In-process version of 2006
‘Journey in Being’ is driven by ideas, concepts, facts, theories…
and by all modes of expression including the artistic
This version of the essay is organized around concepts
This is the short in-process version of ‘Journey in Being.’ Its completion is the main writing priority of 2006; completion of the longer in-process version may turn out to be unnecessary but the decision to complete it is deferred in favor of the next phase (transformation) of the journey. The most recently finished version is JOURNEY IN BEING - WHEREOF ONE CANNOT SPEAK (2004) and an earlier and more detailed (2003) version is JOURNEY IN BEING
CAPITALS are used for INTERNAL and EXTERNAL hyperlinks and for the main occurrences of CONCEPTS
Smaller:
A distinct (smaller) font is used to indicate details that elaborate the main discussion
CONTENTS
AMBITION: ACHIEVEMENTS, AUDIENCE | BEING: EXISTENCE, VOID, UNIVERSE, THEORY OF BEING | JOURNEY | CONCEPTS: CONCEPT, KNOWLEDGE, MEANING, THOUGHT, ADVICE | ARGUMENTS
METAPHYSICS: EXPECTATIONS, BEING, ELEMENTS,
THEORY, APPLICATION | LOGIC:
THOUGHT
| COSMOLOGY | HUMAN
BEING
SOCIETY | FAITH | PROSPECT
JOURNEY | NARRATIVE | PROJECTS | KNOWLEDGE:
BACKGROUND, HUMAN KNOWLEDGE, METAPHYSICS
TRANSFORMATION:
APPROACH, PATH, EXPERIMENTS | DESIGN | SOCIETY | PROSPECT
BEING: TRANSFORMATION | KNOWLEDGE | PROGRAM
Code item 1 Items in RED are to be placed later; items in GREEN are to be placed earlier; these items are usually in the Default Paragraph Font
Code item 2 Items in TEAL are DETAILED COMMENTARY or ASIDES that are part of the essay and may be reviewed for alternate placement; these are in Character Style Detail; the ‘Identify Detail’ Macro converts this style to a smaller font – currently Garamond with a font size 11 (small caps by font size 9.5)
Modify the smaller font to make it more readable. Indent?
Code item 3. ORANGE text is used for COMMENTS or PLANS that are placed in the essay but are not part of it; these are in character style DocOnly and are optionally eliminated from web and print versions
The macros labeled ‘Red, Green -> Auto…’ ‘Format Production Versions’ tool bar convert such text; the comment in brackets (e.g. position) indicates the function of the text
Code item 4 Character style WebOnly is eliminated from the print version; it is used for text appropriate only for the web version e.g. for some hyperlinks (but not for links that are also text references.) Character style PrintOnly is eliminated from the web version; it is used for. text appropriate only for the print version e.g. page numbers
Note: special fonts can distinguish academic from general and main from detailed discussion
Code item 5 SMALL CAPITALS are used CONCEPTS and for INTERNAL and EXTERNAL references in the print version or hyperlinks in the web version
Code item 6 Text in BROWN is hastily entered so as to get essentials down and requires refinement
Code item 7 text formatted with a
strike has been absorbed to Journey in Being
…
Topic. A central purpose: the exploration of possibility
A central purpose of this essay is to narrate an exploration of possibility
This exploration is concerned with the possibility of any entity or thing – an individual, a society and its culture including ideas and art, a civilization. Should such an exploration be concerned with ‘spirit’ and similar ideas from myth and religion? Certainly, there is a focus on the metaphorical meaning as in the possibilities of the human spirit. Regarding the literal meaning of ‘spirit,’ I have taken the position that at the outset the existence or non-existence of spirit is not given. Instead the question and meaning of ‘spirit’ is a part of the exploration. Thus the exploration of spirit is not an exploration into something that is given; it is a dual and interactive exploration into the meaning and existence of spirit. The freedom in meaning fosters creative search over a sterile attempt to demonstrate the existence of a preconceived idea. I have taken a similar attitude toward mind, matter, substance, process, relationship, space, time and a host of other basic ideas that have been used to understand and explore the world. In each case, the exploration is dual and in each case, the duality of exploration enhances the outcome – and allows for a maximal outcome. Further, the basic ideas interact – they constitute a system; and the investigative tool of dual exploration applies also to the system
Some narratives are intended to entertain or educate – to read such a text is an end in itself; other narratives have APPLICATION as a purpose but application may be left for others. In addition to these functions (I hope that the essay is useful,) I have here intended to narrate and further the journey in being. Thus, a central purpose of the essay is to describe the development and application of a THEORY OF BEING; a second central purpose is the narration of the journey in which the ideas interact directly with action and choices. The interaction is two way; that is the ideas are applied in action and the action may serve as a source of criticism and imagination for the ideas. However, it is not implied that all ideas are susceptible or should or must be susceptible to criticism; it may turn out that at some depth there is no further depth on which to base criticism; this depth will be ultimate in a foundational sense and therefore insusceptibility to criticism will be logical in nature and shall not be a reason, as is often taken to be the case, for fear and trembling and avoidance
The purposes will include: (1) Narration of an individual journey with objective of making the personal details useful to the OVERARCHING ENDS; (2) The purpose is to serve action. While many essays have this objective only a fraction of these are integrated with the action that they serve. This is such an essay. The action is the author’s toward the ends stated in ambition; it is in the nature of the ambitions that these include UNIVERSAL AMBITIONS. (3) In achieving the ends just stated, one approach has been to develop the UNDERSTANDING as a system of METAPHYSICS and its working out in terms of the traditions of human knowledge and experience. While this system serves action, it stands by itself and is presented as a contribution to the tradition. It is estimated to be ULTIMATE in the direction of depth; and a great advance in the direction of variety: it will be shown that any DESCRIPTION or concept that does not contain or imply a CONTRADICTION is the description or conception of some object. That the metaphysics has been motivated by action may have contributed to this outcome. However the metaphysics stands independently and the system contains its own independent DEMONSTRATION. Thus the understanding or knowledge phase is relatively completed. (4) The second approach to the ends is action (including experience and experiment) in combination with understanding of which a particular case is pure action. The two varieties of action are VIRTUAL and ACTUAL. The system of action draws from the human traditions of virtual and actual TRANSFORMATION; and while it is conceived and enhanced within the metaphysics is also stands independently. This phase is in process. (5) These considerations show that the process undertaken is a journey. The objectives of this essay include the narration of an individual journey and the merging of individual journeys in the universal stream
Some themes of the essay follow. The essay is woven around the question, ‘What are the possibilities of human being – of any being?’ An answer to the question will provide insight into ‘The choices and action of an individual, a society, a civilization, facing life – in the world…’ and will entail essential acquaintance with ‘The human traditions of knowledge, experience and transformation’ and has implications for the nature and content of these traditions. An answer to the question of possibility can be stated and a proof developed simply. However, the following factors entail a journey. (1) Arriving at the question and an answer; understanding the question and the answer; answering it EXISTENTIALLY (in one’s life or being: in knowledge, faith and feeling; in experience, action, transformation and realization. It is also a journey to be worked out in my life. (2) Concern with the validity of the answer which involves knowledge, experience, feeling, action, transformation and realization. Also involved are the tradition of SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY, METAPHYSICS, LOGIC… and RELIGION, FAITH, ETHICS, ECONOMICS… and the movement of civilizations. (3) The implications which include the following kinds. New implications that result from the new theory of being that permits an ABSOLUTE depth to the answer and a far greater explicit specification of the variety of possibilities though not an absolute specification (in implicit terms an absolute specification of the variety is possible since this is identical to depth.) Implications for the traditions including the elements listed here; a variety of these implications will be worked out
It follows, then, that developing the idea of being is a crucial intermediate goal. Acquiring knowledge (and understanding) and knowledge is a mode of action that may be significant in all action and its appreciation; these topics are considered in the FOUNDATION. The essay also focuses on transformation; and on DIRECT ACTION, which may interact with knowledge but is not driven by it. No kind of action may be omitted in exploration of all being
The essay is driven by IDEAS, concepts, facts, theories; and by all modes of expression including the ARTISTIC. It is useful to organize the essay around concepts
Though a concept may be defined, its understanding requires working in various contexts, at a number of levels; this is true in growth of HUMAN THOUGHT and individual understanding. In the essay, concepts will be discussed at a number of places; for example, a concept may be first encountered in the INTRODUCTION, its meaning made more precise and deepened in the FOUNDATION, and its RANGE OF APPLICATION broadened in the chapter, JOURNEY IN BEING
Understanding a concept requires working out its SENSE and REFERENCE, its INTENSION and EXTENSION, its SPECIFICATION and its USE
Some concepts are not explicitly defined in the main text; instead, definitions and brief discussions are provided in the LEXICON
‘CONCEPT’ is itself a concept that is discussed in the INTRODUCTION and taken up again in the FOUNDATION
Topic. The exploration is concerned with the possibility of being – of any being
Most generally, the exploration is concerned with the possibility of being – and of any being
The term ‘being’ is chosen because of its fundamental character – its use is most conducive to the exploration of possibility. The use of the idea of being in this essay is ‘categorially neutral.’ That is, in using the idea of being there is no commitment to the existence or reality or non-existence or non-reality of the committed ideas such as matter, mind and so on. I have also chosen to use the idea of being because it is a way to connect my thought to the tradition of thought
Topic. The main sense of ‘Being’
‘Being’ is used in two senses: BEING is that which exists or the common characteristic of all existing things; it is also used in a less basic sense in which a being is an existing entity
‘Being,’ ‘exist,’ ‘possibility,’ ‘sense,’ ‘characteristic,’ or ‘property’ are common terms that have simple meanings that conceal a depth of meaning and power. The depth and power, as far is this essay is concerned, will be revealed in the narration. It will also be revealed that this approach is far superior to provision of precise definitions at the outset. Precise definitions are possible only when describing a precisely known phase of the world or, equivalently, in laying out a precise and closed system of ideas. At the outset of an exploration it cannot be said whether the subject is capable of being known precisely or even known at all. Thus the system of concepts and meanings in this essay are (best) revealed in the narration and the question of whether there may come a high point at which a precise system of ideas regarding the exploration of possibility is revealed is also part of the narrative
As that which exists, being is a fundamental concept. It is perhaps the most fundamental of all concepts. It is natural then that it should recur under different names in the history of thought. Thus, use of the concept enables contact with the power of the tradition. Use of the concept also suggests contact with connotations from the tradition that are not here intended. Being has, in some writing, a specifically religious significance that is not intended here. In this essay I have no intent to include or exclude religious or other restricted connotation. If such specific connotations are valid aspects of being then they should be a consequence of reflection on being instead of being introduced or required at the outset
The exploration is a journey
The dual exploration in meaning and being (existence) is in the nature of a journey. The destination is not seen in advance; and any initial awareness of destination is only in contour. Arriving at the destination cannot be forced; the way is not known but must be found, even created. There is no guarantee of successful outcome or reward. Yet, when successful the result is the definite and creative discovery of new domains of knowledge
The exploration is a journey in that the original intent emphasized adventure in ideas. My earliest motives emphasized adventure over ends and goals. As understanding (knowledge) grew, so did the goals and the clarity with which they were seen. The development has not been linear. With the growth in understanding, new goals and new, tentative, possibilities came into view. Then, in showing what was tentative to be actual knowledge and understanding grew further; in my growth, this cycle of evolution has occurred a number of times and the major occurrences have brought about a new understanding of the world – of the universe – of being. The exploration of ideas and knowledge grew to encompass exploration of being. Exploration of being became conceived of as exploration of possibility and as the significance of possibility emerged, its nature became clearer and I came to know that the extent of what is possible is much larger than I had earlier conceived it to be
Topic. Some elements of the THEORY OF BEING and its origination. The extent and limits of being. Possibility, actuality and necessity. There are no ‘alternate’ worlds; the NORMAL; there is precisely one universe. The fundamental character of nonbeing – the void – in understanding being; the source of this basic insight
I came to know that the extent of what is possible is infinitely greater than it is generally conceived to be
One outcome of the exploration, elaborated in the essay, is an ultimate knowledge of possibility of what is possible for human being – for any being
The possibilities of any being are the possibilities of all being; the only limits on any being are the limits of being
The meaning, demonstration or proof, measure (how and to what extent the possibilities may be specified,) and implications of this assertion regarding possibility is developed and elaborated in the narrative
A measure of possibility may be sought by enquiring its relation to actuality. That is, insight into may obtain may be gained into examining its relation to what does obtain. It will be shown that:
The measures of possibility include (1) Actuality and possibility are identical, and (2) Any state of affairs that is describable (or conceivable or imaginable) and that has and entails no contradiction is possible. Also note that since the actual and possible are identical, what is possible must obtain and is therefore necessary. The reader who is familiar with the topic will see that these thoughts have clear implications for the meanings of the concepts of modal logic
Note that when it is said that whatever is possible is actual it is initially meant that whatever is possible is, was or will be actual. That is, ‘is’ is used in a supratemporal sense. There is an improvement in this meaning, discussed subsequently, that arises out of the concern that it may not be possible to ‘coordinate’ the entire universe spatiotemporally
Regarding the first measure of possibility, although it is obvious that what is actual must be possible it not at all obvious that what is possible must also be actual. A thought, though not a demonstration, is that the idea of the possible involves circumstances that are different from actual circumstances, i.e., the idea of the possible involves an ‘alternate world’ or ‘alternate worlds.’ However, reflection suggests that there are no alternate worlds and that, perhaps, what is possible ‘here’ must be actual ‘somewhere.’ As noted, this is not a proof and a demonstration is required. The second measure, too, is not at all obvious and requires demonstration. These measures, together, constitute one of the central results of the theory of being developed in this essay and its consequences are momentous. This and related results stand against conventional wisdom and common sense. Therefore, I have attempted to criticize the result from a number of formal and intuitive points of view including ‘common sense.’ The formal criticism has resulted in the provision of alternative ‘proofs.’ The intuitive criticism in the concept of the NORMAL: what is ‘normally’ considered to be impossible, i.e. impossible on the assumption that the normal limits of our known world are absolute limits, is actually highly improbable. Regarding high degrees of improbability the following thought encourages an attempt to realize what is possible, i.e. an attempt to bring the infeasible into the domain of the feasible. The thought is that probability is conditional on our knowledge. Thus in the Newtonian World View, the transmutation of atomic elements may be thought to be impossible. However in, Post Newtonian, twentieth century science, it was shown that transmutation is a normal event. One aspect of the Journey is the development of approaches to negotiate the flexible (movable) boundary of the normal
The comment made in the previous paragraph regarding the non-existence of alternate worlds will also be demonstrated in the following form
There is precisely one universe
Although the statement appears to be trivial, its meaning and consequences are significant. One of the objectives of the narrative is elaborate the meaning and system of consequences of this and other statements made here (over and above proof) and the relations among such statements. The kinds of consequences are both general ones regarding the universe (all being) and this (our normal) cosmological system and its relation to the universe. This development has constituted a journey of discovery for the author and may also constitute such a journey for you, the reader. The purposes of the elaboration or fleshing out include the following. First, the various consequences constitute a broad system of application to the world and our understanding of it that gives significance to the developments of the theory of being developed in the FOUNDATION. Second, the formal proofs, even though I have repeatedly attempted to demonstrate them to be invalid (without success,) provide little reassurance regarding the robustness and significance of the core theory. However, since the consequences of that theory have great moment, as seen in the demonstrated claim that the empirically known universe is an infinitesimal part of all being, there is a need to establish in the mind of the thinker –whether that of the author or the reader– the feeling that the system that I have developed can provide a world view with a life of its own that includes the valid aspects of the older views while it shows what parts are incompatible with the new view and why they must be discarded. The elaboration of the meaning and system of consequences has taken roughly three years since the original enabling insight:
To consider the nature and properties of the absence of being (the void, nonbeing) as an approach to understanding the (ultimate) nature of being
After having this insight, I was able to demonstrate a number of fundamental properties regarding being, its nature and all being (statements in italics.) The development may be described as ‘nonlinear’ since the very meaning of the terms was not immediately clear to me, since the idea that precise demonstration was possible regarding the ideas was not immediately apparent, and since the fact that the basic concepts constituted a system slowly came into focus. Further, once precise demonstrations were available, thoughts (e.g. italicized statements) that I had carried in intuition now became acceptable to me and the increased confidence combined with the possibility of further demonstration led to the elaboration of the system described above and that continues to emerge
What was the source of the basic insight? In 1986, I wrote EVOLUTION AND DESIGN, in which I attempted to understand the world (through evolution) and the place of humanity (design) in the world. The approach, though it did not take an understanding of the world based in science or scientific materialism as complete, was nonetheless based in such an understanding. After completion of ‘Evolution and Design’ I experienced some satisfaction in that system and continued to elaborate it. However, in 1992 I began to feel the need of something more than the materialist and temporal view that I had held as a (surrogate) world view. I cannot detail the source of the need but I should note that while one motive has always been adventure, I put much effort into critiquing the materialist perspective because it was a foundation of my thought. In 1998, I wrote ‘Being, Mind and the Absolute’ in which I experimented with an idealist perspective (that I have found, along with the materialist perspective to be unnecessary, limited with regard to actuality and possibility and, therefore, limiting to my thought) and in which I attempted to view the universe from a larger perspective than that of the ‘empirically known universe.’ In that work, various intuitive positions were enunciated and doubts recorded. Meanwhile I had become interested in the field of consciousness studies that had blossomed in two prior decades. I engaged in thought regarding the problems of mind and consciousness and wrote two essays on the subject in which I staked out an ontological or metaphysical perspective –partially abandoned– and in which I made a number of contributions to thought in the field; that effort was invaluable in my education. What did I learn? It was more about the details that go into careful thinking about fundamental issues and consequences that remain with me and enable my ongoing thought about the larger perspectives. One of the intuitive positions entertained in ‘Evolution, Design and the Absolute’ was the idea that the universe (being) is equivalent to the absence of being (the void.) This position later turned out to be closely related to the statements above regarding the possible and the actual. It was sustained reflection on various issues but especially the relation between being and nonbeing that led to the enabling insight stated above
Immersion. There is a sense in which I have been required to immerse my thought and experience in the human traditions of knowledge, experience and action and to attempt – as part of my purpose and the journey – to go beyond the traditions. The ‘requirement’ has not been logical, that is I do not say that immersion has been necessary to the outcome. However, I do not see that the outcome which includes the theory of being and its implications would have occurred without this immersion. It is not clear to me what my initial intent may have been – whether that intent included precise and explicit objectives; my recollection of the ‘initial’ intent is that it included a sense of unlimited adventure with regard to the world. Regardless of initial intent, once I realized the use of the tradition of human knowledge in defining and furthering my endeavor, my use of it acquired a specific character superposed on the general background adventure; in addition to its broad and serendipitous character, my reading is also surgical and directed toward illumination of particular issues, e.g. intersection of the theory of being and the particular applications that span the variety of being… In addition to background and the goal directed reading I have also developed a design for further reading whose objective is to supplement my general understanding of the world and its parts
I would like to clarify the nature of the immersion. Early in life, I experienced a sense of adventure and passion in experience and learning. Early, I had no explicit thought to ‘know and experience all being’ or to ‘have complete acquaintance with the traditions.’ My formal training was in science – especially physics and chemistry, mathematics, engineering science – mechanics, thermal sciences, and engineering design. Along the way I acquired a doctoral degree in engineering specializing in stability of fluids in motion and the development and application of analytical and computational techniques. My undergraduate training in India was quite broad and later, in America, I continued to learn broadly even while pursuing specialized research at the doctoral level and beyond. Thus, I attended the entire lecture series for a doctoral program in physics and much of the lecture series for a doctoral program in mathematics. My motives were adventure, breadth and the potential for application in my own research and life. My interest in the sciences and mathematics had been aroused in high school where I had enjoyed English Literature and had become interested in philosophy and evolutionary biology. Subsequently, I continued to read, think and write broadly in philosophy and evolutionary biology
In the background there has remained a commitment to general reading and experience and to scanning what may be useful
Evolutionary biology has been useful in a number of ways. Here I want to focus on its contribution to the theory of being. The theory of being is not in any way logically dependent on the concepts and theory of evolution. In the theory it is shown that the absence of being is equivalent to all being, that the universe must have phases or times (the question of the meaning and nature of time is addressed later) of absence of being and phases of being. It is then asked ‘how’ the world may originate from nonbeing. It is clear that the origin cannot be deterministic; the origin must be indeterministic. Since the world as we know it has degrees of form and stability, these too must have indeterministic origins. The indeterministic origin must be in one or in a number of steps. Clearly, a one step origin is much less likely than a many-step incremental or partially incremental origin in which at each stage it is stability that selects from among the actual increments. In general, it is not necessary that origins be incremental. However, it is a logical consequence or component of the theory of being that the being-phase of the universe must have origin in nonbeing. The theory of evolution provides, by analogy a mechanism for and understanding of the origin even though the occurrence of the mechanism is likely but not necessary (the likelihood may be immensely greater to a colossal degree than a single step origin.) It is significant that it has not been necessary to refer to doubts regarding the Darwinian theory of evolution and its developments or to any ‘evolution versus creation’ debate
Philosophy and its branches including metaphysics and philosophy of mind, logic, ethics and desirability, political philosophy have been useful and suggestive to the development of my ideas. The great classical problems of philosophy and a better conceptualization of the divisions and central concepts of philosophy have provided exercises in the application and development of the theory of being. I am most familiar with Western Philosophy. However, Indian Philosophy has also been significant to the developments. Vedanta has been a source of ideas; Samkhya and Yoga have been a source for development of the DYNAMICS OF BEING, an approach to realization of what is possible and desirable
Other topics including social sciences and, extremely important, studies in mind (psychology – Freudian and counter-Freudian i.e. man as machine including existentialist psychology; consciousness studies; philosophical studies regarding mind) contributed to building an overall picture of the world
There are many people including experts who reject Freud outright but on examination the rejection seems to be based on the vagueness of the concepts, Freud’s theory of sex and sexual development, and on the question of the scientific character of the theory while ignoring the usefulness of ideas and so on. However, Freud’s thought was vast and complex and there can be no wholesale rejection or acceptance of Freud’s thought because there is no singular object that can be labeled Freud’s thought; rather ‘Freudian Thought’ constitutes a plurality. Therefore, logically, his ideas may be accepted or rejected only on a case by case basis; and, further, such acceptances and rejections are not at all invariably final. They depend for their ‘truth’ on the meanings of the ideas -which may change as understanding grows- and the emergent background of empirical psychology. One powerful and useful Freudian idea is the confused background of human motives from which decisions and choices are made –arise– and the implication that human action has extremely significant non-rational factors. It seems that Freud may have intended this idea to be taken deterministically in that the non-rationality was essential, i.e. it could not be overcome. It seems more reasonable, and I will argue the case, that this idea of Freud should not be taken deterministically and the degree to which rationality is desirable and possible is an open question to be worked out both conceptually and in life; and, further, that there need be no single answer, at least at the detailed level, that does or should apply to all individuals
I may perhaps leave the impression that my life has been single minded dedication to a journey and its goals. This is quite untrue. At times my choices and commitments have seemed quite clear and explicit to me. It was not so in the beginning; my early commitments arose out of a ‘life energy’ a passion – in balance with the usual and traditional social imperatives. Although the evolution of my commitments has included incremental and linear phases it seems that the major steps have involved some incomplete satisfaction with the current state and a return to a state of un-clarity, of immersion in the unconscious, before new and clear ideas and goals arise – at first vague and tentative and then clear and definite in their nature. The process just described marks the transitions between the various paradigms of thought with which I have assumed – the scientific, the materialist, the evolutionary, the idealist and the most recent which is marked by the theory of being and may be regarded as being founded in the idea of absence of being. In the previous sentence I used the word ‘assumed’ instead of ‘experimented’ because the latter may have suggested a fully explicit and fully conscious choice and may have obscured the fact that new paradigms and their natures came incrementally into focus in response to a not always consciously felt incompleteness of a previous paradigm. What is true at the most general level of the development of my thought has also been true of the component ideas. Later I describe the dynamics of being, an approach to realization of what is possible and desirable that I have developed. The origins of this idea are not at all clear to me but include recognition of some small successes that I had had of awareness-psyche interaction in overcoming some negative aspects of my behavior, small successes in awareness-body interaction in healing, a generalization of the interaction to the idea of cultivation of growth, and a theory or outline of human development… The focus on the ultimate may be seen as a form of love – at least as an abstraction of a love of the world and its beauty. Love and enjoyment have more immediate human modes – love of persons, enjoyment of the day to day, enjoyment of being alive, being human, being animal. Enjoyment as enjoyment of the senses, of the moment is important in itself otherwise ethics runs the risk of being too serious, mere economics. I think of my focus on the ultimate as a goal or commitment. However, I ask myself – in terms of ideas and in terms of enjoyment – ‘What are my objectives?’ Or, insofar as I have choice ‘What do I want my objectives to be?’ and perhaps, ‘What should they be?’ The meaning of ‘should’ is of course not entirely clear and is not given to me in advance of my experience; rather it emerges and one function of ethics as I see it is with the emergence of such meanings and therefore with the nature of choice and the choices I discuss here. As a human being, human commitments and human enjoyment do condition my choices. However, the theory of being has shown that our world, our cosmological system is an infinitesimal fraction of all being. As a being, indeed as a human being, I want, in addition to immediate involvement, to have involvement with the ultimate. My life has been and continues to be a balance among all these factors and it is from this background that my journey emerges – as discrete but not separate
There is no suggestion here that the traditional disciplines are to be taken as literally or universally true or that I take them as such even though I may have taken some of those disciplines as the truth at earlier points in my life. I recall a time when, under the influence of the Laplacean picture of the universe as a vast machine, I derided my mother’s inclinations toward a belief in a background through which individuals emanated and received ideas. Even though I remain partially agnostic with regard to the nature and presence of such a background, I regret my earlier derision as immature in its basis; even science has rejected the deterministic Laplacean picture in which all things are clear and definite and may be known as such. My own view has become that there is no science, no particular belief that is absolutely and universally true; that each science has or may have a domain of application. In the entire universe, as has been shown in the theory of being, all descriptions and pictures that entail no contradiction have truth; in the immediate cosmology, under normal circumstances the truth or belief in descriptions may be assigned degrees of certainty that are not fixed but fluidly conditional upon the total state of knowledge. My view, then, relative to the entire universe is that the individual sciences and disciplines have a fluid rather than a rigid character and the pictures provided by these disciplines is useful in building a universal picture that may reveal the domains and limits of the disciplines
There is also no suggestion that the developments were linear or that my motives were a fully conscious and inexorable application of reason. The Freudian unconscious and complexity and lack of clarity of motives have often been taken as a weakness of the individual. Against rationalistic ideals it is may be seen as a weakness. However, the lack of clarity may be taken as representing the complexity of the world in which we live in which no simple rational negotiation is possible: we have binding to the world as well as freedom. (The ‘freedom of the will’ is real but is not at all an absolute or perfect freedom and much of the traditional debate regarding this freedom lacks relevance to human nature because it a condition of perfect freedom and clarity of objectives and motives is often assumed by both sides of the debate. It seems to me that the point regarding the freedom of will is not its existence but what is its nature and what is its strength and place in the psyche.) Additionally the unclear and unnamed motives and emotions have a positive side in the urge to life and to discovery even while the objects of living and of discovery are unclear… The actual developments, then, were non-linear while, in the background some motive to discovery of the whole remained and whose manifestation was also in the discovery and living of details. The development was piecewise over concepts, disciplines, reflection – symbolic and iconic, experience in life, career ambitions, integration and application
My learning was aimed not only at breadth and depth; in reflection and experience, I learnt also to think and to extend the ideas – and to seek new ideas (which is often but not exclusively the import, as metaphor, of an idea from another context)
The immersion and learning have not been, in any detailed sense, a complete knowledge of the entire traditions but sufficient to have an overall grasp; to understand the strengths, limitations, and contextual reasons for the strengths and limitations; and to acquire understanding adequate to evaluate the traditions relative to possibility and to strike out in the direction of possibility
The learning remained in parallel with experience, modes of life and occupation, travel, nature and immersion in nature, development of the dynamics of being… I lived and became a young adult in India when I moved to America where I now live. I have lived in two quite different cultures. Each culture has its own points of view that are often seen as absolute. This experience has helped me to see the relativism among different points of view. I do not imply that the truth of every thought or the meaning of every concept has a relative character; only that some truths and concepts are relative; and, further, that seeing this has been invaluable at arriving at some truths and concepts that are, perhaps, universal. Practical prerequisites to acquiring such truth are patience and the practice of abstraction. In talking of universal truth I used the qualifier ‘perhaps.’ Are there no definite universal truths? As I pointed out earlier, I have demonstrated the truth of the core assertions of the theory of being. The word ‘perhaps,’ then, refers to my doubt regarding the demonstrations. I regard these doubts as functional. Even if they do not show errors in the demonstrations, they may lead to alternate ways of proving and viewing the theory, to continue the process of application and elaboration (also a kind of proof,) of other modes of proof (such as ‘proof’ through living out.) Doubt helps to keep my ideas and life grounded; helps keep my ideas and life practical even when the ideas are abstract and seemingly esoteric… In India I lived in West Bengal and Bihar and have traveled to New Delhi, Mumbai (Bombay,) Chennai (Madras,) Orissa, Mysore (Karnataka,) and Kanya Kumari – the southernmost point. In America, I have lived in Delaware, New York (upstate,) Texas and California and have to traveled to the four corners of the country. I have traveled extensively in Mexico where I experienced culture, nature (Copper Canyon and the Southern Pacific coast,) and the warmth of Mexico’s people. I have experience a number of ‘modes’ of life – university student, university track and field, then professor specializing in mathematics, physics and engineering; member of a group that met weekly over a four year period to discuss and invite speakers on topics in psychology and alternative medicine; a four year transformational period of travel and thought that I call midlife retirement; cooking – I hesitate to call myself a chef – for a living; psychiatric theory and acute psychiatric care; developing a number of comprehensive and progressively inclusive philosophical systems or paradigms; living out my philosophy or view of life; computer programming and web design; and living in nature. In nature, in the mountains, I have had many perhaps most of my main insights. I have worked out the details and logic of these insights after returning from the mountains. It is pertinent that it has been said that Western Philosophy. I have lived and worked in relatively privileged and isolated (ivory tower) as well as common environments. I believe that this variety adds to and is expression of a realism. That, I have not spent my entire life in an academic environment has, I believe, added and even forced realism in my thought
Some other factors that may have contributed to my discoveries and to the nature of my journey follow. Persistence and flexibility – following a lead but being willing to follow new leads and systems. The importance of feeling and its essential integration with thought. The idea that there is no ultimate separation of knowing and action, that there are only degrees of separation. Intuition (common and Kantian,) imagination (symbolic and iconic) and rigor – conceptual criticism and application; the idea that there is no thought in the absence of intuition. A willingness to suspend criticism – especially the crawling criticism that is the enemy of all imagination and original ideation. Reflexivity which is generalized as cross-imagination and cross-criticism among ideas. The avoidance of merely empirical knowledge; recognition that concepts and meanings are critically important and have a fluid character; and that meaning involves sense or intension and reference or extension and that meaning is not self-contained but remains in interaction with action or use. A combination of ability and fortunate circumstances of my early life – especially the exposure to an excellent education. Aspects of my family background – my father encouraged discipline, work and science; my mother encouraged imagination, love of nature, literature – especially poetry, art and music. Dedication – years of learning, experience, reflection and writing – and the occasional fortunate idea. The supreme example of the foregoing was the thought, that occurred after about four years of occasional reflection on the nature and character of being, to focus on nonbeing; it occurs to me that, despite preparation and readiness, this insight may never have occurred to me
The learning remained in parallel with experience, modes of life and occupation, travel, nature and immersion in nature, development of the dynamics of being…
Immersion – summary and conclusion. The process described above may be seen as being an interaction of experience and commitments. The experience includes the study, reflection on and attempts to build on the human tradition and my life experience. The commitments are my goals, the objectives of the journey. Experience and commitments have been in interaction; as I discover what is possible and desirable the commitments evolve and as commitments come into focus, there is occasion for further learning and experience and for further discovery. In this process, my experience and commitments have acquired clarity and universality but have not become detached from human and animal depth
Necessity of immersion in the traditions of human knowledge, experience and action as part of the journey. In what sense is this complete? Not in the ‘I know it all sense’ but in the ‘I have a sense of the whole picture.’
One outcome of the learning that I have described is that the background provided facilitated the development of a ‘living,’ functional and universal metaphysics – the THEORY OF BEING, developed in what follows, is the core of this metaphysics. It is the exposure to the range of traditions and to a broad range of disciplines within each tradition that facilitated the universal character of the metaphysics. This exposure, in itself, was not sufficient of course and the development required simultaneous focus on the universal and the detailed. The metaphysics is functional in that it is living – it is one that provides illumination in interaction with the elements of individual lives and cultures, it provides integration and interpretation for the disciplines, it is applicable rather than being a mere edifice of ideas – the applicability being based in its grounding in the world through the disciplines and through intuition and reason – including the logical foundation of the core, it permits the resolution of many paradoxes and problems of thought, and the metaphysics provided is and can be proved to be explicitly ultimate with regard to depth and implicitly ultimate with regard to variety while the explicit variety that is provided appears to go infinitely beyond what has traditionally considered to be the case. A metaphor regarding the functional metaphysics is that it is an arrow not an edifice, a river not a mountain. It is personal and intuitive while also universal and formal
These outcomes are without doubt due in part to my labors of study, immersion, reflection and experience
Topic. Journey as twofold exploration of ideas and being; VIRTUAL and ACTUAL transformations
As suggested above, the approach to the journey is through a twofold exploration of ideas and being. While the exploration of ideas is relatively complete (in the sense of depth) the exploration of being itself continues. One mode of exploration of being is transformation. The essay elaborates the meaning and nature of transformation; it describes progress, designs and plans for transformation
Transformations may be described as VIRTUAL or ACTUAL. A virtual transformation is one that occurs through ideas and feeling. Thus, knowing that ‘the possibilities of any being are the possibilities of all being’ is a virtual transformation. In the Vedanta, it is said that the individual is all being and that an essential concern of the individual is to realize this knowledge. The Bhagavad-Gita describes four approaches to this knowledge that may be labeled meditation, knowledge, work, and devotion. My approach to these assertions from Indian Philosophy is neutral at outset. In the spirit of the use of the idea of being, their truth or falsity should be an outcome (or transition point) rather than an assumption of the journey. However, if true, realizations of the identity of ‘self’ and being, would be a virtual transformation. An actual transformation is a transformation of the entire being – including transformation of the body. Since awareness and feeling are part of the body, the distinction between actual and virtual transformation is not absolute. Instead, an actual transformation is one that encompasses the entire being. Clearly some actual transformations do not alter the identity of the individual but, if the entire being is changed, what happens to identity? Can the outcome be said to be the same individual or being? These questions are addressed in the essay
The exploration of ideas is a kind of virtual transformation. The thought that ‘the possibilities of any being are those of all being’ shows that this kind of virtual transformation is relatively complete and encourages investigation of other kinds of virtual transformation and actual transformation. An example of an actual transformation that I have considered is an approach to health and healing through awareness. Another example is an approach to the design or simulation of entities that may be said to be living or to have minds. However, these examples constitute a beginning. In order to regard actual transformations as complete I would have to (know how to) realize all possibilities. Even though this has been shown to be possible, there is an immense problem of feasibility. That is, I have at outset, no detailed knowledge of how to realize even simple transformations. However, present lack of knowledge of feasibility does not imply an ultimate lack. A simple example is that transmutation of the chemical elements, once thought to be impossible, has been realized in modern physics. I have developed a twofold approach to completeness of actual transformation. The approach is a generalization of creative synthesis and discovery. Its basis must be in the statement ‘the possibilities of any being are those of all being,’ whose elaboration is developed in the chapter, ‘Foundation,’ as the THEORY OF BEING. With this as basis, twofold approach to transformation, to ‘negotiating the edge of feasibility, is (1) the development of a ‘dynamics of being,’ and (2) a path or program of development based in understanding of the normal growth of a human being enhanced by the theory. These developments are elaborated in the chapter, ‘Journey in Being’
The life of an individual is a journey. Although the initial use of ‘journey’ here is metaphorical, the use need not remain metaphorical and takes on independent meaning as this use is elaborated
What are the possibilities of the life of an individual – of the individual journey? The individual journey does not require reflection on its own nature. However, to answer the question regarding possibility does require reflection and, even, experiment. Although the individual who attempts to answer this question may do so in isolation, the thoughts and experience of others may be useful – and, in some ways, hindrance. The entire tradition of human knowledge and experience may be useful; the hindrance may arise in any attempt to see outside the tradition; it arises essentially because the attempt is to see outside what is part of the means of seeing. However, that it may be difficult to see beyond the framework of perception does not mean that is impossible; if it were impossible there would be no knowledge and no frameworks of knowledge
To answer the question of possibility requires a view of the world – the way the universe is. It is a central use of the word METAPHYSICS that it is such a view. This is the concept of metaphysics as used in this essay. In this use, metaphysics is concerned with reality itself; it is the study of being. In this use, metaphysics is not concerned with its other uses such as the study of the occult, of what is beyond this world. In the present use, Metaphysics must be central to this essay
The outer limits of possibility are the limits of metaphysics. We have seen that the actual and possible are identical and that whatever is describable (or imaginable or conceivable) without contradiction is possible and therefore actual in the supratemporal sense. One variant use of metaphysics is that it is concerned only with the outer limits, with the most general features of being. In a more inclusive use, metaphysics includes the study of all aspects of and all domains within being – within the universe. In discussing the realization of possibility there are further concerns. One concern is that of feasibility. Some possibilities are far more remote than others. I label the study of feasibility ‘ECONOMICS.’ Another concern is with desirable versus undesirable possibilities. This concern is the domain of ‘ETHICS.’ Economics and ethics are traditional disciplines but their introduction here shows that their natures are not necessarily to be defined or conceived as is usually done; the traditional or even modern treatments are a (significant) beginning but may not be more than a beginning. It is important to be aware, then, that while the nature of economics and ethics, and what is economical or ethical in our world may or may not generalize or project to the universal. In the sense used here, the sciences of matter, energy, life, mind and society may be considered to be a part of economics; and economics and ethics, even though not identical, are not distinct. This is removed from but includes many traditional views of economics. A third concern is with individual CHOICE. Even with economic and ethical constraints the individual has a wide range of choice that is defined by culture and by individual creativity. Ethics is not merely a concern with avoiding ‘bad’ and doing ‘good’ but also with living well and thus requires creativity and commitments. Thus far, I have listed three concerns within metaphysics: economics, ethics, and individual creation and commitment. Others such as POLITICS (group action and choice) and LOGIC (the concept of logic developed here will include but also be far removed from –and more potent than– its traditional meaning) could be listed. Since anything that is describable without contradiction is possible, there is a clear connection between metaphysics (the study of being) and logic; in its exclusive meaning as the study of the outer limits of possibility, metaphysics is logic. Is there an infinite list of topics within metaphysics in its inclusive sense? Regardless of the answer to this question, it is not necessary to have an obsession with it. All such considerations are a part of metaphysics
As knowledge of the universe, metaphysics entails knowledge of things as they are or things-in-themselves. There is a concept of KNOWLEDGE that makes this impossible. Since knowledge is apparently in the knowing individual and the thing is external to the individual, how can knowledge be possible? This is not the question of error, of distortion and illusion, or of accuracy. It is essentially a logical question. As conceived, knowledge and thing are distinct categories. In this view, knowledge is not possible and, therefore, metaphysics is impossible. A view in which knowledge is not possible and, therefore, in which metaphysics is impossible, is a radical criticism. One then asks, ‘What is it that I am doing when I think that I am knowing?’ and ‘If knowledge is impossible, how is it that I can think I have knowledge that enables me to negotiate the world?’ Various surrogate answers are possible: I don’t know anything but God knows and God is pulling the strings, God is manipulating me and my environment and allowing me to think that I know. This kind of answer, however, pushes the question one step deeper (or back.) God must then know; how is it that knowledge is impossible yet God knows? The essential answer to this problem must be that any concept of knowledge that entails that knowledge is impossible must be an invalid conception of knowledge. What, then, is knowledge? How is it possible? These questions, and the concern regarding the nature and sense of the concerns, are among the issues addressed in this essay. A mistake of radical criticism is that the possibility of criticism assumes the possibility of knowledge; therefore, radical criticism is impossible as a condition of any being whose being includes knowing. Criticism is, of course, possible; and it is also essential. However, the absolute character of criticism is actually the idea that criticism stands by itself; just as the absolute character of knowledge is the idea that knowledge stands by itself. In fact, both knowledge and criticism have basis and interaction in the being of the organism and cannot be regarded as absolute. These considerations are further described and developed in this essay. The extension of the Kantian solution that follows is a simultaneous solution of the problem of being and knowing; the traditional post-enlightenment view is that epistemology is prior to metaphysics which inverts the prior view; the view whose execution is demonstrated in this essay is that it is essential to solve the problems of epistemology simultaneously for this solution eliminates numerous artificial problems of the individual studies
In the discussion so far, a number of ideas or concepts –including the concept of a CONCEPT– have been introduced, some with little explanation or definition. An example is the idea of ‘THEORY.’ How can a theory be the basis of anything certain? This question arises on account of the common reference to something as ‘merely a theory.’ In this use, the idea of theory is more like that of hypothesis. In the chapter, ‘Foundation,’ I will develop a more robust concept of a theory that shows when a theory may be regarded as a fact and to what limitations such facts may be subject. In particular, I will show in what ways the theory of being may be regarded as an absolute fact. This observation corroborates that precise definitions should not come at the outset of an investigation. (It may be useful or economical to place precise definitions and elaborate theories or axioms at the beginning of a textbook or treatise but this runs the risk of suggesting that this is the approach to investigation.) Many of the concepts used in this essay have origin in the understanding or knowledge of our immediate world or cosmological system – the empirically known universe. The empirically known universe is not fixed but even if it could be, concepts would evolve. It is natural, then, that in seeking to understand or know all being, i.e. the entire universe, the understanding of concepts must grow and develop – and may remain in that state of growth. The concepts employed in this narrative are not presented at the outset with a full and final definition; instead they are visited a number of times and at different levels of concreteness and abstraction (the LEXICON provides an overview of the main concepts.) However, that concepts evolve and have evolved does not imply that there is no end to development. It is an obvious mistake of the progressive view of knowledge that there is no end to progress. All that can be concluded from the fact that progress is ongoing is that progress is not complete; it is not valid to conclude that progress cannot or will not be completed in all ways. That ‘the possibilities of any being are those of all being’ suggests that there are some directions in which progress is complete. The narrative in this essay takes up a consideration of this question of completeness
Topic. Summary conclusions regarding the depth and breadth of the theory of being
It is found that the THEORY OF BEING is explicitly complete or ultimate with respect to depth. That is, the theory requires and is capable of no further foundation. The completeness with regard to depth implies (is equivalent to) an implicit completeness with regard to breadth or variety of being. It will be shown that any description – including iconic depiction – that has or entails no contradiction is capable of realization; thus the explicit breadth, while not absolute, is greater by an infinite factor than what has usually been thought to be the case. The question of whether all possible being is describable is open – that all being has not described does not mean that it is not describable; the limitations of language or description are the limitations of a particular system and concept of language. However, it is easy to see that not all descriptions can be given explicitly. This clear though not ultimate limit on realizability shows that there remain, and are likely to remain, immense regions of being open to discovery
Topic. Why publish at this time?
Why publish? I publish the essay because I believe that what I have to say has SIGNIFICANCE. There are various reasons that the traditions fall short of their possibilities. Here, an analysis of radical criticism reveals the possibilities of both criticism and knowledge and finds domains with and domains without limits. Being, as conceived here, is the fundamental CHARACTERISTIC of all ENTITIES; its depth provides conceptual FOUNDATION to and its breadth spans the VARIETY of things. The THEORY OF BEING developed here plumbs the depth of the UNIVERSE beyond which no depth is possible or necessary; it shows that the KNOWN UNIVERSE is an INFINITESIMAL part of the universe, that the variety of being within the known universe is an infinitesimal fraction of the variety of ALL BEING; and, while it appears to not be possible to explicitly specify the variety of being, the theory enables a specification that is immensely greater than hitherto known or thought to be possible. One purpose of the essay is to justify these claims and to elaborate their consequences which include the study of the possibilities of being, its DEPTH and variety or BREADTH, and of, as it will be seen, of deep and extensive implications for human being, the nature and possibilities of KNOWLEDGE, the TRADITIONS of HUMAN KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE of being, and ACTION
The ambitions and accomplishments remain in interaction; ambition drives accomplishment and accomplishment reveals new possibilities and then new ambitions
In their present explicit form the ambitions were not articulated at the beginning. They are inspiration for and a result of journey. They are a result because my awareness of what is possible increased as my understanding of the world grew. In the beginning my ambitions included those that might be considered normal in a background that emphasized achievement. Very early however, my ambition and hope was to explore, to experience MYSTERY, to live with a sense of ADVENTURE, to have PASSION in integration (and balance) with REASON. At outset, the GOALS and OBJECTIVES ere not fully concrete; they had, in some degree, a NAMELESS or UNNAMED character. Namelessness has value: it encourages EVOLUTION OF GOALS, of DESIGN and understanding in parallel. My goals have evolved, have grown, have become more encompassing and, simultaneously, acquired a specific or concrete character. The growth of ambitions to named and specifiable form are a part of what make for the journey. The core ambition is:
To seek understanding and experience of all being
A related ambition:
To illuminate every human concern – MUNDANE and ESOTERIC, ACTUAL and POTENTIAL, practical and conceptual, SECULAR and of RELIGION
UNDERSTANDING has been used as a technical term, especially by Kant, who used it (VERSTAND) to designate the ability to think or reflect on what is perceived in SENSORY INTUITION. (Note, also SENSIBILITY –SINNLICHKEIT– ‘the faculty by which the mind receives sensuous intuitions,’ thought by Kant to be receptive or passive while understanding and reason are active. It does seem, however, that sensibility is active or must have an active component.) Understanding makes concepts, JUDGMENTS, THEORIES, REASON (VERNUNFT) possible. In this essay, ‘understanding’ has a similar meaning but is not used as a technical term. The term is used informally to describe knowledge or knowing that is more than repetition of formal developments. It involves knowledge of both the object and its formal theory or description is incorporated in INTUITION
However, even though I have traveled far from the origins, even as my goals have evolved, there remain aspects of my ambitions that remain indefinite, unnamed, submerged in unconscious ‘thought,’ connected to passion… Although I have developed a theory of being and demonstrated its ULTIMATE DEPTH and its implicit ULTIMATE BREADTH, I have not been able to erase all DOUBT; and, it always remains to live life, to transform the IMPLICIT to the EXPLICIT
Explanation
I use BEING because it provides the deepest foundation for the goals just described. It will be shown that no deeper foundation is possible
Comment. The previous point is repeated in BEING, immediately following
Understanding includes INTUITION and KNOWLEDGE. Intuition is the ability to PERCEIVE the world in its characteristic forms such as OBJECT (objecthood) CAUSE, SPACE and TIME. Experience of other being is either VIRTUAL or ACTUAL. Virtual experience through intuition or EMPATHY and conceptualization (direct and indirect, acquaintance and description;) actual experience of being1 by being2 occurs by TRANSFORMATION of being2 into (a form that is identical to that of) being1; thus actual experience is through transformation or BECOMING. The ‘understanding and experience of all being’ may appear to be unachievable and the ambition unrealistic and grandiose. However, a more precise statement of the ambition is obtained when it is restricted to the ‘all desirable and feasible understanding and experience of being.’ DESIRABILITY includes the moral dimension or the idea of VALUE; FEASIBILITY includes practical concerns; within this framework an INDIVIDUAL, a GROUP, a SOCIETY, CIVILIZATION, HUMANKIND, or ANY BEING may work out its interests and needs. Different individuals follow different PATHS that merge in the JOURNEY IN BEING
Since values are significant, and since the goal includes understanding of all being, I arrived at the following version:
Topic. The highest ideal – nature and significance
To seek the HIGHEST IDEAL; and all desirable and feasible understanding and EXPERIENCE of BEING
My highest ideal is my view of the highest ideal. Twentieth and twenty-first century thought has cast doubt on the possibility of universal values and ideals. However, the highest ideal can be given objective character if, in addition to tentative adoption of the great ideals of the past, it includes a SEARCH FOR VALUES and a search for ideals – including the highest ideal
Topic. The ambition regarding understanding and experience of all being is reasonable yet remarkable
With the stated provisions, the ambition regarding all being is much more reasonable but now one may ask why it is remarkable at all
It is remarkable because it will be shown (FOUNDATION) that what is POSSIBLE is far in excess of what is normally thought to be the case – whether in ‘common, everyday’ thought or in scientific and scholarly thought. Having addressed the charges of GRANDIOSITY and lack of REALISM I will now make a claim that may be subject to the same charges. The claim is as follows:
The LIMITS of human being are the limits of all being. I.e., if any being can achieve some knowledge, experience or transformation so can human being
The claim may be generalized
The possibilities of any being are the possibilities of all being; the only limits on any being are the limits of being
The logic, elaboration, significance, and meanings of these claims are treated briefly in this introduction and, in detail, in the FOUNDATION
The criticisms that these claims obviously invite may be addressed in terms of a concept, that of the NORMAL, that I have introduced (although ‘normal’ is a common word, its meaning of ‘normal’ as I use it is novel)
Red text is to be evaluated for alternate later placement; the following may go to THEORY OF BEING in this INTRODUCTION
Consider what may be thought to be typical LIMITS from either COMMON SENSE or SCIENCE (which are not altogether distinct.) Before the twentieth century, under the influences of NEWTONIAN SCIENCE and CHURCH DOGMA in the West, the world was thought to be DETERMINISTIC and the objects in the world were thought to be DETERMINATE. Therefore, limits were conceived as ABSOLUTE LIMITS. This idea still informs common sense and much of twentieth and twenty-first century thought. The THEORY OF BEING developed in the FOUNDATION, shows that the world (universe) is necessarily INDETERMINISTIC and its objects necessarily INDETERMINATE; it is also shown that deterministic-like BEHAVIOR and determinate-like objects must arise from the indeterministic background, i.e. FORM must arise out of FORMLESSNESS (the thoughts expressed in this paragraph are counter-intuitive and counter to the beliefs of many thinkers.) The formation of a formed, deterministic-like world results from its being relatively STABLE (stable relative to the transient character of the formless background) and this stability, in turn, results from NEAR SYMMETRY. Behavior within or characteristic of a stable, formed WORLD is termed NORMAL; what may have been thought to be absolute limits are NORMAL LIMITS. Thus the concept of the normal is related to PROBABILITY: the violation of such limits is possible but (normally) highly improbable
Twentieth century science has shown the empirically known universe to have an indeterministic character – as shown in QUANTUM MECHANICS and as required for a full understanding of the EVOLUTION of LIFE. PHYSICS and BIOLOGY have been highly suggestive for my thought. However, the THEORY OF BEING is not derived from science but from reason alone (there seems to be, of course, no possibility of derivation from ‘reason alone’ and the phrase may be modified to ‘reason combined with simple unquestionable facts’ such as the fact of EXISTENCE. The ‘fact’ of existence has and may be questioned; such questioning is based in misconceptions of meaning in general and existence in particular; the unquestionable nature of existence is explained in FOUNDATION.) It is naturally important that there should be no contradiction with the various academic DISCIPLINES and when inconsistencies arise, to appropriately revise my thought andor the academic disciplines
A simple outline of the stages of the exploration (journey) is as follows. (1) Commitment to PASSION, to FEELING and to REASON. (2) Understand the EMPIRICALLY KNOWN UNIVERSE through accumulated human knowledge. (3) Aim at the ‘highest’ of goals, to understand and explore all being – of which the ‘empirically known’ universe is shown to be an infinitesimal part. This process, which requires an anchor in the known and a step into the unknown, may start in DARKNESS but through trial and learning acquires ILLUMINATION. The outcome and what I have learnt about the process is a part of this narrative
Note that ACHIEVEMENTS = RESULTS
Should achievements be placed after arguments?
To what extent is the REALIZATION of the ambitions complete? For an outline of the main phases see the Chapter, Journey in Being. The phase of knowledge and understanding is relatively complete. What does it mean to say that understanding is complete? It means, first of all, that the concept of being has been grasped; and secondly that the possibilities and limits of being have been understood conceptually and in a number of significant and explicit ways. This statement is elaborated and further details given in the text. Understanding and knowledge are prerequisite in some significant ways to the next phase. The second main phase, experience and transformation, has been active in the background but, now that the phase of knowledge is complete, transformation comes into primary focus. Details of the achievements of the main and secondary phases (DESIGN and SOCIAL ACTION) are scattered throughout the essay but are gathered together in the Chapter, Fundamental Problems
WHY BEING? I.e., why use the concept of being as fundamental? We will see that it provides the deepest foundation for the understanding and experience through IDENTIFICATION and transformation of all being. It will be shown that no deeper foundation is possible
Add the numbered items of the following to ‘PRINCIPLES OF THOUGHT’
Topic. Brief history of the idea of being.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IDEA OF BEING! Due to the fundamental character of BEING, it must be a central concern of any real philosophy of the world even when the idea is not explicitly present. Aristotle wrote on BEING as did Heidegger and Sartre. Although I have learned much from Heidegger and nothing positive at all from Sartre, my approach to the study of BEING is closer to Aristotle’s. Stated bluntly this is because ever since the rise of EPISTEMOLOGY, the study of BEING has been marred by SOPHISTRY and doubt; and although the doubt was justified and productive it will be shown here to be no longer absolutely necessary. That is, although doubt may always have a positive function it is not logically necessary. Now, epistemology is important and much has been learned about knowledge and metaphysics (the study of BEING) in drawing from the post-enlightenment tradition of epistemology. I have made use of that tradition and prior work on epistemology but, in the end, have found and demonstrated in the THEORY OF BEING, in FOUNDATION, that the fundamental metaphysics may stand alone without the need of intense support from epistemology; additionally, the division of the knowledge of being into two independent studies – the study of being (metaphysics) and the study of knowledge (epistemology) is not productive. While my approach regarding BEING is, in its outlook, similar to that of Aristotle I have benefited from the learning of two thousand years of philosophy and science since his time. From a number of ‘metaphysicians’ and from science, especially THEORETICAL PHYSICS and BIOLOGY, I have learned the importance of BEING and some possible properties of BEING. From Kant (especially his THEORY OF OBJECTS and his TRANSCENDENTAL IDEALISM) I have drawn some suggestions on how to think about BEING. From Heidegger, I draw some suggestions on how to learn about BEING by studying HUMAN being; and some suggestions for a JOURNEY IN BEING. From Sartre and a number of post-modern thinkers I have learned to avoid an excessive preoccupation with the human predicament and the ‘lessons’ of nihilism. Finally, from my own experience, I have learned the following lessons. (1) Intuition, in its common and technical (Kantian) sense is important. However, the intuition is educated in experience and by the study of the HISTORY OF THOUGHT; and intuition alone is insufficient to understanding but must be subject to criticism (i.e. the idea that intuition supplies a precise picture or representation of the universe and its structure is criticized) and supplemented by imagination and reason. (2) To not seek or force premature conclusions; to have patience for it was thus that, after years of reflection, that I arrived at the fundamental insight that has allowed the development of the THEORY OF BEING as LOGIC (which requires reconceptualization of logic.) Further, it has been the years of STUDY and RESEARCH in the DISCIPLINES from the history of thought that has allowed the theory to be rich in content and in application to these same disciplines. I may add that while I have learned much from the traditions, I have been fortunate to develop a THEORY OF BEING that goes beyond the TRADITION: the theory allows a DEMONSTRATION that no further DEPTH or BREADTH is needed or possible, i.e. a final foundation has been provided that requires no INFINITE REGRESS; further, in doing this a number of significant and long standing problems of philosophy have been resolved. The ultimate character of theory of being is shown to be EXPLICIT for depth or FOUNDATION but IMPLICIT for breadth or VARIETY; and though it is not explicitly ultimate with regard to variety the explicit variety that follows from the theory is INFINITELY larger than what may have previously thought to be the case. These include the MIND-MATTER or mind-body PROBLEM, the problems of SUBSTANCE (there is no substance and the THEORY OF BEING is neither MONISM nor DUALISM,) and the problem of BEING (‘Why is there something rather than nothing?’ that has also been called the FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM OF METAPHYSICS by Heidegger.) As noted, APPLICATION has been made to the academic DISCIPLINES including PSYCHOLOGY and (tentatively at present) THEORETICAL PHYSICS. The applications are not all academic and there are profound implications for RELIGION and SOCIETY. Finally, the theory is concerned with the possibilities of BEING and especially of HUMAN BEING and so contributes to the question of the MEANING OF BEING (in the sense of SIGNIFICANCE) in a way that is (regarding depth) ultimate
Use SIGNIFICANCE instead of this meaning of ‘meaning’
Teal (and or Garamond) text is for details
It is useful to review Kant’s ideas as preliminary to discussing concepts, objects and knowledge in this essay. The following is a simple adaptation of Kant’s ideas from the Critique of Pure Reason. (1) Knowledge had received numerous criticisms including its FALLIBILITY, its basis in reason, and even its possibility. (2) The possibility of knowledge may be questioned as a logical concern because ‘knowledge’ and ‘external object’ are altogether distinct; this is also a source of the problem of reason and of fallibility. (3) However, such CRITICISM as the concern regarding possibility is a RADICAL CRITICISM and such criticisms are, regarded as absolute, typically suspect because of the major point that since we live and negotiate the world, there must be something very wrong with any concept of knowledge that implies that no knowledge is possible and because of the minor issue that such criticism must also be applicable to the criticism itself. Therefore, knowledge as (being fully faithful to) the external object must be an erroneous conception of knowledge – one that, if taken seriously, will be productive of nihilism. It is useful to note that the essential criticism is based on an idea or picture or view in which knower and known are separate discrete objects and yet knowledge is to be of the object (and, more generally, in which, knowledge is connected to object and not to outcome, action or value;) this is a view in which subject and object are alien and yet a requirement of intimacy is set upon their relationship; it is this alien character that makes knowledge, on this view of it, logically impossible. Having noted the objection, I pass over it even though it is fundamental; it is useful to see to what extent the criticisms of knowledge can be addressed on their own terms. (4) Hume’s criticism that CAUSATION (in particular) and the CATEGORIES OF INTUITION (more generally) do not follow from reason is accepted. However, it is not the case that the dependence on reason arguing from instances to categories is their only hope for demonstration. The THEORY OF BEING shows that there are domains of their validity but it will be useful to accept Hume’s criticism and to follow Kant’s argument in response to Hume. (5) Kant’s argument was that knowledge is possible and therefore there must be an analysis of being (existence) that shows how it is possible, i.e. that knowledge is possible will tell us something about SENTIENT being; radical criticism is untenable as a doctrine even though its consideration may be instructive. Kant first considered PERCEPTION or what Russell called ‘knowledge by ACQUAINTANCE.’ Kant’s argument amounted to this: since we are in the world and since knowledge must be possible, our perceptual apparatus must have intuition, i.e., must be capable of seeing the world as it is. This argument is not quite correct; Kant’s actual argument is that there is a middle ground where perception and object meet where the experience of perception is adequate to navigation in the world. Therefore, instead of the external object Kant focused on the concept-object as if it were the object. This seems as though it is a bad move but it is not; it is a move in the right direction but in the way that the concept-object is at the intersection of knower and known it oversteps the ‘mark’ in some degree. However, Kant produced reasons, discussed shortly, to consider the concept-object to be the object. Kant’s argument was ingenious and though it was ultimately inadequate (being based on a reasonable but – as it turned out – invalid acceptance of certain academic disciplines of his day to be absolutely valid.) Kant then considered reason based on the intuition – the categories of reason based in the categories of intuition. I have argued that the categories of THOUGHT and reason as for the categories of intuition are based in the world: the intuition is BOUND to the immediate world and reason with its faculty for CREATIVITY and freedom is ‘bound’ to expanding awareness (knowledge) of the universe at large; or intuition is bound to the GIVEN world and the faculty of reason (and creativity) is bound to CHANGE. However, Kant was impressed by the huge successes of EUCLIDEAN GEOMETRY and NEWTONIAN MECHANICS and, so, thought that the intuition captured the essences while reason captured and made articulate the variations within the domain outlined in intuition. That is, according to Kant the perceptual object combined with the purely logical categories (from Aristotle and, according to Schopenhauer, excessive in number and elaboration) form an exact system; here, Kant was mislead – he assumed, based in their, huge successes that Euclidean Geometry and Newtonian Mechanics (on the side of perception) and Aristotelian logic (on the side of reason) were absolute and necessary. Kant, then, held that the concept (-object) was identical to the (external) object and that this identity was not merely a contingent truth but logically necessary; had Kant’s reasonable assumptions been true his view on the relationship between the idea and the thing would also be true. (What is the meaning of this identity – surely the idea and the thing are not identical; this point is interesting – the identity might be a functional identity – but not pertinent to the argument.) (5a) The following is a detailed aside on the possibility of metaphysics and Kant’s views on this topic. Note that Kant’s argument has been invalidly interpreted as an argument for pure idealism – for the case that there is no external real. Clearly, however, the argument does not deny the real but shows its intimate relation to the idea; thus Kantian idealism does not deny the external real. Kant’s idealism is one in which the idea is identical to the real. Although Kant argued against metaphysics – he argued that although ‘knowledge always begins with experience,’ he is clearly ambivalent about this point as he continues, ‘it does not follow that it always arises out of experience.’ Here, a further limitation of Kant’s perspective arises in his incomplete analysis of the dual phylogenetic and ontogenetic origins of knowledge – and again the fault, if any, is not large for the genetic perspective of the organism came much later; however, it is true that Kant could have reflected on the constitution of the organism as a source of knowledge and this would have been equivalent to the phylogenetic perspective. Also note that while Kant rejects metaphysics as knowledge of the supersensible it is not clear that there is a domain of being that is logically supersensible except in systems of merely speculative metaphysics. Kant points out the invalidity of the application of cause and effect to the thing-in-itself; however the theory of being of this essay shows an alternative interpretation: there is and can be no universal cause and effect; but the universal background permits the becoming of domains of quasi-causation (even our immediate world is only occasionally seemingly a causal world in the strictest senses.) Kant does admit of various senses in which metaphysics is possible including absolute knowledge of the laws and forms of nature; the theory of being shows that no such absolute knowledge of the laws of nature of this world because such laws cannot themselves be absolute. What does the theory of being show? It shows that the distinction between logic and law is not absolute and, correspondingly the distinction between sense and reason is not precise; that the Kantian concept-object (idea) as or identical object (thing) is useful and that although the logical form relation between idea and thing is given, the precision identity, functional or otherwise, is not universal; this however, is as it is and knowledge of it is therefore good; further there are degrees of precision with absolute precision possible regarding ‘all being’ in its unity though not necessarily in the diversity. (6) We now know that what is captured in intuition is an approximation but that, e.g. in science, reason allows some TRANSCENDENCE of the intuition. However, the history of science shows that such transcendence is (thus far) incomplete in the direction of absolute transcendence. I now consider two approaches to the absolute. (7) It has been argued by Lande and others that reason (symbols,) based in abstract developments within QUANTUM THEORY, has the potential to capture all of reality understood (it is not clear that this is recognized) as the known universe. I have shown that this is in fact the case but my arguments are based in pure logic applied to the entire universe and in essential fact (that being is given;) and, further, in this essay, I have shown essential contours of being based in this approach that yields resolution and understanding of the core problems of being (the problems of philosophy, the problems of metaphysics) and huge advances in the foundation and understanding within specific disciplines such as theoretical physics and psychology. (8) Generally, if we take the concept as the object and regard it as given then it is approximation; however, if it is regarded as in-process and potential then it may be absolute; and we have constructively shown this possibility at the deepest level of being and its understanding. That is, although the intuition provides approximate knowledge, reason may correct this and allows the possibility of exact knowledge; and, in the case of the depth of being, this possibility has been realized in the theory of being. In summary, Kant solved the problem of the criticisms that came before him, including Hume’s radical criticism, by redefining the object as the concept; and showing, relative to the science, logic and mathematics of his time of the absolute character of this approach; subsequent developments in science, logic and mathematics showed the reasonable but approximate character of Kant’s achievements; by allowing symbol to reign over intuition, Lande and others have shown the possibility of absolute knowledge, in terms of MODERN SCIENCE (quantum theory) in the known universe (they think that the absolute character to be over the entire universe;) by regarding symbol as an extension of the intuition, I have shown in the direction of depth though not of the variety of being, in terms of logic reconceived, the absolute character of symbol, and its form (logic) over the entire universe. In fact, I have shown the absolute character of the symbol explicitly with regard to depth and implicitly with regard to breadth; and the explicit development in breadth, though not absolute, is infinitely greater than what is usually thought to be the case
Topic. Being is that which exists
WHAT is being? BEING is that which EXISTS or which has EXISTENCE. Since ‘everything’ exists, the concept might appear to be TRIVIAL. However, it is the universality of being that is a source of its depth. The depth of the concept of being derives from the fact that no reference is made to any pre-conceived kind or aspect of being such as MIND or MATTER
Topic. Preliminary to analysis of existence
Thus far, nothing real has been said regarding being since the elucidation of ‘existence’ is now required
However, even after ‘EXIST’ has been clarified, ‘being’ will remain CATEGORIALLY uncommitted, i.e. it will not be part of the meaning of being that it fits into or includes categories such as ‘mind,’ ‘matter,’ ‘substance,’ ‘RELATIONSHIP,’ or ‘PROCESS’ (it will include these categories only as they are definite.) As I use the concept, being has no A PRIORI religious religion connotations. This is not at all an AGNOSTICISM that permits me the feeling that I am necessarily right because I have said nothing at all. Instead, it is an a priori agnosticism. I.e. it is categorially uncommitted at the outset. This non-commitment allows the real categories, if any to be a result rather than an assumption of investigation or analysis. It is the a priori commitments that have been the source of deep CATEGORIAL problems (e.g. the nature of being, the mind-matter problem, the problem of becoming) in the history of thought. Therefore, a priori agnosticism allows the possibility that such categorial problems will be resolved and that thought and action that may have stumbled at the point of categorial confusion can move forward from that point. ‘Journey in Being’ is, in part, a realization of these possibilities
Topic. Comments on existence (complete analysis is deferred to the foundation)
ANALYSIS of existence is deferred to the FOUNDATION. Here, some comments are in order
There are a number of difficulties associated with the concept of existence. The reader will probably have no common sense concern when it is said some familiar object, X, exists. As an example there should be no common sense concern regarding the assertion, ‘Mt. Everest exists’ even though there may be theoretical concerns regarding the meaning of the assertion (the question, ‘Does Mt. Everest really exist?’ may, for essential purposes, be answered by clarifying the meaning or use of ‘existence.’) However, what could be meant when I say that X does not exist? I.e. I seem to be saying ‘that thing does not exist’ but if it does not exist then ‘that thing’ does not refer to any thing and, so, seems to make no sense. Such concerns have been taken to be indicating that the concept of existence is problematic. Indeed there is a problem but it will be shown to be trivial. They main concerns regarding existence are the usual concerns of sense (what does it mean) and reference (what things or classes of thing may be said to exist) and the relation of ‘exist’ to other fundamental categories such as the REAL; these concerns are taken up in the foundation, where it is found that the theory of being together with careful analysis permits definitive results
It will be seen the perpetuation of the concern regarding ‘X does not exist’ as a PROBLEM is a result of unclear thought, of a misunderstanding of the nature of words, concepts and meanings. The resolution of this issue will be taken up in the FOUNDATION. That many conceptual problems have origin in lack of clarity in meaning is not a new idea in the history of thought. It ‘should’ occur to anyone who undertakes to understand being for MEANING is instrumental in understanding. Meaning is understanding. The most recent deep theorist of meaning was Wittgenstein; however, while Wittgenstein’s concerns are oft repeated, a full critique of meaning has not been forthcoming in modern thought. It is useful to note that many ‘difficulties’ of contemporary philosophy are similar to the present one: a problem in meaning is identified; the problem is analyzed; however, full implications are not undertaken; as a result, problems that have resolutions, sometimes simple ones, are taken as being ‘deep’ concerns; this permits analysis to remain at a shallow and self-perpetuating level; over and over again, in this essay, such ‘problems’ and their (relatively) trivial resolutions will be encountered. It is not necessary to provide a long list of examples; that could be done by looking up modern encyclopedias of metaphysics and epistemology. Here, it is far more effective to note that apparently deep concerns at the heart of being, of mind, and of knowledge are the result of perpetuating a first order analysis instead of allowing and seeking resolutions at other orders of analysis – including the ‘order’ that comes before analysis, i.e. INTUITION. While no intent to perpetuate problems as a means of perpetuating an academic industry of philosophical puzzle solving will be identified, it will be noted that such an industry is self-perpetuating and that there are simple and final solutions to many problems that would bring the industry to a halt. The halt however would not constitute emptiness for the next step would be the real investigation of the world (of being) in terms of understanding, experience and transformation. This of course would bring into question the significance of the industry and the comfortable position of its practitioners
What is the nature of the ‘criticism’ that I have just made? Any analysis of the disciplines, especially philosophy, as practiced in the academic system will involve analysis of social factors as well as analysis of content. A more complete analysis will be taken up later during and after development of the metaphysics or THEORY OF BEING in FOUNDATION which establishes an absolute basis for evaluation of content and includes a general discussion of society and social ‘forces.’ The functions of academic philosophy include interpretation and foundation for other disciplines. In earlier times, philosophy may have thought to instruct the other disciplines; today the function is regarded as more EGALITARIAN. Regardless, however, of the relative status of philosophy, it is necessary to take the other disciplines and their content seriously; it is necessary for the philosopher who is analyzing the status of, say, theoretical physics to understand the discipline and its general implications regarding the nature of the world. Regarding world views, general philosophy typically starts with the world views of the past and proceeds by criticizing and or building upon those views. However, in every age there is a desire to understand the world directly and not just through received concepts. That is, one of the functions of philosophy is re-construction. The criticism of the previous paragraph applies to the two functions of foundation and RECONSTRUCTION – which may first require DECONSTRUCTION. In performing these functions certain limits are encountered. There are theoretical limits such as those revealed by Kant regarding metaphysics and those revealed by Wittgenstein regarding the use of LANGUAGE which is the primary medium of philosophy (language is often regarded as the medium of philosophy; however it may be more accurate to say that language is the medium of expression and communication within philosophy.) There are practical limits that are revealed about the world from other disciplines such as theoretical physics, biology, psychology and the study of society and change. Even if it should appear that these limits are absolute one function of the philosopher should be to question and to challenge them. This is because it is typical that when a limit appears to be absolute, the appearance may be due to assumptions or MODELS of the way the world is or how knowledge is possible. In this essay I have considered a number of ways in which the limits revealed by Kant and Wittgenstein are limits relative to views of the nature of knowledge and language; I have also considered how, even though science appears to reveal the universe, the revelation is in fact that of a MICROCOSM. In challenging, i.e. in subjecting to critique, the current paradigmatic views, the PARADIGMS will be either strengthened or found wanting. The criticisms I have made above amount to the claims (1) that modern academic philosophy has evaded deep critical function even while it labors to assert its concern with this function and it has generally evaded the constructive function as though it were impossible; and (2) that deep criticism and CONSTRUCTION are possible, i.e., that it may be possible even though difficult to transcend the paradigms that make it possible to SEE. In this essay, I have built a system of understanding with roots in the history of ideas and exploration that shows the modern paradigm of being to be that of a microcosm and that, through critique of being and logic, reveals an absolute depth beyond which there is no BEING
Additionally, in anticipation of later discussion, it should be said that, in non-being, there is not even the (MEINONGIAN) SELF-CONTRADICTORY CONCEPT, e.g. a square circle. More accurately, it is immaterial whether the self-contradictory concept is admitted to non-being even though such admission may result in conceptual simplicity
The comments with regard to completeness have been made a number of times and the claims are somewhat different among the occasions. The final position is this. The theory of being is complete with regard to both depth (intension, sense) and breadth (extension, reference.) However, the completeness for depth is explicit while it is implicit for breadth. Still, the explicit results regarding breadth are, trivially, infinite whereas what is typically regarded to be the case is finite. Minimize the number of times the comments are made and implement this final version of the claim. Note, for example, that the statement in the next paragraph is not altogether correct
Topic. Completeness of the theory of being with regard to depth and variety – again
In other words, regarding depth, the study of being in this essay is complete. Does this imply that the THEORY OF BEING here is complete? The answer is that theory is not complete with regard to variety. In other words, the theory is complete with regard to INTENSION but not with regard to EXTENSION. However, the completeness in depth allows a great advance with regard to variety. In theoretical terms, the theory allows the identification of variety, the ACTUAL or EXTENSION with POSSIBILITY; in practical terms the theory makes it possible to analyze ideas from the history of thought including science and religion for possibility and, further, to construct partial recipes for the generation of possible kinds of being. Since possibility and actuality are identified, the advance in understanding variety is great though not final; it appears likely that the theory has revealed that a final understanding or specification of variety is impossible
Topic. The verb ‘to be.’ Uses of ‘is.’ ‘Exists’ is the use relevant to the theory of being
The concepts of ‘being’ and ‘existing’ are related to the verb ‘to be’ of which the words ‘IS’ and ‘AM’ are examples. When I say, ‘I am,’ one typical meaning is that ‘I exist.’ The word ‘is’ has uses in English that do not correspond this meaning. Except to avoid confusion, it is not necessary to discuss these uses. Although such discussion is not necessary, it may be useful but a discussion is deferred to the FOUNDATION
Placement. The comments on phase and phase-epoch in the next few paragraphs may be better placed under COSMOLOGY. The details here may be replaced here by a reference to the discussion under cosmology
Here are two very pertinent CONNOTATIONS of the fundamental meaning of ‘exist’ that is used in this essay and often, generally, in developing an understanding of being: 1. To say that X exists is to say that it exists at the present time. This is TEMPORAL existence. More generally, local existence is existence at some specific point or region of space-time; this is LOCAL existence. Local existence and temporal existence are the common connotations of existence. In anticipation of the possibility that space and time are not sufficient as coordinates of the universe the term phase may be used as the most general coordination. The common connotation then generalizes to existence at some PHASE point or region. This is PHASIC existence or being. 2. A second connotation may be introduced. To say that X exists is to say that it exists at some phase point. In this sense, there is no distinction between ‘is,’ ‘was,’ and ‘will be.’ This is ABSOLUTE or ATEMPORAL existence. More generally it is SUPRAPHASIC being. That is X exists in this sense if it exists at some place or region in space-time or, more generally, some ‘where’ in phase. (Although this use is not common it is implied by the common use. For, given that time is not –known to be– infinitely divisible, existence should refer to a region and not a point. Such regions should are typically small relative to the perceiver. In the case of an absolute perceiver, the entire universe may be regarded as the region to which reference is made)
‘Being,’ ‘is,’ ‘exist,’ ‘universe,’ and ‘all being’ are used in temporal and atemporal senses. When these concepts are used in deriving results it is necessary to be careful about the distinction
Introduce POWER, EXISTENCE-AS, the verb TO BE
Power: the measure of being is being
PHASE
Comment. Review the above use of ‘PHASE;’ replace with some other appropriate term if necessary
DESCRIPTION, KNOWING; POWER; PATCH, SPACE-TIME
Use of the term ‘phase’ signifies an AGNOSTIC attitude toward space and time: whether space and time or space-time are a necessary and sufficient way to ‘coordinate’ the description of being and whether other elements of coordination are necessary or possible. Further agnosticism is introduced by adopting a neutral attitude toward the character of ‘phase;’ whether it is distinct from being or a part of it. In this connection it may be asked whether any understanding can be distinct from or apart from being; further, this is an invitation to consider various notions by which OBJECTIVITY based in a sense of independence or separation from the world may be obtained. It is significant to note that in all such agnosticisms there is no intent to maintain an uncommitted approach to understanding and transformation; rather the agnosticisms are A PRIORI and, as such, are maximally in the service of A POSTERIORI commitments. The mechanisms of this service are (1) avoidance of premature commitment, and (2) replacing pseudo-sophisticated surrogates of reason by actual and, as far as possible, (it is surprising to what infinite extent this is possible) simple but mature and complete reason
The phrase ‘phase space’ is used in theoretical physics. Here, ‘phase’ here has similarities its use in physics but no appeal to the similarities is made at the outset. The term ‘phase space’ could be used but I prefer to use ‘phase’
Phase is also used in the following context. A cosmological system such as this one (ours) may be regarded as a phase or phase-epoch of the universe
NONBEING, ABSENCE (of being)
In the FOUNDATION, the LOGIC of the void will be shown to imply the necessity of BECOMING and so of being. This will resolve numerous philosophical puzzles including the question, ‘Why is there being rather than absence of being?’ that is referred to as ‘The FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM OF METAPHYSICS.’ In considering becoming, the interactive nature of space and time (as our coordinates of being) should be identified
ALL BEING, ‘all that there is’
Evaluate the following for placement in FOUNDATION
Much of the power of the theory comes from its integration with the traditions of THOUGHT and MEANING – in the mutual adjustments of the theory and the traditions that arise in their mutual application. However, it is useful to provide an outline of the development of the very core of the theory in terms of the concepts presented so far
The core logic is as follows
(1) The void exists. Proof: The void is what remains when the universe of being is subtracted –in concept– from itself. Alternatively, the void is that part of any being that remains when the being is subtracted from itself. (2) As ‘absence’ the void should be seen not only as an absence of things but also as an absence of PATTERNS and LAWS. This is clearly seen to be the case from the proof of existence. (3) If from the void there is any state, A, that could not result that impossibility would be a law. (The obvious exception is logical impossibility such as an object B that is simultaneously red and not red.) (4) Therefore, any state whose description does not involve a contradiction (logical impossibility) must result from the void. (5) Any being may and will interact with any other being; i.e. there are no absolutely distinct beings – no absolute individuals. (6) The universe is equivalent to the void. I.e. being is equivalent to nonbeing. This conclusion requires a preliminary step – to show that there is exactly one universe. Proof: from item 5, if all being is divided (in thought) into two ‘distinct universes’ then those universes are not distinct and therefore constitute (the) one universe. What has actually been demonstrated is that, first, that there is one universe is inherent in the meaning of ‘universe’ and, second, that this meaning has a RATIONAL foundation. It also follows that if something is POSSIBLE it must be actual (somewhere in space-time or, more generally, somewhere in PHASE.) Further, being actual is the only measure of being possible (the usual measure of possibility is that something could be actual but from the foregoing, if it could be it is.) Since what is possible must be actual, the actuality is necessary. Therefore, in the sense of being somewhere in phase, ACTUALITY, POSSIBILITY and NECESSITY are identical. It is clear that these thoughts may result in some clarification of ‘MODAL LOGIC,’ the logic of possibility and necessity. This topic is considered again in FOUNDATION. (7) It now follows that the universe must be INDETERMINISTIC (since it is equivalent to the void.) (8) However the being of NORMAL a COSMOLOGICAL SYSTEM such as this one (the one in which we live) follows from item 4. Here, the meaning of normal is roughly as follows. Our cosmological system has the following apparent characteristics: it is relatively DISCRETE and stable, within the system there is much apparently deterministic behavior, and there appear to be determinate individuals (a determinate individual is one with a DISTINCT BOUNDARY and a distinct IDENTITY.) These characteristics cannot be absolute characteristics of the universe at large or even of the cosmological system. The behaviors and characteristics in question may be labeled NORMAL. This proposition does not say anything about how such cosmological systems might arise and be (relatively) stable. Item 4 shows that such MECHANISMS are not necessary in all cosmological systems; it also shows that if there are (non-contradictory descriptions of) such mechanisms (discussed in FOUNDATION) they must obtain in some cosmological systems. The existence of this cosmological system demonstrates the existence of MECHANISMS of FORMATION and STABLE BEING. This is discussed briefly below in item 10, below, and in FOUNDATION where it is argued that the number of normal cosmological systems formed through NORMAL MECHANISMS must far outweigh NON-NORMAL systems in number. This discussion reveals the foundation of this world in an ultimate depth of being as demonstrated in the next item. (9) The equivalence of the universe and the void, combined with proposition 4 shows that the universe must experience phases in which it is the void. Therefore, the present foundation of being in the void is a final foundation that has and requires (and permits) no (ultimate) substance, requires no INFINITE REGRESS of explanation, and permits no further depth. (10) It is clear that the formation of a manifest universe from the void cannot be deterministic. The actual process must therefore be indeterministic. It is often argued that such process cannot result in form or STRUCTURE; however, the evolution of life is a counter to this claim. Could the MECHANISM of the evolution of life (INCREMENTAL change through VARIATION and SELECTION) be universal? As argued above the answer must be ‘no.’ However, given a choice between a single step change and incremental change through variation and selection (in which selection results from persistence of a relatively stable variation) it is clear that the latter is much more reasonable (likely) and that (11) While the application to physical cosmology, to theoretical physics is deferred to FOUNDATION, the contour of the application is now apparent. Incremental change through variation and selection may be a near universal normal mechanism for the EMERGENCE or any essential change in form or structure; since indeterministic process is necessary, the only alternative to incremental indeterminism is non-incremental indeterminism. This raises the question of the distinction between incremental change and SALTATION; however, an apparent saltation is not necessarily one and it seems that the key to the distinction is likelihood rather than appearance. One aspect of the application to mind may be made apparent in observing that not all mental processes can be deterministic in character; for, if this were the case, no new thoughts would be possible; and, since there were no thoughts (on earth) at all some five billion years ago, all thoughts have been new at some time and at some place. It is reasonable to look for mechanisms that parallel the variation and selection discussed above. (12) From item 4, it follows that, with appropriate interpretation, ‘Jesus Christ is raised from the dead’ in countless cosmological systems. The significance of the theory of being for religion and faith is taken up later as is the significance for the individual in general and for society and civilization – whether on this earth or in some far corner of the universe. From this it is clear that the THEORY OF BEING has the potential to make profound contributions to faith, to religion and to any understanding of faith and religion. More generally, there is the potential for profound contribution to the understanding of knowledge and to transformation and its possibilities. The development of these contributions is taken up in FOUNDATION
Journey: see ELEMENTS
Develop form and outline:
FORM and OUTLINE of the essay with FUNCTIONS
INDIVIDUAL
UNIVERSAL
ABSOLUTE: being as being
TRANSITIONAL: being as becoming
A number of concepts have been introduced so far. This is one reason that it is useful to discuss concepts. Other reasons, some more fundamental, to discuss the concept are considered below
An initial CONCEPT of a concept is the IDEA
A concept requires development and does not arise at once; this is because understanding itself develops
The concepts in this essay DEVELOP; they may be treated at multiple locations at different (increasing) levels of depth
In one meaning or USE, a concept corresponds to a PATTERN of what is REAL; therefore a concept may serve to organize KNOWLEDGE and THOUGHT
Concepts serve as one aspect of the organization of this essay
A concept may have multiple meanings or a family of MEANING
Sometimes the meanings of a word are so different that one may use the phrase, ‘one word, two SYMBOLS’ to describe the situation. Sometimes the uses are so loosely connected that the family resemblance is not based in STRUCTURE or use but in FUNCTION. The different meanings of concept constitute an example of this case; discussion is deferred to the FOUNDATION
Often, the same word will have a common or everyday use and a distinct use in this essay. This is natural and common in science, philosophy and other disciplines. It is natural because science and philosophy are not cut off from everyday life but start with it. However, common and ‘technical’ meanings evolve and so it may be tenuous to say that they belong to a family of meaning. Also, while some technical words evolve out of common use, others are chosen ad hoc. Examples of words that currently have quite distinct common and technical meanings are INTUITION and METAPHYSICS. FORCE is an example of a concept whose meaning in science is a precise version of one of its common meanings. While it is expected that readers may and should have a critical attitude to works, in the present case it is suggested that the reader’s understanding of this work will be optimal if criticism is deferred until the ideas have been absorbed. Since it is necessary that development and therefore revelation of meaning shall be a process, final definitions cannot always be stated when a word or concept is introduced (if at all.) In regard of the use of words in this essay, the LEXICON may be found to provide a quick though not final system of meanings
Since reality has FORM, concepts do not stand in isolation; a system of concepts that captures a form of the REAL is a FIELD of concepts
A field of concepts captures (a domain of) the real; this may involve understanding, EXPLANATION and THEORY; a THEORY captures (an aspect of) the real
Concepts are not in themselves foundational; FOUNDATION involves PERCEPTION, the CATEGORIES of INTUITION (including ART,) THOUGHT (concepts, fields, understanding and theory,) and their integration with ACTION
The meaning of a concept involves SENSE and (known) REFERENCE (or INTENSION and EXTENSION.) As an example, while the sense of ‘all being’ is relatively fixed (given the meaning of being,) its extension grows with the growth of knowledge
Thus meaning is not mere dictionary meaning; without knowledge, meaning is drastically incomplete; a further limitation of dictionary meaning is that a foundation of meaning includes USE and OSTENSIVE specification
With regard to meaning, FOUNDATION emphasizes sense; JOURNEY IN BEING emphasizes reference
Each meaning may have varying levels of depth; this permits evolution and development of concepts
It is useful to use the system or field of concepts as a basis of organization for the essay
The development of concepts serves the development in this essay: from INTRODUCTION to FOUNDATION to the JOURNEY
Since concepts (and other elements of knowledge) are essentially developmental, LEARNING and EDUCATION are ‘journeys;’ the development of the system in the attempt to understand all being should obviously be a journey; and comprehension of this essay should be a journey (more than one reading may be optimal) and collaborative: the reader’s understanding will not be precisely that of the author
One objective of the essay is to develop the concept of thought as a means of arriving at correct knowledge. As a fundamental concern, this is an approximation to what is essential for one objective of the essay is to criticize knowledge as standing alone – as applicable but as distinct from application and action. Nonetheless, the concern is significant and the question whether there are PRINCIPLES OF THOUGHT is significant. Such principles are FORMAL – those that are deployed in final demonstrations; and INFORMAL – those used in the process of DISCOVERY. An essential conclusion is that absolute separation of thinking and how to think, of thought and its principles is not possible – there is no final distinction; principles of thought emerge in the process of thought
The initial distinction between thought and principles is that valid thought takes on valid patterns; the recognition of principles is a second order or REFLEXIVE activity. The recognition of VALIDITY takes requires independent verification e.g. observation. It might therefore seem that there can be no necessary principles of thought. However, while abstraction appears to have the weakness (relative to verification) that it generalizes, this apparent weakness may be balanced by the abstraction in which the common features of the general are few and may require at most finite data. There is thus some clear cut separation of thought from principles; some necessity of the principles may be possible
Add comment: in the following sentence, state the final answer to the question whether there are any absolute principles of thought
Are there any absolute principles of thought? A partial answer to this question has been given immediately above. It is, however, effective to answer this question after the development of the metaphysics and the logic. Therefore, the discussion of THOUGHT and the principles is deferred to logic
This was the section ‘Reading the Essay;’ note that comments about hyperlinks already occur above
A key piece of advice regards how to read the essay e.g. ‘twice’
This section will not be in the final version; its goal
may be achieved by some other device e.g. separating the propositions from the
supporting argument (when the support is a particularly significant form of
argument or logic it may itself be a proposition)
The purpose of this section is
to follow the directive, already stated in the production and editing section:
There should be, perhaps, just one
place where details and developments are discussed; its short title will be ‘THEORY
OF BEING’ and its long title, ‘A Brief History of the Idea of Being, The
Theory of Being, and its Basis in The History of Ideas;’ this will involve
accumulating the few separate discussions and integrating with elements that
round out the development
Consider minimizing the argument to
showing its power and placing the details in the FOUNDATION.
The minimal argument may be fleshed out by describing some of the ACHIEVEMENTS
or RESULTS
Pertinent contents of the
following sections from the longer in-process version may be entered here
Core arguments (achievements are
discussed earlier)
Prospects
Comment on the EXTENSION of the concept of metaphysics. There is a logic of the question, ‘What is studied in METAPHYSICS?’ Review and rework the following logic. (1) The place of metaphysics: the field, intension, extension; and (2) The framework: the universe – all OBJECTS and CONCEPTS. How to enumerate ‘all?’ (a) The kind of thing that may be considered ‘object:’ THING, PROCESS, RELATIONSHIP; then thing, IDEA and concept. Concept as object; is this equivalent to relation as object? Are there (concepts as) objects that have character and definite properties (Sosein; e.g. possible being specified by properties) that have no being (Sein; e.g. being as being) this is the MEINONGIAN question; e.g. the ‘golden mountain’ as object existing as concept even there are no golden mountains in the world of sense experience; this is pertinent to the existence of NUMBER and FORM. Note however, that my answer to this question is different from Meinong’s and my treatment of concepts, forms, and numbers is correspondingly different
Answer to the Meinongian question. (1) What does it mean to say that a concept has being, to say that it exists? First, that it exists as a concept; but this case of meaning is trivial – all concepts exist in this sense. The meaning in the Meinongian (Kantian) sense is that exists as an object but this, though significant, is not completely clear. The meaning is that the concept must have proper reference in the world. This brings up the connection to an aspect of my theory of logic that should be worked out. Now, what the THEORY OF BEING, has shown is that every non-contradictory concept has reference and, therefore, exists. (2) What is the status of the contradictory concept such as a square circle? The primary meaning is that such objects may be consistently said to have being in the void; although this statement has a trivial character it permits introduction of a unity of being and void or being and non-being; at present, however, I regard it as making the theory of objects ‘prettier’ but not deeper; confirmation of this conclusion awaits further reflection and analysis. In conclusion, from the THEORY OF BEING, all objects may be said to have being
Revise the following continuation of the argument immediately above. Since my answer is based the THEORY OF BEING, it is consequently deeper than the Meinongian or Kantian. For example, in my treatment all concepts exist as actual objects (except contradictory concepts.) Further commentary on Meinong’s ideas that is tangential to the main thrust here. Note that the discussion has not exhausted Meinong’s ideas; for he also considers a classification of objects into OBJECTA that are simple things like Oslo and OBJECTIVES or states of affairs, rather like Wittgenstein’s (and Frege’s?) facts, e.g. ‘Oslo is in Norway’ and ‘Oslo is in Sweden;’ objectives may have objecta as constituents but not vice versa; objectives are the objects of at least some of what came to be known as PROPOSITIONAL ATTITUDES. Meinong also talked of COMPLETE objects for which every PROPERTY takes on a value and INCOMPLETE objects for which this is not the case; incomplete objects are like PLATONIC forms and are embedded in complete objects; they do not have primary being but have derived being. Finally, as a consequence of taking objects to include concepts, Meinong accepts contradictory concepts (e.g. a square circle) as objects. This is a source of the famous distinction between object and being; the contradictory concept-objects are said to not exist because they have no reference; however it is better to say that no concepts have external existence and all concepts have internal existence i.e. in a mind; but this internal vs. external distinction in this sense has no great significance; and valid reference is the criterion for external existence e.g. ‘Mt. Everest exists’ is validated by there being valid reference to the concept, ‘Mt. Everest;’ note, however, that in saying that ‘Mt. Everest exists,’ there is no assertion that Mt. Everest is exactly as the concept ‘Mt. Everest’ but only that the concept has some degree of faithfulness. These have being as concepts but not as referring to existing things – in both Meinong’s theory and mine. The value of non-contradictory concepts as non-existing objects is clear even though, on my theory, unnecessary (they do exist,) but what is the value of contradictory concepts? Thus far, I would have argued that there is no value; even though an object may be contradictory in one context e.g. a ‘square circle’ has no meaning and is therefore not contradictory in topology, it may be non-contradictory in another; so this gives freedom to experiment; but are there not clearly some concepts that are contradictory in all contexts; but even these may illustrate ‘non-being’ that lies below the world of even partial being; thus, in expanding the idea of the object, Meinong introduces what may be called an algebraic freedom into thought and, therefore, potential simplification and depth; e.g. IMPOSSIBLE as a special case of rather than an opposite of possible. Undoubtedly, I have not exhausted Meinong’s ideas or his uses of them; and there is a modern development of his theories that I have not touched. In the end, what is the value of Meinong’s analyses and those of his successors? I think that Frege’s distinction between sense and reference clears up much of the Meinongian maze; and that there is a real theory of concepts and objects, the THEORY OF BEING, that is much simpler and much deeper. (b) List: UNIVERSE, MATTER, IDEA… (c) ALL? ACTUAL / POSSIBLE (my THEORY OF BEING shows that there is no distinction.) This is elaborated in COSMOLOGY: actual – planet, cosmos; possible – GOD, ‘Jesus has risen from the dead,’ angel…
On the sequence of development
It is important to develop the fundamentals (BEING, KNOWLEDGE) before details (COSMOLOGY)
Why Being? Has also be discussed in the introduction
Introduction to metaphysics: expectations of a THEORY OF BEING
CONCEPT, WORD, EXISTENCE, THEORY, CONSEQUENCES
SLACK
What
does it mean to say that a concept is or has slack? It means that there is
flexibility in the sense and reference of the concept, i.e. the meaning (sense
and reference) is not inherent in the world and waiting to be discovered but
also to be created. Sources of slack include incompleteness in understanding of
the world and indeterminacy in systems of concepts
The verb, TO BE
The essential elements of
metaphysics
BEING, VOID, UNIVERSE, LOGOS, NORMAL
mIND?
Development of the foundation; the THEORY OF BEING:
FORM, LOGOS, LOGIC, CONCEPT, OBJECT; INDIVIDUAL, WORLD, JOURNEY; SUBSTANCE, MIND, MATTER
The following should stand except (1) be clear on form vs. object and whether there is a distinction; (2) that the word, ‘Meinongian’ shall not be used in this chapter (there will be no names of philosophers and so on in this chapter)
Every OBJECT exists – of course excepting CONTRADICTORY OBJECTS; this is contrary to what is usually accepted
A FORM is a Meinongian object – a PARTIAL OBJECT
A LAW is an object
A PATTERN is an object
Is a PROPERTY such as MASS (‘primary’) or REDNESS (‘secondary’) an object?
An INFINITE RECURRENCE is an object
A PERCEPTION, CONCEPT, or COGNITION is an object (FORM?)
Whereas the object of perception may, in some sense, approximate to a form (intersection between perceiver and perceived,) the perception (as the integral of the locus of PERCEPTA in perceiver and perceived) is a form / object
Is the following placement appropriate?
OBJECT, IDENTITY, INDIVIDUAL, TRUTH
In previous versions, I have defined world to be a part of the universe, typically a coherent phase (phase-epoch;) and as a sense of what constitutes the universe
Thus, a WORLD is in fact an INTEGRAL: INDIVIDUAL-WORLD
The world contains individuals; thus in the following, the individual and other individuals are in the world
JOURNEY: (INDIVIDUAL-WORLD)1 ® (INDIVIDUAL-WORLD)2
This conception may be made more precise, i.e. regarded as true object, just as for a number of other concepts of intuition, by my modification of the Kantian argument
A journey is not mere process but involves ACTION or AGENCY
The world contains ‘great’ individuals; a GREAT individual is one at the apex or focus of becoming or transformation. Therefore, FOCAL may be a better word than great in this context. This point is not emphasized
JOURNEY IN BEING: (INDIVIDUAL-WORLD) ® UNIVERSE
Two new concepts: DEPTH and VARIETY. Review whether the introduction should retain the demonstration of assertion at the end of the following paragraph
DEPTH – sense, intension, metaphysics; (UNDERSTANDING – logic;) VARIETY – reference, extension, cosmology; the distinction is already known; it is significant because it allows the statement: Metaphysics is the study of the depth of being and Cosmology is the study of its variety. In this statement metaphysics and cosmology are used in narrow senses; in the broadest sense metaphysics and cosmology are identical. Even in the narrow senses, metaphysics and cosmology must overlap for ‘depth’ presupposes a simple variety. Here and in the INTRODUCTION, (1) A complete metaphysics in the sense of depth has been developed, and (2) the completeness in terms of depth makes possible the elaboration of a cosmology of infinite detail in which the empirically known universe is shown to be an infinitesimal fraction of the universe. Some details of the variety of being and its possibilities are scattered throughout the essay but are developed systematically in COSMOLOGY. Although the variety is shown to be infinite –to any non-contradictory description or concept there must correspond an EXISTING object– it is shown that it is not possible to provide an explicit specification of the variety
Application of the theory (implications.) Take up what is not discussed in previous sections. Discuss (1) DEPTH (metaphysics, logic) and breadth or VARIETY (cosmology and human being,) (2) some typical applications (for those considered in the introduction, make reference.) Introduce but otherwise defer further / systematic discussion of depth to LOGIC and breadth to COSMOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY (HUMAN BEING and SOCIETY,) ETHICS (VALUE and aesthetics,) POLITICS and FAITH
Consider whether discussion of Becoming, Order and Chaos: Indeterminism, Mechanism and Explanation should be placed here or under COSMOLOGY
The description of becoming may take mathematical form but the infinity of its variety (it must include e.g. theoretical physics and geometry as special cases) make the universality of mathematical form unlikely except in special cases even if perhaps new mathematics is developed
LOGIC
as analysis of NECESSARY
or CONSTITUTIVE
form
POSSIBILITY,
NECESSITY,
ACTUALITY
Logic and the Possibility of METAPHYSICS. CERTAINTY
Logic and the VOID
Logic and ARGUMENT. DEDUCTIVE Logics. SCIENCE
PRINCIPLES
OF THOUGHT
Point. The principles of logic are among the
principles of thought
Point. Including the problem as a part of the problem provides an implicit solution. Implications for principles of thought; application to knowledge, metaphysics, science, meaning (in the sense of significance,) planning, and therapy
Point. Some thinkers hold that ‘thought’ is ‘coherent or logical thought in a language such as the English language or, better still, an ideal, axiomatically defined formal language.’ The intent in naming appears to be to exclude all else that might have been thought of as thought; and the justification would be that thought so-defined is the only kind of thing that could be called thought that is indeed productive (of valid consequences from premises…) I say that the point to having a place and a name for what these thinkers call thought is valid; but it is not valid to claim that this is the only productive mental process. The kind of thinker in question is the one, typically an obsessive or a university professor, who, having become enamored of the actual productivity of what he or she calls thought and being aware of the pitfalls of other kinds of thought has staked out a claim. I say that, while the desire to identify and to label is valid, to exclude all else from thought is to reduce human being to a rigid system of marks on a piece of paper. The following is thought in my estimation: imagery and imagination – symbolic and pictorial; and criticism – symbolic or pictorial; and, further, imagery is immensely important as is immersion in the body. Obviously, pictorial imagination, art, music, and poetry are important sources of imagery; however, so are the sciences and the formal symbolic systems – language, logic and mathematics
GENERAL, NORMAL
Sources for general cosmology include imagination (iconic
and symbolic) and action; the traditions and disciplines and the history of
thought and action. Details include science and physical cosmology; faith, myth
and religion; symbolic, iconic and dramatic expression: pure imagination,
dreams and dreaming, language, art including drama and literature, philosophy,
logic and logics, and mathematics
Theory of TRANSFORMATION
Reduce and incorporate as sections?
General
COSMOLOGY,
ORDER and CHAOS
Two Divides in the Evolution of Being: Cosmos
and Symbol
Normal
Cosmology. Local or Physical Cosmologies. Application – Theoretical
Physics
Include?
INDIVIDUAL
(2)
Consider whether discussion of Becoming, Order and Chaos:
Indeterminism, Mechanism and Explanation should
be placed here or under METAPHYSICS
Alternate title components: ANTHROPOLOGY, ACTION, AGENCY, SOCIETY, CIVILIZATION
MIND
Incorporate (as sections?)
HUMAN BEING: Organism and Origins
Unconscious, The
EXPERIENCE: Feeling, Awareness, and
Consciousness. CHARACTERIZING
MIND:
Extension to the Root. ASPECTS
of Mind: perceptive / receptive or Attitude, reflective or Null, and active or
Action
PSYCHOLOGY
in a Normal World. Introduction to the ELEMENTS OF MIND
FUNCTION. The CATEGORIES
CATEGORIES: structure
and process
GROWTH. Learning and
Development. Personality; Purpose, Commitments, Accomplishment and Meaning;
Love. Mind, symbol and value as providing a Proximate or Initial Account of
Being and Becoming (experience and transformation)
DESIRABILITY: Ethics, Value and
Feasibility. The HIGHEST IDEAL
Add comment consideration of the highest ideal is also a response to the important question of ethical realism, objectivity and indeterminism. By admitting the question of ideals as an ideal, i.e. by admitting the nature of ideals, realism, objectivity and determinism have been introduced – without of course removing all concern with indeterminism, objectivity or realism regarding specific ideals
Note: this is a prototype for one approach to similar problems for knowledge, metaphysics, science, meaning (in the sense of significance,) planning, and therapy. How may the approach be described generally? Given a problem or concern, admission of the existence of the problem provides an implicit solution – though of course not an explicit one
Include consideration of UNITY OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Point. Enjoyment as enjoyment of the senses, of the moment is important in itself otherwise ethics runs the risk of being too serious, mere economics; totalitarian economics is thought a virtue even where totalitarian politics is a vice
Incorporate (as sections?)
The Concept and Nature of FAITH
Point. That the psychology of the individual is not altogether transparent, that the individual may perform acts of will but is not pure will is a reason that shared motives including faith are not always most effective when transparent. Perhaps a day may arrive when all humankind will rise above opacity of reasons and motives but until then, simple faith will continue to have some hold in the sphere of morals. Thus, faith is subject to abuse – intellectual, political… However, willing and intellect will not remove the fact of faith; nor is it clear that faith should be removed – it is the abuse that deserves removal; and as far as faith itself is concerned perhaps its content requires editing and if so, the theory of being shows a way
Point. Especially in the death of the traditional god, the traditional faith lies an appeal of fundamentalism – in addition to any intellectual and political appeal
Point. There is an ideal point of view from which the theory of being and the theory of the normal cosmology should be universally accepted. That is, there is an ideal world in which these ultimate truths would be universal. However, in this world of opaque motives and values and of real time, such acceptance is likely to be fractional and tentative
Faith, REASON and Chaos
RELIGION, MYTH and CHARISMA
The PLACE and FUTURE of Religion. BRIDGING
Performs the function of the old section, Criticism, Conclusions and Prospect. The following are the sub-sections of that old section. Some material from the sub-sections may be incorporated. Shouldn’t some commentary on the ULTIMATE come earlier? It is important to note that the function of much of the discussion is unnecessary. There should be more on prospect. And, as far as criticism is concerned, I should use the approach to criticism (of self and the work) from letters to ROBIN and to JOAN is better than what I had done in the old version (the two approaches to foundation should have already been discussed)
Status of the THEORY OF BEING
Conclusions on the Nature of Being
Comment
Present this chapter as a JOURNEY; make sure to evaluate and emphasize the significance of what has been accomplished so far – I tend to forget this since I have not worked on it in a while; merge what has been accomplished into plans, ambitions and goals
The CONCEPT (discussed
earlier)
Necessity of the journey in LIFE,
DISCOVERY and REALIZATION
(experience) of possibility
AIMS and MAP
The PRIMARY phases or PROJECTS are KNOWLEDGE or understanding and
experience including TRANSFORMATION;
at present, the secondary projects are DESIGN and SOCIAL CHANGE or transformation
TOPICS
for the primary PROJECTS
below follow rationally from and include AMBITION (aims) and FOUNDATION
(basis)
The old section, Journey in Understanding
A History of Knowledge and Exploration
The INTENSION of the concept is elucidated in previous
chapters; the previous chapters began to elaborate the extension
EXTENSION
of the concept
ULTIMATE
based in the THEORY
OF BEING (VOID)
HUMAN
KNOWLEDGE. Classical formulations, PLATO through BRITANNICA (Britannica may incorporate
the previous systems.) References: EVOLUTION
AND DESIGN, JOURNEY
IN BEING (outline.) Here, in JOURNEY
IN BEING, the THEORY OF BEING universalizes an adaptation of BRITANNICA
EVALUATION
of COMPLETENESS
of the system: the intersection of the ultimate and human knowledge
The modern system augmented by the history of knowledge;
its extension by the THEORY
OF BEING; evaluation of the system –its value and limits– especially RELIGION, SCIENCE, ART, PHILOSOPHY, METAPHYSICS, PHILOSOPHY, LOGIC, the SYMBOLIC DISCIPLINES,
the THEORY OF
VALUE; ACADEMICS;
and relations to ACTION
and HISTORY
Incorporate the sections from
the old in-process version, perhaps in the simple form, metaphysics and
philosophy:
METAPHYSICS and the JOURNEY: KNOWLEDGE, its HUMAN TRADITION and TRANSFORMATION
IDEAS
as JOURNEY.
Metaphysics and PHILOSOPHY
in Light of the THEORY
OF BEING
TRANSFORMATIONS are VIRTUAL, those realized in virtue of knowledge
of IDENTITY;
and ACTUAL,
realized through transformation of being; the distinction between virtual and
actual transformations is not absolute
Incorporate the sections from
the old in-process version into what
follows:
THEORY:
FOUNDATION and further considerations (if
necessary)
WAYS
or approaches: DYNAMICS
OF BEING
PATH
(paths) based in DYNAMIC
STRUCTURE
MIND
and HUMAN
GROWTH (Note: ‘human’ is limiting if prototype but freeing if
example against the universal)
… and construction of INTELLIGENCE (mind,) LIFE, and being
Design and EVOLUTION
Conceptual and embodied implementation
Includes design and experiment with concepts and
embodiment; SOFTWARE
and HARDWARE
AGENTS
and TOOLS
(agents are independent, tools augment or are synthetic with human performance
and ability; both can be conceptual andor embodied, software andor hardware)
The purpose of this section is to found and narrate application
and action toward changes in the human condition in the world with focus on
values or desirability and feasibility
Society, structure, and change
History, the world today, values and needs
Design for structure (institutions) and action
Action (implementation)
Note: I don’t like the word
‘prospect’ here or in the corresponding place in the previous chapter. Replace
the word by an appropriate alternative
Prospect will include the
following elements
What remains of the foregoing phases?
Elements of the following LEVEL 2
sections from the old in-process version
THE
JOURNEY CONTINUES
Program of study, research and experiment. Incorporate the following sections from the old in-process version:
Status and Future of the Essay
The lexicon or glossary of terms has two parts. The first is an alphabetical listing of concepts and descriptions of the concepts that focuses on intension or sense and, to a lesser degree on extension or reference. The second part lists the concepts without descriptions in a ‘logical’ arrangement that follows the outline of the essay
It will be useful to distinguish level I and level II concepts
This part of the lexicon is an alphabetical listing of concepts with descriptions
theory of being A complete theory of being is a metaphysics understood to include logic and cosmology. If the metaphysics is to be complete then the inclusion is implicit. The theory of being developed in this essay is referred to as THEORY OF BEING
Indian Philosophy Include comment on Vedanta, Samkhya and Yoga
Here the concepts are listed according to the outline of the essay
Items in red are not yet in the sections
Multi-word concepts. Some concepts are written as more than one word. An example is iconic representation in which there is a core concept, ‘representation’ and a descriptor, ‘iconic.’ In such cases there may be a main entry – ‘representation: iconic’ and a second entry ‘iconic representation’ that will refer to the main entry
Code for this section:
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Other heading (actual or possible)
Other heading (actual or possible)
Keywords (List 2) and comments
Keywords (List 3) ( " " " )
Keywords (List 4) ( " " " )
…
Introduction
absolute, application, artistic, breadth, characteristic, choice, civilization, contradiction, demonstration, direct action, economics, ethics, existentially, exploration, foundation, human knowledge, human thought, idea, individual, infinitesimal, morals, narrative, overarching end, philosophy, range of application, religion, sense, significance , society, specification, ultimate, universal ambition, virtual
Ambitions
absolute limit, adventure, any being, becoming, behavior, biology, cause, church dogma, darkness, design, determinate, deterministic, discipline, emotion, empathy, enjoyment, esoteric, evolution, evolution of goals, experience, explicit, formlessness, goal, grandiosity, group, highest ideal, humankind, illumination, implicit, importance, indeterminate, indeterministic, intuition, judgment, knowledge, life, limit, living in the present, motive, mundane, mystery, nameless, near symmetry, Newtonian science, normal limit, object, objective, passion, perceive, physics, potential, probability, quantum mechanics, realism, realization, reason, search for values, secular, sensibility, sensory intuition, sinnlichkeit, space, stable, theories, time, tradition, transcending limits, transformation, ultimate breadth, ultimate depth, unnamed, value, vernunft, verstand, world
Achievement(s)
Use ‘social action’ or other phrase
criticism, design, doubt, result, social action
Audience
Being
a priori, agnosticism, brief history of the idea of being, categorial, categorially, categories of intuition, causation, change, creativity, dualism, epistemology, Euclidean geometry, exist, fallibility, fundamental problem of metaphysics, given, history of thought, human, human being, identification, infinite regress, matter, meaning of being, mind, mind-matter, modern science, monism, Newtonian mechanics, perception, principles of thought, process, psychology, quantum theory, radical criticism, relationship, research, sentient, sophistry, study, theoretical physics, theory of objects, transcendence, transcendental idealism, trivial, what, why
Existence
The key terms power, existence, and the verb to be have been introduced in this section as a comment
a posteriori, agnostic, am, analysis, as, connotation, construction, deconstruction, desirability, egalitarian, existence as, extension, feasibility, intension, is, knowing, language, local, Meinongian, microcosm, model, normal, objectivity, paradigm, patch, path, phase, power, problem, real, reconstruction, regularity, see, self-contradictory concept, temporal, the verb to be
Void
absence, fundamental problem of metaphysics, nonbeing, nothing, nothingness
Universe
all being, empirically known universe, known universe
Logos
constitutive of its being, form, logic, necessary form, plan, pure logos, reason, word
Logos and universe
actuality, and even sciences are necessary and possible entities, boundary, common sense, contain eternities and infinities, contingency, edge, end, form, law, necessity, no beginning, no creation, possibility, science
The void
absence of being, complement of the universe, constraint, depth, extent, forms, laws of logic are not true laws, no laws, no patterns, no regress of explanation, nonbeing, non-being, patterns, restraint, something from nothing, substance, substance-free ontology, universe is infinitely greater than the ‘known universe’, variety, void º every entity º every possibility º the universe º all being, voidism, what is logically possible is possible
A universe of possibility
annihilation, annihilator, Brahman, death, ghost universes, ghosts, God, nature of death, nature of God, principle of sufficient reason, recurrence, span of recurrence, transcending death
Normal
Theory of Being
Which of the following – actual vs. actuality, possible vs. possibility, necessary vs. necessity? Is a choice necessary?
actual, actuality, contingent, cosmological system, discrete, distinct, emergence, formation, identity, incremental, mechanism, modal logic, necessary, necessity, non-normal, normal, normal mechanism, possibility, possible, rational, saltation, selection, stable being, structure, variation
Journey
element, luminous, transitional, universal, personal; city, forest; duty, perfection, destiny; light, dark, shadow
Concepts
Concept
Comment: range and field are identical in their present meaning
field, range
Concept and meaning
confusion of meaning, depth, develop, distinction, embedded, idea, simultaneously analyze the meaning
Knowledge
acquaintance, action, description, faith, feeling, function, immersion, tradition, understanding
Meaning
categories, category, education, explanation, force,
learning, metaphysics, ostensive, reference, sense, symbol, theory, use
Thought
discovery, formal, informal, logic, principles of thought, reflexive, validity
Advice
Arguments
Foundation
Metaphysics
Ontology, materialism, atomism, monadism, idealism, element, Theory of Being
The following is not currently a heading
Epistemology
a posteriori, a priori, acquaintance, apprehension, belief, category of being, category of intuition, causation, certainty, cognition, cognition: emotion in integration with, comprehension, concept, conception, correlation, deduction, description, determinism, direct, dispositional knowledge, emotion in integration with cognition, empiricism, epistemology, experience, experiment, explanation, fact, faith, feeling-faith-action: knowledge and, function: knowledge and, function: mental, hypothesis, iconic representation, immersion, indeterminism, indirect, induction, intuition, justification, knowledge, knowledge and feeling-faith-action, knowledge and function, knowledge: dispositional, language, law, logic, logical positivism, mathematics, meaning, memory, mental, mental function, noumenon, object, occurrent, opinion, percept, perception, phenomenalism, phenomenon, presentationalism, rationalism, rationality, realism, reason, representation: iconic, representation: symbolic, representationalism, science, scientific positivism, skepticism, substance, symbol, symbolic representation, theory, thought, truth, understanding, use, value
Expectations
Being
Decide on sections and names; of the following, decide what goes to which section
The elucidation of being and knowing, of object and concept at the outset is essential
History of the idea of being
Foundation
form, substance, matter, mind, relation, process, state, relationship, other modes; knowledge, appearance
form: forms are elements of the logos, forms have being, a form is an object, not elements of another universe, symbolic logic
description of form: symbol, symbolic system, language, signs, semiotics, communication, assertive, sentence
universals: relationship, property
variety of forms: ideas and action and their history, story
Object
ideal object, symbol, concept, intension, extension, process, relationship
index, indexical, proper name, mass term
property
symbolic or descriptive and intuitive forms: illusion, belief, knowledge, truth, correspondence, common faith
explanation and understanding: theory, possibility of metaphysics, principles of thought, error, falsehood, concretization, realism, non-congruent filter, subjective, event, fact, proposition
The following line is repeated from Chapter 1 and immediately below under ‘Identity’
feeling, faith, action, function
Truth
one truth
world: mundane world, divine world, spirit, private
way to truth: one way, beauty
Is the following placement appropriate?
Identity
death
the individual
The following line is repeated from Chapter 1 and immediately above from ‘Truth’
feeling, faith, action, function
Exist
Universe
void, logos, logic, normal, mind, mind and feeling, world
The normal depends on the context or situation and the state of knowledge, stability is returned through the concept of the normal
For mind and feeling, see, especially ‘Primitives’ in the discussion of mind under human being
becoming, mathematical form
Elements
Theory
Application
Logic
understanding of logos, science, primal elements, primal probabilistic logic, symbolic case, truth vs. falsehood, limitations of logic on the realization of description
contradiction
laws of logic, law of contradiction
traditional logic, argument, implication, contradiction
definition, undefined term, axiom, axiomatic system, postulate, theorem, proof
induction, intuition
Thought
Cosmology
becoming, indeterminism, necessity of all becoming
physical cosmology: duration, extension, atomism, microscopic, no universal causation, dominant, space-time, non-deterministic causation, system of elements, law, immanent, imposed
physical law
dynamic, dynamics, mechanics
theoretical physics
divides: origin, variety, complexity, probability
journey: design, individual journey, transformation, possibilities of transformation, normal transformation, boundary of the normal, general transformation
order, chaos, indeterminism
quasi-causation, quasi-causal order, quasi-symmetry, quasi-stability, quasi-determinism, design
Quasi-causal order?
normal mode or mechanism of becoming
mechanism, explanation, evolution, variation, selection, incremental evolution, structure, selection of structure, dynamic structure, symmetry, near symmetry, stability, relative stability, ephemera, element, perchance affinity, primal force, primal ethics
From EDIT:
range and kinds of being, chain of being
general cosmology, span of being, recurrence, article of faith, origin, space-time, creation, creator, god, fate, karma, miracle, magic, magician
physical cosmology, cause, effect, space, time, space-time, matter, force, solar system, stars, galaxies, cosmological system, phase-epoch, domain, cosmological models, earth sciences, geology, life, mind and matter, history
Alternative phrase for phase-epoch
identity, sense of sameness, absolute identity, sameness in constitution, identity of being or substance, identity of form, subjective identity, objective identity, span of being, participation
personal identity, sense of being the same individual over change, change, memory, gives meaning to being that is the span of individual beings, continuity of individual identity in life, multiple lives
reflection, action, caring, commitment, relationship
subjective identity (continuity) of form, identity (continuity) of substance, Atman, Brahman, dual role for knowledge and memory
dissociation
Human Being
reproduction, creative function, integration, functions, symbol, bound, free, memory, bright consciousness, reflexivity, psychology, elements of mind, categories of intuition, humor, creation, order and chaos, development, meaning, commitment, love, value, mind and symbol as a proximate account of being, action
group functions, culture, disciplines, art, religion, structure, politics, law, economics
Mind
Discussion of mind occurs earlier in the general discussion of being and here in the discussion of human being. It is convenient to place keywords pertaining to mind in general here together with concepts that pertain to human and animal mind. I may, later, change this arrangement: the more general terms may be placed earlier or in both locations. It is also useful and convenient to place keywords for language here; this, too, may be changed later
Primitives for mind
Note that some primitives pre-occur in the earlier general discussion of mind
function, function: routine, routine function, function: quasi-causal: quasi-deterministic, quasi-causal and quasi-deterministic function, function: generative, generative function, feeling, feeling: universality of, universality of feeling, feeling: forms of, forms of feeling, sense, sensation, attention, perception, conception, cognition, imagery, icon, symbol, thought, awareness, consciousness, awareness: consciousness: bright, bright consciousness, awareness: consciousness: peripheral, intension, attitude, conscience, self-consciousness, consciousness of consciousness, emotion, simple emotion, emotion: simple, consciousness: element of, element of consciousness, pain, joy, mind, feeling, impression, structure of consciousness, consciousness: structure of, self-referentiality, unconscious: the, peripheral process, process: peripheral, scanning, primitive feeling, feeling: primitive, meaning: concepts and, concepts and meaning, memory, solipsism, action, action: physical, physical action, action: intensional, intensional action, communication, dramatic communication, communication: dramatic, affective expression, expression: dramatic, speech, knowing, knowledge, knowledge: primal, primal knowledge, knowledge-in-being, knowledge by immersion, knowledge by acquaintance, knowledge by description, being: knowledge-in, immersion: knowledge by, acquaintance: knowledge by, description: knowledge by
Function and integration
The meaning of FEELING. Be careful to distinguish feeling in its common sense and the primitive elements of ‘feeling’ that are the elements of all mental function
Dimensions of feeling
bound-free, internal-external, memory, afferent-efferent, state-disposition, layered organization, atomism-holism, focus-background, center-periphery, integration-independence, atomic-holistic: part-whole: modularity-integration
Modalities of feeling
quality-intensity, shape-quantity, direction of feeling, feeling: direction of: attraction-repulsion: pleasure-pain, mood: tenor of feeling: uni-directional, tenor of feeling or mood, feeling: tenor of or mood
Function: integration of the modalities
Feeling, drive: internal-bound
Sense: perception: external-bound
Primitive emotion: internal – free + bound
Pure thought: external – free + bound
Cognition-emotion-drive: external + internal – free + bound, feeling-motivation-cognition: an integrated system: isolation of denied, problem of binding, problem of object constancy
Axes for mental phenomena
experience, attitude, action
examples of attitudes: knowledge, belief, desire, omnivalent interpretation of belief, belief: omnivalent interpretation of
Categories of intuition
the elements of intuition
existential: being, being-in, becoming, humor
physical: space, time, causation, indeterminism: humor
biological: life forms
psychological or psychosocial: image-concept, icon-symbol, emotion, humor, communication, value, identity
Development
integration over time and development
sign, symbol, and language
learning
personality and meaning, individual and society, meaning, commitments and purpose, love, personality and identity, identity in being may give arching significance to lesser being, problem of binding, integration, dissolution
factors for the psychology of the person as a whole: traditional personality factors: Jungian: Freudian: Eriksonian: Ayurvedic, ‘hardwiring’ issues: biological including neurological and endocrine, group or social factors, some specific factors: perceiving vs. judging, intuitive vs. sensing, analytic vs. synthetic – not one of Jung’s original factors, feeling vs. thinking, introvert vs. extravert, inertia vs. mobility, symbol and value as a proximate account of being
Exceptional achievement and disorder
disorder: functional and personality, systemic vs. localized, vs. correlates of extremes, vs. degeneration, vs. environmental origin, psychiatry, subjective criteria, functional criteria, trait
exceptional achievement: relation to disorder is partial: lateral: causal, step-wise dependence of performance on raw ability, integration of the functions: especially intuition and thought, integration of personality: commitments and consistency
savant syndrome: freeing: non-blocking: compensation; savant syndrome as displacing normal development andor function
In the case of displacement, the syndrome is not normally available to all individuals; in all other cases above it is
Language
an aspect of analytic and social development, language: function: cognition and communication, iconic thought, symbolic thought, art and drama, speech, speech act, propositional attitude, attitude, belief, desire, language and thought, thought and logic, generalized concept of language: acting-drama-literature-poetry-art-music, free symbol: foundation of knowledge: logic and culture
concepts: – common: as-intuited: as-initially-experienced: intuitive: open: slack: tight: tentative: transitional: experimental: extended to the root or ultimate: primal: primitive: as-I-experience-it: as-I-initially-experience-it: fluid: flat: empty: shallow: degraded: secularized: meaning: use: extension / reference: intension / sense: field or system of concepts
uses of language: concepts, attitudes, metaphor and other non-literal uses, bewitchment of intelligence, bewitchment of critical thought, it is as if language creates a universe of its own
Desirability
design, high value, constructive of value, commitment, modes of life, goals or ends, ethical, feasible, economic, promotion, right, good, prohibitive, group decisions and action, rationality, value, intrinsic worth
bridging (in general)
Society
Entries for society are under ‘Human Being’
Faith
common faith, article of faith, dogma, myth, religion, faith and science, literal and non-literal interpretations, bridging
god
shaman, shamanism
faith, knowledge, action
Address in terms of this world in the entire one universe – note that the object is to address the origin of the concept of sin:
guilt, sin, emptiness
Prospect
Journey in Being
Journey
Narrative
Projects
Knowledge
Background
Human Knowledge
Metaphysics
Philosophy
Transformation
Approach
Path
Experiments
Design
Society
Prospect
Fundamental Problems
Being
Transformation
Knowledge
Program