysicist.com/articles/Kripke_Naming_Necessity_1970.pdf from http://metaphysicist.com/ (The Metaphysicist)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_and_Necessity (Naming and Necessity - Wikipedia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Kripke (Saul Kripke - Wikipedia)

Preliminary analysis of experience*

This would be a logical place for this topic. It is however more effective to place it in Development of the metaphysics > Metaphysics of experience > Analysis of experience through the metaphysics**. Here the concept of ‘definition’ stands in for the analysis of experience.

definition (specifies a concept—and it is here that the fact that all Being is rooted in knowing is first implemented, presumed to have a referent where not otherwise specified—and it is here that the fundamental given facts are effectively specified; for example, the definitions of Being and existence are identical—that to which some form of the verb to be applies… and given the definition it is implied that there is Being; the main exception to this is that in defining the void it is not implied that the void has Being but rather that this is to be proved)

On Being and beings

The section could be titled “Beginnings of a theory of Being”, “Beginnings of metaphysics”, “Beginnings of a metaphysical system”, or “Preliminary to the metaphysics of the essay (or narrative)”.

verb to be, existence, Being, substance (neither asserted nor denied), abstraction (and perfect knowledge), beings, cause, power, universe (“all Being”—for the universe as a whole the possible and the actual or real are identical), creation, the void (shown from the prior givens and reason to have a referent), possibility, natural law, necessity, facts (lesser sibling to inference), necessary facts (universal), contingent facts (local), logic (Logic)

the fundamental principle, substance—‘material’—foundation denied (but local substance permitted), no foundation of the universe in another being, foundation in necessity

doubt*

pragmatic knowledge (as if perfect for some purposes), tradition, action, reflection; abstract-pragmatic synthesis, local pragmatic substance asserted

On metaphysics

Metaphysics has already begun; this section recognizes and consolidates the development.

Metaphysics as knowledge of the real

metaphysics (knowledge of the real)—in which it is implicit that metaphysics is demonstrable knowledge of the real, only of the real, and to the extent possible of all the real

Justification in two parts

There is knowledge of the real as demonstrated above and whose breadth and ultimate character will emerge.

Justification relative to other conceptions is given later.

A perfect metaphysics of knowledge, practice and action

Replace ‘the perfect metaphysics’ by ‘the metaphysics’ everywhere except in this section and the definition of the perfect metaphysics

Abstract-faithful and concrete-pragmatic knowledge, their join in the perfect and ultimate metaphysics—the perfect metaphysics (PFM) or, just, the metaphysics

Brahman

(…and Atman)

Though their treatment could be deferred to the chapter on cosmology, it is unifying and efficient to treat them here.

Process

External sources

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concepts-god/ Concepts of God (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)*

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity/ Identity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-time/ Identity Over Time (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Process

identity* and process

variety and extension of the universe and its identity; individual identity inherits the power of the universe; paths to the ultimate

Though it has been argued that ‘God’ should be defined as in the tradition (e.g., Christianity in the West), this is immensely limited and limiting. God should be defined as the best possible real meaning derivable—of course—from the sum of thought on idea of God. It follows that ‘God’ must exist for otherwise the definition would not be the best possible. It does not follow—of course—that this God has all characteristics as stated in myth and dogma. It does follow that while this God must in some sense be the greatest possible, it is not perfect in the traditional senses of ‘perfection’. From the fundamental principle of metaphysics it follows that all beings are part of the process that is God and that while the remote ‘God’ is possible and does occur, it is of limited significance.

The absolute

Brahman as absolute and given (as if static) Being and Knower.

the logos

This is the block universe dual of the process view above. It may appear to contradict the process view but—at least tentatively—it does not.

Development of the metaphysics

Developments in metaphysics

We now turn to developments of the metaphysics—new material and applications to well known topics of metaphysics. The selection of topics—of course influenced by my interests and viewpoints—is according to (i) importance to the journey (the metaphysics and realization) (ii) general significance.

The material is two chapters—this one and the next on cosmology. Though metaphysics and cosmology are continuous with one another, the distinction is natural. The metaphysical emphasizes the general and the refinement of the foundation while the cosmological emphasizes the particular and application of the foundation.

Some topics have content that is logically prior to the metaphysics. Many of these, especially when illuminating, will be written in two stages (i) what can be said without the metaphysics and (ii) consequences of the metaphysics. It might have had pedagogical benefit to have some first stages placed before the metaphysics but the present arrangement is efficient and conceptually tidier—conceptual floundering due to non specificity of metaphysics is avoided.

Metaphysics of experience

It is effective to place this section before the section “What is metaphysics?”

External sources

Experience and its nature

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mysticism/ Mysticism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/collingwood/ Robin George Collingwood (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/whitehead/ Alfred North Whitehead (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/process-philosophy/ Process Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/ Immanuel Kant (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/dewey/ John Dewey (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Free will

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/freewill/ Free Will (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/determinism-causal/ Causal Determinism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Language meaning

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/meaning/ Theories of Meaning (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/meaning-holism/ Meaning Holism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/word-meaning/

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rigid-designators/ Rigid Designators (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Analysis of experience through the metaphysics**

I.e., through the establishment of the metaphysics

This section develops the material that would naturally be placed in Preliminary analysis of experience*.

From its givenness, to strange vs robust interpretations of experience and the standard world view, to knowledge and meaning (is this a repeat), through free will and psychology

experience, content, world (of experience), interpretation, strange interpretation* (alternate: bizarre), robust interpretation

materialism, strict materialism, standard secular view (interpretation), field of experience (interpretation), extended standard secular view

pure, attitudinal, and agentive (i.e., of action) experience, free will

meaning, knowledge

psychology

dimensions of the world: dimensions of Being (and time); and dimensions of psyche and experience—see the essential way-supplement.html, the essential way-outline.html, and the essential way.html

strange (alternate: bizarre) vs robust interpretations* or worlds*

for strange interpretations—see the essential way-supplement.html

Implications of the metaphysics

The previous subsection was originally named “Analysis of experience”. This may have made it seem as though this section imposes the metaphysics on experience. Instead, however, the two sections are seamless: in the first section experience is developed through the metaphysics and in the second it is then developed further. This explains the change of the original name “Analysis of experience” to “Analysis of experience through the metaphysics”.

In the development in Foundation, the concept of definition stands in for the greater detail in “Analysis of experience”.

rigid designator (issue of)

The real

Experience and the real

Metaphysics and its possibility

External sources

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/metaphysics/ Metaphysics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

What is metaphysics?

Metaphysics was defined above as knowledge of the real.

This section (i) clarifies, extends, and justifies the idea of knowledge of the real (ii) relates the present concept of metaphysics to the main pre-modern and modern conceptions and shows where other conceptions are subsumed under or perhaps excluded from the present conception.

The possibility of metaphysics

The considerations of this section also cover Cosmology and The way (Alternate title: Realization).

Metaphysics has been shown possible by demonstrating a metaphysics. This section (i) reviews the classical critiques for both general and ‘special’ metaphysics (ii) fleshes out the umbrella the range of metaphysics, actual and the range of future possible under the metaphysics.

That is—the possibility of metaphysics is not either ‘possible’ or ‘impossible’ but depends on (a) the concept of metaphysics employed and (b) the subject matter, e.g. special vs general metaphysics.

Metaphysics, epistemology, and their inseparability

Some major metaphysical-epistemological systems and how the metaphysics affects their significance

This may be a level 2 section.

External sources—Western metaphysical systems

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/parmenides/ Parmenides

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/presocratics/ Presocratic Philosophy

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plato-timaeus/ Plato’s Timaeus

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-metaphysics/ Aristotle’s Metaphysics

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel/ George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel-dialectics/ Hegel’s Dialectics

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/ Immanuel Kant

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-moral/ Kant’s Moral Philosophy

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-transcendental-idealism/ Kant’s Transcendental Idealism

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-transcendental/ Kant’s Transcendental Arguments

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant-metaphysics/ Kant’s Critique of Metaphysics

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bradley/ Francis Herbert Bradley (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bradley-regress/ Bradley’s Regress (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/whitehead/ Alfred North Whitehead (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hartshorne/ Charles Hartshorne (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_B._Cobb John B. Cobb (Wikipedia)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ray_Griffin David Ray Griffin (Wikipedia)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wittgenstein/ Ludwig Wittgenstein (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wittgenstein-atomism/ Wittgenstein’s Logical Atomism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/wittgenstein-mathematics/ Wittgenstein’s Philosophy of Mathematics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/heidegger/ Martin Heidegger (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

External sources—Eastern metaphysical systems

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concepts-god/ Concepts of God (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)* for information on Advaita Vedanta

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_philosophy Indian Philosophy – Wikipedia

Journey in Being website sources for major metaphysical systems

main influences.html*

Some major metaphysical systems and how the metaphysics affects their significance

Purposes of the section—to present some major systems and a classification (i) to ensure that the metaphysics is inclusive enough to cover their bases, (ii) to analyze their part vs wholeness (the part may be zero) relative to the universe, (iii) to see to what extent and how the systems may be grounded in the metaphysics, (iv) to see to what extent the systems may be integrated, (v) to see to what extent they—and the integrations—may be interpreted and to what extent their net significance is affected in terms of the metaphysics, and (vi) to contribute to development and enrichment of the metaphysics.

Preliminary classification—non relative (substance vs substance-neutral vs substance-free—i.e., the position that there is neither fundamental category including the void itself nor need for foundational category; that all categories are derivative; that existence is its own foundation) vs relative (open)

Kinds of substance—kind of entity vs process vs interaction

Metaphysics based in the immediate—metaphysics based in existence of the void (the metaphysics), Heidegger’s metaphysics in Being and Time

Entity like substance—materialism, idealism, dualism, neutral monism; issue of meaning and distinguishability; problem of change; problem of mind and matter

Process metaphysics—problems of construction of the world, kinds and richness of being

Some systems for consideration—Parmenides; Plato’s Timaeus; Aristotle’s metaphysics; Hegel’s idealism; Immanuel Kant’s transcendental idealism; Whitehead’s philosophy of organism; Wittgenstein’s early metaphysics of logic as immanent in the world of fact; Heidegger’s analysis of Dasein as the being that can ask and begin to analyze the question of being—i.e., of the nature of existence; the Advaita Vedanta and its picture of the universe as the breath of Brahman that includes all beings

The principle of sufficient reason

The principle

Necessity as cause of the universe

The Fundamental question of metaphysics

The traditional question—Why is there Being at all?

A new fundamental question—What has Being?

Kinds of Being*

See Categories of Being under Problems of metaphysics

External sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_of_being Category of being - Wikipedia

More Kinds of Being: A Further Study of Individuation, Identity, and the Logic of Sortal Terms // Reviews // Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews // University of Notre Dame (More Kinds of Being is the second edition of EJ Lowe’s Kinds of Being)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-kinds/ Natural Kinds (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Kinds of Being

categories, kinds

The abstract and the concrete

A continuation of Kinds of Being

The concepts of the abstract and the concrete

No true distinction

On abstract objects

All consistent (abstract) systems are realized

Platonism will also be addressed.

External sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platonism Platonism - Wikipedia

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/platonism/ Platonism in Metaphysics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/platonism-mathematics/ Platonism in the Philosophy of Mathematics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Journey in Being website sources

The way of being-essential.html (material on inhabiting abstract objects)

All consistent systems are realized

I.e., from the fundamental principle

Theory of abstract and concrete objects

Identity, space, and time

Consider whether this is the best place for the topic.

identity*, sameness and difference, space and time

Problems of metaphysics

Pre-modern

The nature of Being

Categories of Being and universals

The problem of substance

Early modern

Is this appropriate?

Materialism and empiricism

Idealism

Kant

Modern

Identity, space, and time

Causation, determinism, and freedom

Consciousness, mind, and matter

Modality

A system of the world

Could be a separate chapter. Could combine with or change places with the section on ethics and purpose.

Over and above “A system of the world” topics > description: the universe > speculative possibilities > the cosmos > galaxy > solar system(s) > earth > the spheres (atmos, geo, hydro) > life and theories (received: natural selection, abiogenesis, early chemistry of the earth | supplementary: epigenesis | parallel: wavefront vs ray | properties of matter-energy as productive of life)

The system

Journey in Being website sources

Use and review system of human knowledge, reason, practice, and action.html (repeats some topics above)

the way - template outline.html (2017)

The system

Topics such as earth sciences are specialist relative to the essay and will not be placed in separate sections below

Purpose—present a system of knowledge grounded in the metaphysics; to round out the metaphysics and cosmology.

Cosmology

What is cosmology?

What are general cosmology, cosmology of form and formation, physical cosmology, and the system of the world?

What is the block universe and its significance?

External sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmology_(philosophy) Cosmology (philosophy) - Wikipedia

General cosmology

The method and its principle; development of general cosmology

The principle is the fundamental principle—the universe is the greatest possible. The method is (i) one of imagination with regard to what may be possible and then (ii) of logic with regard to what is possible.

This method and the particular methods for the following sections lie under reason.

Cosmology of form and formation

External sources

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cosmology/ Philosophy of Cosmology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cosmology-theology/ Cosmology and Theology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Journey in Being website sources

EarlyUniverse.html—numerical graphical experiments on origins from the void (not the big bang)

Cosmology of form and formation

emergence**, indeterminism, mechanism**, degree of determinism

Method, principle, and development

The method and principle begins with that of general cosmology, to which are joined the method and principle of tradition—and reflexive thought and action. Especially important under tradition are theories of (i) self adaptation via non deterministic increment and selection of near stable systems (saltation is possible but improbable) and (ii) mechanism (e.g. the fundamental theories of physics).

Numerical-graphical experiments and how to specify them*

The block universe

External sources

Growing block universe (Growing block universe - Wikipedia)

Standard block universe of eternalism (Eternalism (philosophy of time) - Wikipedia)

The block universe

Define the block universe and note that it is neither the growing block universe nor the standard block universe of eternalism

Significance of the block universe

Relation to determinism and indeterminism

Conclusions regarding the permanence, diffusion, and identity of identities—Brahman (word)

Conclusions regarding physical cosmology, relativity, and quantum theory

The following may be introduced in an earlier section, e.g. The foundation or Metaphysics of experience

Local knower, pan knower—or universal knower, fact, and inference

Physical cosmology and the physical sciences

External sources

Improve the following

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qm/ Quantum Mechanics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/quantum-field-theory/ Quantum Field Theory (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/genrel-early/ Early Philosophical Interpretations of General Relativity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Numerical simulation work is extensive; the following is a start.

https://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/9496 The Encyclopedia of Cosmology | World Scientific Series in Astrophysics (Volume 1: Galaxy Formation and Evolution, Volume 2: Numerical Simulations in Cosmology, Volume 3: Dark Energy, Volume 4: Dark Matter)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Smolin#Cosmological_natural_selection (Lee Smolin - Wikipedia on Cosmological natural selection)

Physical cosmology and the physical sciences

The cosmos and its origins; method

The method and principle begins with the methods and principles of the previous sections. This is the general method.

The method for the cosmos begins with modern physics. Theories of origins and foundation derive the general method and anthropic considerations for which the laws of the empirical cosmos may be taken as constraints. It is important to review the empirical character of modern physics—whether it is empirical and if so in what manner. It is not empirical in the way of logical positivism or Newton’s claims that it follows from the phenomena. Rather the empirical character is two-fold: the phenomena and data suggest the laws which are then corrected via application and adjustment to eliminate discrepancy (this includes the postulational approach of thermodynamics and of Einstein in formulating the theories of relativity; it also includes the use of reason and principle in formulating and evaluating the laws). The connection to the empirical is firm but not rigid—there is flight from the empirical in formulation of laws and return in correction. The change that may be forced in the future is a result of the remoteness of the empirical as its boundary is pushed out—(i) the length and height of the flight may be required to increase and, in compensation, (ii) recognition and use of rational thought (reason) may be required to become more explicit and refined.

Numerical-graphical experiments and how to specify them*

Biology

Biology

structure, mechanism, development; ecology and distribution of life; origins and evolution

Origins and evolution

evolution, variation, selection, mechanism*, emergence*, ray vs wavefront-envelope descriptions

Psychology and the dimensions of Being

Consider combining with metaphysics of experience

Continuous with the section(s) on metaphysics of experience; ‘dimensions’ may be in either one of the locations

Ethics and purpose

External sources

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/life-meaning/ The Meaning of Life (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Journey in Being website sources

the way - template outline.html

the way - main version.html (2017 version of site)

Ethics and purpose

Inclusion of purpose with ethics is tentative as of 5/1/2022.

Problems and opportunities

Journey in Being website sources

the way - world problems and opportunities.html

Problems and opportunities

Problems and opportunities (in politics and economics; with sources in identity and its ultimate… and in ethics and purpose)

Reason

This section is about reason or the logos as derived from Greek philosophy. Here it refers to the identities among reason by beings and Reason (immanent) in Being.

omit one of ‘reason’ and ‘logos’

External sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reason Reason - Wikipedia

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationality-instrumental/ Instrumental Rationality (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

https://www.britannica.com/topic/reason Reason (Encyclopedia Britannica)

https://www.iep.utm.edu/argument/ Argument (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)—has information on argument, the distinction between deductive and inductive argument and a possible third kind: the conductive argument

Journey in Being website sources

a journey in being.html

the essential way-print-no bold.doc

the way - template outline.html

canonical dilemmas.html—possibly

doubt and reason.html

possibility.html

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

system of human knowledge, reason, and action-supplement.html

argument.html

Introduction

There are many notions on how to think, come to know, and act well—even optimally from the perspective of ‘entire Being’, which includes the rational, the ethical and valuational, and the emotional.

Some terms that come to mind—equivalents to and components of this process—are

reason, argument, rationality, thought, feeling, emotion, judgment, and valuation—ethical and aesthetic; fact, observation, measurement, and corroboration; inference, deduction, logic, demonstration, proof, induction, science (data, law, theory, hypothesis – experiment-practice-action – valuation and revaluation of hypotheses; abduction, conductive argument (https://www.iep.utm.edu/argument/); metaphysics, foundation, analysis, system, and action

There is a plethora of terms with overlap—all perhaps to excess with micro-analysis in the literature but lacking adequate consistency and coherence among the analyses. This is to be expected in the literature but there is also a parallel motive to ‘trim the fat’ and to introduce system.

The name for the umbrella concept for these notions will be ‘reason’.

Reason begins not with a foundation or the end product of process but the present place and moment—and may then work toward foundation and superstructure.

While it may begin as incremental and corrective, large and even single step achievement and final principles are not ruled out.

It posits and moves simultaneously toward foundations, ends, and ways or methods (as they are suggested in process); it corrects and improves; shared process adds to but replaces no part (language is important for representation and communication—but not in itself fully adequate to either); it insists not on the a priori or its elimination—on possibility or impossibility of perfection—on ever being in process—or finality; but it allows all those possibilities.

The process involves entire Being—body-process-relation and its presentation as feeling, perception, emotion, thought, action (with interpretation in terms of ‘physical’ vs ‘mental’ aspects)

The process is reflexive—that is the elements are interactive; but, as understanding emerges, selectively so, and subject to meta-analysis.

The concept of reason

Reason is the best developed and developing way to know and act in the world and universe.

Foundation of reason is part of reason.

Practice and action

Practice and action are to be distinguished yet integrated—i.e. partially distinct.

Identity of reason and the perfect metaphysics

Reason is the perfect metaphysics in interaction with entire Being.

Consequently, it is not necessary to further develop reason here (but see the sources—external and from the journey website).

The means of realization

Reason is the means of realization.*

Reason and Yoga; their identity*

The way

A way of realization—with traditional ways

Aim

Means

See the chapter on Reason, particularly the section on The means of realization

Reason is the means of realization.*

Reason and Yoga; their identity*

Ways and catalysts

Ways and catalysts

Traditional ways

See templates below

Religion

Catalysts

Integration of ways, catalysts, and reason

Templates

External sources

nine spiritual pathways (http://storage.cloversites.com/northfitzroychurchofchrist/documents/Nine%20Spiritual%20Pathways.pdf)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_paths_to_liberation Buddhist paths to liberation (Wikipedia)

https://btpsychology.com.au/1322-2/ Four paths to liberation (Breakthrough psychology practice)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Yogas Three Yogas (Wikipedia)—talks of four ways

Journey in Being website sources

a journey in being.html

the essential way.html (very short essay.html—for principles of development, very short essay-pragmatic version.html)

the way of being - essential version.html; conceptual outline-essential.html—exhaustive

The templates

The templates

The future—with epilogue

Epilogue, next, passing the torch

Resources

This site

Find and link old essays

Set source essays and topic essay for ‘my life…’

In old essays—my life, reflexive living and thinking

Other resources (current focus: transformation-realization)

Find resource essay and improve

Continue to compile from bibliographies and the Internet

Ian Baker

Chagdud Tulku

John Hicks

Tantra Illuminated?

Pema Chödrön

Sourcebook in Indian Philosophy

Appendix

(The document and its use)

Most of the appendix is temporary. Permanent material may be absorbed in brief form to the section on ‘the future’.

About the outline

A comprehensive resource for Journey in Being and the website

The outline is a (i) comprehensive template for all future essays of A Journey in Being—2020—currently two and only two: a journey in being.html (tentatively complete) and a journey in being-complete.html (in process) in interaction with (ii) the Journey in Being website (see site plan.html 2020).

Though comprehensive, it will not be worked to excessive or burdensome detail.

But still minimal so as to be revisable in structure and resources

It needs to be reworked to minimize repetition and ‘too many headings’.

The outline will contain sources detailed below—planning, general sources for content, and specific sources for structure and content.

Resources in the outline

A set of canonical topics with links to topic essays (Style “Topic essays”—Ctrl + Alt + Shift T). Each essay will have my best thought on each topic in one place.

External sources (Style “External Source”—Ctrl + Alt + Shift E) with links.

Personal sources (Style “My Source”—Ctrl + Alt + Shift E) with links.

Concepts (Styles [i] “Concepts”—Ctrl + Alt + Shift E—for level i concepts [ii] “Concepts 2” for level ii concepts—Alt + Ctrl + @) with links.

Sources

May add to the following.

Sources for planning the website http://www.horizons-2000.org

Note there is crossover among the different kinds of sources.

site plan.html (2020)

General sources for content of the essays

There may be crossover between these sources, Specific sources for the structure of the outline and content, and Resources

The following may be repeated at places in this outline

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

History of western philosophy.html

Specific sources for the structure of the outline and content of the essays

Some of these documents have further sources

a journey in being.html (2020)

original outline.html (2020)

the essential way-outline.html (2019)

the way - template outline.html (2017)

the way - main version.html (2017)

Writing the outline

Integration with the site plan (site plan.html)

Writing the outline is integrated with (i) writing the essays and (ii) developing the site. See site plan.html and its improvement—barely begun—index-reserve.html.

Immediate plan for this outline

Overall—do this, per site plan.html, in parallel with (i) the two essays and a manual (ii) the site itself and (iii) realization.

The process—in parallel
(i) improve the templates and the discussion of reason in parallel—in a journey in being.html, adding detailed templates; write the first topic essay on ‘the templates’
(ii) the outline itself—HEADINGS—from sources, review, reflection; topic by topic using a journey in being.html and a journey in being-briefest.html (may eliminate a journey in being-briefest.html after incorporation; may introduce new styles for it), and other sources listed in the essay itself; extract an overview as in a journey in being.html;
(v) the styles below enable different levels of outline starting with (a journey in being-briefest.html, above); consider new styles—academic etc.

The logical order—have starred (asterisked) sections for those that would logically come before the fundamental principle and indicate what they would contain from the later sections. The later sections will be double starred.

Details of the plan

Tighten headings; use sources below, especially a journey in being.html introduce concepts—see concepts-details.html; mark definitions (Alt + K) and note the convention of bold for definitions (or should this be REDUCED FONT CAPITALS?)

External sources—use bibliographies and the Internet: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and other Internet articles (see useful links.html)

My sources—essays and other documents that I will use for material—see the essential way-outline.html.

Topic essays and topics—decide what and write, using document and database design.html—database source files (in document and database design.html). Continue developing a list of topics with sources

Tighten a journey in being.html.

Writing

Write a journey in being-complete.html “in the world”, with a journey in being.html as substructure.

Styles for structuring the essays

Paragraph styles for statements are—Main for the essential core, Normal Heading for surrogate headings; and primary through quaternary—Central, Central 2, Central 3, Central 4. A style to distinguish Academic from general material.

Main—green (Alt + Z)

Normal Heading—red (Alt + Ctrl + X)

Central—red (Alt + M)

Central 2—pink (Alt + Shift + C)

Central 3—indigo (Alt + Shift + Z)

Central 4—light blue (Ctrl + Alt + Y)

Academic—blue-gray (Alt + Ctrl + A)

Paragraph styles for definitions are Definition, Definition 2, Definition 3, Definition 4. The character style for definitions is Definition Character (underlying paragraph format + bold: Alt +K).

Definition—same color as Central (Alt + F)

Definition 2—same color as Central 2 (Alt + G)

Definition 3—same color as Central 3 (Alt + H)

Definition 4—same color as Central 4 (Alt + J)

The paragraph style, Aside, is for asides and remarks.

Aside—gray 50% (Alt + A)

Paragraph styles for concepts, sources…

Concepts—color auto (Alt + Ctrl + Shift C) (as an alternate, use Definition)

Concepts 2—color pink (Alt + Ctrl + @) (as an alternate, use Definition 2)

External Sources—color auto (Alt + Ctrl + Shift E)

My Sources—color auto (Alt + Ctrl + Shift M)

Topic Essays—color auto (Alt + Ctrl + Shift T)

Other character styles are Remark (Alt + R) (gray—50%) and Colloquial (Shift + Alt + K) (Courier New—Font size 13) for formal terms that are used informally or colloquially (‘is’ will be an exception; candidates are the main concepts—Being, being, experience, universe, void…).

Colors are temporary aids—while working on the document, styles will be color and / or font and / or indentation coded. In final online and print versions, most of the color / font / indentation coding will be suppressed.