Philosophical Reflections
(Under Revision)
An analysis of History of Philosophy, Mysticism, Metaphysics , Psychology and Modern Physics.
Dr. Abdul Lathief
"This Book is
inspired by The Great Classic "Fusus al Hikam" of the Greatest Master
“Ibn Arabi -
Contents
Part I: Nature of Reality
Chapter 1: The Planes of the Absolute
I: Absolute Being.
II. Absolute Subject.
III Absolute Spirit
IV. Absolute World.
A: Soul World .(Space-Time)
i: Universal Spiritual (Subjective) Soul.
ii: Universal Mental Soul .
iii: Universal Material Soul .
a: Subtle Material soul .
b: Gross Material Soul
B: Material World
i Subtle Material Beings
a: Cosmic Mental Being (Cosmos-realm of Quarks)
b: Cosmic Imaginary Being (Galaxies-sub atom)
c: Cosmic Living Being (Solar system-Atom)
ii: Gross Material Beings
1: Celestial Beings
i: Higher Soul Beings
a: Pluto
b: Neptune
c: Uranus
ii: Middle Mental Beings
d: Saturn
e: Jupiter
f: Mars
g: Sun
iii: Lower imaginary Beings
h-Venus
i:-Mercury
j:-Moon
2: Terrestrial Beings
a-Fire being
b-Air being
c-Water being
d-Earth being
e: Mineral being.
f: Plant being.
g: Animal being.
h-Terrestrial Angels
i-Jinn
J: Human beings.
a: Subjective Spirit
i: Soul
ii:
Consciousness
iii:
Spirit
b: Objective Spirit
i: Law
ii: Morality of Conscience
iii:
Social Ethics
c: Absolute Spirit
i:
Art
ii: Religious Spirit.
iii: Philosophic Spirit.
V: Absolute Man
Chapter 2: The
Transcendent the Eternal and the Temporal
Chapter 3: Creative evolution and dissolution
Chapter 4: The living world
Chapter 5: Conscious evolution
Chapter 6: The unique human spirit
Chapter 7: The path of the seeker
Chapter 8: Wisdom, Love, Power
Chapter 9: World of Imagination
Chapter 10: Life & Death
Chapter 11: Concept of God
Part II: Philosophy &Branches of
Philosophy.
Chapter 1: Philosophy.
Chapter 2: Mysticism.
Chapter 3: Metaphysics
Chapter 4: Ontology
Chapter 5: Epistemology
Chapter 6: Logic.
Chapter 7: Philosophy of Mind
Chapter 8: Philosophy of Language
Chapter 9: Aesthetics.
Chapter 10 Philosophy of Religion.
Chapter 11: Political Philosophy.
Chapter 12: Social Philosophy
Chapter 13: Philosophy of History
Chapter 14: Ethics: Good & Evil
Part III: History of Philosophy
Chapter 1: Introduction.
Section A: Western philosophy
Chapter:
1
Division I: Ancient Philosophy
i-Pre Socratic Period.
Chapter 2 Ionic Philosophy
A: Thales
B: Anaximander
C: Anaximenes
Chapter 3 Pythagoreans
Chapter 4 Eleatic Philosophy.
A: Xenophanes
B: Parmenides
C: Zeno
Chapter 5 Heraclitus
Chapter 6 Empedocles.
Chapter 7 The Atomists-Democritus.
Chapter 8 Anaxagoras
Chapter 9 The Sophists
A: Protagoras
B: Gorgias
C: Later Sophists..
ii- Socratic Period.
Chapter 10 Socrates.
Chapter 11: The Socratics.
A: Antisthenes and the Cynicism
B: Aristippus and Hedonism.
C: Euclid and the Megarians.
Chapter 12 Plato
Chapter 13 Aristotle
iii- Post Aristotelian period
Chapter 14: Stoicism
Chapter 15: Epicuras.
Chapter16: Scepticism
A: Old Scepticism.
B: New Academy.
C: Later Scepticism.
Chapter 17 Neo Platonism
A: Philo.
B:Plotinus
C:Proclus.
Chapter:18: Ancient Philosophy-some Concepts and their Antinomies
A: Absolute
and relative, One and Many,
Whole and Parts
B. Idealism
and materialism
C: Freedom and Necessity, Free Will and Determinism
ision II: Medieval Philosophypter:
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter:2. Saint Augustine.
Chapter:3. Pseudo Dionysius.
Chapter:4. Boethius.
Chapter:5. Scotus Erigena.
Chapter:6. Saint Anselm
Chapter:7. Roscelin &.Lombard.
A: Roscelin.
B: Peter Lombard.
Chapter:8. Peter Abelard.
Chapter: 9 Hugo & Bernard.
A: Hugo of St.Victor.
B.Bernard of clairvaux
Chapter:10. Dominicus Gundissalinus
Chapter :11 Grossetetse & Albert.
A: Robert Grossetetse
B: Albert the Great.
Chapter:12. Roger Bacon.
Chapter:13. Saint Bonaventure.
Chapter:14 Thomas Aquinas
Chapter:15. Duns Scotus.
Chapter:16. William of Occam.
Chapter:17 Lully & Pompenaticus
Chapter: 18. Scholastic controversial concepts.
A:Realism and Nominalism.
B: Faith and Reason.
C:Trinity.
D:Being:Essence,Existence.
Division III: Modern Philosophy
Chapter :1: Introduction.
Chapter:2. Niccola Machiavelli
Chapter:3. Erasmus.
Chapter:4. Sir Thomas More.
Chapter:5. Giordano Bruno.
Chapter:6. Jacob Boehme.
Chapter:7. Francis Bacon
Chapter 8: Thomas Hobbes.
Chapter:9. Descartes.
Chapter.10. Geulinex & Malebranche
Chapter.11 Spinoza
Chapter 12 Leibniz
Chapter 13: Empiricists
a: John Locke
b:
c: David
Hume
d: Rousseau
e: Rationalism
and empiricism
Chapter 14: Immanuel Kant
Chapter15: Schopenhauer and Nietzsche
a: Schopenhauer
b: Nietzsche
c: Voluntarism:
Objective & Subjective
Chapter 16: German Idealism
a: Fichte
b : Schelling
c : Hegel
d: Idealism:
Subjective & Objective
e: Idealism
and realism
Chapter 17: The Evolutionists
a: Herbert Spencer
b : Darwin
and Lamarck
c: Henri Bergson
iv: Contemporary Philosophy
Chapter 20: Marxism and Materialism
a: Marxism
b: Materialism:
Mechanistic & Dialectical
Chapter 21: Croce, White head, James
a: Benedetto Croce
b: White
head
c: William
James
Chapter 22: Heidegger and Existentialism
a: Martin Heidegger and Dasein
b:
Existentialism
c: Existence and Essence
Chapter23: Positivism and Logical Positivism.
a: Positivism
b: Logical positivism
Chapter 24: Phenomenology
Chapter 25: Structuralism, Post Structuralism and Cultural Anthropology.
a: Structuralism
b: Post Structuralism
c: Cultural Anthropology.
Chapter 26: Systems Theory and Autopoiesis
a: Systems Theory
b: Autopoiesis
Chapter 27: Chaos and Complexity Theory
Chapter 28: Modern ideal philosophies
a: Neo Thomism
b: Personalism
c: Neo realism
Chapter 29: Post Modernism and Critical Theory
a: Post Modernism
b: Critical Theory
Chapter 30: Foucault ,Derrida and Habermas
a: Michel Foucault
b: Jacques Derrida
c: Jurgen Habermas
Chapter 31 Other Post Modern Philosophies
a: Critical Realism
b:
Chapter 32 Ken Wilber
and Integral Post Metaphysics
Chapter 33
Hermeneutics
& Gadamer
a: Hermeneutics
b: Hans-Georg Gadamer
Chapter
34
a: Francis Fukuyama and The End of History and the Last Man
b: Samuel P. Huntington and Clash of Civilisations
Chapter 35 Participatory Philosophy and the
Section B: Eastern Philosophy
Chapter 1: Introduction
i: Indian Philosophy.
Chapter 1: Hindu Philosophy
a: Samkhya
b:
c: Vedanta
d: Conscious and unconscious
Chapter 2: Jain Philosophy
Chapter 3: Buddhist philosophy
Chapter 4: Theosophy
Chapter :5: Sri Aurabindo and Integral yoga
Chapter :6 J.Krishnamurthy
Chapter :7 Osho Rajneesh
ii: Other Eastern Philosophies
Chapter 1: Persian philosophy: Zoroastrianism
Chapter 2: Chinese philosophy: Taoism
Chapter
3: Japanese Philosophy:Shintoism
Section C: Abrahamic Philosophy.
Chapter 1 Introduction.
Chapter 2: Jewish philosophy: Kabala
Chapter 3: Christian philosophy
a: Gnosticism
b: Thomas
Aquinas
Chapter 4 Islamic philosophy
a: Mutazilah and Ashiri
b: Al
kindi
c: Al
Farabi, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Rushd
d: Al Razi & Al Ghazali
e: Suhrawardi and illuminationist philosophy
f: Ibn Arabi
g: Mulla Sadra
h: Shah Waliyullah
i: Mohd Iqbal
j: Sufism
i: Maqam and Hal
ii: Emanations
iii: Time and Space by Iraqi
iv: Nafs
v: Nafs,Qalb,Ruh
vi: Manzils
vii: Fana and Baqa-Dhat,Sifat,Af'al
viii: Fana Af'al Baqa Af'al
ix: Fana Sifat Baqa Sifat
x: Fana Dhat Baqa Dhat
xi: Tauhid
xii: Ilm ul Yaqin,Ain ul
Yaqin,Haq ul Yaqin
xiii: Ijadiya,Suhudiya,Wujudiya Sufism
Chapter ;5 Ridwan School and Diamond approach.
Chapter :6 Perennial Philosophy and Traditionalism
b: frithjof Schuon
c:Seyyed Hussein Nasr
Section D: African Philosophy.
Section-A: Mind
Physiology
Chapter 1: Freud, Adler, Jung, and
a: Freud and psychoanalysis
b: Adler
and individual psychology
c: Jung
and analytical psychology
d:
Chapter 2: Neo Behaviorism
Chapter 3: Gestalt psychology
Chapter 4: Cognitive Psychology
Chapter 5: Humanistic Psychology
Chapter 6: Modern trends in Psychology
a: Evolutionary Psychology.
b: Developmental Psychology.
c: Depth Psychology
d: Transpersonal Psychology
Chapter 7 Experimental Psychology and James Baldwin
a: Experimental Psychology
b: James Mark Baldwin
Chapter 8: Jean Gebser and Clare Graves
a: Gebser and Structures of Consciousness
b:
Chapter 9 The Enneagram
Chapter 10: Action, sensation etc.
a : Pragmatism
b: Empiricism
c: Emotion
d: Rationalism
e: Intuition
Chapter 11: Causation, Determinism, Free will
a: Causation
b: Determinism
c: Free will
P
Chapter:1: Cosmology
Chapter:2: Modern Physics.
Chapter 1 : The planes of the Absolute
Introduction
Philosophy means love of wisdom. It is the study and knowledge of life and world. Wisdom here means knowledge about the essential nature of reality. So philosophy basically differs from other sciences and knowledge .Unlike particular sciences it is all comprehensive and looks into the ultimate essence or nature of things and unlike ordinary knowledge it is scientific and systematic knowledge. So Kant describe philosophy as scientific world view. Here scientific means rational or what accords to reason. According to Hegel philosophy is thinking about Thought itself. Here Notion or Mind is considered as the ultimate essence and world and history is seen as the becoming of Mind from abstract to concrete. As Mind itself is becoming from it's abstract state in nature as Being and Essence,through in history it becomes more and more concrete as it becomes more and more self conscious of itself as Mind. Philosophy is the fullest expression of this self consciousness of that period in pure thought. According to Heidegger philosophy is neither scientific world view nor thinking about Thought but it is the science of Being. Here Being is not another entity like other beings but the Being of beings. All these different views about philosophy can be reconciled if we remember that philosophy is the study of the nature of reality. Scientific world view is the study of the essence of the world and Hegel's view of philosophy as knowledge of Thought also is the knowledge of the nature of reality because Hegel consider Thought or Mind as the ultimate essence. Heidegger also consider Being as the ground of beings so the science of Being is also the knowledge of the ultimate nature of beings.
Another consideration in philosophy is about the method. Almost all western philosophy irrespective of empiricism or rationalism, idealism or materialism is based on reason. So it is a rational explanation of reality. One notable exception to this is Heidegger-more specifically later Heidegger (Heidegger II) and his 'Philosophy of Being' of that period. This is more of an intuitional philosophy than rational philosophy. Similarly when we look at eastern philosophy most of them are intuitional than rational philosophy. Here in this book also our primary method of philosophy is intuition which we then substantiate with reason. So our primary source is intuition and reason is only secondary source. There is a misconception among most of the western philosophers that intuition as a means of authentic knowledge is something below reason. Hegel especially equate intuition many times with immediate knowledge like sensory knowledge, unlike reason which is mediated knowledge. Now the reality is intuition is something beyond reason and not behind reason. This is because intuition is occasional glimpses from the higher spiritual plane while reason is from lower soul plane (we will explain this in detail later). It is true that intuition may also go wrong as it is not the plane of Real or Truth which is the spiritual plane but only glimpses from the spiritual plane and may be colored with reason, reflection, imagination or senses but when compared with reason and soul plane the chances of error are less. Most of the time what we receive as intuition we then substantiate with reason. This we will illustrates with consciousness of God and self consciousness. Unlike atheism which is pure rational conviction those fortunate ones among us who have strong conviction of an higher reality called God, knows that it is an intutional experience and knowledge and not one derived from reason. All rationalising like ontological and cosmological proof comes after this intuitional knowledge so as to substantiate this knowledge. Similar is the case with self consciousness. Those who have real self consciousness and experienced their pure subjectivity knows that it is an existential experience and not some thing derived from sensations, imaginations,or thoughts.. It is not that we have self consciousness because we are conscious of our body or discursive mind. It is not that we are self conscious because primarily we are body conscious and self consciousness derived from this body consciousness. Even in every day life when we say our body or our mind we are unconsciously stating the fact that the self as real witness is something beyond body and mind and reason or it is a form of higher mind. This means Self contains and also transcends body and lower mind. So in this philosophical reflections most of the time our primary source is intuition hence this is an intuitional philosophy.
Another point is the central idea of a philosophy. Every philosophy irrespective of idealism, materialism, rationalism, empiricism, existentialism have a definite central idea the author try to convey to the reader. In this sense our philosophy may be called philosophy of the Unity of Being. This is Absolute Monism and is like the monism of Sankara and Hegel in essence but differs somewhat in detail which we will explain later. There is only One Being and everything is the expressions of that Being. This differs from Dualism because neither there are two Beings nor the one Being is a Being of equal opposites. The Being as such is beyond the nature of manifested mind or matter, male or female, positive or negative, good or evil. To this Being even manifested mind is non being. In Sankara's Vedanta philosophy this creative aspect of mind is called Maya ,the illusionary power of the Absolute.
Whenever we contemplate on the essential nature or reality of beings we have to conceive of a logical state at which there is no consideration of any other form of beings except Ultimate Reality or The Being in Itself. What I mean by beings are not only what appear externally before the senses but also in the phenomenological sense like what ever appear in and as mind. Further here by beings meant neither human beings alone nor only living beings but all the realities to which predicates can be attributed. So this include minerals and metals like gold, iron due to their respective qualities and elementals like fire, earth etc due to their fiery and earthy natures and even simple elements and compounds. Similarly predicates like life, knowledge, imagination, love, power etc are attributes of beings like knower, lover and powerful. This Being is the ultimate source and ground of all beings.
When we consider the whole knowable reality or range of beings every thing can be ultimately reduced into either mental or physical or a combination of both. Physical I am using in it's broadest sense so it includes both matter and energy. So physical includes not only gross matter ,material bodies, molecules, and atoms but also fundamental particles like leptons, quarks, photons, mesons etc and even strings and p-branes and energy like electro magnetic waves. According to modern physics and quantum mechanics matter can be ultimately reduced to energy and the native state of energy is wave and particle state is an illusion produced by the influence of mind. In quantum physics this is called superposition. So the essence of physical is energy. Mental includes everything depending on consciousness like sensations, imaginations, emotions, feelings, passions, thoughts, reflections, contemplations, reason etc. So we have either mind or matter as the ultimate essence of all knowable realities. Here we comes to the nature of the opposites.
The common notion about the opposites like being and non being, mind and matter, positive and negative, male and female, good and evil is that they are two separate realities or essences and they oppose each other with equal force. According to Kant and Hegel the opposites of thesis and antithesis give rise to a third category called synthesis which contain in itself equally both thesis and antithesis yet transcend both of them. This synthesis then becomes an higher thesis which give rise to antithesis and again form higher synthesis. Earlier we mentioned that The Being(positive) contain in itself creative mind as nonbeing(negative). Similarly here what we propose is all the realities or essences are in reality predominantly positive which contain in itself it's opposite like negative but contain it and transcend it so in reality there are only positive essences. Here what appear as negative and opposite is only a lower form of the positive. This means the opposites are not equal but being contain in itself non being ,positive contain negative and mind contain matter. This also means even when there is apparent predominance of negative or non being a deeper analysis of the essential nature of that subject will reveal it as containing also positive and being. Male contain female and is a lower form of male so female also contain male. This is symbolically presented in Bible as Eve coming out of Adam. So there is only positive or being because not only positive contain in itself negative but negative is only a lower form of positive .So what we proposes here is there are no two such opposing essences or duality. There is only one Essence but neither is this essence an abstract one or simple unity without opposites. Mind and Matter are in reality one and the same thing and only two different ways or views of the same thing. So when we proceed along our ideal philosophy at last we will come to the conclusion that mind and energy are not two separate essences but one and the same thing with two aspects or different points of view. In other words matter or energy is not an independent reality but is the form of mind itself.
The essential nature of mind in it's internal aspect or subjective aspect is consciousness and the objective aspect or external form is energy or matter. Here consciousness is used as the essence or nature of mind as subject with predicates, subjective consciousness which include in itself objective consciousness. ,knowledge not as mere knowledge but as knower which include in itself knowledge of known, thought not as thoughts but as thinker including in itself thoughts. This means not only all forms of experiences like knowledge, thoughts, imagination, sensations, emotions, feelings, passions but everything and all realities even material objects are only different forms of mind . This can be further explained when we analyse the two forms of mind. Mind whose essence is subjectivity or subjective consciousness has two states. One mind in its immediacy or pre reflective state- spontaneous passive mind and the other mediated or reflected or active mind. It is the nature of mind that immediacy is prior to or precedes mediation, undifferentiated state is prior to differentiation, indeterminate state is prior to determination. The immediate mind is prior to reflection. We have seen that energy is the form of mind. In this passive state the form of mind is energy at rest. This we call the essence of energy (passive energy). This essence of energy need some clarification. As we know matter is nothing but a form of energy and all basic particles or subatomic particles can be reduced to leptons, quarks, photons and bosons. Energy units or photon differ each other according to their quanta and frequency and vibrations. Photons with higher frequency have higher quanta and higher energy and higher temperature. Photons with least frequency have least quanta and minimum energy and minimal temperature like radio waves. Essence of energy is the initial state of energy at which it has no frequency or vibrations so beyond any definite quanta (beyond quantamisation) .. What I mean by essence of energy is energy before and beyond any definite frequency or vibrations or energy at rest. This is also same as the strings in String theory, but strings in an unexcited state. Strings before definite vibrations to form leptons, photons and bosons-the basic particles of both matter and energy As we have only knowledge of energy with definite frequency this external form of mind with zero frequency or rest is unknowable.This is the passive state of mind because here there is no activity or motion of mind which results from mind reflecting upon itself or thinking of itself or becoming conscious of itself which produce particular consciousness or knowledge or thoughts. In immediacy or as pre reflective mind, mind is in it's pure state and it's internal aspect also is prior to universal subjectivity or universal self consciousness and so unknowable.So Mind at this state,both internal aspect and external aspect unknowable. At this state there is no thinking so there is no knowledge or thoughts. Thinking is the movement or activity of pre reflective or passive mind or thinking is active mind. Thoughts are the result of this thinking and this thoughts are knowledge.The second aspect of mind, The reflected mind has two states,one the higher internal reflected mind and the other lower external reflected mind.The external form of internal reflected mind is energy with infinite frequency and external reflected mind is energy with finite frequency. The first or highest active state of mind or internal reflective mind is as universal subjectivity or self consciousness.This subjectivity is not consciousness of a subject or self separate from it as knowledge but this subjectivity or self itself is this consciousness. This further means in self consciousness thinking or knowing is being or to think or know and to be is one and the same. This means here subject itself becomes the object of consciousness. So here thoughts are as thinker or knowledge as knower. So this universal subjective consciousness can only be experienced and lived but is never an object of thought or knowledge. So this first or highest state is when the object of subject is pure subjectivity without any predicates or content.This state in it's universal aspect,not individual aspect is called Divine Mind. This is the first active state of mind and this universal subjectivity is prior to all other forms of consciousness. All the other states of reflective mind or in other words all other forms and activities of the mind like knowledge, observation, sensations, imaginations, perceptions, thinking, emotions, feelings are arising out of this subjectivity and are only different forms and states of this first state of reflective mind and this universal subjectivity accompany all these other activities of the mind consciously or unconsciously. Now apart from this subjectivity which contain in itself potentially all the objects, first state of reflective mind has no other actual contents because all actual contents are developed from this potential state by second state or other activities of the mediated or active mind by making them an object for consciousness. This is why Sartre speculating on this pure subjectivity in it's individual aspect,not universal aspect describe it as Nothingness in his 'Being and Nothingness'. This is not really the state of nothingness because this state of pure subjectivity is potentially everything and this nothingness is only an abstraction of subjectivity form everything made by the reflected mind itself by posting them as objects. This is what we mentioned as the first state of reflective mind as pure subjectivity without predicates.
The second state of internal reflective mind is when the mind is subject with predicates or being in the world. In it's universal aspect,not individual this is called spiritual mind.This is as we explained earlier, there is no separate knowledge at this state or rather here knowledge of known is experienced as an aspect of knower itself or thoughts as an aspect of thinker. So knowledge of known or objects are not something alien and separate form it but this universal subjectivity contain in itself potentially the world or objects. Here there is unity of subjective and objective consciousness or knower and known or thinker and thoughts. In this second state for this universal subjective consciousness objects or the world is not an object of consciousness as external and apart and different from subjectivity but includes in itself as it's peripheral contents. So even if there is no difference there is distinction and here the other is not something completely different from the subjectivity but it's own other. This in it's individual aspect is what Heidegger means Dasein's ontological structure as 'being in the world'. Secondly as this is universal subjective consciousness it experience unity of all individual subjects..
The second aspect of reflected mind is external reflected or mediated or active mind. This mind is the active state of mind when mind becomes conscious of itself or thinking upon itself producing knowledge or thoughts. Here there is beginning of movement or definite vibrations or frequency or activity of reflective mind. Here the vibrations or frequency of energy from infinity becomes definite frequencies. This active mind is in the forms of thinking, perceptions, sensations, feelings, emotions and this produce various forms of thoughts and knowledge like rational, imaginary, sensory knowledge. So due to this motion which is reflected or active mind there is knowledge or thoughts and this will result in the separation of subject and object or knower and known or thinker and thoughts. Here the potential contents of internal reflective mind becomes an object for external reflective mind. Another difference between internal reflective mind and external reflective mind is while former mind is universal subjectivity ,as the latter mind this universality is lost and limited to itself as particular or individual subjectivity. While pure universal subjectivity is internal reflective mind this is external mind. Like internal mind there are also two states of this external reflective mind. Unconscious and conscious reflective mind. Most of the time we are thinking ,feeling and sensing without being conscious of this reflective mind. The second is conscious reflective mind where we are aware of our reflective mind. This is when we are conscious that we are thinking ,feeling or sensing. In external reflective mind there is knowledge not as knower like internal reflective mind but as knowledge due to separation of knower and known.
The lowest state of the unconscious reflective mind is what we may call material mind. Here mind identifies or thinking itself as gross matter. This is the state of mind in which energy has least vibrations or lowest frequency. Here particular subjectivity is completely identified with matter. This is as we mentioned earlier are the material bodies and gross matter and also the natural state of infants and early childhood. The ultimate reality is prior to matter so It is beyond this unconscious reflective mind as material mind. A still higher state of the unconscious reflective mind is what we call subtle mind. Here energy as form of mind has still higher frequency. What I mean by subtle mind is not only the realm of of imaginations but also other realms of mind like sensations, emotions, feelings, passions, desires and also ordinary discursive thoughts. This is an objective realm and this can be compared in its subjective aspect with all forms of human unconscious reflective mind. The objective aspect of this subtle mind is the first higher plane reached in the way of self realisation. In normal day to day life human mind is what we describe as unconscious reflective mind. This means we are thinking, imagining, feeling and sensing without being simultaneously conscious of our subjectivity. As we already explained earlier unlike universal subjectivity of internal reflective mind this subjectivity is particular or individual. Most of the time we go on thinking or knowing or feeling without being conscious of the fact that we are thinking or feeling. We are only conscious of the product of this thinking or feeling but never simultaneously aware of this thinking or feeling process or subject. Unlike internal reflective mind and external conscious reflective mind where subjectivity is experienced as something distinct (internal reflective mind) or different (conscious reflective mind) from object of consciousness, as unconscious reflective mind the subjectivity completely identifies itself with the object of consciousness. So here unaware of subjectivity experience is limited to object of thinking, feeling, sensations or imagination. What we have to remember is this subtle mind is an objective realm and our subjective subtle mind is only a limited and distorted aspect of this objective realm which is much vaster and includes this subjective plane. A still higher state of the mind is what we call the conscious reflective mind. This is also called soul mind. Here energy has still higher frequency. What I mean by soul mind is the realm of ideas and thoughts arising out of self consciousness where the being is fully conscious of his individual subjectivity and every thing arising out of this subjectivity. In contrast to internal reflective mind in this conscious reflective mind there is always an object for mind set apart from subjectivity. Unlike internal reflective mind here mind posit two independent and different realities -a subject and an object Similar to subtle mind this is also an objective realm and is the second higher plane reached in the way of self realisation.The corresponding human subjective realm is described by the individual subjectivity of Husserl after the phenomenological reduction-first eidetic reduction. This is also what Heidegger and other existentialists calls Dasein's existential consciousness .Conscious reflective mind is revealed by constant awareness or directing our consciousness to this thinking or knowing subject .This is in other words awareness of reflective mind or consciousness of reflective mind. .In soul mind apart from the objects of mind we are also conscious of our individual particular subjectivity. As we explained above what we have to remember here is our awareness of the individual subtle and soul mind is subjective and only a limited and distorted aspect of objective subtle and soul mental plane which are much vaster and greater and includes this human subjective plane.
As we explained in detail earlier the highest state of the mind and it's original nature is what we called pre reflective mind. Then comes the two states of internal reflected mind.This is also called divine mind and spiritual mind.So beyond the two forms of external reflective mind described just above there is this internal reflective mind described earlier. This is pure, spontaneous universal subjective mind. This is the original nature of mind. Unlike external reflective mind where there is duality as subject and object here there is unity because here this subjectivity itself is mind. The first difference between the subjectivity of conscious reflective mind or soul mind and the subjectivity of lower internal reflective mind or spiritual mind is in soul plane the subjectivity is individual and particular while in spiritual plane subjectivity has a universal character. The second difference is in soul plane the objects are totally different , alien and external to the subject while as spiritual mind subject includes object or objects are internal to the subject and there is no fundamental difference but only distinction between subject and object. So here object is not same as subject but other, but subject's own other.Internal reflective mind is spiritual mind where there is universal subjective consciousness and to which object is not something entirely different and external to it but include in itself as it's own other. Here there is unity of subjective and objective consciousness or here knowing is being. Spiritual mind is this immediate awareness before and beyond subjective and objective separation. Here mind is not as individual souls but as Absolute Spirit. What J. Krishnamurthy called choice less awareness , Osho Rajneesh silent witnessing self, Mulla Sadra Presencial Cognition (Ilm Hudluri). This is what Hegel calls the realm of speculative reason where there is unity of consciousness and self consciousness. This is Heidegger's realm of Ereignis where there is belonging together of Dasein and Being. This is also the state attained by what Husserl calls the second or transcendental reduction where every thing (not only the essences but also all particular subjectivities including one's own) is reduced to transcendental or universal subjectivity. But unlike phenomenological method which is an intellectual or rational knowledge of this state this is an existential or experiential consciousness. Internal reflective mind is the state of pure consciousness or experiencing or knowledge where subjective consciousness, consciousness itself, objective consciousness; or experiencer, experience and experienced or knower-knowledge-known form or in a unity. This is the state where there is no conflict or duality between subjective and objective but there is both complete unity between them and also predominance of subjectivity which includes objectivity in itself. This is the state of ecstasy of the Neo-Platonists where there is only distinction but neither difference nor separation of the knower and known. As we explained earlier this internal reflective mind has an higher and a lower or second state. The lower state or spiritual mind is what we just explained as the consciousness of the predicates or world as subject's own object. The higher state or Divine Mind is where subject abstracts all predicates so that pure subjectivity becomes an object to itself.
The Ultimate Reality or The Being is prior to material mind, so this must be before physical time. What I mean by physical time is time according to modern physics. Time beginning from a physical event. According to modern physics Big bang event is the point of singularity and the beginning of present serial time. According to idealists thoughts are before things, in other words mind is prior to matter. Since this reality is also prior to subtle mind, this must be prior to subtle time. Discursive thoughts and imaginations are always in a flux or motion and there is always movement from one thought to another in succession. So there is subtle serial time. This Reality is also prior to soul mind because soul world has a beginning as individual and particular souls. This Reality is also prior to spiritual mind or lower internal reflective mind because spiritual plane has a logical beginning of mind as Universal Subject (Absolute Spirit). What I mean by logical priority is mathematical priority like one precedes two; two precedes three and the priority of events. This also precedes higher internal reflective mind or Divine Mind as Absolute Subject. So it means this highest state of the Absolute logically precedes even the state as divine or internal reflective mind.
I: The Absolute Being.
The highest plane or the first plane is the plane of the Absolute in itself. This is the Absolute as Unknowable Essence or Absolute Being This highest state of the Absolute we call Absolute Being. Transcendence is attributed to the Absolute Being from two angles. One conforming to reason and this is as we mentioned earlier is the logical priority. In this case the Absolute Being is prior to reality as Divine Mind or Absolute Subject and creative mind or as Absolute Spirit, and Absolute Subject and Absolute Spirit or internal reflective mind is a lower form of this Absolute Being. Here Absolute Spirit and Absolute world is a later development from this Absolute Being. This is not a temporal priority because time even as a concept only occur at the plane of Absolute Spirit. So this is as we explained earlier is a logical priority. This logical priority is the priority of the Absolute Being with reason and rational philosophers. Here Absolute Being exists from all eternity or without beginning . We have seen that Being is independent of Absolute Spirit and Absolute World due to logical priority. Absolute Spirit &Absolute World are creative mind itself as Subject and predicates So even though the creative or illusionary power of mind is the power of The Being as Unknowable Essence,it is only a predicate or attribute of Being and not Being itself and also at this state this creative aspect is dorment so Absoloute Being is also independent of the illusionary power or the effect of creative aspect of mind.. This means at this highest state Absolute Being is an Unknowable Essence. This Absolute is Being and Existence .Here being or existence is not a predicate but Essence Itself. This Being or Existence is also different from the usual implied meaning which is the being or existence of creative mind. As we mentioned else where This Being is the Sole Reality. Every other beings are the gradations or states of this Being. All subjects are lower forms of this Being. This Being has no dual nature with two opposing aspects like mind/matter, positive/negative, male /female, good/evil but beyond these opposites. This Absolute Being is Positive which contain in itself illusionary or creative mind as non being and negative, as a lower form of it. When compared with this Absolute Being who is Positive and Being and Existence creative mind is negative, non being and non existent. This is why it is said that The Absolute Being is independent of attributes. This is also the reason certain mystics and philosophers like Shabistari and Sankara describe the plane of Absolute Spirit and world as relative non being and non being and Savishesha Brahman (Absolute with predicates) as a result of Maya or illusion. This all stresses the character of negativity and non being of creative aspect of mind when compared with the Absolute Being. This Maya Shakti(illusionary,creative power) being not Absoulte itself but only the power of Absolute is dorment at this state ,Hence Absolute is independent of it
Transcendence is also attributed to Absolute Being from another angle. This is conforming to intuition and this is ontological priority. Here Absolute Being always is as He was .This means not only The Being is eternally and without beginning transcendent due to logical priority but even now and everlastingly he is transcendent. Here Absolute Being contain in itself Absolute Spirit and Absolute world but always transcend it so neither limited nor defined by it. In this case there is no mere logical priority because here Absolute Being is not considered in his priority before the development of Absolute Subject ,Absolute Spirit and world alone but in it's all inclusiveness so containing in itself Absolute Spirit and Absolute World. We have seen that Absolute Being is independent of Absolute Spirit and Absolute World in it's ontological priority. As we explained earlier Absolute Spirit and Absolute World are nothing but creative aspect of mind as subject and predicates and so Absolute Being in it's ontological priority is also independent of predicates or creative mind. Here as we explained earlier predicates or creative mind is related to Absolute Being only in a negative or non being way while creative mind's relation to Absolute Spirit and Absolute World is positive and being because these are reflective mind itself. .So Absolute Spirit and Absolute World depends on creative mind while Absolute Being is independent of creative aspect of mind. This ontological priority is the Absolute Being's priority with self realised man and mystics. We have mentioned earlier that ultimately there is only One Being. This is Positive and Being. Now this positive and being is not the same as our concept of positive and being. Our concept of positive and being is opposed by negative and non being.This is because our concept of positive and being is limited by creative mind because as we as mentioned creative mind is the essence of world both in its unmanifest state as Absolute Spirit and also in the state of manifestation as World.In the state of non existence this is negative and non being. So our concept of being as to be ,to exist is the Isness of creative mind. Similar is our positivity. So when we say The Absolute is Being and Positive this is not being of creative mind but the Being as The Unknowable Essence. So here to say Absolute is Being or Existence is same as The Essence. To the Being creative aspect of mind itself is negative and non being. So this Absolute which is Positive and Being contain in itself both Absolute Spirit and Absolute World as negative and non being. As we mentioned earlier the Positive and Being contain in itself it's opposite the negative and non being. Secondly as we explained this negative and non being is not the opposite of Being but a lower form of it. So apart form saying Absolute is Positive and Being which is not predicate but The Essence Itself the essential nature remains unknowable because knowledge which is form of mind is itself only negative and non being when compared with the Being. This negativity and non being of creative aspect of mind is what Sankara calls Maya Shakti (illusionary power) and in Samkya philosophy Prakrti. So the main characteristic of this state of Absolute Being in which all the mystics are in agreement is it's complete unknowability. This means first of all even the term Being signifies only that it is a concept to which the predicate 'unknowable' is attributed. So here we enter into the realm of intuition and speculative reason. Here speculation is used in the sense of Hegel's speculative dialectical reason and not business speculation. We have earlier explained that all knowable realities ,essences and natures as beings and subjects can be ultimately reduced to creative mind. When we say the essence of Absolute Being is unknowable this unknowability may be due to the following reasons. The first possibility is as we explained earlier due to It's ontological priority. Here the essence is something entirely different from creative mind so mind (the essence or nature of this creative mind is subjective consciousness.) is nothing, negative and non being when compared with the Absolute which is positive and being. Here creative mind is a lower state or form of this Being. In this case Absolute Being remain unknowable because it is beyond creative mind and knowledge. Most of the mystics and philosophers hold this view. Ibn Arabi categorically says in Fusus that 'knowledge (consciousness) is neither Essence itself nor entirely different from it .Knowledge is an attribute and The Essence is the source of this attribute. Knower is only a state of the Essence when knowledge is attributed to it'. Spinoza says Substance is higher than the attributes and both Thought (consciousness) and Extension (matter) are the attributes of the substance. According to German idealist Schelling also Absolute is an higher reality and both ego (knower) and non ego (known &matter) are its contents. The second view is that the essence of Being is Mind itself as Absolute Mind. Here the difference of Absolute Mind from the knowable mind is intensive. So the Absolute Mind is qualitatively and quantitatively differ from knowable mind due to this difference in intensity. There are mystics and philosophers who consider the nature of Absolute Essence as Thought(abdul karem jili of INSAN UL KAMIL), Ego (Iqbal), Will (Schopenhauer), Beauty, Love or Light (Ishraqi School). But in the final analysis it can be seen that all these are nothing but forms of mind itself .As we will see later even light is only the form of mind as essence of energy and manifested energy. As we already explained here the unknowability and infinity is not extensive but intensive. This means even though the essence of both Absolute and creation is mind the Absolute Mind is qualitatively and quantitatively different and hence unknowable because of difference in intensity In mysticism the great mystic of kerala Sree Naryana Guru also seems to have the same view in identifying the nature of this highest state as mind.. It is about this state that Sree Narayana Guru says in his book Arivu (knowledge)-'Ariyum mumpetenna larivellatonnu mingerepeela' (If we ask what is there before knowledge (consciousness) there exists nothing but knowledge).In Hindu philosophy one of the four MAHAD VAKYA(GREAT WORD) of vedas and upanishad is PRAJNAN BRAHMAN(consciousness itself is Brahman) Here also Absolute Mind is different from knowable mind hence Unknowable. The third view is that the essence of the Being is mind as infinite subjective consciousness itself but at this initial state mind exists not as consciousness but as Being. This state is prior to thinking and knowledge so mind is neither reflecting on itself as mind or not knowing itself as consciousness or as Subject. This we can compare with the initial sleeping or resting state of pre reflective mind where there is not yet dawning of consciousness but in the state of abstract being. Among others Hegel hold this view. Here also the Being is unknowable because mind has not descended into it's real nature which is knowledge or consciousness so here The Absolute is not as Mind but as Being.
This unknowability can be further explained if we analyse what we mean by the concept Absolute Being. As we already explained ,here Absolute Being is not synonymous with creative mind.. What we call here Absolute Being is an essence entirely different from knowable mind whose essence is consciousness. Mind as consciousness is a lower form of this Absolute Being. Creative mind is negative and nothing or non being when compared with the Being. We conceive the Absolute Being as beyond creative aspect of mind and mind as a lower state or predicate of this Absolute Being due to the following reasons. We have seen that we can reduce every knowable reality and essences as beings or subjects into creative mind. Ibn Arabi and all other great mystics affirm that there is only one Ultimate Essence and everything is the different states, forms and manifestations or gradations of that single Essence. Since everything knowable is reduced to creative mind this means creative aspect of mind is only the predicate or lower form of this Essence but whose nature is not knowable mind but beyond it. This means there is only one real Essence which is Absolute Being and both knowable and unknowable realities are only lower and higher forms of this Absolute Being. We can get a clear conception of the two planes of Absolute (Absolute Being and Absolute Spirit) when we compare this state with the two states of mind. We have seen that mind has two states -state of immediacy or pre reflective mind and state of mediation or reflective mind. We have already seen that mind as internal reflective mind whose essence is consciousness is a lower form of Absolute Being as Absolute Spirit. So the relation of Absolute Being and creative mind is, like the relation of prereflective mind and reflective mind. When we look at the two planes of the Absolute-Absolute Being and Absolute Spirit - The Absolute in the immediate state as Absolute Being is beyond creative mind and mind here is only negative and non being so a lower form of this Being. So this is why the Being is unknowable because here the essence of Being is not creative mind but beyond it. So this Essence always remain unknowable
Here the Being is absorbed in Himself or Itself. So all we can say retrospectively from our limited human experience is that as Absolute Being the essence is unknowable. This is because creative aspect of mind which is the attribute or predicate of the Absolute is negative and non being at this state of Absolute Being so the Being transcend it and is not limited or defined by the mind.. Here we are using Absolute Being in it's widest meaning. Here the Being is neither synonymous with knowable mind nor we state the objective aspect or form of this Being energy or matter like that of mind. When we look at this state, creative mind as the predicate of this Being is negative and non being or a lower form of the Absolute and only potential at this highest state and matter (energy) which is the form of mind is also only potential at this state and without having any vibration or frequency and at absolute rest.As we have only conception of energy or matter with definite frequency this state of rest is unknowable. As a matter of fact all the predicates as forms of mind are issuing from this Being so everything is here potentially or even actually as Absolute Spirit and World when looked from the angle of ontological priority but at this state Being remains unknowable or transcends the predicates or mind ,as mind here is negativity and non being when compared with the Absolute as Positive and Being. So the real nature of this Being is unknowable because creative aspect of mind being a predicate, the Being of this predicate is always beyond it. As we explained earlier when we say the Absolute is Being and Exists ,this being and existence is not same as being or existence as mind. Here Being and Existence is beyond the realm of creative mind so synonymous with Absolute. As we explained to this positive Being mind is negative and non being. So as this Being is beyond mind the predicates of creative mind like being and consciousness (knowledge) which are forms of mind cannot be attributed to it. (Being needs some clarification. Being is used philosophically to denote different meanings. Firstly 'The Being' as we explained is used to denote the same Absolute Being. Here The Being and Existence is synonymous with The Essence. Plato, Neo-Platonists, Heidegger, Ibn Arabi and Mulla Sadra use Being in this sense. Here Absolute Being is considered both in His logical priority and ontological priority. This is what both Ibn Arabi and Spinoza means by saying the idea of God's Essence involves His existence and His Existence is Essence Itself. Secondly being is used in the sense we used as existence of creative mind. Here it is used as a principal predicate of any real subject. This is a principal predicate because the idea of any entity or subject imply first and foremost. for us human beings the idea of it's being or existence. Here being means to be, to exist or Isness of the subject. This is contrasted with non being,nonexistence or nothingness. Descartes and Hegel use being in this sense. As we have mentioned earlier and will explain in detail later this being of the second meaning is the first form of the Absolute Spirit as subjective spirit So when we analyse this being we can see that it is creative mind. Rather we can say this being is nothing but mind as only subjectivity or thought as only thinker or knowledge as only knower. So this being cannot be applied to Absolute Being who is beyond creative mind hence beyond this being and non being. Thirdly being is used as opposed to mind. Here it means having physical or material nature composed of either energy or matter. Descartes and Spinoza use extension as opposed to mind in this sense and Kant use being in this sense. Here being is used as something external or independent to mind as external existence. Fourthly beings is used by existentialists like Heidegger and Sartre to denote every type of entities or subject ).Similarly consciousness or knowledge which is nothing but the other side of this being is the essential nature of creative mind itself so cannot be attributed as the essence of the Absolute Being. Now strictly speaking only The Being in the first sense denoting The Essence is applicable to Absolute Being. We have seen that being in the second sense as 'Is ness' is nothing but mind as subjectivity which is applicable to the Absolute only as Absolute Subject. As Absolute Being is beyond affirmation of predicates or creative mind and mind only negativity or non being at this state so Being is beyond this form of mind's being and nonbeing. At this state the Being is absorbed in Itself or Himself so that there is no revelation of any predicates or mind. Whether we look at this state from logical priority or ontological priority mind is negative and non being in this state. So we can say creative aspect of mind is potential at this stage and they are not revealed when looked from the angle of logical priority or the Being transcends the predicates at this state when viewed from the angle of ontological priority. What ever angle we look mind is nothing or non being and the Absolute Being is independent of mind. This is the highest state of the Absolute as Absolute Being. The start or beginning is as Absolute Being or rather The Absolute Being is beyond beginning because strictly speaking beginning is a becoming of this Absolute Being and also beginning need time as a concept ,but this state is beyond the formations of concepts. This state or aspect is Absolute in His hidden state. The unknowable Absolute. The Indefinable Being. The Undifferentiated aspect of the Absolute as Absolute Being This is the stage of The One. There is no Other at this stage. This is the stage of absolute rest. This state is actually indefinable and unknowable. Even though all the predicates and attributes issues from this state of Absolute Being nothing can be known about this state. Nothing further can be ascertained about the nature, essence, attributes or content of this Being. As this state is indefinable and undifferentiated so this is the unknown and unknowable Being. Predicates or attributes and accidents, and the whole universe comes from this source so this is not an empty nothingness but really the source of all but at this state simply indefinable. We start or begins with this Indefinable and unknowable Being. Unlike the second plane (Absolute Subject) and third plane (Absolute Spirit) and fourth plane as world which are dependent planes and depends each other and all depends on this first plane for their reality and source, this first plane is completely independent of any predicates or attribute or the world. This is the source of every thing. This is the root of all other beings. All other beings and existences are derived from this Being. Every thing depends on this Being but this does not depend on any thing. There is no predicate apart from this Being.. As Spinoza says here attributes are substance it self. There is no difference between subject and predicate or substance and attributes or form and content at this stage. There is no other at this state. This state is not an object of knowledge or mind as this Being is beyond the state of creative mind. In this sense we can say this is Absolute Being . Some call this state The Unknown and The Unknowable. The Absolute is unknown and unknowable because Being has either not descended into creative aspect of mind or It transcends mind and there is no known, so this state is not an object of mind.
So there is only one Essence or one Being and all realities are only different states or grades of the same Being. This highest state of the Being we denote by Absolute Being. Here the essence is unknowable and it is a transcendental state. The Absolute is Positive and Being. At this state the Being is independent of attributes, mind or world. This does not mean at this state there is no attributes, mind or world but the Being's essential nature transcend them. This also means mind is nothing or negative and non being when compared with this state as Absolute Being which is positive and Being. Retrospectively by speculation we can say creative mind is the principal predicate or lower state of the Being. The predicate mind or consciousness is inferred from the fact that the second and third plane as reflective mind or Absolute Subject and Spirit and all the succeeding planes of mind are derived when the Being descends into knowledge or consciousness so the reality or essence of all this states are mind in different forms. What this further means is as we explained mind itself is a lower form of the Absolute Being and being and all other predicates are nothing but different forms of this mind or in other words they are also lower forms of the Absolute Being. So Absolute Being is Unknowable Essence and even the knowledge of mind as a predicate and related to Absolute Being as negativity and non being is itself a retrospective knowledge As a matter of fact apart from this speculation that mind is a predicate of the Absolute Being The Essence always remains Unknowable.
We will denote this state as First Logos. This state is identified usually with the first principal predicates of the Subject. The Being or The Existent. Not as a predicate but as a state or stage as Absolute Being. So here The Being is used in it's first meaning.
Ibn Arabi describe this state by various names like The Being (Al-Wujud), The Essence (Al-Dhat), The Real (Al-Haqq), etc. Here Being is used in the first sense of He (huwa) or Absolute Being. It is about this state that Ibn Arabi says in Fusus that The Being is independent of every thing ,both the names (Absolute Spirit) and world. Here the Absolute is not even referred as God because Lordship depends on the known or created and at this stage there is no creation or known. Now Knowledge always depends on the known in other words there cannot be any knowledge without an already existing known. Knowledge depends on known and as there is no known there is also no knowledge. So there is only Being. In 'Fusus' Ibn Arabi call this Al-Dhat (The Essence). The indeterminate Essence .The state of Wajib al Wujud (Necessary Being). According to Ibn Arabi this first plane is the Tansih (Transcendence) aspect of the Absolute and is the Tajrid (isolation) of Tauhid (Unity). Ibn Arabi name this Absolute state as the plane of Ahadiyah (Unity). The state that is independent of both attributes and worlds. What we have to remember is here Al Wujud is not mere unconscious being or mere existence or extension as opposed to thought but Absolute Being.
In Jewish Kabala this Absolute Being is called Kethar (first sephiroth-crown). It is called the concealed of the concealed, the primal point etc. In yetziratic text this is called hidden intelligence and primal glory because no created being can attain to it's essence..
In Hindu Purana this is symbolised by Siva the destryer.In Hindu philosophy this Absolute Being is denoted as Sat (The Being). In Vedanta this state is called Paratpar Parabrahma. In Viveka Chudamani Sankara denote this plane as Brahman, Paramatman, Para Brahman. This is Brahman without any qualities or predicates (Nirguna Brahman). Sankara calls this Para Brahman (higher Absolute) Nirvishesa or Nirguna Brahman. (Absolute without attributes or qualities). .This Unknowable Being is the Brahman, or Paramatman of Vedanta and Adi Budda of the Mahayana Buddists. Buddha call this the plane of Nirvana-this is the plane of nothingness or void. This is the Tao, in it's highest sense of Taoists.
This Absolute Being is the Gotheit (Godhead) of Meister Eckhart-the impersonal and the unknowable in contrast with Got (God)-the personal and knowable God. Nicholas of Cusa describe this plane as Absolute Maximum, Absolute Simplicity, Infinitude etc. This Absolute Being is the Being of Parmenides, Plato, Heidegger, Ibn Arabi and Mulla Sadra. This is the Light of lights (Nur al Anwar) of Suhravardi's illuminationist (ishraqi) philosophy. This is the One-the unknowable of Plato and Plotinus and there is no Other at this state. This is the Substance of Spinoza. The Unknown and Unknowable of Herbert Spencer, The unknowable Ding un Sich (Thing in itself) of Immanuel Kant.
In Sufism as a plane this is called Ahadiyah. It is also called Wara ul Wara(Beyond the Beyond),Ghaib ul Ghaib(the Hidden of the Hidden).Meher Baba call this plane the Beyond-Beyond. Shah Waliullah name this plane Lahut (Divinity) and call this Being Huwa (He). In Christian trinity this is Father. In Hinduism in Trimurthi concept this is Shiva the destroyer, but in Kashmir saivism this is Parsamvit. In the categories of Universal ,Particular and Individual this represent Universal.
Hegel begins the Absolute as Abstract Being. The Absolute which is Thought or Notion (consciousness) implicitly, appear itself as Being. Hegel Begins his Logic with Being-Pure, abstract, in determinate Being. The Absolute not knowing Himself as Self Conscious Subject but Subject as Being (here knowledge limited to Isness or to exist) and by dialectical movement developing into Absolute Idea. So according to Hegel the Absolute is only implicit Subject in the beginning but becomes explicit Absolute Subject as Absolute Idea in the end after a dialectical process of development. Now the real nature or essence of this Subject is Mind or Thought-but not knowing itself as Thought but as Being.
It will be interesting to compare the concept of this highest state of Absolute Being in the philosophy of three greatest philosophers Sankara, Ibn Arabi and Hegel. Exponents and commentators of Vedanta philosophy mainly depends on Upanishads and Brahma sutra of of Badarayana and Bagvad Geeta. As we already mentioned according to the exponent of Advaita Vedanta (Absolute Monism) Sankara there are two forms of Absolute-Para Brahman (Higher) and Apara Brahman (lower). The real is Para Brahman which is the transcendent one and this is Nirguna or Nirvishesha Brahman (without attributes). The Absolute Being is transcendent in the sense that He is Para Brahman (Higher Absolute). The Apara Brahman is Maya (unreal) and it is the result of limitation of Para Brahman by adjuncts(upadi). This is the Savishesha or Saguna Brahman (brahman with attributes).According to the exponent of Vishishtadvitha (specified monism) Ramanuja there are no two Brahman. Here also Brahman is transcendent but there is only one Brahman and this is Savishesa or Saguna Brahman. Second point is the nature of Jivatman (human spirit). According to Sankara jivatman is identical with Brahman while Ramanuja maintains there is difference between Jivatman and Brahamn. Sankara maintains that jiva appear different due to Maya by limiting adjuncts while Ramanuja says jiva is related to Brahman as substance to it's essential attribute. Third point is the nature of Purshartha (supreme goal). According to Shankara in self realisation Jivatma becomes one with Brahman but to Ramanuja jivatma enjoys the bliss of Brahman without losing it's individuality. Firstly about the nature of Brahman. We have seen that the highest plane of Absolute Being is transcendent and independent of creative mind as Absolute Subject and Absolute Spirit We have also seen that mind is nothing or non being when compared with the Being. Predicates,Qualities or attributes comes with mind so when viewed from the angle of mind as non being Being is as Sankara says Nirvishesha Brahrman, Being without qualities. Secondly about the nature of Jivatman We have seen that mind is negative and non being when compared with the Being as Positive and Being. So mind is a lower form of the Absolute Being. Creative mind is the reality of Absolute Spirit hence human spirit. This means mind is ontologically different from Being. But Absolute Being is the ground of every subject including human spirit As mind is non being, in reality every subject is the One Being Himself. So here identity of jivatman and Brahman and distinction between them is looking at them from different angles. Thirdly about Purushartha or supreme goal. In the attainment of real Unity irrespective of whether it is a temporary or permanent state or whether while living or after death there exists neither mind, knowledge nor individuality and there remains only Absolute Being,but as this first plane is beyond experience, the attaind state is experience of Absolute Being as Absolute Subject.
When we come to the philosophy of Hegel he begins the Absolute as Being. Here Being is Thought or Mind itself but as this is immediate or beginning here mind is not self or subjective consciousness but knowledge limited to being and as being. So being is implicit Thought. Only by a process of self development which is nothing but what is implicit becoming explicit Absolute Being becomes Absolute Idea or Absolute Mind. This is Thought as Subject with predicates-the knowing Willing Subject. Again at the end of this development Absolute Mind abandoning itself freely externalise itself into immediate being as nature. But this Absolute Mind is the reality of nature.Further development of nature is nothing but the unfolding of this Absolute Mind in all it's perfection so culminate in Absolute Mind as Philosophic Mind. Now even if we begin with Being and Nature and end with Absolute Mind as Absolute Idea and Absolute Mind as Philosophic Mind which so appear as a result, in reality this development is a circle because Absolute Mind is also the Ground as it is this Absolute Mind itself which is unfolding itself in this self development of Being and Nature. When we analyse this Hegelian philosophy we can see that the essential nature of Absolute is Absolute Mind, whether before manifestation as Absolute Idea or in manifestation as Philosophic Mind. Thought, Notion or Mind is the nature of Absolute. In the beginning the Mind is not self conscious but as Being.According to us as already explained the nature of Absolute Being is unknowable and this unknowable essence is something beyond creative or conscious mind. Creative or consious aspect of Mind is only negativity and non being when compared with the Being which is Positive and Being.As the nature of human spirit is crative mind the perfect unfolding development of Absolute Mind is seen as philosophic mind. So human spirit can attain Absolute Knowledge as philosophic mind. Here there is complete identity of human spirit and Absolute . So as a consequence of defining Absolute Being as Mind which first appear as Being and later by self development realize itself as Thinking and Willing Mind the major difference between Hegel and other Mystics is according to Hegel The Absolute is fully knowable and attainable by speculative thought. Ibn Arabi and other mystics are of the view that this first plane is transcendental state. This is because as we explained earlier the plane of Absolute Being is beyond knowable mind and mind is only a predicate or lower form of this Being. So it is impossible to know the nature of this Being. Whether the unknowability is due to difference of the nature of Essence from Mind or due to mind not knowing itself at this primary state as Being it makes no difference as the reality of Man is knowledge and mind as Absolute Spirit.
When we look at the philosophy of Ibn Arabi here the Essence in spite of including everything like attributes, names and the world is independent of them. As this state is transcendent and independent of names human spirit cannot attain to this state. When the Essence reveal itself human spirit has no knowledge of this state as this is beyond knowledge and also at this state individuality and mind is completely lost and only the Essence remains as it reveal Itself. I will quote below some relevant sections from Ibn Arabi's Fusus Al Hikam.
{{ "The fact is the world does not participate in the autonomy of the Essential Being, so much so that it can never conceive Him. In this respect God remains always unknown ,to the intuition as well as to the contemplation, for the ephemeral has no hold on that (that is to say the eternal). (fusus-Adam)"
"As for the Eminent in Himself, He is the one who possesses the perfection (or the infinity: al-kamal) in which are 'drowned' all the existential realities as well as all the non-existent relations (in themselves), in the sense that He is not without any of these 'attributes', whether the attribute be positive, logically or morally ,or whether it be negative, according to custom, reason or moral. Now, this infinity belongs only to He who is designated by the name Allah (which is the Name of the Essence) exclusively (fusus-Idris)"
"No one (particular being) attaches itself (as such) to God by virtue of His (supreme) Unity. It is because of this that the men of God cannot receive the 'revelation' in the Unity.; for if you contemplates Him through Himself ,it is He who is contemplating Himself ;-He does not then cease to be Himself contemplating Himself by Himself (fusus-Ismail)"
"Exalted may He be who is proved only by Himself and who exists only by His own unchangeable Essence !There is in existence only that which denotes Unity ;and there is in imagination only that which denotes multiplicity. So ,whoever belongs to multiplicity, is in the world, with the Divine Names and with the names of the world ;and whoever belongs to Unity ,is with God in respect of His Essence 'independent of the worlds'. If the Essence is 'independent of the worlds' it means that God must be essentially independent of 'nominal relations', for the Names do not denote the Essence only ,they denote at the same time other realities ,of which they define the manifestation. The Unity of God which reveals itself in respect of the Divine Names, postulating our existence is the unity of the multiple ,and the Unity of God by which He is independent of us and of the Names ,is essential Unity ;the one and the other are contained in the Name the One (al-ahad) (fusus-yusuf)".
This state of Absolute Being is beyond eternity and time. This is because time even as a concept only appear in the third plane as Absolute Spirit. This first plane exclusively belongs to the Absolute.. So no created being has share in this state by knowledge. No human beings, however great he may be whether great mystics or other self realised man cannot attain this plane of Absolute Being by knowledge. All the knowledge the mystics get about this state is knowledge revealed from the second plane as Absolute Subject. This is because the reality or nature or essence of all beings other than this Being is mind and as we mentioned already the Being is beyond mind. So as we explained all the knowledge of Absolute Being is retrospective knowledge. When the Absolute Being reveal itself there remain nothing but Being Itself. At this state there is neither mind or knowledge nor individuality as in this transcendent aspect of Absolute Being everything vanishes except the Absolute Being.
A rough comparison of this first plane will be with the state of our deep sleep. The defect of this comparison is even in sleep our essence or nature is mind-but mind as only knower or being without knowledge of known. But the nature of Absolute Being is beyond mind.. In deep sleep our consciousness is limited to being. The Absolute Being is the rest or sleep of the Absolute. The Absolute absorbed in himself. The manifestations-the state of Absolute Spirit and Absolute World is the wakening or active state of the Absolute. The plane of mind. The Absolute eternally alternate between these two states. This is described in Hindu mythology as the pralaya-as the eternal cycle of rest and activity of the Absolute. We have earlier seen that this alternation and prior state is due to logical priority but as ontological priority Absolute Being is always with Absolute Spirit but not limited by it. Here Absolute is simultaneously in both states-Absolute Being and Absolute Spirit.
All the succeeding stages or planes or grades are the descends or limitations of this Absolute Being. But all the descends or limitations are really descends in and as mind. Limiting himself in knowledge. So the Absolute Being is first displayed in and as mind as essences and later as beings in external forms. This descends are also described as effusion (al-fayd) or over flowing of the Being. But this effusion does not diminish the state of Absolute Being. But the Being remain for ever as He is with out any decrease in spite of all these descends. This is why Heidegger says the nature of Being both as an Origin and Ground. In spite of the origin of all beings it still remains as the Ground of all beings. So one aspect-the aspect of Absolute Being does not change so there is no change in the Essence and all changes are in the angle of perception. Now the ordinary idea of descend means leaving the higher stage and coming to a lower plane. But in the case of Absolute Being all these descends are in and as mind so relative and He is always as He was in the first plane. All these descends are in perception only (limitation in mind). whether the descend is in internal or external reflective mind as essences or in beings as external forms. This we can illustrate with a human subject. Suppose a man makes some concepts about himself in his mind like thinking himself as some other men or animal or plants and further with his imagination makes forms of them which was formless at conceptual level. Further he imagines them in various actions. This conceptual forms and imaginal forms we can compare with Absolute Spirit and Absolute World. Now it is apparent that the real existence of the man is unaffected by this mental forms and whatever he imagines himself to be and in whatever activity of the forms he indulge in his mind the real man is least changed by them. Similar is the case with Absolute Being. We have seen that mind is negative and non being when compared with Being who is Positive and Being. So in the final analysis everything is a mental play of the Being and the Player is least affected by the play as His essence is beyond creative aspect of mind. This relative nature of Absolute Being's descends can also be illustrated by the image in a mirror. There is both identity and difference in the image from the real. If one move his face the image also will be moved ,so there is some form of identity between the real and the image. On the other hand the defects or the destruction of the image due to the imperfection or breaking of the mirror will not affect the real. So there is also difference and distinction between the real and the image. This relative nature of descend is what is called Maya (illusion).It is ignorance which is the cause of this Maya. According to this concept there is neither descend or fall or separation and all idea of duality ,otherness and world is due to ignorance and this veil is lifted at self realization
As we complete this book we can see that the ultimate reality is Unknowable Essence and there is only this Absolute Being .All the predicates or attributes like knowledge, thought, being, matter, will, power etc are only mental forms so mind itself. Mind is a lower form of the Absolute Being. What we call energy or matter is not a separate reality but the external form of mind.- the lower form of this Absolute Being. So everything in the world, every entities or beings or subjects are nothing but Absolute Being with the forms of mind. So the multiplicity and plurality of beings and subjects are nothing but the same Being manifesting in different forms of mind. So ultimately there is only Absolute Being whose full nature or essence is unknowable because creative aspect of mind itself is only a predicate of this Being and it is negative and non being when compared with the Being. Creative mind can only reveal itself and some thing below it. This is the Unity of Being. This is also the Absolute Monism or Absolute Idealism. There is only one reality and that is Absolute Being.
As there is only One Essence or Absolute Being what this further mean is everything and all reality are nothing but the same Essence or Absolute Being in different forms or different gradations or intensity of the One Absolute Being. This is what Mulla Sadra means when he says Being is the same reality in all existences but with gradations and degrees of intensity. In different conditions of manifestations there are various degree of intensity of manifestation-but the Being is same. This is also the ishraqi (illuminist) philosophy of Suhravardi. Here Absolute Being is called Nur al Anwar (Light of lights). Here the whole reality are irradiation and effusion of this primordial light. So everything is ultimately degrees of light and darkness. So according to this theory all beings are nothing but different intensity of the same light. This difference intensity cause difference in stages and states.This can be compared with differnt forms of physical light like sun,candle,electrical where the essence is light but varies in intensity.
As we have already mentioned this Absolute Being always remain unknowable so this is the transcendental state of the Absolute. This means no man however great he may be whether known as God incarnation, prophet or greatest mystics cannot attain this highest state permanently during life.Whenever one attain to this plane his own consciousness is lost and state is shifted to Absolute Being. There is nothing to know or experience about this state because this state is beyond mind hence beyond knowledge or experience. All the knowledge or descriptions of this highest state is knowledge revealed from second plane.. As there is no self consciousness or knower or knowledge to describe this plane this is often described as void or nothingness. This is the Nirvana of Buddha in it's negative meaning. This also means when the Absolute Being reveal itself no human spirit exists to experience it and to become conscious of this experience. Here Absolute Being alone remains in perfect Unity. The reality of this is as long as this plane and state remain in self realised men they will be unconscious of their own reality as human spirit and so the plane belongs to Absolute Being exclusively. What all these mean is self realised men will have only glimpses of these state during life and after these temporary phase they always have to return to the second plane of Absolute Subject.So all perfect realised men,prophets,avatars contain this plane but at this plane as Absolute Being Itself.
What we have to remember is the priority of Absolute Being over Absolute Spirit and Absolute World is not temporal priority but both ontological priority and logical priority. This means Absolute Being is not only logically prior to Absolute Spirit but also Absolute Being in It's infinitude contain everything like Absolute Spirit and Absolute World but still not limited or defined by them. This is due to non being character of mind and world. This is what Sankara describe as Maya. In the final analysis Maya is creative mind itself.
II: Absolute Subject:
The second plane is Absolute as Mind. This is Absolute Subject or Absolute Self. This is an intermediate state between the first plane of Absolute Being as unknowable essence and third plane of Absolute Spirit as creative mind. Here the Unknowable Absolute Being descends into a state of knowledge or self consciousness. This lower form of the Essence as knowledge or consciousness is what we call Mind-at this state as potential mind and not as creative mind. So this is the beginning of internal movement or infinite vibration in the Absolute Being. So this is the stirring up of the resting Absolute Being. Here the Absolute is not completely unknowable but something can be ascertained about the Absolute Subject. Here being (being in the second meaning as isness or existent) is attributed to the Absolute. As we will see later being in this second sense is knowledge limited only as knower or thought as thinker. So here we can say The Absolute exists and is conscious of Himself. This state is called Unity. This means at this state there is some form of subjective or self consciousness. This is the state of pure subjective consciousness without any content. As we have explained in the introduction this is the first state of internal reflective mind where knowledge is limited to pure subjectivity. When the Absolute Being has subjective consciousness the essence is no more unknowable but as potential mind. So this potential mind is a lower form of the Absolute Being. As the essence of this potential mind is neither the same as Absolute Being nor the same as creative mind (Absolute Spirit) this state is a border line between Absolute Being and Absolute Spirit. Unity is the state of pure subjective consciousness. Now this subjectivity contain all the predicates but they are undifferentiated and potential at this state. The nature of this subjectivity can be grasped from four principal potentialities which are the root of all the predicates and names. The first potentiality is Being. Here being is intended in the second meaning. This is the Ego or I or Isness aspect of subjective consciousness. This as will be explained later consciousness as only subjectivity or knowledge as knower or thought as thinker without knowledge of known. This is the root of all subjects, beings and ego's.The second potentiality is knowledge. This is consciousness of potentialities or knowledge of known or thought as thoughts. This is the root of all forms of knowledge, spiritual existential, rational, sensory and discursive knowledge. Third is love or will or desire or bliss. This is the root of all forms of emotions, feelings, passions and imaginations .The fourth is power or potential of activity. This can be compared with the objective or material form of the mind which is energy with infinite frequency at this state. Now these potentialities are not predicate or attribute of the subject at this state but the aspects of subjective consciousness itself in other words these are the essence of potential mind itself. Now the descend of Absolute Being into Absolute Subject is in and as knowledge. So this the second plane is the plane of active mind or reflective mind. Here we can see that the nature or essence of this second plane is mind or consciousness. But most abstract consciousness. Subjective consciousness in his most active state. If we consider the external form corresponding to this internal subjectivity,at this state there is no external motion or movement in the energy but with infinite internal frequency or vibrations.
We have seen that in the first plane of Absolute Being The Essence is One and it is Positive and Being as Unknowable Being. Here creative mind is not a separate essence but negative and non being and only a lower form of the Essence. So here Subject as Positive and Being contain in itself it's opposite creative mind as negative and non being. When we come to the second plane here also there is only one essence and it is potential mind as Absolute Subject. Here the subjectivity of the mind is Absolute Subject Himself with the condition that here the essence of subjectivity is mind. So here this mental essence is positive and being. So the only difference between this plane and Absolute Being is the dawning of consciousness as Subject.So here also creative mind is non being and negative hence Absolute Spirit and Absolute world are not real but illusion. So this descend of Absolute Being into reflective mind means in other words Absolute Subject is nothing but a form of Absolute Being itself in a lower second plane. So When the Absolute Being descends into the second plane in the form of internal reflective mind or Absolute Subject this mind has two aspects. One is the internal or content of mind or subjective aspect which is subjective consciousness or subjectivity. The other is the form or external , material, objective aspect. This we can compare with matter/energy. As we explained at this second plane the energy has infinite frequency What this further means is energy and mind are not different beings but one being and energy has no independent being but only the form of mind. In other words consciousness and energy or mind and matter are two aspects of one and the same thing. So there is no energy or matter whose nature is not mind and no mind whose form is not energy or matter. Energy is implicit mind or the shadow of mind as its form. The nature of the Absolute Subject is reflective mind in the form of energy. The content or subjective aspect of this reflective mind is subjectivity but the objective aspect or form is as energy. So there is unity between mind and energy but also difference. The difference is energy or matter has no reality in itself like mind but only a form of mind. So the primary reality is mind. So all things and this Absolute Subject also has an internal, subjective and external, objective aspect or nature. The content of mind as subjectivity-internal, subjective aspect and the form of mind as energy-external, objective aspect. This Absolute Subject and energy is one and the same thing. So there are no two beings as Absolute Subject and as essence of energy. These are the different point of view of the one and the same being. When we look at the internal, subjective aspect of this being it is pure subjectivity or pure spirit or if we look at the external, objective aspect of this being it is in the form of energy. The reality of this energy is nothing but mind. This is consciousness itself in the form of energy. So this internal and external, subjective and objective aspect is one and the same thing, not two different things. When viewed from one angle it is subjectivity and from the other angle it is energy. They are the two sides of the one and same coin. So one has no independent reality without the other. In this plane these are two nature of the one and same Absolute Subject. Absolute Subject's internal subjectivity aspect we call active nature and external, objective, energy aspect we call the passive nature. Both are one and the same Absolute Subject. This means matter or energy is nothing but mind itself or rather the form of mind. So all beings ,everything and the whole knowable reality, whether as essence of energy (unexcited strings) or as fermions, bosons or as matter or bodies is nothing but mind itself. Energy is the form of this mind. Matter has no independent reality. This means the materialistic view of matter as primary and devoid of mind is wrong. Like this the idealistic view of two realities ,consciousness and energy or mind and matter is also wrong. There is only mind and everything whether imagined things or material things- they are only different forms of mind. They have no independent reality apart from mind.
We can get a clear conception of the two planes of Absolute (Absolute Being and Absolute Subject) when we compare this state with the two states of mind. We have seen that mind has two states -state of immediacy or pre reflective mind and state of mediation or reflective mind. We have already seen that mind as reflective mind whose essence is consciousness is a lower form of Absolute Being as Absolute Subject. When we look at the two planes of the Absolute-Absolute Being and Absolute Subject - The Absolute in the immediate state as Absolute Being is beyond creative mind and mind is negative and non being when compared with the Being which is Positive and Being. Here creative mind is only a lower form of this Being. So this is why the Being is unknowable because here the essence of Being is not creative mind but beyond it. So this Essence always remain unknowable. The other or second plane is the same Absolute Being in mediation or reflection and this is the state of Absolute Subject. The essence or nature of this state is potential mind as the reflective mind. Here the immediate and unknowable Absolute Being is changed into knowable mind or Absolute Subjectt. This is when the Being reflects on Itself or thinking about Himself. This is the dawning of consciousness as reflective mind and the known is Being Itself. Here the unknowable essence becomes knowable due to reflective mind becoming the essence of the Being. So Absolute Being as immediate is unknowable essence while as mediated Subject or Absolute Subject the essence is potential mind. So the first plane is Unknowable Absolute Being and the second plane is knowable Absolute Subject. We have earlier seen that Immediate or pre reflective mind is prior or precedes mediate or reflective mind. This means we cannot be simultaneously conscious of the two states. The nature of our mind is such that we are conscious of only one state at any particular moment.The differnce of Absolute from human mind is as we explained earlier while our mind cannot be conscious of the two states simultaneously (immediate and mediate) Absolute is conscious and exist in differnt states simultaneously. This also means while we may know the Absolute in it's second plane as Absolute Subject the real essence always remain unknowable and Absolute Being remain in his pure and unaltered and undiminished state irrespective of the manifestations of the mediated Absolute Subject and Absolute Spirit .So when we say Absolute Being is prior to Absolute subject& Spirit it is not in a temporal sense but there is both logical priority (conforming to reason&rational knowledge) and ontological priority (conforming to intuition &self realisation) of The Absolute Being over Absolute Subject&Spirit.
The first state of Absolute Being and the second state of Absolute Subject are the reality of the Absolute or the real state of the Absolute while the remaining states like Absolute Spirit and Absolute World are unreal or illusionary states of the Absolute.This means both this planes are Being and Positive while Absolute Spirit and Absolute World which are the aspect of Absolute as creative mind is negative and non being.So there is no fundemental difference between the first and second plane except here the Essence become conscious of itself .This second plane is the ultimate aim and the last station of the Mystics. There are two aspects of this Absolute Subject.First is it's descending aspect from Absolute Being and the other is it's ascending aspect from Absolute Spirit.As this is the first state of the Descend of the Absolute this is also the final permanent stage attained by perfect mystics.This is the final stage of realisation Now when the third plane of Absolute Spirit is fully developed with human spirit or rather with Perfect human spirit and ascends to this plane the nature of Absolute Spirit becomes as Subject with four potentialities in it or Absolute Spirit. Here the self is not seen as universal subjective spirit alone like in the beginning but a combination of universal subjective spirit, universal mental spirit, subtle material spirit (universal imaginary spirit) and universal gross material spirit. As we can see this is not a separate stage but a higher state of the Absolute Spirit. This is an ascension into the higher state of Absolute Subject so that it is no longer individual spirit but universal subjectivity without any content. The stage of Unity. This is the state of the Absolute with four potentialities in it. These are Being (Wujud), Knowledge (Ilm), Self-Love (Nur) and Power (Suhud). Sufism sees this Absolute Sprit as a unity of Being , Knowledge, Love (will, desire) and Power (potentiality of Action). This is the Being with Thinking Will and Power of actualisation. Sufis calls this state Haqiqat al Muhammed (Reality of Muhammed). This we may call the Divine Mind. Beyond this as we earlier mentioned there is only the unknowable state of Absolute Being. As we explained as long as one is living there is no permanent return to the state of Absolute Being but only glimpses and temporary ascend from which one always has return to the second plane of Absolute Subject which is his reality as potential Mind. We have seen that at this state potential mind has infinite frequency or energy . So this is the active state of mind. Now if we view the Absolute Subject from the descending angle at this state there is only pure subjective consciousness without any content. So creative mind as predicates,Absolute Spirit and Absolute World are negative nonbeing unreal and illusion from this state.If we look from the ascending angle also mystics who remain at this plane cannot act in the worldly ream. This is a state of bliss without any activity.There is only subjective consciousness as Sat-Cit-Ananda(being-consciousness-bliss) at this state. Now there are those who remain at this state without consciousness of the lower illusionar planes of Absolute Spirit&Absolute World and those who are also conscious of the lower planes and also those who are not only aware of the lower illusionary planes but also can use their power to act in the world. The former ones,who are absorbed and unconscious of illusion are called majzoob in sufism and Brahmi boot in vedanta and the latter ones are called perfect men, Avatar, Prophets and this is the highest station.
.This is the second logos .In Jewish Kabala the subjective aspect of the Absolute Subject is called Chokmah and the objective Aspect-essence of energy is called Binah. Chokmah is also described as Abba (father),wisdom, force and mercy and is the masculine aspect. Binah is described as Ama (mother), understanding, form and wrath and is the feminine aspect In Neoplatonism this plane is called Nous.In christianity this is the Son in Trinity.. In Hindu Trimurthi this is Vishnu the sustainer.In Kashmir Saivism The Subjective aspect of this state is Siva Tatwa (Adam or I, masculine) and the objective aspect is Sakti Tatwa (Idam or This, feminine).In vedanta this plane is called Paramatma.Shankara describe the Absolute Subject as Sat-Cit-Anandan (Subject of Being-Consciousness-Bliss) .What we have to bear in mind is here consciousness and bliss are not predicates but essence itself. Sankara call this subjective aspect ,Brahman as Self , Purusa(the real) (Samkhya term denoting the masculine aspect of the absolute) and the objective aspect (essence of energy) as the Non Self, The Unreal( Maya, Avidya) ,the undifferentiated -a compound of three major Gunas (predicates, attributes)-Satwa, Rajo and Tamo Gunas. This is Prakrti or Pradana (The feminine aspect of the Absolute) and this is called the power of Brahman.We can equate this second plane with the plane of Samkhya Purusha and Prakrti. Purusha is the subjective consciousness aspect and Prakrti is the objective energy aspect.In Sufism this state is called Wahdat (Unity). This is as we explained earlier is the state of four potentialities. Wujud (Being), Ilm (knowledge), Nur (love, will), Suhud (power). This state is called Haqiqat al Muhamadiya (reality of Muhammad) or Maqam al Muhammad (station of Muhammad). Meherbaba call this plane The Beyond-plane of infinite power-knowledge-bliss.Gurdjieff denotes this state with Hydrogen with highest potency(H1).This is conscious energy with minimum density and maximum infinite frequency.
This state can be compared with our limited experience of subjectivity. One who has self consciousness knows that there are moments when he experiences his pure subjectivity without any content. But unlike mystic experience this is not a universal experience but limited subjectivity so unlike mystical experience this is not blissful state but as existentialists describe a state of dread and nausea.
III: Absolute Spirit:
This is the third plane of the Absolute. Here The Absolute Subject of second plane descends into the third plane of Absolute Spirit. We have earlier seen that the state of Absolute Subject is pure self consciousness without any content. As Absolute Spirit first of all this subjectivity becomes the content or object.. Here at this initial state there is no being apart from the Absolute Spirit so Absolute Spirit is consciousness of Subject on Himself. Here Absolute Spirit is as self conscious being or knowing Subject or thinker. When Absolute Subject reflects on himself (descends into consciousness) the Known is Subject itself. Here there is no known apart from the subject. As there is no other apart from the self to know at this stage the known is the Self itself. Here Subject becomes an Object to Himself. So this is the state of Self Consciousness as content.A state of subjective and objective consciousness. (It is important to remember that as we explained earlier this does not mean the first plane of Absolute Being and the second plane of Absolute Subject has no self consciousness, rather both include and transcend self consciousness while this Absolute Spirit of the third plane is limited by it's content..)
So in this third plane the Absolute Subject becomes Absolute Spirit because here He is no more Absolute Subject but subject with predicates. We have seen earlier that predicates are mental forms of the essence so mind itself. So this is as we explained reflective mind in the second state-subjective and objective consciousness-but objects as it's own content. Unlike the second plane of potential mind this is the state of actual mind. When the Absolute Subject or potential mind of second plane descends into actual mind it becomes the essence of the subject . So While the second plane is the state of pure subjectivity this third plane is the state of subjective and objective consciousness or knower-knowledge-known or Thinker-thought-thoughts. This is the state of Knower and knowledge or Subject and predicates, or Thinker and Thoughts. This is what Ibn Arabi describe as The Absolute Being descending into the plane of knowledge. The difference between this third plane of Absolute Spirit and fourth plane of Absolute World is as Absolute Spirit there is unity between subjective and objective consciousness or these three aspects of knower-knowledge-known or there is only internal motion or vibration while as Absolute World, knower and known or subject and object are separated.
This third plane is also the root of external manifestations. We have seen that the third plane of Absolute Spirit as reflective mind is the mediated Absolute. In this third plane more and more determinations limit mind. This is the state of determined mind We have seen that when the Absolute Being descends into knowledge the essence is reflective mind and it's nature is universal subjective consciousness. As we briefly mentioned else where the first form this subjectivity takes is as pure being. Here being is used in the second meaning of Is ness or existence. This is same as pure ego consciousness or pure I consciousness. This we call universal subjective spirit or supra light spirit or S spirit. So this third plane begins with the Absolute Spirit as pure subjective spirit. As we explained earlier this is the state of the subject when being is attributed to him. In the beginning knowledge is limited to being or ego consciousness .Here Absolute Spirit become aware of only his I ness and due to limitation in mind first develop into a determinate limited subjective being. So here there is the beginning of individuality. But here individual being or existence is only in and as mind and in this state there is no external or actual existence but only existence in the plane of mind or ideal existence. But as there is no other individual apart from him at this stage this individuality has a universal character. In the beginning as this subjectivity of reflective mind is only limited to the I or ego or being aspect other predicates are not revealed .So this is the state of pure individual self consciousness or subjective being. As we explained earlier this first predicate being when attributed to subject he is self conscious being. This is also the concept of Time- Space. We have to remember that at this stage there is neither actual time or space but only the concept or idea of it. We have seen that mind has both a subjective, consciousness, ideal or internal aspect and an objective, energy or external aspect or in better words energy or matter aspect is the form of this universal subjective spirit. Time concept is the subjective or consciousness aspect and space concept is the objective or ultracosmic energy aspect of the Universal Subjective Spirit.. As we explained earlier the nature of this universal spirit is reflective mind and the form of this mind is energy with highest frequency which we denote by Ultra Cosmic ray. So the third plane begins with the Absolute spirit as Universal subjective spirit.
As we explained earlier the priority of Absolute Being over Absolute Subject&Spirit as Universal Subjective Spirit is both an ontological priority and logical priority. According to this the state of Absolute Being where mind or predicate is negative and non being is logically prior to the state of Absolute Spirit where mind is the essence hence positive and being. So in this case the Universal Subjective Spirit has a logical beginning. From the spiritual perspective-in the third plane of beginning as Universal subjective spirit, this spiritual realm is also the beginning of spiritual time. As we explained earlier this is not temporal time but logical time. We have seen that in spiritual realm as reflective mind thought is directed towards the essence itself or there is only internal knowledge and there is unity of knower-knowledge-known so here time is present as pure duration. Here past abide in the present and future is an open possibility. Spiritual realm is an eternal now. Here events unfold from moment to moment. What J. Krishnamurthy described as moment to moment existence. There is change and movement without any division. So the third plane is the plane of time and space as a concept. or notion. As we have seen earlier the beginning of universal subjective spirit is itself the concept of time and space. Subjectivity is the time concept and ultracosmic energy is the space concept. So the third plane of Absolute Spirit is eternal as the concept of time itself begins in this plane..
. Here as beginning the reflective mind is not as consciousness of other contents but as being or pure subjectivity as it's content. In other words here knowledge is not as knowledge but as knower. As Ibn Arabi says there cannot be any knowledge without a prior existing known. As phenomenologist Husserl and existentialists like Heidegger and Sartre says consciousness is always consciousness of something. There is always an object for mind. In other words consciousness depends on the known or knowledge is always knowledge of something and this is always about a subject or being or a predicate. So mind depends on being for its own existence. But as we have already explained being is the form of mind as essence of energy. So subjective consciousness is knowledge of itself. and this Absolute Spirit's first form where mind appear as self conscious being, knower or thinker and as the first Spirit we call Universal Subjective Spirit or Supra Light Spirit.Some equate this universal Subjective Spirit with the Spirit of Mohammedan Reality (Haqiqat al Muhammad).
Now this third plane as Absolute Spirit has no independent reality but always gives rise to the fourth plane of Absolute world or external manifestations. (Here world or manifestations do not mean only the gross material world. As we will explain further down it is not limited by gross material world but includes both subtle material world and soul world.) The third plane is the internal plane or the plane in and as reflective mind while the fourth plane is the external plane or plane of beings or existences- mind as individual beings or existences or as reflective mind. What this mean is all the realities in the third plane has no individual being or existence but one and the same Absolute Spirit is their spirit and being while the realities in the fourth plane has individual separate beings.
When at first the Absolute Spirit is as Universal Subjective Spirit this is as pure subjectivity or as Being or Knower. Both Existence and Life are the further self development of this being .Existence is synonymous with being and Life is also a form of immediate subjectivity. This is the first form of Absolute Spirit. When this pure subjectivity passes into subject of predicates knowledge is revealed. So only when subjectivity identifies with predicates knowledge reveal as knowledge. When this predicate knowledge is attributed to the subject he is called universal mental spirit. Knowledge of this Subjectivity and Objectivity evolve or develops into Love. Will &Desire are a form of this Love. Now love is a predicate of the subject and when love is attributed to the subject He is called Lover or universal imaginary spirit . Love evolve or develops in to Power. When the predicate power is attributed to the subject He is called the powerful or universal material spirit .So at this third plane Subject and his innumerable predicates are revealed. The principle predicates are Subjective Being, Knowledge, Love and Power, Hearing, Sight and Speech.. Subject differentiate or abstract himself from all this predicates so that at this state there is Subject and his predicates. When the Subject identifies itself with each and every predicates all these predicates are also Divine names or Spirits which gives rise to the fourth plane as worldly names or Absolute World. By this process all the essences or spirits are developed in the third plane and the Absolute world with beings are manifested in the fourth plane. This process continues till due to love of Absolute and the manifestation of this love as power the Absolute human spirit of the third plane manifest corresponding Absolute human being in the fourth plane or in Absolute World. We will discuss this in detail when we are dealing with the fourth plane or Absolute World. The development of Absolute Spirit as essences or eternal sprits in this third plane has a logical succession. The succeeding spirits have less and less mind as pure subjectivity (subjective aspect) and more and more mind as predicates (objective aspect). This series ends in spirits with maximum objective aspect or passive nature and minimum pure subjective aspect or active nature (Earth Spirit). Then begins the Ascension. Spirits with maximum objective aspect and also more and more subjective aspect culminating in spirits with maximum subjective and objective aspect. This at last culminate in the development of the human spirits.
We have earlier mentioned that the beginning of third plane of Absolute Spirit is Universal Subjective Spirit. As we explained the nature of this spirit is reflective mind and the external form is ultracosmic energy. We have also seen that the third plane will give rise to the fourth plane or the Absolute world as the result of the Absolute's love of perfection. We have earlier seen that all predicates are mental forms so mind itself. Now love belongs to the realm of will or desire. Love, will, and desire are also mind itself but their form is not as reflective mind as pure subjectivity but different from it. So this love causes transformation in reflective mind and movement or less vibrations in Ultracosmic ray with highest vibrations (which is the external aspect of mind). Motion means there is less frequency or vibrations of ultracosmic ray.. As we are aware desire is a form of internal heat. So this love will produce motion or definite vibration or frequency of ultracosmic ray energy with maximal external frequencies are formed. The fourth plane of Absolute World is the plane of active mind or reflective mind with this motion or less vibration or frequency of ultracosmic energy We have seen that ultracosmic energy is the form of mind. What this further mean is due to this internal heat there is highest vibrations or waves in the Ultraviolet energy and energy with the highest external frequency and maximal temperature is externally manifested in the second plane. This we call Universal Subjective Soul or S soul, Supra Light waves (cosmic, gamma, x-ray) or supra light photons etc. This is the fourth plane and beginning of external manifestations. This is the power aspect of the Absolute-Power as a state and not as a predicate. Here the Universal Subjective Spirit of the third plane or Supra Light Spirit now knows himself as an external Universal spiritual soul (supra light soul), as an individual and particular external existence. This is the fourth plane or beginning of Absolute World. Now this is nothing but first reflective mind transformed to love and then transformed to power or reflected mind.. So manifestation is the power aspect of the Absolute or plane of reflective mind. Power manifesting as the supra light energy. This manifestation of the Universal spiritual soul as S soul or supra light photon is the beginning of the fourth plane ,the Absolute World. As we told earlier what we have to bear in mind is supra light Soul and the supra light wave is one and the same thing and the same process. So these are the different names of the one and same thing ,one time stressed from the internal aspect of mind or consciousness aspect, at another from it's external or energy aspect. Supra light soul is the subjective aspect and internal nature and supra light wave or photon is the objective or external aspect. supra light wave is the form of supra light soul. This is also the beginning of space-time. Space is this supra light wave objective aspect and time is the supra light soul subjective aspect.
Now the beginning is the development of Absolute Spirit as Universal Subjective Spirit in the third plane and the corresponding supra light wave (universal subjective soul) in the second plane. Universal Subjective Spirit is the most abstract form of thought or consciousness as pure subjectivity as it's content. After some logical time Absolute Spirit as the universal subjective spirit of the third plane due to further self development and knowledge which means more concreteness of consciousness gradually loses it's consciousness of pure subjectivity or self consciousness and become aware of it's predicates or content of self and completely identify subjectivity with his predicates. This is knowledge as knowledge. This means Absolute Spirit now identify as Universal mental spirit or light spirit (ultraviolet,visible light,infrared) in the third plane. By a similar process as above out of Supra light wave, due to love and power aspect Universal mental Soul or light waves with lower frequency is manifested in the fourth plane. By a similar process all the sprits are developed in the third plane of Absolute Spirit and corresponding souls and beings are manifested in the fourth plane or Absolute World.
As we told earlier this third plane is the descend of the Absolute Subject into the state of the Absolute Spirit. Now this third plane is the state of reflective mind or active mind or internal knowledge. Knowledge internal to the Absolute Spirit so that even if there is distinction between the three aspects of Knower-Knowledge-Known there is also Unity and they are not separated and there is no external manifestation. Here it is the one and same Absolute Spirit making different relations with his numerous predicates thus forming or developing into different essences or spirits. This way he is limiting himself in knowledge. As this is the state of reflective mind and not that of external existence there is no separate individuals or beings in this state .The same Absolute Spirit knows himself as the universal spirit, or as universal mind or as animal spirit or as human spirit. In the third plane there is only one Absolute Spirit so only one Subject which is the internal aspect and one Being as ultracosmic energy which is the external aspect of this Absolute Spirit. So there is only one Being and no beings and this is Absolute Spiritual Being. So in third plane one Subject is the subject of all spirits like human spirits ,animal spirits and plant spirits. So these are non existential relations and realities. Like this even though there are innumerable predicates in this state there is unity in each and every predicates. Predicates like knowledge, life, will etc are also undivided in this state. There is no division in the predicates. Predicates like Life, Knowledge also present in all these spirits without undergoing division. If we take the predicate Life as an example this means the same life is present in plant spirits, animal spirits and human spirits with out Life it self undergoing any division or distinction. So while there is unity of Subject and Being and also unity of each predicates what gives rise to distinction among these innumerable spirits like plant spirits, animal spirits and different human spirits is only the proportion of the predicates of each spirit. Now this is a result of the limitation in knowledge. This means the Absolute Spirit's limitation in knowledge gives rise to these distinctions of spirits. So the Absolute spirit is the spirit of all these essences and spirits. The separation is only in consciousness and not in external being . So these individualities are only in mind as in this state there are no separate beings or existences. So unlike in the fourth plane in this third plane all these spirits are dependent This is because the one Absolute Spirit is the spirits of all these essences. So in this state they depends on the Absolute Spirit for their reality. There is distinction between the spirits but no division. There is only the limitation of subjectivity of the Absolute Spirit in various essences due to the various relation with the predicates. So these spirits have neither beings nor existences of their own. This is what Ibn Arabi says 'the permanent essences have not smelt the smell of existence'. being or existence comes to the essences only in the fourth plane-The Absolute World.
Now if we look into this third plane of Absolute Spirit as a whole we can see three aspects in it. First there is the Subjectivity or internal aspect of the One Absolute Spirit as subject of all the spirits. Secondly there are the innumerable predicates of the Absolute Spirit like life, knowledge will power etc, which due to various relations giving rise to unique and different spirits depending on the expressing of the particularity and proportionality of the predicates of the spirit. These are the plant spirits, animal spirits, different human spirits etc. Thirdly there is the objective aspect or Being of the Absolute Spirit-the form of the Absolute Spirit-this is passive nature ,the external aspect of the spirits-ultracosmic energy or passive energy. So we can symbolise the Absolute Sprit as a determinate form with a Subject as the subjective aspect of all the essences or spirits, a Mind which is the predicates like knowledge, life, will, power etc ,different relations of the predicates so as to form different particular ,unique essences or spirits, and a Body as the external aspect of the essences-as passive nature or passive energy. Here we can see the subject of all the particular spirits is the one and same Absolute Spirit as subjective spirit of these essences and the body of all these particular spirits is the passive nature of the essences as one Being and Existence. As there is no separation into different existences in this state there is no separation of the spirits in this state. The one and same Absolute spirit forms particular relation with each and every spirit according to the predicates assigned to it and this differentiation is only in consciousness and not in actual and external existences like the fourt plane-that of Absolute world. This is the state of Unity-Unity in plurality.
So this is the state of the Subject with His predicates or essential attributes or qualities or universal ideas. The predicates are innumerable and infinite. As we explained earlier subject with predicates means mental forms of the Essence or mind itself. The Principal predicates of this Subject are Being (Existence, Life) Knowledge (Thoughts), Love (will, desire) and Power. These four Predicates- Being, Knowledge( wisdom), Love (will, desire) and Power are called the fundamental attributes or predicates of the Subject. To this Three are added Hearing, Sight and Speech. But the predicates are his own essence or essential attributes and they are his own consciousness about himself. So in a sense these predicates are Himself because it is his own essence, but in another sense not himself because He is the Subject and as the subject he is the source of these predicates or mind. So he is the One and the predicates are the Other. but his own other. So this is the state of Subject and Object. Subject distinguished from the object and the object as its own other or His own knowledge or thoughts. So this is the state of One and Other. As the second state of Absolute Subject is identified with Being aspect this Absolute Spirit is identified with the knowledge aspect-knowledge not as a predicate but as a state of the Absolute.
So the whole completed third plane apart from viewing Absolute Spirit as the plane of eternal spirits can be also viewed as the plane of Subject with predicates or Essence with attributes. The revelation of the potentialities in the Essence. Here the Attributes or Qualities are also revealed in the Essence .Here the Subject is with his predicates or The Essence or Substance is with attributes or qualities or names. But as we earlier explained predicates or attributes are mental abstractions made about the nature of essence so it is mind itself. As we mentioned earlier this third plane does not exist independently but always gives rise to the fourth plane or the Absolute World.
We have also mentioned that Absolute Spirit as Universal Subjective Spirit is eternal as this is the realm of pure concepts and Time-Space even as a concept begins with Universal Subjective Spirit. So in one sense Absolute Spirit has only a logical beginning. But if view the Absolute Subject and Absolute Spirit from another angle there is not even this logical beginning and it is as eternal and beginning less as Absolute Being Himself. As the form of world is predicates or mind itself it is also eternal in Absolute Being. This is because we have seen that Absolute Being exists eternally with all his predicates or mind. The only point is mind is non being and negative when compared with the Being. This also means mind is non essential or without any essence of it's own. Now the third plane of Absolute Spirit is only non existent relations and realities of the Subject with his predicates. This means the the third plane of Absolute Spirit has neither essence nor existence of it's own and exist from all eternity in a seed form in Absolute Being. But the second plane or Absolute World has a definite temporal beginning as Universal Subjective Soul because this is the beginning of actual Space-Time. So the interval between actual manifestations all the spirits of the third plane exists in a seed form in Absolute Being. Now the question is what causes the Absolute World or fourth plane of existences and beings or manifestations. According to Kashmir Saivism it is the nature of the Absolute that it has both non manifest and manifest aspects and Absolute eternally alternate between these two states and according to them both aspects are real. According to Sankara's Vedanta and Buddhism the manifestation aspect is an illusion (maya) and only the transcendental aspect is real. According to Hindu purana manifestation is called Krishna Leela (play of the Absolute). According to Heidegger also there is no cause for the world and call the Space-Time manifestation as the play of Being. According to Ibn Arabi also there is no such and such a real cause for manifested world but the manifestation is due to the Absolute's love of perfection. The Absolute who is already perfect in Being and Absolute Knowledge is made more perfect by this becoming and relative knowledge of manifested aspect. Even though this becoming and relative knowledge add nothing more to the Being and Absolute Knowledge of the Absolute as Absolute Being and Absolute Subject This completed third plane is what we call the state of the Absolute Spirit or Creative Spirit. The cause of the world is love of perfection and this transformed by power is the cause of the fourth plane or Absolute World. As we explained love-love of perfection or spiritual will is the cause of movement which produce the world.
Ibn -Arabi call this state Al-Wujud (The Being) or Al-Dhat (Essence) descending in to his own Knowledge. The state of Dhat and Sifat (attributes). Ibn Arabi call this third plane The Unique (AL-Wahid). State of Divine Names (Ism Ilahi). State of 99 names. State of Permanent Essences (Ayan-al-Tabitha), The bewildered World. The eternal spirits of this state he calls the permanent essences or divine names (Ism Ilahi) and the worldly beings of second plane he calls worldly names (Ism Kauni). He also calls this third plane Reality of realities (haqiqat al haqaiq) and Universal Reality. The eternal spirits or the Divine Names (third plane) he calls the Lord (Rubb) of the fourth plane or worldly names or slaves (Abd) of third plane.
The Absolute Spirit of this plane when viewed from the angle of manifesting all these divine names or spirits or as the inherent Subject of all these essences he calls by the Divine Name Al-Rahman (The Compassionate). The objective aspect or being of this Absolute Spirit as ultracosmic energy which is the external aspect of the essences-passive nature he calls Fine Dust (haba) or Tabiyat al kull (Univesal Nature) or Nafs al Rahman (Breath of the Merciful) and the shadow of the Absolute Spirit. This Being as Universal Nature, the material or substance of the shadow, External existence as Light (fourth plane) by which the shadow becomes visible and permanent essences as the projecting surface of the shadow in manifestation (third plane) and the Absolute Spirit as the person on which this shadow depends for its being and existence. In this third plane, before manifestation the shadow is potentially contained in the Absolute Spirit. In the Absolute Spirit or reflective mind subjectivity predominate and objective aspect or passive nature or ultracosmic energy is concealed. Passive nature is considered as a shadow of the Absolute Spirit. At this stage the passive nature is potentially contained in the Absolute Spirit. Here the relation between the Absolute Spirit and the form as ultracosmic energy or passive nature (objective aspect ) is like a shadow to the original. In the absence of external projection (manifestation in fourth plane) the shadow is potentially contained in the original. So the external aspect of these essences - the ultracosmic energy or passive nature is nothing but the shadow of this Absolute Spirit which is its internal reality and which is the inner controller of it. This is as we explained in the third plane as Absolute Spirit mind is positive and being while matter is negative and non being or a lower form of mind. This is because as we explained energy or matter is nothing but mind itself-it is only the form of mind.
The Absolute Spirit as the spirit or subjective aspect of all these essences Ibn Arabi calls al-janab al-ilahi (Divine side), The predicates Knowledge, Will, Power and its subcategories (the internal aspect of the essences) or what we called eternal spirits or the mind of the Absolute Spirit as particular minds he calls haqiqat al-haqaiq (Reality of Realities) and the external aspect of the spirits -what we called the form or being or body of the Absolute Spirit as ultracosmic energy (passive nature) he calls tabiat al-kull (Universal Nature) or Fine Dust (Haba) and symbolizes fourth plane of external Being and existence (Absolute World) with Light. Ibn Arabi also call this objective aspect of the Absolute Spirit or passive nature External Being (wujud khariji). Ibn Arabi describe the development of the fourth plane of Absolute World from the third plane of Absolute Spirit as Nafs al Rahmani (the Breath of the Merciful). Here breath is the passive energy or nature and during expiration the essences or spirits are forming the souls and beings of the world in this passive nature
Shah Waliyullah and Imam Rabbani call this form of Absolute Spirit, objective aspect as ultracosmic energy or passive energy Self Unfolding Being (wujud munbasit).
.In Jewish Kabala this third plane is called Atziluth-world of Archetypes-Divine world.
Shankara equate this with Saguna Brahman.When Satwa guna predominate there is jnanashakti which is the cause of knowledge and when Rajo and tamo gunas predominate there is kriya shakti (power of action). This has two powers, namely, the concealing power (avaranashakti) and the power of projection (vikshepashakti). Concealing power cause ignorance by the veiling of Maya of the true nature of Brahman and Atman. Projecting power is the creative power by which Maya create the phenomena and superimpose this unreality on the real. So Maya serves as the limiting adjunct (upaadhi) for Brahman. According to Sankara Brahman with the satwic aspect of Maya due to limiting adjunct becomes Iswara or Saguna Brahman (Absolute with Qualities). As the predicates are in reality the Subject himself distinguishing himself from himself Sankara calls this aspect Maya-Unreal or Illusion. According to Sankara only the Nirguna Brahman (Subject without predicate Sat-Cit-Ananda,Absolute Subject) is Real while Saguna Brahman( with attributes) is unreal. So According to Sankara this Absolute Spirit or Saguna Brahman is a lower stage of the Absolute.
. This third plane is called the Anandamaya Kosha (Blissful Sheath) of Brahman. This is a modification of Prakrti or Maya. This is the Turya state of Vedanta. The Human spirits of this plane is called Jivatman in Vedanta. In Yoga Vashishta this third plane of Absolute Spirit is called Chidakash (Knowledge Space).
.In Kasmir Saivism from Siva and Sakti, Sadasiva tatwa then Iswara tatwa and lastly Sadvidya tatwa evolved. They are Iccha Sakti or will, Jnana Sakti or knowledge and kriya Sakti or power of action respectively.
Hegel describes this as Absolute Idea, The Absolute in and for itself. Absolute Subject with his predicates. The Notion implicit as Being developing into explicit Notion as Absolute Idea. The self development of the Absolute. The unmediated, indeterminate Absolute or The Absolute in its immediacy (Pure Being) going to mediation, the mediated or determinate Subject. The complete development is through three stages or moments. This development is through three major categories of Being, Essence and Notion. The Absolute or Thought first as Being passes through the subcategories of Quality, Quantity and Measure and develops into Essence. The Essence is Being reflected into itself. Essence through the subcategories of Ground of Existence, Appearance and Actuality develops into Notion. Notion through the subcategories of Subjective Notion, Object and idea develops in to Absolute Idea. This is thorough the subcategories of Idea as Life, Cognition (Thought & Will) and at last in to Absolute Idea. Absolute Idea is the Thinking and Willing Subject who realize himself as the Subject and all the other categories as His predicates. This whole process is not evolution but only development. Even Being is implicitly Notion. The only difference is Being is Absolute not knowing himself as self or Subject but thinking as pure Being. The Absolute in its immediacy aware as not thought but as Being. So in reality Being is nothing but Thought. According to Hegel the Absolute differentiate into self and non self or subject and predicates only at the last stage of Absolute Idea. The idea which thinks itself or thinking idea. The idea in itself and for itself. The unity of life, cognition (intelligence) and will. The idea which distinguish itself from itself so that itself divided into Self and Non Self. Subject and predicates. So at this stage all the preceding categories of Being and Essence becomes the content of Subject. This is the Absolute Idea which contemplates its contents as its own self. It is its own content, because it distinguishes ideally itself from itself. So one of the thing distinguished is a self and the other content or attributes. But as the knower, knowledge and known is the Absolute itself there is only internal subject object distinction at this stage. Absolute Idea not as Knowledge alone which take the world as it is but also as Will which make the world as it ought to be. Idea as accomplished and accomplishing itself.. The idea not only as finished and produced but constantly producing it self. The idea as determinative of the content or as Thinking Will. Now this Absolute Idea contain all the categories of Pure being and Essential being. This means the Absolute Idea contain all the categories of manifestations. Now this self development of Absolute is in reality like a circle. This means what appear as a result at last (Absolute Idea) is also seen as the Ground from which all these development takes place and here Being is a result.
Hegel also call third plane as Absolute Spirit as Philosophic Spirit. The state of Notions or Concepts. Absolute Idea Developing through nature and finite mind. As nature through Mathematics (Space, Time, Matter), Inorganic Physics (Mechanics, Elementary Physics, Physics of Individuality), Organic Physics (Geological Nature, Vegetable Nature, Animal Organism) and as Philosophic Mind through Subjective Mind (Soul, Consciousness, Spirit,) Objective Mind (Law, Morality of Conscience, Social Ethics) and Absolute Mind or Spirit as Philosophic Spirit (Art, Religion, Philosophy).
One of the difference between Hegel and Ibn Arabi is according to Hegel Absolute Spirit as Absolute Idea and Absolute Spirit as Philosophic Spirit are two different stages. Absolute Idea is the eternal nature of the Absolute before the development of nature and finite mind. Philosophic Spirit is a later Development of Absolute Spirit through nature and finite mind. But According to Ibn Arabi in the third plane of Absolute Spirit predicates are also Divine Names which are same as various spirits of this plane. Secondly this third plane as Absolute spirit never exist independently ,but these Divine Names which simultaneously gives rise to Worldly Names or fourth plane. So when the Absolute Subject descends into reflective mind of the third plane as Absolute Spirit these spirits simultaneously give rise to the fourth plane or Absolute World of beings. The second major difference is according to Hegel the perfection of the Absolute is not in His transcendence as Absolute Being but in His immanent state in Absolute Spirit as Philosophic Spirit. According to Ibn Arabi the first plane or Absolute Being is perfect in itself in His Transcendence and is independent of both the third plane of Absolute Spirit and fourth plane of Absolute World. But according to Hegel the Absolute Mind as Abstract Being becomes perfect only as Absolute Idea by self development and later as Absolute Spirit in Philosophic Mind. The third difference between Hegel and Ibn Arabi and other Mystics is as a consequence of defining the nature of Absolute as Mind and it's perfected state as Philosophic Mind, according to Hegel we can have absolute knowledge of this Absolute Mind not only as our own essence and spirit but also can have absolute knowledge of all other spirit's essential and absolute nature. But according to Ibn Arabi not only the first plane of Absolute Being is unknowable but even the third plane of Absolute Spirit is not completely knowable. This is because each Divine name is Unique so no one can replace another. It is true that every name is the same Absolute Spirit and the same Being and each name contain in itself all the other names, but each name is a particular relation of the absolute spirit with the predicates so each has a unique significance. Every name denotes a particular aspect of the Absolute Spirit and this is the essential al truth of that name. As we will explain later all the divine names are in an hierarchy like human spirit is higher than animal spirit and in human spirits also the one at a higher state can know the lower but not the one above.
The completed phase of this stage in Sufism is called the stage of Wahidiyath(Unity in Plurality).The Essence with attributes.The principal attributes are Wujud or Hayat (Being or Life), Ilm (Knowledge), Iradat(Will),Kudrat(Power),Samh(hearing),Basr(Sight) and Kalam(Speech). This is also called the stage of Lahut.
This is the realm of conceptions of Socrates. This is what is called the world of Ideas or Ideal world by Plato-the famous Platonic Ideas-Eternal Ideas. This is what Plato says "God made the world out of the nature of the One and the Other". Here the Other means the predicates. This is the pure form, as antithesis to pure matter of Aristotle.
This third plane is the Immanuel Kant's Noumenon (Ding un Sich)-Things in Themselves. And this is the realm of Ereignis in Heidegger's experience of Being where there is belonging together of Dasein and Being. This is what Heidegger calls the experience of Being as the unity of all beings in Being. This is not a personal plane but pre personal according to Heidegger.
This is the Holy Ghost of Christian Trinity. This is the Brahma or creator of the Trimurthi of Hinduism. In Samkya this is the plane of Mahat (Buddi). In the category of Universal, Particular, Individual this represent Individual. This state is the Alaya-Vijnana of Buddhists. This state is also called the third Logos. Both first and second higher states together are called Creativity by Whitehead. The state without any character.
Gurdjieff equate this plane with H3 potency. He denotes this plane as the state of Objective Consciousness.
The difference between the first plane Absolute Being and the second and third plane of Absolute Subject and Absolute Spirit is ,as we told earlier is that the first plane is the transcendental plane and independent of the worlds so cannot be attained or realised fully by any created or finite beings so beyond the full apprehension of even the greatest mystics and only temporary transport to this realm is possible during life. On the contrary all the succeeding states and planes depends on the Absolute Being for their reality. The third plane of Absolute Spirit is a dependent state, depends on the world or related to manifestation or worlds. Absolute Spirit and Absolute world depends on each other. The world depends on the absolute spirit for their essences or spirits and the spirits depends on the world for their manifestation. So each depends on the other and the one cannot exist without the other.
This third plane -The Absolute Spirit as the spirits of these essences is the reflective mind or spiritual mind. These spirits are permanent or eternal spirits so they can never transcend this nature so never attain the first plane as it is the state of Absolute Being. As we explained earlier when the Absolute Being of first plane reveal itself one cannot experience it as an individual subject as at this state individuality is lost as the Absolute Being is independent of mind and world so there cannot be knowledge or consciousness of this first plane as an individual spirit. This third plane is also eternal or rather it is beyond time and eternity. This is because Time and Space even as a concept or notion only begins or develop in this state. When the mystics attain this state they will have the realization that the One and only Absolute Spirit is the reality of themselves and all the other spirits. But as Ibn Arabi says each Divine name (spirits) is Unique so one spirit cannot know other spirit essentially-so Absolute knowledge of other spirits are impossible even in this state. At this realised state one will have Absolute knowledge of himself but can attain the knowledge of the essences of other spirits only as much as his capability and depends upon the station on the spiritual hierarchy. As I explained else where All human spirits are at a higher level than all other spirits because human spirit contains all the predicates or essences but every human spirit is also unique and distinct due to the different proportion of the predicates pertaining to each spirit.
These first
three planes of Absolute -Absolute Being, Absolute Subject and Absolute Spirit are the higher states of the Absolute. They are the eternal aspects of
the Absolute. All philosophic systems describe these as the eternal and
immutable states of the Absolute. They are represented
by the Trimurthi in Hindu puranas. I Logos the destroyer Shiva, II Logos the
sustainer Vishnu and III Logos the creator Brahma.
But now if we reflect on these three planes of Absolute we can see that they are really two aspects of the Absolute.. The immediate and mediate aspect of The Absolute. As we explained earlier as The Absolute all these planes exist simultaneously. According to the people of intuition and self realisation there is only an ontological priority of the state of Absolute Being over Absolute Subject and Spirit. We have explained earlier that Absolute has two aspects- immediate and mediated aspects. The Absolute is Absolute Being and Absolute Subject &Spirit simultaneously. It has both immediacy and mediation simultaneously. This means when there is manifestation there is no absence or diminishing of the plane of Absolute Being. As we explained earlier even at the state of mediation Being remain as Absolute. Absolute Being is the state beyond mind where mind or predicates are negative and non being while Absolute Subject&Spirit is the Same Being as mind. All the predicates or mind and even the form of the world which are noting but predicates as mental forms or knowledge is also beginning less and eternal , but Being is not defined by them and is independent of them. Secondly as all these succeeding states are forms of mind they are only states of perception. In reality there is no logical priority of one state over the other. It is only our reason or rational knowledge which consider the logical priority. Further reflection will reveal that this is nothing but the limitation of mind itself. The limitation of logic or knowledge. Mind can conceive mediation only after immediacy or spontaneity, undifferentiated prior to differentiation, indeterminate state prior to determination.. But this logical priority is not at all a priority with respect to the Absolute whose Essence is beyond mind. So the Absolute is simultaneously in both planes so these two aspect cannot be separated . Absolute Being and Absolute Subject& Spirit is in a Unity. Neither has precedence over the other. The notion of the Absolute is in their Unity. In it's structure The Absolute is both Absolute Being and Absolute Subject&Spirit. When we consider this first plane from the aspect of reason or mind only there is logical priority. Here this occur as eternal alternation of passivity and activity as we explained earlier In this sense The Absolute Being is the rest or sleep of the Absolute. The manifestations-the plane of Absolute Spirit and Absolute World is the wakening or active state of the Absolute- The state of mind. In Hindu philosophy this eternal alternation is described as the Pralaya .(dissolution ) and Sristi (creation). Rest is followed by activity- transcendence is followed by immanence.-Absolute Being is followed by Absolute Subject&Spirit and Absolute World .Here the Absolute is one reality with two aspects and eternally alternate between these two states. . This is the eternal recurrence described by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Whitehead.
So the real nature of the Absolute is He is transcendent and immanent simultaneously. We have described the Absolute Being and Absolute Subject&Spirit as different states or as higher and lower states for convenience of describing these states. In reality these two states cannot be separated. So he is nothing of the world and everything of the world simultaneously. Due to this nature of God world is described by mystics as 'it is neither God nor something other than God'. Now when Ibn Arabi speaks about Absolute Being it is the ontological priority. So here there is Absolute Spirit and Absolute World but Absolute Being transcends it and not limited or qualified by it. This is why both Ibn Arabi and Spinoza says about the Essence that it is Being and Exists and is Holy (transcendent). Here Being or Existence is same as the Absolute Being because here the priority is not logical but ontological. On the other hand Abdul Karim Jili in his famous Insan al Kamil (The Perfect Man) describe the Absolute Being in his logical Priority. So here Absolute Being is beyond being and non being, existence or non existence because here being is the isness or existence of mind and is the stage of Absolute Subject&Spirit and here Absolute Being is logically prior to it. So the real priority is ontological and this means Absolute Being and Absolute Subject are both eternal or without beginning.. This means the concept of Absolute always include both Absolute Being and Absolute Subject.So Absolute is Unknowable Essence and Mental Essence simultaneously. The priority of Absolute Being over Absolute Subject is an ontological priority.
The dual nature of The Absolute as transcendent state of Absolute Being and the immanent state of Absolute Subject&Spirit as reflective mind or spiritual mind and the descend into this second and third plane of mind as Absolute Subject&Spirit developing into subject and predicates and the nature of this Absolute Spirit as mind and the form of this mind as energy is really at the root of the main two doctrines of the nature of reality. Monism and Dualism. This is also the cause of describing the fundamental nature of Absolute as dual in eastern and Persian philosophy and as triune in western and Abrahamic philosophy. We have seen that the The Absolute has dual nature-transcendence and immanence. Only in this sense we can say God is dual nature. The transcendent state of Absolute Being as unknowable taken alone is beyond any dual or triune nature. When we consider the second state of immanence as Absolute Subject&Spirit which is reflective mind or spiritual mind this is also as dual nature because the nature of mind is consciousness and the form is energy. Matter is in reality mind itself and it is only the form of mind so matter has no independent reality. Mind always contain matter. Energy or matter is the existential or experiential aspect of the mind and consciousness is the internal nature of mind. So mind as Absolute Subject&Spirit has dual aspect. Consciousness and matter. Mind contain matter. There is no mind without the form of energy and there is no energy whose reality is not mind. It is this dual aspect which is expressed in vedanta as purusha and maya, in Samkya as purusha and prakrti, in Kashmir saivishm as Siva (male) and Sakti (female) in Persian Zoroastrian philosophy as spentomainyush (light) and angromainyush (darkness). This is also expressed in philosophy by division of reality as self and non-self, mind and matter, being and thought, subject and object, one and other, positive and negative, masculine and feminine. In reality the predicates are the Subject Himself. Subject Himself is his own object .Self becomes object. The other is His Own Other. Like wise when we consider the triune nature of Absolute as Father, Son, Holy Spirit the transcendent state of Absolute Being is symbolised by Father. The second plane of Absolute Subject when viewed as pure subjectivity without any content and also in the special state of perfect human spirit containing all the four potentialities of being, knowledge, will and power is symbolised by Son. The Absolute Spirit when viewed as each and every particular unique spirit is symbolised by Holy Spirit. In Sufism these three planes are called Ahadiya, wahadath and wahidiya respectively. Ibn Arabi name these three planes as Allah, Rahman and Rubb respectively. In Hindu Philosophy this states are called Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma respectively. If we consider the transcendent state of Absolute Being beyond any designation ,even the state as Father then the immanent state of Absolute Subjet&Spirit itself is seen as triune nature. We have earlier seen that Absolute Spirit as spiritual mind or reflective mind is dual nature as consciousness and energy ,subject and object, knower and known. Now if we look at the mind in it's triune nature this is subject of consciousness, consciousness itself and object of consciousness; knower, knowledge and known; thinker, thought and thoughts. As we explained earlier as reflective mind or spiritual mind there is unity between these three aspects so there is no separation or difference between them but only an inner distinction. So they are three and one simultaneously. Some Christian mystics like Nicholas of Cusa identify the Trinity concept with this triune aspect. He names them Oneness, Union and Equality respectively. When we consider the dual nature of the Absolute in His transcendent and immanent state both monism and dualism can also be explained. We have seen that there is only one ultimate essence which is unknowable and mind is a lower form of this essence and matter is only the form of this mind and every knowable reality is different form of this mind. This means there is only one essence which is ultimately the reality of all. This is monism. We have also seen that transcendent state of Absolute Being is an higher state and always remain unknowable and independent of the immanent state of Absolute Spirit The immanent state which is a lower form of the Absolute is as reflective mind or spiritual mind. Absolute Being is the ground of Absolute Subject&Spirit so it depends on the transcendent state for it's reality. This immanent state is the root of all creation, hence the created can never be equated with the Absolute. When we consider the Absolute from the highest state of Absolute Being there is neither duality nor trinity but only perfect Unity. We have seen that mind and world are non being and negative so nothing when compared with the state of Absolute Being. Moreover they are the lower forms of the One Essence. So in reality there is only one essence in different forms. This is Absolute Monism.
When the seeker reach this state of Absolute Spirit or spiritual mind the experience is totally different from the worldly experience. There are those who momentarily experience this state and those who are firmly established in this state. The attainment of this state is what we call first stage of self realisation. This comes in the way after attaining the subtle and soul planes. When one reaches this state both his subjective and objective experience undergo total transformation and it is as if he is transported to a completely unknown and inexperienced realm. This is because in unrealised state our subjectivity is limited to our body. Even if we can think of our family or loved ones as our own and like wise some can include the whole creation in his self this remains only an intellectual or rational knowledge and not an existential experience. This becomes evident when we cannot feel the emotions of others like pain or pleasure in the same intensity as experienced by them even if we think and love them as ourselves. Secondly because as this is not an existential experience to act as if every one is our own self becomes a constant struggle. What happens when one reaches the third plane of spiritual mind is there is an expansion of the subjectivity so it envelops the whole creation. Unlike intellectual knowledge this is an existential experience. Here what happens is Absolute Spirit manifests through that man so that he has the realisation that there is only one subject and he himself is not different from the Absolute Spirit. This will make him existentially experience his own subjectivity permeating the whole creation without losing his own individuality. As we have already explained in the introduction when speaking about the different forms of mind internal reflective mind is the highest form of mind. Here unlike external reflective mind there is universal subjectivity and objects are not something alien to it but include in it's subjectivity. So unlike reflected mind there is no difference between subject and object but only distinction and objects are as it's own other. As we have explained earlier even though the subject is one, every spirit is unique due to the proportion of predicates pertaining to it or the degree of manifestation of the Essence. Secondly as the objective aspect of the Absolute Spirit is ultracosmic energy so that there is only one Body or Being which state is entirely different form our ordinary state which is manifested energy and limited body experience and also multiplicity of beings. This will result in the experience of the whole universe as his own body and the nature of this ultracosmic energy which is totally unknowable to us in ordinary state and cannot be experienced by any kind of speculation or imagination will give rise to what the mystics describe as the blissful state (ananda). This subjective and objective experience which is totally alien to the worldly creatures makes the realised man an entirely different category from normal human beings and action from a universal perspective proceed from him without any struggle or effort. It is also reported by mystics that one who attains to the spiritual mind or divine mind the whole past and future history of the cosmos is revealed.
This third plane can be roughly compared to the mental or intellectual world of a man. Suppose a man as a subject thinks of himself as so many things like some animals, plants, other beings etc( formless thoughts-concepts of things, not imagination with forms-which is the fourth plane of Absolute World). Now we can see that these are only mental concepts and thoughts and when compared with the real existence of the thinker or subject this concepts or thoughts have only a less real existence. Now here it is apparent that there is only one subject and all these activities are really the result of the intentions of the subject and merely his thoughts. This is why it is said that there is only one essence and one existence. Secondly the existence of these animals and plants which has only less real existence cannot be equated with the existence of the man which is the most real existence. So there is both unity and difference. Thirdly when this thinking activity is over all these animals and plants disappear and the man alone remains. That is why it is said that the first plane or the Absolute Being is independent of both second ,third, and fourth planes-Absolute Subject, Spirit and Absolute World. The defect of this comparison is even as subject we are in the realm of mind while Absolute Being is beyond the realm of mind. Or these states can be compared with the witnessing of a self conscious man. It is known that during normal undeveloped states one never becomes an object to himself. In these normal undeveloped states thought is occupied always with other things but not reflecting on thought itself or one self. But when we are self conscious we can abstract everything from ourself so that everything becomes an object to the witnessing subject. Not only the world outside, but our own body and sensations, our feelings, emotions, our mind and particular thoughts, and even our particular ego and subjectivity becomes an object to the witnessing universal subject. An highly self conscious man when acting, even if the act does not harm others, but only give advantage to oneself and boost his particular ego or subjectivity experience conscience. From this it is apparent that the man is witnessing from a universal subjective point to which even this particular subjectivity is an object. During these witnessing one experience that this witnessing universal subjectivity is the essence of oneself and all others including particular ego is unessential elements. As already explained the defect of these comparison is in our case both are forms of mind itself. Universal subject is the reflective mind or spiritual mind as Absolute Spirit which is our inner reality and essence and particular ego, thoughts, emotions, body etc are forms of reflective mind. But when compared with the states of Absolute, the first plane Absolute Being is unknowable essence which is being and positive and compared with this the second ,third, fourth plane of Absolute Subject, Spirit and Absolute World whose essence is mind is non being and nothing and is a lower form of the Essence itself. This is why it is said that Absolute Subject is independent of both predicates and world.
IV: Absolute World
A. Soul World (Space-Time)
i: Universal Spiritual (Subjective) Soul.
Now as we explained above in the third plane the beginning of Absolute Spirit is as universal subjective spirit - Subjectve consciousness which becomes an object to Himself, so that being becomes a predicate of the subject and when this being is attributed to the Absolute Spirit he is subjective being or self conscious being or universal subjective spirit. (supra light spirit). As we already explained cause of the fourth plane is the love of the Absolute Spirit-love of perfection. Love and desire are a form of internal heat. This will produce slight motion or external vibrations in the ultracosmic of energy of Absolute Spirit as Universal Subjective Spirit which is without external motion and at rest. So as a manifestation of power due to increased concreteness of mind or due to this movement or vibrations or frequency, energy with the highest frequency is formed as the fourth plane. This is called Universal Spiritual Soul (supra light soul). This is what we call active mind in the form of conscious reflective mind.
As we explained earlier the subjective or internal nature of this universal spiritual soul in the fourth plane is pure individual subjectivity as particular and individual independent external being and the external nature of this universal spiritual soul is as supra light wave (cosmic,gamma,x-ray). So both are one and the same thing -mind itself as conscious reflective mind ,only the form is that of energy. So supra light soul with its internal aspect of subjectivity and the objective aspect as supra light wave is one and same thing. (Here a word of caution. When I say cosmic or gamma rays it is not in the literal sense of complete identity with these electro magnetic waves but to convey the idea of physical manifestation beginning with maximal frequency).
So at this fourth plane of Absolute world as soul world, identity as one Absolute Spirit or reflective mind is lost and become conscious reflective mind. This manifests as a subjective aspect of consciousness and an objective aspect of external body. This combination is the cause of all manifestations. This is the cause of Absolute's identity as individual beings. This is the cause of separate particular Individuality. So this is the beginning of individual beings .Here there is the beginning of the distinction and difference between subjective and objective aspect so that the internal unity is broken. The Unity of Knower-Knowledge-Known of third plane is lost. As we explained earlier the cause of external manifestations is transformation of love into power. So the worlds are the Power aspect of the Absolute.
Now all manifestations can be viewed from two angles or there is two angle of vision. One is the internal nature or subjective aspect This is from the side of pure consciousness. This is the interior aspect of the manifestations. The second is the objective or energy aspect. This is the external aspect of manifestation. Physical view or angle is from the side of energy. The form of mind appearing as energy or matter or body. The external existence or body of the individual soul. This will produce physical or material aspect of the beings. This is the exterior aspect of the manifestations. This manifestation of both interior and exterior aspects constitute both beings and world. Such numerous worlds and beings are called existences.
Now all the worlds and beings whether soul mind, subtle mind or material mind constitute these two elements. One interior or the aspect of consciousness as subjectivity and the other physical or material aspect. Either of them have no independent reality or existence apart from the other. As we have explained earlier objective aspect as either energy or matter is only the form of mind. Mind cannot exist without the form of energy and energy has no independent reality apart from mind.
So this subjective aspect (consciousness) and objective aspect (body) of the manifested beings are not two separate realities. They are one and the same thing now looked through subjective aspect of mind as consciousness and now looked through as the form of this as energy. The reality or existence of one depends on the other. They are depending on each other for their existence and for their reality. One cannot exist without the other. They are one and the same thing viewed from different angles.
Now as we told earlier at the beginning of manifestations in the third plane of the Absolute Spirit is in a state of reflective mind as pure subjectivity or as a combination of maximum consciousness as pure subjectivity and minimum consciousness as objectivity.. We called this Absolute Spirit, by the name Universal subjective Spirit or Supra light spirit. All the succeeding spirits are the result of the decreasing pure subjective aspect and increasing objective aspect or as combinations of decreasing pure subjective consciousness and increasing consciousness of subjectivity identifying as object up to the earth spirit and later combinations of maximum objective aspect as energy or matter and increasing pure consciousness or subjective aspect and culminating in the spiritual mind as a subjectivity of a combination of maximum pure consciousness and maximum matter as human spirit. Now the Absolute Spirit or Creative Spirit who is in a non dual state of unity or without subject object difference in the third plane are manifested externally as particular and individual beings with dual aspect or with subject-object distinction due to this combination. These worldly beings of the fourth plane are dependent and depend on their spirits in the third plane for their reality and existence.
As we explained earlier Absolute Spirit in the third plane, in the beginning identify as Universal subjective Spirit. This is as we explained is the predicate Being attributed to the subject or as self conscious being.. This is the state of Universal I or Ego. Here the Absolute or Creative Spirit fully identified with the wisdom or knowledge aspect of the Absolute as being. Here the Creative Spirit identify itself as full of spiritual essence or full of self consciousness. As wisdom aspect this is pure subjective or spiritual or self consciousness. This is the state of pure I or Universal Ego or Universal subject or Universal subjective Spirit. Here self or spirit is identified with pure subjectivity. Here internal reflective mind as active mind is a state of internal knowledge.. Self awareness without any movement. Let us call this Universal subjective Spirit or supra light spirit (S spirit) as full self conscious spirit Cosmic Spirit or S1 spirit. As this is the divine aspect these are called Divine names. This Cosmic Spirit is the conceptual level or notional level in the third plane. So first development is Absolute or Creative Spirit with maximum consciousness and minimum pure being. As we told earlier this will manifest on the third plane of Absolute Spirit as Universal Subjective Spirit thinking as pure self consciousness spirit as S1 spirit or cosmic spirit.
The other aspect is from the soul mind or world or in the fourth plane. This is as we described earlier is the conscious reflected mind. The fourth plane is manifested when the love of the Universal subjective spirit as cosmic spirit in the third plane develops into power or mind becoming more concrete so the fourth plane is manifested. As we explained love and desire are a form of internal heat and as a result there is vibrations or motion in the ultracosmic energy of cosmic Spirit and energy with the highest frequency is manifested as the fourth plane. Here in the fourth plane Universal Spiritual Soul or cosmic soul is formed. Now the internal nature of this cosmic soul is consciousness as Individual universal independent subjective soul. . This active mind manifest externally as highest vibrations or frequency in the ultracosmic energy. As a result externally energy with the highest frequency is manifested. This is Cosmic Photon. So internally and externally this is universal subjective soul or cosmic soul or S1 Soul.( cosmic photon). So both internal and external aspect is one and the same thing. This Universal spiritual Soul or Cosmic Soul in the fourth plane corresponding to the Divine name or concept or Notion which is Cosmic Spirit in the eternal third plane. This is the beginning of Soul World. In the Soul World the dual aspect is the internal subjective individual cosmic soul and the external objective cosmic photons or body. What we have to remember is there is neither temporal succession nor logical succession in the manifestation of Universal Spiritual Soul as Cosmic soul in its internal nature as subjectivity and external nature as energy or body as cosmic photon. They appear together because as we told earlier they are one and the same thing viewed from two different aspects or angle of vision. Now in external manifestation being aspect as Cosmic photons are prior and apparent and as Cosmic soul or spiritual soul are hidden and reveal later only to intuitive mind. So in this sense we can say Universal Spiritual Soul as cosmic soul is the internal reality of this Cosmic Photon.
Further this division of mind as pure consciousness and pure being or as active spirit and passive nature is only due to internal distinction in the third plane as Absolute Spirit , which means only in the consciousness of the Absolute or Creative spirit. But the reflective mind contain both subjectivity and objectivity or self consciousness and non self consciousness. So here passive nature or ultracosmic energy or matter is also mind, but as other of self consciousness. It's own other-Self and it's own other. A sentient spirit or active spirit and insentient nature or passive nature. So the manifested Universal Spiritual Soul as Cosmic soul in the fourth plane has an active internal nature as consciousness and external nature as cosmic photon or passive nature.
This is the fourth plane and the world of manifestations. This is the beginning of external manifestation as spiritual soul, cosmic photon. This is the beginning of the soul world. In other words The Universal Subjective spirit as Cosmic spirit, Which is the third plane as Absolute Spirit or reflective mind, due to love of perfection further limitation of mind becoming more and more concrete by developing into to power manifest the fourth plane-Absolute World as conscious reflective mind. The first manifestation in this Absolute world is the Universal Spiritual Soul as cosmic soul in Soul World.. This is the world of external manifestations. From the internal aspect this Cosmic Soul is consciousness as pure subjectivity and from the external aspect this is Cosmic Photon. In external manifestations passive nature as Cosmic Photon is apparent and the subjective aspect of this cosmic soul is hidden or concealed. As we explained earlier This Cosmic Soul is nothing but the active thought of the Cosmic Spirit (third plane) as a separate and individual ,independent self-conscious being or Soul. This Cosmic Soul or Cosmic Photon in the fourth plane is controlled by the Cosmic spirit of the third plane and which is its inner reality. This Cosmic Soul is like a shadow to the Cosmic spirit, which is its internal reality and which is the inner controller of it from the third plane So we can also say this Cosmic Soul is the form of the Cosmic Spirit .
According to modern physics electro magnetic radiations are emitted by the particles. We are not denying this fact but proposing that prior to the formation of subatomic particles or even other elementary particles (like fermions-eg: Quarks, Leptons or other Bosons ) there was a state at which energy existed as higher frequency electromagnetic waves. So according to us this Cosmic photon is the basic physical unit. This is a mass less boson with maximum quanta of energy or with the highest frequency. According to string theory basic unit of matter or plank quanta has only length but no position. Cosmic photon due to its dual nature also fit this description.
In this external Universal Subjective Soul as Cosmic Soul which we call(S1) wisdom predominates so this soul is complete spiritual essence or full of self-consciousness. This is also called Universal Spiritual Soul or Universal Ego, which is the source of all further manifestations.
Hegel identify this Universal Spiritual Soul as Cosmic Soul of fourth plane with Space in its objective aspect or external nature as cosmic wave or photon and this is the abstract ideal Object and internal aspect and Spiritual thought or subjectivity he identify with Time and this is abstract ideal Subject. So here the Space is this abstract externality or objectivity as Cosmic Photon and Time is just this intuition of becoming-Pure Subjectivity as cosmic soul. So This Universal Spiritual Soul as Cosmic Soul is also called Space-Time. Space is the external being aspect as cosmic wave and Time is the internal subjective aspect of this cosmic soul or spiritual soul. So this is the beginning of space-time. So the concept of Time-Space begins in the third plane as Cosmic Spirit and Space-Time manifest in the fourth plane as Cosmic Soul.
As we already explained Universal Subjective Spirit as Cosmic Spirit is the most abstract form of consciousness. After some logical time the Absolute Spirit as Cosmic Spirit in the third plane undergo further development and awareness and reflective mind becomes more concrete. What this mean is the proportion of Absolute Spirit's knowledge as pure being increases and as pure subjectivity decreases. In the eternal third plane or from the aspect of pure consciousness this will make the Universal Subjective Spirit (supra light spirit; Cosmic, Gamma, X-ray spirit) as Cosmic Spirit(S1) lose some active awareness as pure spiritual essence or full of self-consciousness. As a result Creative Spirit as universal subjective spirit gradually identifies itself as Spirit with Will aspect or medium self-consciousness. This is emotional or discursive self consciousness. Let us call this Universal subjective Spirit as Gamma spirit or S2 spirit. As before due to the love of perfection of Absolute Spirit as Gamma Spirit there is less motion or vibration in the Cosmic soul or photon and photon with decrease in frequency is formed in the fourth plane out of cosmic wave. So in the fourth plane Gamma photon is manifested out of Cosmic photons with lower frequency. Let us call this S2 Soul. As we explained earlier Gamma Soul in its internal aspect is Individual subjectivity (mind) and external aspect Gamma photon.. By a similar process after some logical time, losing further self consciousness Absolute Spirit as Gamma spirit identify itself as spirit with Power aspect or minimal self-consciousness or X-ray spirit or S3 spirit on the eternal third plane. This is sensuous self consciousness. In the fourth plane or in soul world, due to the love of Absolute Spirit as Gamma Spirit power dominated X-ray spiritual soul or X-ray photon with lower frequency is manifested out of Gamma photons. So the cause of the fourth plane or world is the love of Absolute Spirit for perfection and the word is manifestation of the power aspect of the Absolute.
As we explained earlier The internal or subjective aspects of these individual Cosmic or S1, Gamma or S2, and X-ray or S3 spiritual Souls and the external or objective nature as Cosmic ,Gamma and X-ray photons are one and the same thing. So these two aspects are one and the same thing. These are the fundamental three divisions of Universal Spiritual Soul or Supra Light Soul. So what we have to always remember is the Subjective knowledge of this Universal Spiritual Soul as his mind and the Objective aspect as the external Cosmic, Gamma or X-ray photon as his body is one and the same. Both are only one Thought. One thought whose nature is knowledge and form is as energy.
What we have to remember is the difference between these three spiritual souls (cosmic, gamma, X-ray) are not one of nature but only the degree of content. All three are only universal spiritual or subjective soul (supra light soul). In cosmic soul or S1 there is maximum self consciousness as the attribute of Wisdom predominate so full of pure spiritual subjective self consciousness.S2 soul moderate self consciousness as this is the Love or Will aspect so discursive reason or emotional self consciousness. S3 soul minimum self consciousness as this is the Power aspect so sensuous self consciousness.
As we earlier explained universal subjective soul represents the conscious reflective mind. This is conscious reflective mind because here the subjectivity or ego experienced as pure mind with out any content unlike the following soul worlds like universal mental soul, universal material soul etc where self or ego is identified with predicates or matter.
We have earlier mentioned that from the spiritual perspective the third plane of universal subjective spirit as cosmic spirit is the concept of Time and space. From the physical perspective or in the fourth plane of Cosmic soul this is the beginning of physical substance, time and space. We already told Cosmic photon as basic physical unit. This is same as Strings-the basic of both matter and Energy. Physical time also begins with the existence of Cosmic wave. Time is the internal individual subjectivity of the cosmic soul. Space also begins with Cosmic photon, rather Cosmic photons itself is space. Cosmic wave has dual nature and behave both as particle and wave. In the beginning there exist only Cosmic wave, so this existence of Cosmic wave is space. Time and space both change as Cosmic wave is partly replaced by Gamma wave then by X-ray wave etc. First logical calculation of time is the duration between the appearances of Cosmic wave to the appearance of Gamma wave. Due to the existence of Gamma photon space also changes and Gamma photon becomes part of space. So time and space are co-related and exist from and with the beginning of Soul World. So we designate thus time interrelated with space and as a fourth dimension Space-Time.. Hegel describe Time as the negativity of Space.
In Sufism the third plane of Absolute Spirit as essences or spirits is called Ism Ilahi (Divine Names) and the fourth plane of Absolute World as beings is called Ism Kauni (Worldly Names). The Universal subjective Spirit or supra light spirit (Cosmic, Gamma, X-ray) is called by the Divine name Hadi (creator). Universal Spiritual Soul or supra light soul in the fourth plane is called by the worldly name Aql Kull (Universal Reason) ,Qalam i Ala (exalted Pen). Ibn Arabi call this Universal Spiritual Soul the First Intellect. He also calls this Haqiqat al Muhammediya (Reality of Muhammad)(futuhat-ch-3&6).(As we earlier mentioned some Sufis also denote haqiqat Muhammediya with state of Wahdat-Absolute Subject with four potentialities).
ii: Universal Mental Soul.
Gradually after some logical time in eternal third plane there is further development and knowledge in the Absolute Spirit as X-ray Spirit. This means mind becomes more and more concrete.. As this increases Creative spirit's knowledge as X-ay spirit is lost and identify itself as Universal Mental Spirit or Light spectrum spirit (M spirit). The beginning is mental spirit with Wisdom aspect. So this is the spirit with spiritual or divine thoughts. Let us call this Ultraviolet mental spirit or M1 spirit. As explained love of perfection of the ultraviolet spirit produces less motion or vibration in the X-ray wave and ultraviolet wave with lower frequency is manifested out of X-ray wave in the fourth plane. As we explained earlier this also have the same two aspects. One internal subjective consciousness aspect and external objective physical aspect. This is individual UV mental soul with body of ultraviolet photons This is the beginning of Universal Mental Souls or Light Spectrum Souls. By a similar process ultra violet(M1) spirit, in the third plane or spiritual realm by further self development and becoming more concrete losing more self consciousness think as mental spirit with Will aspect or visible light(M2) mental spirit in the third plane. So this is temporal thoughts. Similarly love of perfection of the visible light spirit produces less vibrations in the ultraviolet wave of second plane and visible light soul or visible light ray with lower frequency is manifested out of ultraviolet mental Soul. This is M2 mental Soul .By a similar process again later light spirit identify as Mental Spirit with Power aspect and infra red mental spirit or M3 spirit in third plane or spiritual realm and IR mental thought as sensory knowledge (power aspect) emanated. So this is sensual thoughts. As earlier out of Visible Light mental soul manifest IR soul with lower frequency consisting of internal IR subjectivity and externally as IR body or photon. This is M3 Soul. These M1, M2 and M3 Mental Souls are the three fundamental groups in Universal Mental Soul or Light Spectrum Soul.
As we explained all mental souls have mental essence but in M1 there is maximum essence because as it is Wisdom attribute full of spiritual and divine thoughts. ,M2 moderate mental essence, the Will aspect and so temporal or worldly thoughts. and in M3 minimum mental essence, the Power aspect and sensuous thoughts. As we explained earlier mental soul and mental photons are one and the same thing. One is looked from the internal subjective aspect and the other from the external objective aspect.
Ibn Arabi call this Mental Soul by the worldly name Universal Self. Sufis call the Universal Mental Spirit in the spiritual realm or in the third plane of Absolute Spirit by the divine name Baith (Cause) and Universal Mental Soul in the fourth plane by the worldly name Nafs kull (universal self) .This is also called Lawh i Mahfus (Preserved Tablet).
a: Subtle Material Soul (Imaginal or Astral).
Now after some logical time further self development make the reflective mind more concrete so that consciousness of Creative spirit as UV mental spirit is reduced and lost and Creative Spirit become aware as Astral or imaginary Spirit or Infra Light Spirit (A spirit). The beginning is astral spirit with wisdom aspect or TV subtle material spirit or A1 spirit .This is the spirit of spiritual desire and imagination (wisdom dominated). Similarly love of Absolute Spirit as Infra light Spirit produces further motion or vibrations in IR Wave and in the fourth plane energy with lower frequency or TV-subtle material Soul or astral soul or TV-ray manifested out of IR ray. As we explained earlier the internal aspect of this TV astral soul is imagination and external aspect is TV photon or being or body. This is the beginning of subtle material Souls. By a similar process when the reflective mind or Creative Spirit in the third plane as TV-astral Spirit becomes more concrete it think as Astral spirit with will aspect or Micro astral spirit manifested and egoistic desire or images (Will dominated) emanate from it. , Similarly micro astral soul or Micro wave with lower frequency is manifested out of TV-ray or TV-astral soul. This is A2 astral soul or Micro Soul.. Like this due to further concrete mind Micro spirit identify as astral spirit with Power aspect or Radio astral spirit. This is A3 astral spirit and sensual desire or images (power dominated) .Similarly radio astral soul manifested out of micro Soul or micro wave. This is radio Soul or radio wave or A3 soul.
These A1, A2 and A3 subtle material or imaginary or astral Spirits in the third plane of Absolute Spirit and Corresponding TV,Micro,Radio astral Souls or Photons in the fourth plane of Absolute World are the three fundamental groups in subtle material spirit and soul.
b: Gross Material Soul.
After some logical time due to further self development of the radio astral spirit in eternal third plane or spiritual plane mind becomes more concrete. From the Absolute spiritual aspect at this the thought of subtle material or astral spirit as radio spirit go on increasing and astral spirit become aware as material spirit with wisdom aspect or as sub quark1 material Spirit or P1 material Spirit and material thought (wisdom dominant) emanate out of P1 Spirit This is mind or thinking as pure matter. In the soul world Sub Quark1 material Soul is manifested with internal subjectivity and external SubQuark1 basic particle. This is seen Externally as a process. The frequency of radio rays goes on decreasing and a critical point is reached. At this point there is low energy and frequency. At this critical point due to interaction of these low frequency rays and other fundamental particle rays like Cosmic, light and gamma rays, sub quarks are formed. This is manifestation of SubQuark1 material soul or particle. This subquark1 consists of internal subquark1 subjectivity and external Sub Quark1 Body or particle. This is Gross Material soul with wisdom aspect or P1 material soul. This is the beginning of gross material Souls. Similar to subquark1 spirit subquark2 spirit as material thoughts (will) is formed in eternal Absolute spiritual realm. So this is mind as moderately pure matter due to the Will aspect. Subbquark2 material soul is manifested out of subquark1Soul. This is material soul with will aspect or P2 material soul. Like this sub quark3 spirit is developed out of subquark2 spirit with power aspect in second state. This is mind as impure matter. subquark3 material particle is formed out of subquark2 in the absolute world.. This is material being with power aspect so this is P3 material Soul.
According to quantum field theory by instantaneous and local interaction of different energy fields basic particles can be formed. So this is the way the sub quark is formed. According to modern physics Quarks are the fundamental physical building blocks. Sub atomic particles are formed by combination of different types of Quarks. According to our theory Quarks composed of three Sub Quarks. These sub Quarks are the basic physical units. There are three basic types of Sub Quarks. Sub Quark with Wisdom aspect or P1,Sub Quark with Will aspect or P2,Sub Quark with Power aspect or P3.
Sufis call the Universal Gross material Spirit in the Spiritual plane by the Divine Name Akhir (The Exterior) and Universal Gross Material Soul in the Soul World by the worldly name Jauhar i Haba (Essence of Matter).
This complete Soul world with universal subjective soul, mental soul, subtle and gross material soul is called Alam Arwah..Gurdjieff equate this soul world with H6 potency.He denotes this plane as the state of Self Consciousness. As we can see spiritual Soul(S) and mental Soul(M) differs from Material Soul in that they have no material nature hence Shah Waliyullah calls them Ruh Malakut.(Angelic Soul). As human soul contains whole soul world or SMAPs (souls) it is called a tied soul. In this Human soul SMs (souls) is called the angelic soul part and the APs (souls) is called the rational part of the human soul. This is the causal body (karana sarira) of spirit(Atman)
As we explained earlier in the third eternal plane as Absolute or Creative Spirit due to the unity of Knower, Knowledge and Known there is only an internal distinction between active nature and passive nature or in other words internal as subjective consciousness and external consciousness in the form of passive energy or ultracosmic energy. We have seen that the reality of both is mind and they are one and the same thing. So passive nature is the form of the very same mind. So in Universal subjective Spirits(S1,S2,S3),Universal Mental Spirits(M1,M2,M3),Universal Subtle material Spirits(A1,A2,A3) and Universal Gross Material Spirits(P1,P2,P3) these distinctions are only internal as they are in this eternal plane and the passive nature is as ultracosmic energy or passive energy. Even if there is internal distinction we have seen that both are one and the same thing-mind,. internal as pure consciousness and external as form of this mind.. But in the Absolute World or fourth plane of temporality this unity is broken and there is division of knower, knowledge and known. So there is external distinction. These Universal subjective Souls(S1,S2,S3),Universal Mental Souls(M1,M2,M3),Universal Subtle material Souls(A1,A2,A3) and Universal Gross Material Souls(P1,P2,P3) consider their subjectivity distinct from their external nature. So these Photons of the physical aspect they consider as their bodies. But as we told earlier the souls and photons are one and the same thing. One looked from internal, subjective and consciousness aspect and the other from external, objective and as form of consciousness aspect. As these are the forms of these same subjective thought the subject cannot exist without this form. They are one and the same reality considered from two aspects. One cannot exist without the other.
The above Soul world consisting Universal Spiritual, Mental, imaginary and gross material Soul manifestations are known as principal manifestations. These four Universal Souls and the corresponding Spirits represent four fundamental attributes of the Absolute Subject. Wujud (Subjective Being), Ilm (Knowledge), Irada (Will) and Qudrat (Power) respectively. From these S1,S2,S3 is known as Universal Spiritual Soul or Subjective Being, M1,M2,M3 Universal Mental Soul or The Knower, A1,A2,A3, Universal Subtle Material Soul or Universal Nature or Imagination or The Willer and P1,P2,P3 Universal Gross material Soul or Universal Matter or essence of matter or The Powerful. These Souls are individual, particular and independent souls unlike their spirits in the third plane of Absolute Spirit where all the spirits are one and the same Absolute Spirit forming different relations so that the individual spirits have no independent existence apart from the Absolute Spirit.. But all the souls as we explained earlier depends on their spirits in the fourth plane for their reality and in turn those spirits in the eternal spiritual plane depends on these souls of the world for their manifestations. so they depend each other. All other innumerable minor spiritual, mental, astral and material souls are derived ultimately from these Four Universal Souls.
As we have explained above universal subjective soul of this soul word is the conscious reflective mind. This is the plane of pure self consciousness and not consciousness of any objects. There is no other consciousness at this plane than self consciousness. Spiritual soul is knowledge of self as pure subjectivity, mental soul is knowledge of self as mental essence (knowledge of predicates), subtle material soul is knowledge of self as imaginary essence and gross material soul is Knowledge of self as material essence or matter/energy. Universal subjective soul of this Soul world is the realm of ideas and thoughts arising out of self consciousness where the being is fully conscious of his individual subjectivity and every thing arising out of this subjectivity. In contrast to internal reflective mind in this conscious reflective mind there is always an object for mind set apart from subjectivity. Unlike reflective mind here mind posit two independent and different realities -a subject and an object. This Soul world is an objective realm and should not be confused with the subjective human soul plane.
These Four major manifestations of soul world are the beginning of the temporal and mutable aspects of reality. Pythagoras describe them as the temporal tetrad. In Jewish kabala this plane is described as lower triad This consists of Chesed, Geburah and Tiphareth. If we include the invisible sephiroth Daath this also becomes a tetrad. Daath is equated with Knowledge, Chesed with Love,Geburah with fear and Tiphareth with beauty.This plane is called Briah and this is the world of creation. This is represented by Arch Angels. Semitic religions describe them as four Archangels. Other religions also describe them as chief devas or prajapatis.
This soul world can be compared to the Vedanta's cosmic sleep-consciousness (Susupti), in which the Brahman has for its upaadhi the cosmic causal body. This soul world is the Ahankara plane of Samkya. This is also the Vijnanana maya kosha (knowledge sheath) of Brahman. This is the chitta plane of yoga philosophy. Human soul of this plane is called Jiva in Indian philosophy. This human soul of the fourth plane is the casual body (karana sarira) of the human spirit (jivatman )of the third plane. All created beings contain one or some of the souls. In our solar system only human beings contain all the four souls. It is the peculiarity and uniqueness of the the human beings that his soul is a combination of spiritual, mental, subtle and gross material souls (SMAPs).
Mystics describe these four stages as the process of creation or emanation. So they transcend our created material universe. Ibn Arabi in his later work Fusus describe these as the higher superior angels who transcend both subtle and gross material nature but still depending on universal nature (objective, passive nature, ultracosmic energy aspect of the Absolute Spirit) as they are individual spirits. They are described as Malai Ala (higher angels). If we are only concerned with our solar system here we can symbolise them as Pluto (Universal Spiritual Soul)), Neptune (Universal Mental Soul) and Uranus (Universal Material Soul).
When we are fully self conscious or when we are completely absorbed in our subjectivity without any other thoughts we are in contact with this soul plane or conscious reflective mind. In our unrealised normal human state we can only experience a very limited and distorted knowledge of this plane. When ever we reflect on our subjective or self consciousness we becomes aware that what ever be the content of consciousness at any moment it is always particular and an individual subjective consciousness. Any content of our thought, imagination or sensation is coloured by our own individuality. When we reflect on this subjectivity and individuality or when we try to go deeper and deeper into ourselves we will understand that our self or subjectivity or I consciousness cannot be identified with our body. This subjectivity is also beyond mind or ego. What I mean by ego here is our concept of identifying our self with our race, nation, sex, profession ,religion and family etc thus forming a definite personality. It is true that every one is a unique individual subject with unique proportion of the predicates and particular capacities. But this individuality is different from personality. In pure self consciousness we are only aware of this individual, limited subjectivity. The concept of personality or body we introduce into this subjectivity by thoughts and then identify with it. With this identification all our further thoughts and emotions ,feelings and actions are colored so we think, feel and act in this egoistic way.
When the seeker reach this plane of soul world or conscious reflective mind as we explained above he is free from all conditioning and indoctrinations and does not identify himself completely with any thing like race, religion, nation, sex etc. On the other hand hand in spite of the uniqueness and individuality of every soul he will realise the underlying unity and universality of subjectivity .As this is an objective realm and much vaster than our subjective conscious reflective mind plane one who attain this state will have contact with innumerable soul worlds. It is reported by some mystics that one who is attained to this soul plane can know not only his past from the beginning and future up to the end but also the past history of the cosmos. In the spiritual journey one attains this soul plane after subtle plane and before self realisation in the third spiritual plane.
B: Material World
i Subtle Material world or Beings
a: Cosmic Mental Being (The Cosmos-Quark)
Now in the eternal third plane after some logical time the Absolute Spirit or the creative spirit thinking itself as the universal gross material spirit or sub quark3 spirit loses further self consciousness or the reflective mind becomes more limited or concrete. This will produce loss of self consciousness as material spirit or as sub Quark3 spirit and loses pure soul consciousness and identify himself as spirit with mental faculty or spirit of discursive thoughts This is the realm of discursive thoughts or consciousness .This spirit is called Cosmic Mental Spirit or Quark Spirit or 'm' Spirit. This means consciousness as subquark3 spirit is lost and identify as cosmic mental spirit. As we explained earlier due to the love of expression of this cosmic mental sprit there is less motions and vibrations in the sub quark3 soul of the fourth plane and cosmic mental being is manifested out of sub quark soul in the fourth plane. This is the power aspect of the Absolute. This is the beginning of the Subtle material world as cosmic mental being or quark being or 'm' being. So the Material World as Subtle material beings are manifested out of combination of groups of sub quarks soul in the fourth plane . Now as we told earlier the internal aspect of this cosmic mental being is the subjectivity as discursive thoughts and the external aspect or the form of this subjectivity is the combination of sub quarks forming Quarks. As this cosmic mental spirit of third plane and cosmic mental being of fourth plane contain various forms of discursive thoughts like predominance of wisdom, love or power aspects so there are different spirits and beings like like quark1,quark2 and quark3 .
This is the realm of thoughts or consciousness . Pure self consciousness of the soul world is replaced by consciousness or discursive thoughts. This is the beginning of Material world as Subtle material world. Again they distinguish their subjectivity as Mind and the Quark particle as their body. but as we mentioned earlier this quark is nothing but the form of these subjective thought. So these internal and external are one and the same thing and they have no independent existence. What we have to remember is this plane is the mental plane or plane of mental faculties so these beings are aware primarily as mental beings with discursive thoughts. Similar to all planes three group mental or thinking faculties are found. This is the realm of discursive thoughts -the most abstract and spiritual thoughts or the Wisdom aspect and thoughts with will aspect or temporal thought content and thoughts with Power aspect so with sensual thought. so there are m1,m2 and m3 Spirits and Beings. This is also the realm of feelings and emotions
In Sufism the Cosmic Mental Spirit in the eternal spiritual third plane is called by the divine name Zahir (The Exterior) and the Cosmic Mental Being in the world by the worldly name Jism i Kull( Universal Body). This plane we can be symbolised by the whole created Universe or Cosmos. The Plane of Quarks.
Gurdjieff equate this plane with H12 potency or mental body
The willing faculty (quwwat Azimah), The intellectual faculty or cognitive faculty (quwwat Mufakkirah), Estimative faculty (Wahamiyah) of the Nusma(astral body) belongs to this Plane. In terrestrial Angels and Jinn the nature of this Cosmic Mental being is predominant so their nature is called terrestrial angelic or jinn soul. This is represented by the elemental Fire. In Alam Misal or Alam Kayal (world of similitude's or imagination) this is called the higher astral world. The beings and happenings of this plane is a copy and represent more of the above soul world than the material world so that the dreams or visions coming from this plane is always true. The beings and happenings of this stage is not liable to change so firmly established .This is represented as Devachan (abode of gods) in esoteric planes .Ibn Arabi also calls this Alam al Qalb(World of Heart) or Lauh al Mahfuz (Guarded Tablet) and the domain of Absolute (mutlaq) imagination.
We have explained in the introduction that this cosmic mental world corresponds to the higher part of the unconscious reflective mind. Here subjectivity is completely identified with the thinking or feeling process so here it is thinking or feeling subject. As this is also an objective vaster plane unlike our subjective limited unconscious reflective mind when the seeker reach this plane he is in contact with innumerable mental worlds and heavenly planes. It is also reported by some mystics that one who reach this plane can remember all his past and can know all his future history.
b: Cosmic Imaginary Being-Astral Being (Galaxy-Sub atom).
By a similar process after some logical time in the eternal third plane the Absolute spirit as Quark spirit loses consciousness as universal mental spirit due to limitation and further concreteness of reflective mind and identify itself as imaginative faculty and think itself as cosmic imaginary spirit or 'a' Spirit or Sub Atom spirit. As there are various types of sub atoms like protons, neutrons and electrons so also these imaginary spirits vary depends on the contents as spiritual imagination, worldly imaginations and sensual imaginations etc. This is also the realm of desires ,passion and world of forms and images. As explained due to love and power of this sub atom spirit, on the subtle material world similarly out of combination of Quark mental being Sub atom is formed. We call this imaginary being, Sub Atom Being or 'a' Imaginary Being or simply 'a' Being. As explained due to the predominance of spiritual, worldly or sensual imaginations there are a1,a2,a3 Beings.
Sufis call the imaginary spirit in the eternal plane by the divine name Hakim (Wise) and the imaginary being of the world by the worldly name Shakl i Kull (Universal Form). This can be symbolised by the Galaxy System which has a definite form. This is the formation of three main types of subatomic particles-Proton, Neutron and Electron. In Vedanta universal mental being and universal imaginary being together is called the manomaya kosha (mental sheath) of Brahman. Gurdjieff equate this plane with H24 and H48 potency-fine and coarse desire body..
Faculty of imagination (Khayal), Common Sense (Hiss Mushtaric) of the Nusma belongs to this plane. In the nature of Animals this plane is predominant so this nature of them is called Animal Soul.
This is represented by the elemental Air..In Alam Misal this is called the lower Astral world. The beings and happenings of this plane is a copy and represent more of the inferior material world so that the dreams and visions coming form this plane may not be true. This plane constantly undergo changes. This is called Kama Loka (Desire World). Ibn Arabi calls this Alam Nafs or Lawh al Mahw al Isbath(world of effacement and establisment) and domain of limited (muqayad) imagination.
As we earlier mentioned this cosmic imaginal world is the unconscious reflective mind. Unlike limited subjective realm this is an objective and much vaster realm. Here subjectivity is completely identified with this imaginations, feelings and passions. When the seeker attain this plane apart from his subjective astral body he is in contact with innumerable astral worlds. Here he can experience the reality of the state after death and may encounter physically dead beings. It is also reported by some mystics that one who attain this state can not only transcend space so that his astral body can fly and reach any where in the material and imaginal world but also some transcendence of temporal limitations so he can remember all of his past history from the beginning.
c: Cosmic Living Being (Solar System-Atom).
Now the Absolute spirit in the third plane as sub atom spirit due to further self development becomes aware of its life nature and develops into cosmic living spirit or' p' Spirit or Atomic Spirit. By a similar process out of these spirits in the subtle material world cosmic Living Being or Atomic Being is manifested by the combination of sub atomic particles. This is 'p' Atomic Beings. Similar to above there are three fundamental types- p1,p2,p3 Spirits and Beings.
Sufis designate the cosmic living spirit in the eternal spiritual plane by the divine name Muhit (Encompassor) and their counterpart in the world as cosmic living being by the divine name Arsh (Throne of God).Gurdjieff equate this with H96 potency
This can be compared in a macrocosmic level with our solar system and microcosmic level with the formation of basic atoms. Various atoms are formed by the combinations of subatomic particles. In plants and vegetation this cosmic living being is predominant so their nature is called vegetable soul or growing soul. In Sufism the vegetative faculties (nutrition, growth, procreation) and moving faculties (muharrikah) of the Nusma (astral body) are identified with cosmic Living Being. In Vedanta Pranamaya kosha( Vital sheath) of Brahman is identified with this being. This Kosha consists of Prana (life) and 5 Karmendriyas (working senses-Power to express, grasp, move, procreate and excrete). This is represented by the elemental Water.
As we already explained this is the lowest part of the unconscious reflective mind. This is also called the Etheric plane. It is reported by some mystics that when the seeker reach this plane he can overcome the gravitational influence. This means he can transcend limtation of space and his etheric body has the power of flying and reaching anywhere in the world.
These plane as a whole (subtle material world) differs from the soul world or self consciousness in that here subjectivity completely identify as objective thoughts either as life, imaginative faculty or mental faculty. What we have to remember is this subtle material world is not the plane of self consciousness or soul world but the plane of consciousness. So here in this plane there is no knowledge of self but knowledge as discursive thoughts or in the form of imagination or in the form of subtle matter or life energy.. So this is just knowledge or consciousness but not self knowledge or self consciousness.
This subtle material World we can compare with Vedanta's cosmic dream-consciousness (Swapna), in which Brahman has the totality of cosmic subtle body as its limiting adjuncts (upaadhi). Like soul world is the casual body (jiva, human soul) of human spirit (jivatman) ,this subtle material world is the subtle body (suksma sarira) of the human spirit. This consists of in Samkya philosophy the following- manas,indriyas(5 jnanendriya (knowing senses+5 karmendriya),5 tanmatras (subtle matter).
Like soul world corresponds to the four principal divine attributes of Being, Knowledge, Love, Power These three subtle material world corresponds to the the three Divine attributes of Hearing (Mental world), Sight (imaginary world) and Speech (living world) respectively. Ibn Arabi call these plane the higher realm of Imagination. Sufis call this plane Alam Barzak or Alam Mithal(the world of Similitude's) Alam Kayal (world of imagination). This is also called Alam Malakut.
The earlier lower tetrad or Soul world , which are Universal Spiritual Soul, Universal Mental Soul, Universal Imagination or Astral Soul and Universal Material soul, and the lower triad or subtle material world , which are Cosmic Mental Being, Cosmic Imaginary Being and Cosmic living Being forms Septinary or Septad. These seven are considered as the seven Main Dhyanichohans or Prajapatis or seven principal Angels in religions. The eternal upper triad (Absolute Being, Absolute Subject and, Absolute Sprit ) and the temporal lower septad together form the Decad. Decad is the complete mystic number for Pythagoras and Jewish Kabala. Decad is 10 major planes of the Absolute. In Yoga Vasishta soul world and subtle material world together is called Chittakash (Mental Space)
What we have to remember is both the soul world and subtle material world are the planes of Universal or Cosmic Beings. So they are not individual particular beings like the following gross material beings which derives their beings from these higher beings. So these higher seven Beings are always designated as the main seven angels or devas.
According to modern physics big bang point is the point of singularity. At this point there is infinite energy and temperature and hence the universe has infinite mass and minimal or zero size. After big bang explosion the temperature go on decreasing and four forces and elements are formed out of basic particles and quarks. According to us this big bang point is not a material state but the point of formation of other bosons and fermions.
The sub quark produce quarks and then the boson graviton is formed. At this point there is super symmetry so there is only one force which itself is a force carrying basic particle. This single force can be compared to graviton which is a neutral ,mass less boson.. After the formation of graviton again the energy and frequency go on decreasing and a critical point is reached. At this point there is symmetry breaking and four forces are formed. This facilitates the formations of elements and molecules.
Now the combination of these sub quarks produce quarks. The combination of these quarks produce all the sub atomic particles like neutral mass less particles and charged mass particles. So Graviton spirit and corresponding Graviton is formed. similarly other Bosons, Fermions and sub atoms formed.
Now if we consider the whole material Cosmos The Cosmic Mental Being is symbolised by the whole Cosmos consisting of billions of galaxies and Cosmic Imaginary Being is symbolised by Galaxy like our milky way galaxy and Cosmic Living Being is symbolised by solar systems.
As we have already explained this subtle material world is the higher form of unconscious reflective mind. Here subjectivity is completely identified with thinking, imagining, feeling and sensing activity. Most of the time we go on thinking or knowing or feeling without being conscious of the fact that we are thinking or feeling. We are only conscious of the product of this thinking or feeling but never simultaneously aware of this thinking or feeling process or subject. Unlike internal reflective mind and conscious reflective mind where subjectivity is experienced as something distinct (internal reflective mind) or different (conscious reflective mind) from object of consciousness, as unconscious reflective mind the subjectivity completely identifies itself with the object of consciousness. So here subjectivity is experienced merely as thinking or feeling or sensing or imagining subject. As we mentioned already unlike human subjective limited plane this is an objective and much vaster plane. As we explained above when the seeker reach this plane he can overcome spatial and temporal limitations and can also have contact with other subtle material world than his own subjective world. In the spiritual journey this is the first plane reached by the Mystics and this is as we have seen consisit of many subplane like astral,desire,mental planes.
ii: Gross Material World or Beings
1: Celestial Beings. (Subtle Beings):
Now if we consider our Solar system the further development of the Cosmic living spirit or Atomic spirit is development of Spirits of Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon. What we have to remember at the outset is that these beings should not be completely identified with the gross material planets or star or satellites whose evolutionary stage is below these planes at the stage of fire, air etc .These are the beings of an atomic nature who are associated with these celestial bodies. The second thing to remember is all the beings of Gross material world, whether celestial or terrestrial is either manifestation of a single plane like soul world or subtle material world or combination of the two planes above described-soul world (self consciousness) and subtle material world (consciousness) in different proportions. So both celestial world and terrestrial world is a combination of SMAPs (souls) and mapb (beings). The only difference between celestial world and terrestrial world on the one hand and the the different beings of these world on the other is in each beings except human beings only some aspect of these planes is expressed while the other aspect remain dormant or hidden.
i: Higher Soul Beings
We have seen that in the eternal spiritual plane Absolute spirit is as Atomic Spirit or Cosmic living spirit or 'p' spirit. Now in the spiritual plane this Atomic Spirit Due to further limitation in knowledge develops into higher soul spirits like Pluto, Uranus and Neptune spirits and correspondingly in the fourth plane of Absolute world soul beings like Pluto ,Neptune etc is formed..
Now if we consider the development of the higher planets Pluto, Neptune, Uranus in the eternal plane as spirits these spirits mainly manifest the soul world or SMAPs. As they contain subjective soul this is conscious reflective mind. Each succeeding spirits have decreasing quantity of the spiritual essence of the soul world (or we can symbolise this as S1M1A1P1,S2M2A2P2 and S3M3A3P3 souls). This means these planets manifest the different aspect of self consciousness like wisdom, love or power. So these higher planets when considered with the influence on human consciousness is often associated with collective consciousness or transpersonal consciousness. What we have to remember is these soul, mental, imaginary and subtle material planet beings are not the material planets as such but the beings what we call angels in religious terminology inhabiting these planets. The material planets and the sun are only symbolised by these beings.
a: Pluto
Now at first the Absolute spirit as Cosmic living spirit due to limitation in knowledge become gradually conscious of its dormant soul world. Now out of the cosmic living spirit Pluto spirit is developed. We can see that this Pluto spirit contains 'S1M1A1P1's (souls) or self consciousness. Correspondingly in the fourth plane or world plane Pluto planet is manifested out of Atomic Being. Here there is predominance of spiritual essence or wisdom aspect. Sufis designate this spirit in the eternal spiritual plane by the divine name Shakur (Appreciator or Grateful) and the Being in the world by the worldly name Kursi (Seat). Ibn Arabi connect this with the mental faculties.
b: Neptune:
In the eternal spiritual plane the Absolute spirit as Pluto spirit loses consciousness of full spiritual or wisdom aspect and so due to further limitation of knowledge there is development of Neptune Spirit with love or will aspect. Corresponding to this Neptune Planet is manifested out of Pluto planet in the world. This is 'S2M2A2P2s'.Here there is predominance of will aspect.Sufis designate this spirit by the divine name Ghani (Independent) and the being by the worldly name Falak al Manfazil (Crystalline Sphere or starless sphere). Ibn arabi describe it as the inhabited House and connect with faculties of heart. These beings are responsible for radiation of unconditional love and positive spirit and also associated with divine wisdom
c: Uranus:
In the eternal Plane due to further decrease in spiritual essence of Neptune Spirit Uranus Spirit with power aspect is developed. Similarly Uranus Planet is manifested in the world out of Neptune planet. This is 'S3M3A3P3's.Here there is predominance of power aspect.Sufis designate this spirit by the divine name Muqtadir (Powerful, Determiner) and the Being by the worldly name Falak ul Buruj (sphere of fixed stars). Ibn Arabi describe this as the spirits and their capacities. These are also known as the angels of harmony and divine wisdom.
So these Pluto, Neptune and Uranus planets are symbolised by beings with self consciousness of SMAPs (but decreasing spiritual knowledge).
ii: Middle Mental Beings
Unlike higher soul beings which manifest only the soul world these middle mental beings and lower imaginary beings manifest both soul world and subtle material world. Unlike higher soul beings where all beings like Pluto, Neptune, Uranus manifest all the soul world but in varying degrees here in mental beings universal subjective soul (S) is not manifested. This means middle mental beings have no pure spiritual or subjective self consciousness but only mental ,imaginal or physical self consciousness. So the spirits of these planes are various expression of 'MAP's and 'map'b. This means this is unconscious reflective mind. When discussing the influence of them on human consciousness unlike the higher spirits they are identified with personal or individual consciousness. Here as with the higher soul beings different planets will show different aspects of self consciousness and consciousness like wisdom, will and power aspect. This means with the lower planets this self consciousness (MAPs) and consciousness (mapb) planes go on decreasing ( symbolised in the order of spiritual thoughts, worldly thoughts, sensual thoughts) and more expression of imaginary and living consciousness so that when we come to the level of Moon there is only 'apb' (imaginary and living thoughts or thought as imagination and life). This mean they manifest different aspect of wisdom, love and power.
d: Saturn:
In the eternal third spiritual state Absolute Spirit as Uranus Spirit due to limitation in knowledge loses completely the universal subjective spirit essence and develops into Saturn Spirit . Corresponding to this Saturn Planet is manifested in the world out of Uranus planet. So this contain both soul world (minus universal subjective spirit) and subtle material world. MAPs +mapb. As we explained in Saturn planet wisdom aspect predominate in both self consciousness and consciousness. Sufis designate this Saturn Spirit by the divine name Rubb (Lord). Worldly name Zuhal (Saturn). This is the supporter or Nourisher. Ibn arabi describe it as source of knowledge and breath. Neo-Platonists identify this with the mental power of forming conclusions. Abdul Karem Jili in Insan al Kamil connects it with reason. This being is identified with justice and supervising judgments for individual karma and whole humanity and also as record keepers of sacred universal laws representing the will necessary to administer divine justice in the world.
e: Jupiter:
In the eternal spiritual plane Absolute spirit as Saturn spirit due to limitation of knowledge loses some knowledge of mental thoughts (consciousness) there develops Jupiter Spirit . Then Jupiter planet is manifested in the World. This also contain soul world (MAPs) and subtle material world (mapb). Here there is predominance of will aspect.Sufis call this Jupiter Spirit by the divine name Alim (Knower). Worldly name Musthari (Jupiter). Ibn Arabi describe it as the mental function of Memory. Neo Platonists identify this with the power of effectiveness of the will. Jili also connects it with will power and the angel Michael. They also represent wisdom and intuitional knowledge. They represent superior power of wisdom against physical strength and egotistical forces.
f: Mars:
In the eternal spiritual plane like above due to further decrease in mental thoughts there develops Mars Spirit. correspondingly Mars Planet is manifested in the world. This is also MAPs+mapb. Here there is predominance of power aspect.Sufis call this spirit by the divine name Qahir (Dominant). Worldly name is Marrikh (Mars). Ibn Arabi equate it with the intellectual function of Mind. Neo- Platonists identify this with affections and impulses. Jili connects this with power, majesty and guess and the angel Asrail. They are also connected with free will.
g: Sun:
In the eternal spiritual plane due to further limitation of reflective mind develops the Sun Spirit. In the world the Sun Star is manifested. The Sun also have a central position in not only living and imaginative world but also in the mental world. Sufis call this spirit by the divine name Nur (Light). Worldly name is Shams (Sun). Ibn Arabi describe the sun as the faculty of Reflection. Ibn Arabi gives a central position (heliocentric) to sun in respect to the three above and three below planets. Neo-Platonists identify this with sensation, opinion, and imagination. Jili connects this with the heart and the angel Asrafil.
So these Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Sun are symbolised by beings with self consciousness MAPs and consciousness as 'mapb' or discursive thoughts, imagination and living essences but decreasing mental or discursive thoughts (in the order of spiritual thoughts, worldly thoughts, sensual thoughts). So in these middle mental beings mental self consciousness (Ms) and rational and discursive thoughts (mb) go on decreasing so that when we comes to the lower imaginary being there is only astral and physical self consciousness (APs) and astral and life thoughts (apb).
ii: Lower Imaginary Beings:
As we explained earlier at this stage self consciousness contain mainly APs and consciousness contain only (apb). So the spirits of these planes are APs+apb. Like we explained earlier in this plane this astral consciousness also go on decreasing (symbolised in the order of spiritual imagination, worldly imagination, sensual imagination) so that when we come to the level of Terrestrial beings or Fire there is only Ps or material self consciousness. So these lower imaginal beings also represent different aspects of mind like wisdom, love and power.
h: Venus:
First in the eternal spiritual plane Absolute Spirit as Sun spirit due to further limitation of knowledge lose mental or discursive thoughts completely and develops in to Venus Spirit.. similarly Venus planet is manifested out of Sun planet. This is as we explained astral and material self consciousness (APs) and astral and life thoughts (apb). This is the wisdom aspect of consciousness.
Sufis call this spirit by the divine name Musavvir (Form giver). Worldly name is Zuhra(Venus). Ibn Arabi connect it with illusory imagination and animal spirit. Neo Platonists identify it with sensuous desires aiming at the particular. Jili connects it also with will and desire and imagination. These beings are also considered as the protectors of important people on earth.
i: Mercury:
Now in the eternal spiritual plane the Absolute spirit as Venus spirit loses some properties of imagination and develops in to Mercury Spirit. Correspondingly in the world Mercury Planet manifested out of Venus Planet. This is also APs+ apb, but here there is predominance of will aspect..Sufis call this spirit by the divine name Muhsey (Recorder) and the worldly name is Utarid (Mercury). Ibn Arabi connect it with imagination (Khayal). Jili connect it with knowledge and Rumi with Intelligence. These are supposed to carry out divine decree for humans.
j: Moon:
Now in the eternal third plane the Mercury Spirit loses further imaginary thoughts and develops into Moon spirit. In the world Moon satellite is manifested This is also APs + apb, but here there is predominance of power aspect..Sufis call this spirit by the divine name Muhaymin (Guardian) and the worldly name is Qamar(Moon). Ibn Arabi connect it with sensory faculties. Neo-Platonists connect it with the power of production. Jili connects this with life and imagination. These are messenger angels who govern nature spirits. They are the guardians of humanity. They involve with the everyday life of earth and is a direct gateway of information, knowledge and communication between mankind and the higher source.
As we already mentioned this lower imaginary plane contain both astral and material self consciousness (APs) and astral and living consciousness (apb). Both the astral self consciousness and astral or imagination faculty also go on decreasing so when the moon is reached which is the power aspect there is minimum astral essence and maximum material essence.
This Celestial plane need some clarification. What we are referring here is not the present state of the planets as gross material beings. This present state is the condensed state of the planets after further evolution like, Fire, Air. Water etc there by forming the solid gross objects. What we are referring here is as explained earlier these celestial beings in their Atomic state. The rarefied state of these planets in their subtle material state before the development of Fire, Air, Water etc. As we explained this is the plane of the Atoms or elements and there is not yet the development of molecules or compounds. So at that evolutionary state we are describing this is really subtle material plane. The second point to remember is these celestial beings can manifest both the higher planes-soul world and subtle material world. This means the celestial spirits have both self consciousness and consciousness. This also means these celestial spirits have both soul body and subtle body but no material body. But what we have to remember is when they are conscious of their self as spiritual, mental, astral &material soul essence these self knowledge or self consciousness is from the plane of the Soul world. Like this their consciousness or thoughts as discursive thoughts or imagination or matter are thoughts or knowledge from the subtle material plane. But even though these beings have self consciousness they have no separate individual self consciousness like human beings but self consciousness of species and sub species like animals.
In religious terminology these celestial beings are called Angels or Devas. In Sufism these Celestial Beings are called Superior Fathers and they have an influence in the evolution of the terrestrial beings which are called inferior mothers.
2: Terrestrial Beings.
As we can see the beginning of the terrestrial plane is a descend of the celestial plane. So the beings of the terrestrial plane contain potentially both soul world (self consciousness, SMAPs) and subtle material world (consciousness, 'mapb') but they becomes an actuality only in human beings.
What we have to remember is the elemental and inorganic realm of terrestrial plane (Fire, Air, Water, Earth) have both self consciousness (but only Ps or material soul )and consciousness (only 'pb' thought as life). So this is 'Ps+pb' .This as we already explained is the lowest form of unconscious reflective mind. But here in these realms even this living consciousness is not expressed as life externally but only as matter. but as we explained earlier the internal aspect of this matter is nothing but living consciousness. This is one of the reason why mystics always consider everything in the world endowed with life. Like all the above planes we explained here also there are three groups depending on the manifestation of wisdom, love or power aspect.
Now the formation of this Terrestrial Material beings out of Atomic being is the combination of minimum consciousness as pure subjective consciousness or subjectivity and maximum consciousness as object or matter culminating in Earth being. Now this is the out come of the most concrete form or extreme limitation of knowledge so that Creative spirit thinks only as pure material being. This is the opposite of Cosmic Spirit as S1 or corresponding Cosmic Soul where it was a combination of maximum consciousness as subjectivity and minimum consciousness as object or matter which was the least concrete or most abstract mind as Creative spirit thinking as maximum pure subjective self consciousness.
a: Fire
Now the Absolute Spirit in the third eternal plane thinking itself as the Moon spirit due to further limitation of knowledge loses more self consciousness and consciousness so that knowledge of imaginary soul and imagination is completely lost and think itself as only gross material essence. This is Fire spirit. correspondingly in the fourth plane or material world out of non visible subtle atomic elements manifest partly visible elements with higher mass. This is Fire. As we already explained this contain material self consciousness (Ps) and life consciousness (pb) as matter. So this is Ps+pb. As usual fire represent the wisdom aspect so this is the most abstract form of matter.
This Fire we can represent as Cosmic Material being because all the succeeding beings receive their material being from this being. Sufis designate the fire spirit by the divine name Qabid (Curtailer of Life) and worldly name is Nar (Fire)
b: Air
Now in the eternal third plane the Absolute Spirit as the fire Sprit which is wisdom aspect and mind as most abstract matter due to further limitation of consciousness identify itself as Air Spirit. In the fourth plane or world Air is formed out of Fire. This is also wisdom aspect but less abstract matter than fire. Now the formation of compounds and molecules like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen etc can be compared to Air.. Sufis designate the Air spirit by the divine name Hayy (Life) and worldly name is Hawa (Air)
c: Water
As usual in the third plane Air Spirit which is mind as abstract matter due to further limitation of knowledge identify itself as Water Spirit. Water is manifested out of Air in the world. This is the will aspect so here mind as concrete matter. Sufis call the water spirit by the divine name Muhiyy (Life Giver) and the worldly name is Ma (Water)
d: Earth.
As above in the eternal third
plane Water spirit which is mind as concrete matter due to further limitation of
mind identify itself as Earth Spirit. Correspondingly in the world plane earth
planet is manifested out of Water. This is the power aspect hence mind as
the most concrete matter.
So all these beings (fire, air, water, earth) are 'Ps+pb' so they contain both material self consciousness and living consciousness expressed only as external matter. How they differ from each other is the preponderance of the P1,P2,P3 elements in their being. Not only each represent a particular group but even in every beings (eg: air or water) there contains all the three groups. As they express the different aspects of mind like wisdom ,will and power so they are mind as most abstract matter to mind as most concrete matter. While fire is the most abstract matter, earth is mind as the most concrete form of matter. We have seen that Absolute world begins with soul world as cosmic soul. This is mind as the most abstract state. Here there is maximum consciousness as pure subjectivity and minimum consciousness as matter. Now in every succeeding stage mind becomes more and more concrete so that when it reaches Earth this is mind in its most concrete state. Here there is minimum consciousness as pure subject and maximum consciousness of subjectivity as matter. This is the descending stage of the Absolute. Every descend veil more and more the essential nature of the Absolute. This means in every descend the degree of manifestation of The Essence is less and less so that when it comes to the Earth there is least manifestation of the Essence. This means there is less pure subjective or self consciousness in every descend and less and less self revelations. These Fire, Air, Water, Earth constitute the gross inanimate matter and this is what Hindu Vedanta denotes as the cosmic waking-consciousness (Jagrat), which is conscious of the totality of concrete existences and in which Brahman is limited by the cosmic gross body. In Yoga Vasishta this whole Gross material World is called Bootakash (Elemental Space)
But after Earth begins the ascend. From now on every succeeding stage is the state of maximum consciousness as matter and also increasing level of pure subjective consciousness. So this is also the beginning of the most concrete thought becoming more and more self conscious so that Absolute also thinks more and more as pure subjective consciousness. This means Absolute in the succeeding manifestations of the beings reveal more and more its self in other words there is more and more self revelation in the succeeding spirits. So there is increased manifestation of the Essence in the remaining manifestations. This means even the succeeding manifestation like Minerals is implicitly a combination of Material and Astral self consciousness and also some imaginary being even though explicitly this is noticed only in Vegetable Kingdom. This culminate in human beings and in Perfect Man where there is maximum degree of manifestation of Essence. This also means there is complete subjective or self consciousness in Perfect Man and maximum self revelation of the Absolute .So starting from minerals mind manifest as most concrete matter and also increasing knowledge of subjectivity. When we reach Perfect Man mind is as most concrete matter and also as maximum subjectivity or pure subjective or self consciousness. But as we explained earlier to the Perfect Man consciousness and matter are not two separate things but mind itself and matter is only the form of mind. So at this stage there is no duality from this state but complete unity.
e: Mineral Being:
Now in the eternal
third plane of Absolute Spirit mind as earth spirit which is the most concrete
form of matter due to delimitation and more self revelation become aware as
Mineral Spirit. Correspondingly in the fourth plane or in the material world
Minerals manifested out of earth. As we explained this is material
and astral self consciousness and living consciousness (APs+pb) but the astral
and living elements becomes expressive only in plants. So this is the lower form
of unconscious reflective mind.
f: Plant Being:
Now due to further delimitation and self revelation of mind in the eternal spiritual plane Absolute spirit as Mineral spirit becomes more aware of the dormant astral self consciousness and living consciousness. As these awareness increases the mineral spirit reveal or identify itself as plant sprit. Due to to active thought of this plant spirit in the material world plants manifested out of minerals .
So plants are APs+apb or they have astral and material self consciousness and also astral and living consciousness. So this is higher form of unconscious reflective mind. But as we know there is in plant kingdom ranging from unicellular and multi cellular rudimentary plant types to highly developed plants like having reproductive organs in different plants like Dioecious plants e.g.: Nutmeg .This means there are three different groups of plants depending on the predominance of wisdom, love or power aspect. So there will be different combinations of A1,A2,A3 and P1,P2,P3.
g: Animal Being:
Now due to further delimitation and self revelation of mind the Creative spirit as plant spirit in third plane become aware of the dormant mental self consciousness and also mental or discursive consciousness (mb).. As this awareness increases Creative spirit identify as animal spirit and living ,imaginary and rudimentary discursive thoughts emanate from animal spirit. Due to active thought on the material world animal with maximum external materiality and imagination but minimum mental faculty manifested out of plants . In animals imaginary or astral being is manifested as sensory knowledge and desire and mental being as rudimentary discriminative knowledge and weak will. Presence of mental being in animals enables domestication and taming of them. The Animal being can be considered as manifesting predominantly the Cosmic imaginary being and this is called the animal soul and human beings receive animal soul from this being.
So animals are MAPs+mapb or they participate in mental, astral and material self consciousness and also mental ,astral and living consciousness. So they are having both mental, imaginary and material soul and possess the faculties of both discursive thoughts, imagination and material thoughts. So this is also higher form of unconscious reflective mind. But as we know there is in animal kingdom ranging from unicellular and multi cellular animal with only rudimentary senses to animals to highly developed having high mental faculties like Ape, Dolphins, horses and Dogs.. This means there are three different groups of animals depending on the predominance of wisdom, love or power aspect. So there will be different combinations of M1,M2,M3;A1,A2,A3 and P1,P2,P3.Sufis call the animal spirit by the divine name Muzil (Abaser) and worldly name is Haywan.
h-Terrestrial Angelic being.
Now the Absolute Spirit in the thirdeternal plane as animal spirit due to further delimitation and self revelation of mind passively aware of its complete mental self consciousness and also mental consciousness. and identify itself as terrestrial angelic spirit. While in animals there is only the beginning of mental self consciousness in terrestrial angels there is full manifestation of mental self consciousness and mental faculties. Externally in the fourth plane or material world terrestrial angelic beings are manifested. So the angelic being predominantly manifest the cosmic mental being. The material essence of these angels are mainly Subtle matter so they are normally invisible. From the four elements constituting these beings (Fire, Air, Water, Earth) the light aspect of Fire is predominant in them .Apart from the difference that they are subtle beings they also differ from human beings in that they have not subjective or spiritual self consciousness (Ss) like human beings and also they have no individuality like humans but exist as species and subspecies like animals. Sufis designate the angelic spirit by the divine name Qawi (Powerful) and worldly name is Malayak
i: Jinn
Similarly the Absolute Spirit as terrestrial angelic spirit due to further delimitation and self revelation becomes dimly aware of its spiritual self consciousness as it develops into jinn spirit. In the material world jinn is manifested out of angels. From the four elements the proportion of fire and air is more in jinn so they are created from smokeless fire and they are also subtle material beings. Due to excess air they can assume any form and due to fire they are immaterial and subtle and they seek dominance, pride and might. The difference of these Jinn beings from human beings is not only that they are subtle being but also the subjective or spiritual self consciousness (Ss) is not fully manifested in them .Sufis designate the jinn spirit by the divine name latif (Subtle) and worldly name jinn .
j. Human
Being:
Now the Creative Spirit as Jinn spirit due to further delimitation and self revelation also becomes aware of complete subjective self consciousness( S1). As this awareness increase human spirits formed in the eternal third plane. Material&living, imaginary, discursive and spiritual thoughts emanates from the human spirit. Due to active thought on the material world Human being is manifested.
So humans are 'SMAPs + mapb' or they have self consciousness of
having both spiritual mental, imaginary and material soul and possess the
faculties of both discursive thoughts, imagination and living&material thoughts. They
have both self consciousness (soul world) and consciousness (subtle material
world.) .This means they manifest both conscious reflective mind and unconscious
reflective mind. But as
we told there are three fundamental groups of spiritual
soul-S1(wisdom)S2(love)S3(power) so there are three groups of human beings with
different nature. Those who have S1 spiritual soul have predominant spiritual
nature and those who have S2 spiritual soul have predominant rational nature and
those with S3 spiritual soul
is man with predominant passionate nature.. In human beings Soul World are manifested as self consciousness. Now this
Human being is mind as maximum pure Subjectivity and maximum matter. But
as we already explained they are one and the same thing
Hegel in his philosophy of Spirit or Mind describe this human existence in different stages of the development of the Human Spirit. He describes the developments in three stages as three main Notions or Concepts. Subjective Spirit or Mind, Objective Spirit or Mind and Absolute Spirit or Mind.
a: Subjective Spirit
:
This is the form of self relation. Subjective Spirit develops through the following subcategories of Soul, Consciousness and Spirit.
Soul is as Spirit in nature. It is the ideal life of nature. So soul is the sleep of spirit. Soul develops through three stages or notions. physical soul ,feeling soul and actual soul. Physical Soul is the natural soul. Its modes are only natural life. So this physical soul refers to what we called living soul as external material spirit or P in SMAPs. So besides humans this physical soul is common in animals, plants, minerals, earth, water, air and and Fire.. Feeling Soul or soul as sentiency is the simple ideality or subjective side of sensation. This corresponds to A in SMAPs. so besides humans this is present well developed in plants and animals. Actual soul is the stage where soul becomes the subject and body the predicate. Here body represents the soul's sign.
At the stage of consciousness Spirit reflect into itself and other things. Here the immediate identity of soul is raised into ideal self identity and the contents of soul becomes its object. So consciousness makes soul its object. This is the stage of ego and non ego .Non ego is the relative other and as independent object. Conscious internal subject and external object. Consciousness develops through three main stages or notions ;Consciousness proper, Self consciousness, Reason. Consciousness proper is the stage where ego is the internal subject and non ego is the external independent object. In self consciousness ego itself is the object. Self consciousness is the truth of consciousness. Here consciousness of object is also self consciousness. Because in this stage object is self's own idea so self is aware of the object as its own and in it self is aware of itself. Here there is no distinction between subject and object. It is the identification of self consciousness and object consciousness. Reason is the existent and real unity of consciousness and self consciousness. The existent universality and objectivity of self consciousness. At the stage of reason object which was in consciousness is now universal permeating and enveloping the ego and the ego is the form which also overlaps and envelops the object. So it is the identity of the subjectivity of the idea with its objectivity and universality.
Spirit is the truth of soul and consciousness. Spirit makes consciousness its object. Spirit is neither subjective nor objective but the awareness of the substantial totality of subject and object. Spirit is the stage of concrete unity. Spirit develops through three main stages or Notions; Theoretical Spirit or intelligence, Practical Spirit or will and Free Spirit. First is theoretical Spirit or cognition as being where Spirit finds in itself something which IS. Cognition is the elevation of the nominal knowledge to definite and conceptual knowledge through stages. This culminate in thought as free notion. Here cognition is a mode of being. This passes through three stages of intuition (intelligent perception), representation (mental idea) and thinking. The second is practical Spirit or will. Here the being as its own. Here Spirit make it its own . Will is the stage at which Spirit is aware that it is determinative of its content and the author of its conclusions .Passing through stages it develops into a thinking will ,to give itself the content which it can only have as it thinks itself. This passes through the three stages of practical sense (feeling), impulses&choice and happiness. Free Spirit is the unity of theoretical and practical Spirit. Free Spirit is the Spirit which knows itself as free and wills itself as this freedom as its object. This free Spirit is the actual Spirit.
This is Spirit in the form of reality. Spirit realised in a world produced and to be produced by it . In this world freedom presents as Necessity. The reality in general where free will has existence is Law (right). This passes through three main stages and notions, Law, Morality of conscience and Moral life (social ethics).
Free will as immediate so as a single being, the person. Existence which the person gives to its liberty is property. The right as law is abstract right. In law the free individual is considered as a person. This develops through three stages of property, contract and right verses wrong.
This is will reflected into self .So it has inside existence. This is the right of the subjective will. Here the free individual is considered as a subject. This develops through three stages of purpose, intention&welfare, and goodness and wickedness.
Here free will is the substantial will .Actual in the subject and conformable to its concept. This is the ethics of actual life in family, civil society and state. Moral life is the perfection of objective spirit .The consciously free substance, actuality as the spirit of a nation. Spirit as the ethical substance. This develops through three stages. First family, objective Spirit as natural Spirit. Second is civil society relation of individual as independent persons to one another in a formal universality. Second is the state as self conscious ethical substance .Here Spirit developed into its organic actuality.
This is the unity of Spirit as objectivity and Spirit as ideality and concept. The essential and actual Spirit and which for ever produces itself. Spirit in its absolute truth. The unity of subjective and objective Spirit. It has three stages or Notions, Art, Religion and philosophy.
In art the Absolute Idea is as a unity of nature and spirit. The immediate unity in sensuously intuitional form. Spirit as a natural Spirit. This is external in point of form and substantial content, become many separate shapes. In art there is immediate vision and it is the subjective's inward retreat.. This is S3s Humans with passion&power nature in their complete self realisation. This is Artistic Spirit.
Here the Absolute Spirit is in point of content the actual spirit of both nature and Spirit and in point of form absolute Spirit is presented to consciousness as a mental representation. This quasi -pictorial representation gives the elements of content a separate being. Religious Spirit separate the absolute Spirit into parts and opens it out in mental picture. This religious Spirit is the objective and external revelation presupposed by representation. Religious Spirit is the subjective movement of faith .This religious Spirit is represented by S2s or humans with will nature in their complete self realisation..
This is the unity of art and religion. The notion of philosophy is the self thinking idea. The truth aware of itself. The syllogism of philosophic Spirit is logic which divides into Spirit and nature . Here logic is the self knowing reason the absolutely universal. Spirit is the philosophic ideas pre supposition subjective activity and nature is philosophic idea's universal extremity and objectively and implicitly existing idea .The self judging of the philosophic Spirit into its two appearances characterises both as its (self knowing reason) manifestation and in it there is a unification of the two aspects. The eternal idea in full fruitation of its essence, eternally sets itself to work, engenders and enjoys itself as absolute Spirit. In our system this is represented by S1s or human spirit with wisdom nature in their complete self realisation..
Let us illustrate this Absolute World with the same example we described when illustrating Absolute Spirit. We have compared there Absolute Spirit with a human subject and with the thoughts and concepts made by the subject in his mind. We have seen that the human subject (corresponds to Absolute Spirit) is the most real and these concepts and thoughts (corresponding to innumreable spirits) are less real when compared to the subject. Now let us conceive that the subject is not satisfied with mere concepts of himself as some animals and plants (Absolute Spirit) but thinks himself further as these animals and plants in action like running, reproducing and flowering (comparison with Absolute World-soul world) and also makes imaginative forms of these beings and activities (corresponds to Absolute world-subtle&gross material world). Now we can see that the Absolute world -soul world is less real than the Absolute Spirit and Absolute world-subtle& gross material world is less real than the Absolute world-soul world. We can say the fourth plane of Absolute world has a shadowy existence when comparing with the third plane of Absolute Spirit. This means the world will cease to exist when the Absolute stops his thoughts and imaginations. This is what the mystics means when they say the world has no reality or world is an illusion or world is a shadow or the world is the cosmic imagination of the Absolute.
Absolute and it's different planes can be further illustrated with the example of water. The state of Absolute Subject is the essence of hydrogen and oxygen as subatomic particles, quarks etc. The plane of ideal world or Absolute Spirit is hydrogen and oxygen atoms in specific relation. The Soul world is the plane of H2O as steam. Subtle material world H2O as water and gross material world H2O as ice. We can now see that the essence and the subject of all these different state is one and the same. Further to transform the lower to the higher, ice to water and water to steam we have to raise the temperature corresponding to burning the lower nature by self purification and become non being, only when ice is not water is there and when water is no more steam arrives corresponding to the dissolving of limited and selfish ego and individuality.
Let us further explain this Absolute World with some example. We begin with Soul World. This is the first plane of the world. This is the world of self consciousness.' S' self as Subjective consciousness or spiritual soul, 'M' self as mental consciousness or mental soul 'A' self as Imaginative consciousness or astral soul and 'P' self as material consciousness or as living & physical soul. As this soul world contain subjective soul this is conscious reflective mind. As we explained earlier Subjective aspect of the soul and the objective aspect are one and the same thing or the objective form is nothing but the form of this very subjective thought. So whether we say soul or photon it is the same thing. Now suppose that there are 12 Cosmic Photon (spiritual soul) in the beginning. This S1 is the Universal Subjective Soul because this S1 is the inner reality of all 12 Photons. Now one remain as S1 and 11 become Gamma Photon or S2 then 10 become X-ray photon or S3 then 9 become ultraviolet or M1. This M1 is the Universal mental Soul. M1 is the root mental essence and the inner reality of all remaining 9 souls. Now 8 become visible light or M2, then 7 become infrared or M3, then 6 become TV-ray or A1. This A1 is the universal nature or subtle material soul because A1 is the root astral essence and the inner reality of all remaining 6 photons. 5 become micro ray or A2 then 4 become radio ray or A3 then 3 become P1 or subquark1 Now P1 is the universal gross material soul because all 3 beings receive physical essence from P1 soul. 2 become subquark2 or P2 then 1 become P3 or subquark3.So this soul world is the world of SMAPs (souls)
Now we come to the second worldly plane. The Subtle Material World. As we explained earlier this is the plane of Consciousness and not Self Consciousness. This is the formation of Quarks or Cosmic Mental Being (mb), Sub atoms or Cosmic Imaginary Being (ab) ,and Atoms or Cosmic Living Being (pb). Here the mind is unconscious reflective mind. What we have to remember is Material self consciousness (Ps) by descends into the subtle material world loses self consciousness and the dormant mental, astral and material self consciousness express as consciousness in this plane. So sub quarks or Ps which are self conscious material souls by the combination and formation of Quarks, Sub atoms and Atoms loses its self consciousness in this plane and manifest as consciousness or thoughts. So we have seen that these beings are Beings of thoughts. 'mb' mental discursive thoughts, 'ab' thoughts as imagination ,desire and passions and 'pb' thoughts as life and matter. So these beings are thoughts but as they are primary beings we denote them with a capital 'B'. As we already explained about the soul world here in subtle material world also these subjective thoughts and their objective body as Quarks, Sub atoms and Atoms are one and the same thing. These bodies are the forms of these very thoughts. So either of them have no independent existence.
Now we comes to the Third plane of the world. The gross material world. First we consider the Celestial beings. If we look at the higher soul beings we can see that they are SMAPs or they have only self consciousness-they only participate in the soul world and not in subtle material world. When we look at the middle mental and lower imaginary beings they are MAPs+ 'mapb' .They have both self consciousness and consciousness or they participate in both soul world and subtle material world. But they have no subjective self consciousness and others like mental and astral self consciousness also go on decreasing in the descend so that when we reach moon there is only astral self consciousness. They are beings with a small letter 'b' because they have manifested out of the subtle material Beings which are primary Beings. Now these celestial beings are evolved after both the soul world and the subtle material world so this mean they contains both the soul world and subtle material world in themselves. This means they have both self consciousness and consciousness. In higher soul beings the subtle material world is dormant so they predominantly express the soul world and in other beings soul world is dormant and subtle material world is expressed. But what we have to remember is when they are self conscious that self consciousness is from the soul world and when they are conscious as thoughts it is from the subtle material world.
Now let us look at the subjectivity or mind and objectivity or body of these celestial beings. We have seen that they are Atomic beings. When they are self conscious as spiritual, mental, astral or physical souls or a combination of these essence this self consciousness is due to the activation of the earlier dormant spiritual soul (cosmic, gamma or Xray photons) mental soul UV, visible or infrared photon), astral soul (TV,micro,radio ray) material soul (sub quark 1,2, or3) in their Atoms. This constitute their soul or causal body. Like that when they are merely conscious as discursive thought or imagination or life&materiality these subjective thoughts are the activation of their quark, subatomic or atomic body. This is the subtle body. Now the mind of these celestial beings as subject of self consciousness and consciousness and these Atomic body is one and the same thing, because this Atomic body is the form of these same thoughts. One cannot exist with out the other. But when they are just conscious of their self ,in that self consciousness they are in the soul body and at that time these consciousness or atomic body which is the subtle body can be considered as something separate or as a body to the soul. When we say the higher soul beings have self consciousness this is not individual self consciousness like human being, but self consciousness of the species.
Now we come to the terrestrial beings. We have seen that Fire, Air, Water, and Earth are 'Ps+pb' beings. As we explained this is material self consciousness and living consciousness expressed as matter. As we have seen they have evolved out of soul world and the subtle material world and celestial world. This means they have in themselves both (material) self consciousness and consciousness. but as we told earlier the self consciousness is from the soul world and consciousness that of subtle material world. So when they are self conscious as material souls this is the activation of the dormant sub quarks in these Fire, earth, etc materials. Now their subjective consciousness as fire, air etc or their mind is same as the objective or body as fire, earth, minerals etc. Form these it is apparent that all these beings are not inert and unconscious as the modern science thinks but they are conscious beings in their own way. The only difference is their nature of consciousness is different from the human consciousness. The second difference is here the consciousness is not confined to individual or particular material but in the form of universal only. This is why the mystics describe every thing in the world as living things. Then we come to the minerals, plants and animals. They are 'APs+apb' and 'MAPs+mapb' beings. So they have self consciousness as a combination astral and material essence or mental souls and also they are conscious as material being with living, astral or and mental faculties. This as we already explained, due to absence of subjective soul is unconscious reflective mind.
Lastly we come to the human beings. We have seen that they are 'SMAPs + mapb' beings .This means they are conscious of their self as a combination of spiritual ,mental, astral and material souls. Besides this self consciousness they have also consciousness as mental faculty or discursive thoughts , life & imagination and materiality. As we have seen man is manifested as the last of the beings and he inherits the consciousness of jinn, angels, animals, plants, minerals etc up to subtle material beings. The inclusion of subjective soul means this is mind as both conscious reflective mind and unconscious reflective mind.
The human constitution can be broadly explained as follows. We have seen that the root or base or ground of all beings is the first plane as Absolute Being or in Vedanta what is called Paramatman.this plane cannot be experienced as human spirit as it is beyond that state. The second plane of Absolute Subject also cannot be experienced as individual spirit as it is a plane of universal subjectivity without any particularity. As we have explained earlier the human spirit which is on the third plane of Absolute Spirit have no individual subjectivity nor individual separate being. Here the Absolute Spirit is the Subject and Being of the human spirit as the Absolute Spirit manifest itself as human spirit. In Vedanta this human spirit is called Jivatman. This third plane of Absolute Spirit as the spirits is the Anandamaya kosha (Blissful sheath) of the Paramatman (Absolute). This is the Mahat plane of Samkya. This is compared with the fourth state of consciousness (Turya). This is the major difference between the human spirit and the Absolute. While human spirit originates in this third plane Paramatman has still higher planes-the second plane of Absolute Subject and first plane of Absolute Being. Now the experience of second plane of Absolute Subject is not Absolute Spirit as particular spirit of third plane but something beyond this spiritual ream in a divine plane. The experience of Absolute Being even as glimpses is beyond this divine plane as it is beyond consciousness. Now as this third plane of the human spirit have no separate being or existence it always depends on the fourth plane (Absolute world) for their being and existence. So they always depends on eatch other. The spirits depends on the world for their being and existence and the world depends on the spirits for their reality. Earlier we have explained that this spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit is internal reflective mind.
So in the fourth plane of Absolute World the spirits have existence so they becomes individual subjects and individual beings. Now if we consider human spirit we can say generally it has three beings or bodies. The human spirit always exist either with these three beings or at least one being. Human spirit cannot exist without any one of this being. The first being or body of the human spirit is from the soul world and this we can say soul being. The human spirit with this soul being is what we call human soul. As we explained this is 'SMAPs'. Human soul consists of spiritual, mental astral and material soul. This means when a man is self conscious this consciousness is from the soul world and he exist in that moment in soul plane. Now this subjective self consciousness and the corresponding objective photons& subquark body is one and the same thing or in other words this body is the form of this self consciousness. This objectivity is the form of of the subjective soul consciousness and one cannot exist without the other. This human soul or soul being or the first being of human spirit can be called the first body of human spirit. This human soul is called Jiva in vedanta and it is called karana sarira (causal body) of human spirit. (jivatman). This is the human aspect of the vijnana maya kosha (knowledge sheath) of Brahman. This is the Ahankara(ego) plane of Smakya. This is the individual aspect of cosmic deep sleep consciousness (Susupti). So the experience of this causal body is called individual sleep consciousness (pragna). and experience is just self consciousness. .This is compared with the third state of consciousness-deep sleep. This is the plane of pure self consciousness and at this plane there is no awareness of any physical or spiritual faculties of the spirit. The human spirit always exist with this being of human soul as this is the cause of individuality and in this sense we can say human soul is eternal and permanent. Unlike other beings or bodies of the human spirit this human soul does not change with time nor the human soul depends on the earthly material body for its development or sustenance like other beings of the human spirit. As we already explained human soul contains subjective soul so we can say human soul is conscious reflective mind.
The second being or body of the human spirit is subtle being. This being is formed from the subtle material world and consists of whole three beings-cosmic mental being, cosmic imaginary being and cosmic living being (mapb). A we explained these discursive thoughts ,imagination ,life and the corresponding subquarks, subatoms and atoms are one and the same thing. These matter or being is the form of these thoughts or they are thought forms. This is called the second body of the human spirit. This is called the suksma sarira(subtle body) of jivatman in Hindu philosophy. This forms the human aspect of manomaya kosha (mental sheath) and pranamaya kosha (vital sheath) of Brahman. This constitute manas,indriyas(5 working senses&5 knowing senses),Tanmatras(5 subtle matter) planes of samkya philosophy. This is compared with the second state of consciousness-dream sleep consciousness (Swapna). This is the individual aspect of cosmic dream consciousness (Swapna). So the experience of this subtle body is called individual dream consciousness (taijasa) in which the experience does not depend on any thing external. This subtle body is the bearer of all the physical and spiritual faculties of the human spirit. Like the human soul which exist prior to the material body and which can also exist indefinitely after leaving the material body the subtle body also exist prior to material body as it is from the subtle material world and as combined with subjective soul forms subtle soul.is formed .Conscious manifestation of the human soul and subtle body and the corresponding soul and subtle world is possible only when the human soul comes into contact with the material body. This is by the formation of astral body(nusma) and is developed and maintained from the quarks, sub atoms, atoms during earthly life from the food & nutrition of the material body. As at the time of physical death our nutritional supply is cut off the astral body becomes weaker and weaker and at last after a long long time this astral body completely vanishes leaving the human soul and subtle body again in an independent existence. As we explained this subtle body is the higher form of unconscious reflective mind.
We have seen that the subtle body consists of subtle material world-cosmic mental being, cosmic imaginal being, cosmic living being (mapb). So the subtle body consists of three parts or divisions or layers. The first part coming from cosmic mental being and consists of most subtle quarks so least depend on the material body for its survival. This is the seat of estimative faculties, intellectual faculties and willing faculties. The astral part of this subtle body is the last one to develop during earthly life and perfected during adolescence and adult hood and and this is the last one to disappear after death and take much longer time than the animal soul and with this the astral body completely disappears. When a man is thinking abstractly or form less thoughts either temporal or spiritual matters these thoughts and the corresponding, Quark body is the same thing and we can say he is on the plane of higher Animals, terrestrial angels or jinn. As we explained earlier this subtle mental body has connection with the cosmic mental being so the dreams and visions coming from this plane is always true as this is connected to higher or absolute imaginary world. The second part coming from cosmic imaginal being and consists of less subtle sub atoms. This is the predominant nature of animals so philosophers call this animal soul or kama rupa (desire form). The second and first part together forms the manomaya kosha (mental sheath) of the jivatman and consists of 5 knowing senses and manas. This is what Hegel calls Feeling Soul .This is the seat of common sense&sensations, imaginations, desire and passions. The astral part of this is the second one to develop and perfected during child hood and this is also the second one to disappear after death. It may take countless years for the disappearance of this part depending upon the individual and the strength of this body but at last this also disappears. When one's thoughts are always directed to desires ,passions and the senses like seeing, hearing ,eating ,indulging in sensuous and bodily pleasures etc or imagination, these thoughts and the corresponding sub atomic body is same thing and he is on the plane of lower animals. This subtle imaginal body has connection with cosmic imaginal being so that the dreams and visions coming from this plane is colored by the earthly plane so may not be true. The third part coming from cosmic living being and consisting of least subtle atoms. This third is the predominant nature of plants&vegetables so philosophers call this by the name vegetative soul or growing soul (the name soul is a misnomer as we explained subtle body is not soul body of spirit). The astral component of this is the first one to develop during earthly life and also the first one to vanish after physical death.This is the prana maya kosha (vital sheath) of jivatman (human spirit). This consists of nutritive faculties, reproductive faculties, growing faculties, moving faculties etc in short life and 5 karmendriys(working senses). When man thinks himself as mere living thing his spirit is focusing on this part of subtle body and this thought and and corresponding life is the same thing and he is on the plane of plants. .
The third being or body of the human spirit is earthly material being. This is called the material body of of human spirit. This is what Hegel describe as Physical Soul. This is what Sankara describes as the Gross Body (stula sarira) of jivatman(human spirit). This is the individual aspect of cosmic waking consciousness (Jagrat). So the experience of this state is called the individual waking-consciousness (visva) In which the experienced is mainly the external world of senses. This is also the individual aspect of the universal Annamaya Kosha (gross body sheath). In samkya and yoga philosophy this consists of 5 mahabutas (gross matter)-akasa,fire,air,water and earth. .This also comes from cosmic living being (atoms) .Here this is formed by the aggregation and combination of atoms so that life is unable to express externally so manifest in the form of matter. So when a man thinks himself as this mere physical body his spirit is focusing on this material being and these thoughts and the corresponding body is one and the same thing and he is on the same plane as that of Fire, Air, Water, Earth, etc. As we explained this is the lowest form of unconscious reflective mind.
So if we consider the Human Spirit as the the Subject these all planes are objects or bodies of the subject. Now let us explain this with human being's physical death. We have seen that all the planes (of self consciousness and consciousness) are in a unity and at the same time man can be in any of these planes when he is conscious of that plane. At the time of death the human spirit leaves its attention on the material body and the dead body gradually join their respective planes of cosmic material plane like fire, air, water earth etc. Now as we explained the mind (subjectivity) and body (objectivity) is one and the same thing so what this mean is when the material plane is lost the consciousness of material body is also lost. As human spirit with causal body and subtle body survive material death so even after death self consciousness (soul) and consciousness as mental faculties and imaginative faculties and living faculties or the corresponding photons, sub quarks, quarks, sub atoms, and atomic bodies remain. Now even after some time if the living faculties, imaginative faculty ,and the mental faculty (Quark, Sub atom, Atomic body) separate and join their cosmic planes the self consciousness (Soul plane) or the Photon &sub quark body exist independently irrespective of these changes. So the soul plane is eternal in the sense that time or eternity as we have explained begins from the soul plane as Cosmic photon.
As we told earlier all manifestations after Quark, Sub Atom, and Atomic Beings (Subtle material plane) like celestial beings and terrestrial beings up to human being is a combination of either some or all of the material, astral, mental and spiritual souls( self consciousness) and mental faculty, imaginative and material thoughts (consciousness). What we have to remember is this is only a symbolic representation. This does not mean every passionate, rational or spiritual nature contain besides S3, S2 and S1 only corresponding Ps, As and Ms Souls.. All type of combination can occur. What we mean is all human beings can be basically reduced to three groups. One with maximum essential revelation or wisdom nature, second medium self consciousness or will nature and third minimal self consciousness or power nature. In human beings this S3MAPs can be S3M1A1P1s,S3M2A2P2s orS3M3A3P3s which corresponds to power aspect or passionate nature or what we call artistic being. Like this S2MAPs can be S2M1A1P1s,S2M2A2P2s or S2M3A3P3s as will aspect or rational nature or religious being with representational thinking. Like this S1MAPs can be S1M1A1P1s,S1M2A2P2s or S1M3A3P3s as wisdom aspect or spiritual nature and what we call philosophic being. Now this is only a summery of the evolution of the world. Actually every category of non-living things and every species and subspecies of living things, which distinguish one group from another, have their own essence. This is the case up to human beings. Up to man the world is a manifestation of group or species or sub species essences but in the case of man it is different. In human beings every individual is represented by his own essence and spirit. Unlike other beings each and every human being is unique and represents a particular, individual and separate spirit.
V: Absolute Man.
Now we come to the fifth plane -that of Absolute Man. Strictly speaking this is not a new plane but a special state of the fourth plane. This plane differs from the normal state of fourth plane or the Absolute World mainly in the following. It is only in Absolute Man there is occasional glimpses of the first plane of Absolute Being. It is only in him the divine plane, second plane of Absolute Subject fully manifested. Only in Absolute Man there is conscious manifestation of the third plane as Absolute Spirit or reflective mind. When man reaches this third plane he can consciously manifest the Absolute Spirit or the reflective mind completely in their human manifestation. Besides and before this he consciously manifest first subtle body then soul body and world We have seen that Absolute Spirit as human being is 'SMAPs+ mapb'. This means man contain all the worlds preceding him in himself-the spiritual world ,the soul world, the subtle material world and the gross material world (both celestial plane and terrestrial plane up to Jinn). This is internal reflective mind, conscious reflective mind and unconscious reflective mind In other words as we explained human spirit has three bodies- causal body, subtle body and gross body. This means human beings contain all of the Absolute World in miniature. In addition to all this what is unique to human being is or what differentiate him from all other creation is only Absolute Man is dimly conscious of the first plane of Absolute Being where he is transported now and then and about which he becomes aware only when returned to second plane of Absolute Subject which is the plane of consciousness. Only Absolute Man can consciously fully manifest the second plane of Absolute Subject. Absolute Man is also the state were there is conscious manifestation of third plane of Absolute Spirit. It is About this special nature of man that Heidegger refers when he says man is essentially Ek-sistence (existence) or transcendence because he is the only being who is aware of Being, so ask about the meaning of Being and ultimately can experience Being. This is because unlike other beings there is belonging together of Being and Dasein. But in normal earthly life man is unconscious of the higher planes-he is totally unaware of the first plane of Absolute Being, second plane of divine mind or Absolute Subject and third spiritual plane or reflective mind, he has only glimpses of the soul world and subtle world in deep sleep and dream sleep and in rare moments of his life. Ordinary man is not even fully conscious of his material world. This means he is in potentiality or implicitly aware of all these planes as Absolute Spirit and so explicitly he can manifest or actualise all these planes.
We have seen that Human Spirit has a gross body. As we explained this body is part of the gross material world or bootakash or Annamaya kosha of paramatman. When man is conscious and interested only in his material body and material and superficial things in the world the human spirit is mainly focusing its attention on the material body and the corresponding gross material world so the man is identifying himself completely with the material body which is but only one aspect of his whole being. As we already explained this material self consciousness (Ps) and consciousness (pb) and the corresponding sub quark and material body are one and the same thing or this sub quark and material body is the form of this material self consciousness and consciousness. In Vedanta this is saying the man is engrossed more in his Annamaya Kosha (material sheath) and which is only the individual aspect of or derived from the cosmic waking or gross material consciousness. This is what Hegel describe as physical soul. Now in normal unrealised state even this material consciousness is not complete but limited to one's body and immediate surroundings but in realised state or in Absolute Man this material consciousness is also perfect so his knowledge includes more of the gross material world or Annamaya sheath of Paramatman than ordinary human beings. Similarly the subtle body of man contain life which is a part of the cosmic living being of subtle material world. When a man has most of the time only living self consciousness and conscious as only a mere living being and spend most of his life and energy just to sustain his vitality this is his plant plane or he is in his vegetative soul or growing soul .Here he is only in conscious contact with the plane of cosmic living being of subtle material plane and universal (subtle) material soul of soul plane. What Vedanta says in Pranamaya Kosha (vital sheath). Here also in un realised state this vital sheath consciousness is limited while Absolute Man penetrate more of the cosmic living being or pranamaya sheath of the Absolute than ordinary beings. Similarly the subtle body also contain imaginary part which is part of the cosmic imaginary being. When man is only engrossed in his external senses or in his internal senses as imagination and spend his whole life just satisfying the senses, impulses and passions (in modern times in front of cable TV) this is what is called his animal soul or what Hegel calls feeling soul. Here he is in conscious contact with only the cosmic imaginary being and universal (subtle) material soul .Here also realised man or Absolute Man penetrate and experience the cosmic imaginary plane much greater than ordinary humans. Similarly the subtle body also contain a mental part which is part of cosmic mental being of subtle material plane. When man is only conscious of temporal matters and thinking most of the times about these with out reflecting into the self (in modern times internet and computer) he is in the plane of terrestrial angels and jinn. Here he is only in contact with cosmic mental being of the subtle material plane and universal mental soul of soul plane. This is what Hegel calls consciousness proper or subject object consciousness. As explained unlike normal man the experience of the realised one or Absolute Man about this cosmic mental plane is much greater. Vedanta call the above two planes together Manomaya Kosha (mental sheath) and this is the individual aspect of cosmic dream consciousness and is the manifestation of subtle material plane so during dream man is in this plane. Prana maya and Manomaya together forms Subtle body (linga sarira). This consciousness is due to the human spirit focusing its attention most of the time on its subtle body. As we already explained all these subtle and gross bodies are nothing but unconscious reflective mind. As told earlier this consciousness and the corresponding subtle body is one and the same thing.
From the above description we can see that in all the above planes man is only aware of his gross material plane and subtle material plane in other word he as consciousness is only aware of the material world (subtle&gross) and he has only mental, astral and material self consciousness. This is what Kierkegaard explain as the first form or stage of individual existence-the aesthetic stage. We have explained that besides this gross and subtle body human spirit also contain the causal body or soul body. This individual soul body is part of the soul world or vijnanamaya kosha of Paramatman. we have seen that man contains all the soul worlds or spiritual, mental, imaginary and material self consciousness. When one is conscious of his pure subjectivity and most of the time he is with this subjective self consciousness so that all other thoughts becomes secondary to him this is nothing but he becoming conscious of his subjective or spiritual soul from soul world. Now this subjective soul world is the reason of man's individuality and uniqueness. His unique self consciousnesses is due to the inclusion of this subjective soul world. Now only those who are conscious of their pure subjectivity or pure ego are conscious of the soul world. In Vedanta this is called Vijnana maya Kosha (knowledge sheath) and this is the Causal body (Karana Sarira) because this is the cause for individuality (Ahankara-Ego). This individual soul is also called Jiva. We can see that this world is equated with the cosmic deep sleep consciousness and man is in this plane during deep sleep. When man becomes more and more self conscious he is more and more in conscious contact with this soul plane and there will comes a stage when man is always conscious of his subjectivity or self. What ever activities he is engaged he is conscious of his self and he sees all the world through his self consciousness. This soul world as we explained earlier is the conscious reflective mind. This is what Hegel calls universal self consciousness or Reason and what Husserl calls the phenomenological reduction. At this stage there is complete conscious manifestation of the soul plane in the individual. The individual is able to see the whole world reflected in his self consciousness. Here the human spirit is focusing its attention exclusively on the causal body. We have seen that in complete self consciousness the whole world is reflected into the self and the world has no independent existence from this self consciousness. But at this self consciousness plane or soul plane this is the consciousness of the individual or particular soul. So even when there is this universal self consciousness this remains at the theoretical or rational level and one is not able to correspond his activities to this universal consciousness as this is not an existential experience . This is because as we told earlier at existential level this is an individual soul and exist as an individual and different from all the other souls in the soul plane. So in normal man the manifestation of soul world is always imperfect while in Absolute Man there is perfect manifestation of this Soul World. Now when one continuously try and act in such a way that he is able to forego his condition of this existential situation and make to correspond his knowledge of cosmic self consciousness with his activates this is a result of his seeing his self in the other. When one try to experience one's self in others and only One Self in the whole world all his activities will be such a nature that his happiness and pleasures must correspond to the common good. Here the individual is trying to forgo the consciousness which normally exclusively limited to his finite ego and completely absorbed in the petty interests and desires of that limited ego and trying to make an awareness of cosmic consciousness and try to think ,speak and act from a cosmic point of view. This does not mean he will not have individual desires and interests but he will not pursue such interests and desires which are contrary to the common good. This is what Kierkegaard explain as the ethical stage. This is a painful experience because he is trying to dissolve his particular individuality but which is his reality as an individual soul at this soul plane. When he continuously try to experience this state of self in others by constant identification with the whole world this is a painful experience because he experience the effects of his efforts for dissolution of his ego as in actuality he is an individual soul so these activities of common good may not produce happiness or pleasure to his individual self.
But when he persists in these experiences he is suddenly transported to the higher plane ,the plane of Absolute spirit or eternal spiritual plane. Here we come to the next stage-that of Absolute Man. Conscious manifestation of the Absolute Spirit or the eternal spiritual plane in human beings. This is the plane of reflective mind. Unlike all the other planes including soul plane described above which are attained by human effort this is a happening which is beyond human achievement by effort. But normally when man becomes more and more self conscious and if he is able to regulate his action according to his self consciousness the Absolute Spirit manifest itself as a normal out come of this endeavor .But still it is a giving or blessing which is beyond all human control. We have explained earlier when dealing with the third plane that one and the same Absolute spirit is the spirit of all the essences in the spiritual plane. When a human being manifest this spiritual plane he experience this oneness of the Spirit in all beings. When one reaches spiritual plane there is only one Subject and so one Being-The Absolute Spirit. There is no individual I at this plane but only He. Every thing is a manifestation of Him. He is the Subject and Being of everything. This is the religious life of Kierkegaard. This is the 'jump into the abyss' of faith's 'seventy thousand fathoms'. Leaping into faith over aesthetic pleasure and ethical reason and duty. This is Heidegger's experience of Being. This is the realm of his 'Ereignis' where there is belonging together man and Being. This is the Anandamaya Kosha (blissful sheath) of Vedanta. As the Absolute Spirit or third plane is a limitation of Absolute Being of first plane in Knowledge this is a sheath (Kosha) hence a limitation. The human spirit of the third plane is what is called Jivatman. In Samkhya philosophy this plane is called Mahat. In transcendental experience this is the fourth state of Turya .For human beings as human spirits this Anandamaya is the ultimate station because human spirit originates from this spiritual plane. After this when the Absolute Man reaches the second divine plane of Absolute Subject is not Absolute Spirit as individual human spirit but as pure universal subject without any individual consciousness. This is because at this plane pure subjectivity has no content so one is not conscious of himself or the world. There are those who are permanently established in this plane wit out any consciousness of themselves or the world. Here they will remain with this blissful state without any action in the world. There are others who after completing this plane returned and established in their spirit in the third plane. They are the ones who can act in the world and guide others in the way. We have already explained earlier that when the Absolute Being of the first plane reveal itself there is neither spirits or individual nor knowledge to experience this as Absolute Being is independent of mind and world so there remains only Absolute Being Himself. So Absolute Man is only temporarily transported to this first plane during life and he becomes conscious of this plane only when returned to the second divine plane of Absolute Subject.. Hegel describe the development of this manifestation of this Absolute spirit as human spirit as the development of Subjective Spirit, Objective Spirit and Finally into Absolute Spirit. This is the state of Absolute Man.
Ibn Arabi and Sufis call the Absolute Man's spirit by the divine name Rafi ud Darajat((Elevator of Rank) and worldly name is Insan al Kamil (Perfect Man). This is what Mulla Sadra calls self as Ilm Huduri (Knowledge as presence or Presencial cognition). Heidegger describe this Dasein (Being there) plane of Ereignis. where Aletheia (unconcealment) takes place. The belonging together of Being and man. The lightening up of Being in Man. This is the state of experience of Being. This conscious manifestation of the third spiritual plane is accompanied by the complete manifestation of all the other planes and potentialities in man. This because the other worlds like soul world ,subtle world and material world are the beings or bodies of this human spirit. This perfect state is described in various terms like divine man, illumination, self realisation. All these denotes this state.
We have mentioned that this spiritual state or divine state cannot be attained by human effort as it is a divine favour conferred on man. But another paradox is one who never seeks seldom reach this state. So mystics have developed many methods to reach this plane. Christian mystics have the paths of purgation, illumination and union. Sufis also have self purification (jihad nafs) and contemplation (muraqaba). Hindu mystics also have asceticism. detachment, renunciation and meditation (dhyan). The different paths are described in Hindu philosophy as Raja yoga ( meditation), jnana yoga (knowledge), Bhakti yoga (devotion) and karma yoga (work).In Vedanta Sankara maintains that jnana (knowledge) is the direct means to self realisation while Ramanuja maintains jnana followed by upasana (meditation) is the means to self realisation. Heidegger also explains three paths to the experience of Being. These are essential thinking, dwelling in the neighbor hood of Being and seeing the truth of Being. But as a preliminary step Heidegger suggest moving away from care and abandon modern way of calculative thinking or manipulative thinking or technological thinking. This is seeing others from a technological or mechanical view and contemplating always how to exploit and take advantage of others for one's own benefit. Normal man is also involved with life and world in a state of care .There are three forms of care-epistemological care, relational care and existential care. To experience being man must move away from this worldly care. Essential thinking is meditating about Being. This is attained by release. Release means even if physically involved in the world mentally not absorbed in the worldly affairs. What sufi's says "in the world but not of the world". This means he can use and enjoy everything in the world but not attached to it.Gurdjieff describe the method of self realisation as conscious labour and intentional suffering. This is mainly through constant self consciousness and transforming negative emotions. All these methods can be broadly divided into three types. The first is control and sublimation of body and senses. This include controlling and limiting smoking, drinking, drugs, excess eating, excess sleeping, excess sex and excess relaxation and laziness like always satisfying the senses like excessive watching TV ,excessive listening of popular music, shunning away from all works that need physical effort etc. The second is control and sublimation of some mental faculties and characters. This include desire for wealth, fame ,power etc, control of anger, pride, control of rational thinking or business like thinking which always focus to one's gain in any dealings, cultivation of humility and generosity. The most important mental exercise are trying to dissolve the limited ego consciousness which always thinks about one's own welfare with out considering it's effect on others. The other is cultivation of love which help in dissolving the ego. The third is concentrating ,contemplating and meditating on the Absolute. All these different methods can be ultimately reduced or leads to what we have already explained. So the essence of all these methods is constant contemplation of Absolute Spirit as one's own spirit or self and also the spirit of every one and everything and thinking, speaking, seeing, hearing and acting from this awareness of cosmic self. Methods like purgation, purification, self mortification, asceticism, renunciation are only a means to this and not an end in itself. Like this illumination, union, dhyana, contemplation, meditation etc refer to methods to attain this cosmic consciousness. Real purgation is purgation of limited ego. Real renunciation is not renouncing the world or family or work or material comforts but renouncing the desire for them. Like this detachment is not neglecting the world or one's duties but a mental state of indifference to riches and poverty, pleasure and pain etc. This detachment is what Heidegger means by release. Even this detachment and renunciation are not end in itself but a means to augment the constant contemplation by making mind free of temporal thoughts and strengthening action from a cosmic view. Among all these methods mystics consider Knowledge (discriminating real from unreal), detachment or renunciation and love as the most important ones. We have seen that discriminating knowledge is necessary for continuous contemplation of the Absolute. The real detachment or renunciation as not attached to worldly things and the essence of renunciation or detachment is renouncing the ego or detaching from ego and this detachment helps in freeing the mind from all other thoughts and desires so helps in both initiating and maintaining contemplation. Similarly Love-both human and divine. Love of other men and creatures will help in dissolving the limited ego and is the best method to dissolve it which is essential for self realisation. Divine love also dissolve the limited ego as one see divinity as the essence of everything and divine love is essential for contemplation of Absolute and to maintain this contemplation until realisation is reached. Without Divine love constant contemplation of Absolute is not possible as worldly attachment prevent the constant remembrance of Absolute and besides contemplation of Absolute will be a boring and tedious experience and will not give any pleasure without divine love so cannot be maintained till self realisation. So ultimately all methods can be reduced either to constant contemplation of oneself and others as Absolute Spirit or Universal Self and always thinking, speaking, seeing, hearing and acting from this cosmic view or as we explained these methods are means to develop this state of consciousness or to maintain this consciousness and activities until self realisation is reached. Every thing which prevent to maintain this consciousness can be ultimately reduced to our limited ego consciousness and the negative emotions arising out of it.
Now we have earlier seen that there are three fundamental types of human spirits depending on the predominance of subjective spirit or depending on the proportion of essential revelation as S1MAP,S2MAP and S3MAP.This division is mainly depending on the proportion of subjective spirit (S). Now conscious manifestation of Absolute Spirit as human spirit or Absolute Man can present these three fundamental types. Now S3MAP is the human spirit with minimum pure subjective revelation of the Absolute or the power aspect. This is what we called the predominance of passionate Nature. Hegel call this third type of human spirit the Artistic Spirit. Here Absolute Spirit manifest as Natural spirit so the form of the spirit is substantial and imaginative forms. So the artistic Spirit can experience Absolute only in His physical and form aspect. In our terminology this is same as S3MAP where the subjective spiritual essence is minimum .We have seen that in Sufism human soul is considered as a tied soul with angelic soul and rational soul in it. spiritual soul (S) and mental soul (M) considered as Angelic soul and Subtle material or imaginary soul (A) and gross material soul (P) considered as the rational part of human soul. In S3MAP souls there is predominance of rational part or imaginary and material souls .Now when such a human spirit reach the eternal third plane of Absolute sprit subjectivity is mainly identified with the physical and imaginative form of the Absolute Spirit. Now the form of the Absolute Spirit is the passive nature or passive energy of the eternal plane. This is the formal aspect of the Absolute Spirit. We have explained earlier that in the eternal third plane the internal nature of the Absolute Spirit is as subject but external nature is the form of this subjectivity as ultra cosmic energy of highest vibration. So when the human spirit with predominant Passionate nature attain the second state they identify the absolute spirit with the physical and existence and form aspect and realise themselves as the whole material being and existence and form of the world. We have seen that this is but external being (wujud khariji, wujud munbasit). Such Absolute Man is called Arif (Gnostic). As they identify the Absolute only with the underlying Being and Existence and form of the world they are called Wujudiya Ainiyah. This is same as Artistic Mind. In Vedanta Dvaita (duality) philosophy of Madava can be compared to this state.
Now the second type is S2MAP human spirit with Love aspect or what we call rational nature. Hegel call this human spirit as Absolute Spirit ,the religious spirit. In religious spirit the content is Absolute spirit but the form is that of representation. Here due to this representation the religious spirit exclude himself from the Absolute Spirit. The religious spirit experience is like an other experiencing this Absolute Spirit. In other words human spirit as religious spirit does not come to the comprehension that this religious spirit itself is the Absolute spirit. In Sufism we can describe this spirit as some predominance of angelic soul (SMs) over rational soul (APs). So here the Absolute Spirit is not identified with mere being or existence form alone which is only the form of the spirit or external aspect but identify with the subjective or internal aspect and comprehend being and existence as the passive energy or only form of this very thought as Absolute spirit. They are called Hakim (man of taste and wisdom). These are called Wujudiya Waraiyah. The religious spirit among this group while knowing the Absolute Spirit as religious spirit deny any real existence to fourth plane of Absolute World as plurality of spirits thus denying their own beings and only apprehending the Absolute in its independence. So according to them there is only one essence but two existences, the real existence is that of the Absolute Spirit and the existence of the world is only shadowy existence. They are called the people of Wahdat al Suhud and Imam Rabbani is one of them. In Vedanta philosophy Vishistadvita (specified monism) of Ramanuja may be compared with this state.
Now the third type is S1MAP human spirit with wisdom aspect or what we call maximum subjective or spiritual nature. This is spirit with maximum self or essential revelation. Hegel call this human spirit as Absolute Spirit, the philosophic Spirit. The spirit or self as universal self which comprehends it's own self in the other. In Sufism this is the higher stage of the Wujudiya Waraiyah where the Angelic soul is like a form and rational soul is like matter to it. Here there is only one essence and one being or existence. All the planes are due to the descends of the absolute in his knowledge. So every plane has it's own reality or essence and being or existence in that plane, So not only the Absolute Being ,Subject and Absolute spirit of higher planes has reality but the fourth plane of Absolute World has it's own reality according to that plane because the essence and being of all plane is One Essence and One Being. Here Absolute Subject is seen ultimately as the essence of everything. This is called Wahdat al Wujud (Unity of Subject ) and Ibn Arabi is the Grand Master of this group. In Vedanta philosophy Advaita (Absolute Monism) of Sankara may be compared with this state.
This third spiritual plane, the Absolute Spirit need some more clarification. As we explained earlier human beings are SMAPs+ MAPb beings. They have both self consciousness (soul world) and consciousness (subtle material world). As we explained earlier their soul contain not only M, A and P but also S1,S2 or S3 or spiritual souls. This subjective or spiritual soul is what we call conscious reflective mind and this subjective soul is the cause of man's unique individuality. As we explained earlier when a man is active with his external senses or when his thoughts are most of the time about the external physical world he has mainly living consciousness and material self consciousness. Here he is mainly conscious of his gross body and gross material world. This is what we called the individual aspect of universal waking consciousness and this is from connection with the universal living (material) Being of the subtle material world plane. This happens through his material body and this is the material or mineral being, Plant being [what philosophers call mineral soul, vegetative (growing) soul, ) parts of the human beings. Like this when most of the time a man's internal senses are active or he is imagining or when he is dreaming in his sleep this is due to activities from the universal imaginary being of subtle material world and astral self consciousness .This is what we call the individual aspect of Universal Dream consciousness and this is due to connection with subtle material being of the subtle world. This happens through the parts of the animal being, angelic being (animal soul, ) of the human being. Similarly when man thinks about various things (discursive thoughts) or form less thoughts this is still only consciousness and comes from the universal mental being of subtle world and mental self consciousness. Now even when a man withdraws his external and internal senses from every thing and withdraw from all particular thoughts there is still subjective consciousness or there is pure self consciousness so we are in the soul world and connected with subjective soul and as we explained earlier the form or external nature of this soul is as photons&sub quarks (cosmic, light etc) and every one is an individual soul .This means there is a definite number of photons and sub quarks as each individual soul thus distinguishing oneself from all others. This means as soul we cannot get rid our limited subjectivity which is our real nature as soul. This pure self consciousness or reducing ,withdrawing everything to the self is what Husserl call phenomenological reduction. When withdrawn from every thing or with out any content this pure subjective consciousness looks like empty so Sartre term this consciousness as nothingness. But it is clear from the above discussion that even though for this self consciousness ego is not an object like reflective consciousness this self consciousness itself is individual subjective or ego consciousness. So what is common to all these experiences whether as self consciousness or consciousness is the firm ground of individuality and being due to the forms of these thoughts as photons, sub atoms or other grosser forms.
But when a human being attain the third spiritual state of Absolute Man the experience or knowledge is entirely different from this worldly experience or knowledge of fourth plane. This is because this third plane is beyond the fourth plane or world. So this experience cannot be comprehended or compared with any of the worldly experience as an individual. So when a man realise or reach this spiritual plane his consciousness or knowledge go a complete transformation. This is because his knowledge of limited subjectivity is lost at this eternal plane. This is due to two factors. One as we have explained earlier in the spiritual plane one and the same Absolute Spirit is the spirit of all the essences. So when one reach this eternal plane he will have the realisation that individual self or spirit was an illusion and the self or subject or spirit or ego or I is in reality the Absolute Spirit which is the same spirit of all the beings. Secondly as we explained the external aspect or the form of this Absolute Spirit is as passive nature or passive energy or ultracosmic energy-this means energy before any external definite frequency or particularization. This fact will make the realisation that the Being and Existence of all beings is one Being or Existence hence in this aspect also there is no division or individuality. So there is complete identity with all beings in both respects. This third plane -The Absolute Spirit as the spirits of these essences is the internal reflective mind or spiritual mind. These spirits are permanent or eternal spirits so they can never transcend this nature so never attain the first plane as it is the state of Absolute Being or second plane of Absolute Subject .As we explained elsewhere when the Absolute Being reveal himself there is neither spirit, individuality nor mind or knowledge to experience this as Absolute Being is independent of mind and world and Absolute Being alone remains at this state.Similarly the Absolute Subject is a universal subjective state not particular or individual spirits. The third plane is also eternal or rather it is beyond time and eternity. This is because Time and Space even as a concept or notion only begins or develop in this state. This third plane is the aim and the first station of the Mystics in self realisation. When the mystics attain this state they will have the realization that the One and only Absolute Spirit is the reality of themselves and all the other spirits. But as Ibn Arabi says each Divine name (spirits) is Unique so one spirit cannot know other spirit essentially-so Absolute knowledge of other spirits are impossible even in this state. At this realised state one will have Absolute knowledge of himself but can attain the knowledge of the essences of other spirits only as much as his capability and depends upon the station on the spiritual hierarchy. As I explained else where All human spirits are at a higher level than all other spirits because human spirit contains all the predicates or essences but every human spirit is also unique and distinct due to the different proportion of the predicates pertaining to each spirit. So what distinguishes one from the other is only the specific relations of the predicates. We have seen that what distinguishes human beings from all other beings is while all other beings contain only some of the predicates or most of the predicates human beings contain or the synthesis of all the predicates. Now what distinguishes one human being from another is only the quantity or intensity of the different predicates in each human being. The various relations of the predicates determine the potentialities and capabilities of each spirit. We have seen that in the predicates the lower depends on the higher- power depends on love or will as one cannot act without will and this in turn depends on knowledge as we cannot will what we do not know. So ultimately the proportion of knowledge make the hierarchy of human beings. Now we have seen that knowledge or consciousness is the essence of mind itself and this mind is the reality of third plane as Absolute Spirit or reflective mind. We have also seen that subjective spirit and soul is nothing but mind or knowledge as subjective being and pure subjective consciousness and mental spirit and soul is knowledge as knowledge of predicates. So knowledge in the last analysis is nothing but the self revelation of the spirit. So in whose essence there is maximum knowledge there is the maximum essential or self revelation of the Absolute Spirit. Now even when this realisation completely dawns on the human spirit in the eternal spiritual plane that even though there is only one spirit or self and also only one existence or external being , due to this particular relations of the predicates one is only able to know essentially oneself and one can know the essential nature of other spirits only as much as his potentialities and capabilities enable him. This is why Ibn Arabi in Fusus says every one is unique and represent a particular and unique Divine Name and there is no repetition of the Divine name in the world. This realisation will make him acknowledge that I as an ego do not exists but only He (Absolute Spirit) exists so I and all beings are Absolute Spirit Himself and the expression of Him. So at this final stage even though there is realisation that the same Spirit and Being of one Subject is the spirit and existence of all the world due to this uniqueness of every spirits&beings there is no knowledge that I am everything or I am the whole world or I am God But He or the Absolute Spirit is every thing or the whole world or He is God and I appear as an illusion.
When the seeker reach this state of Absolute Spirit or spiritual mind the experience is totally different from the worldly experience. There are those who momentarily experience this state and those who are firmly established in this state. The attainment of this state is what we call self realisation. When one reaches this state both his subjective and objective experience undergo total transformation and it is as if he is transported to a completely unknown and inexperienced realm. This is because in unrealised state our subjectivity is limited to our body. Even if we can think of our family or loved ones as our own and like wise some can include the whole creation in his self this remains only an intellectual or rational knowledge and not an existential experience. This becomes evident when we cannot feel the emotions of others like pain or pleasure in the same intensity as experienced by them even if we think and love them as ourselves. Secondly because as this is not an existential experience to act as if every one is our own self becomes a constant struggle. What happens when one reaches the third plane of spiritual mind is there is an expansion of the subjectivity so it envelops the whole creation. Unlike intellectual knowledge this is an existential experience. Here what happens is Absolute Spirit manifests through that man so that he has the realisation that there is only one subject and he himself is not different from the Absolute Spirit. This will make him existentially experience his own subjectivity permeating the whole creation without losing his own individuality. As we have already explained in the introduction when speaking about the different forms of mind internal reflective mind is the higher form of mind. Here unlike reflective mind there is universal subjectivity and objects are not something alien to it but include in it's subjectivity. So unlike reflected mind there is no difference between subject and object but only distinction and objects are as it's own other. As we have explained earlier even though the subject is one, every spirit is unique due to the proportion of predicates pertaining to it or the degree of manifestation of the Essence. Secondly as the objective aspect of the Absolute Spirit is ultracosmic energy so that there is only one Body or Being which state is entirely different form our ordinary state which is manifested energy and limited body experience and also multiplicity of beings. This will result in the experience of the whole universe as his own body and the nature of this ultracosmic energy of highest vibrations which is totally unknowable to us in ordinary state and cannot be experienced by any kind of speculation or imagination, will give rise to what the mystics describe as the blissful state (ananda). This subjective and objective experience which is totally alien to the worldly creatures makes the realised man an entirely different category from normal human beings and action from a universal perspective proceed from him without any struggle or effort. It is also reported by mystics that one who attains to the spiritual mind he whole past and future history of the cosmos is revealed.
So the last or final development of the human being as human spirit is the attainment of this third eternal spiritual plane or Absolute spirit as a permanent state. This is because the final stage of realisation as Absolute Subject of divine second plane is not as human spirit but as the divine spirit of universal subject without consciousness of world or individuality.Similarly first plane or The Absolute Being is a transcendent state and so when it reveal itself only Absolute Being remains . As the essence of man is from the third plane it is his real home. So the attainment of this spiritual state is really a homecoming or returning to the source. Every one is consciously or unconsciously longing for this spiritual state and at the root of every discontent and alienation is non attainment of this state. This root less feeling is what Sartre means when he says existence as absurd and the feeling of anguish and nausea and Heidegger by the states of thrownness and fallen. Man experience meaning and fulfillment in life only when he permanently attain this spiritual state. This is what Heidegger means when he says authentic life is experience of Being. This permanence and experience of higher two planes of Absolute Being&Absolute Subject is what we call the Mystic Spirit or The Absolute Man.
Actually there is no difference between the Absolute Spirit of Hegel and the the Mystic Spirit- So there is no real difference between the speculative reason and existential experience. Speculative reason is really the organic movement of the notion within itself reaching to the final stage of Absolute Spirit. This speculative reason is not something we can gain by reading philosophy and making concepts. Knowing the state of the absolute spirit by forming concepts is not the same as the experience of it. In real speculation the whole being as notion moves from lower to higher stage .So here the experience of Being and knowing is not different. There is unity of knowing and being. So this speculative reason and existential experience is one and the same thing. So the Absolute Spirit of Hegel and the Experience of Being of Heidegger in the final analysis is one and the same thing. In the perfect man or in the mystic mind there is no conflict between thought and will. There is sublation of both thought and will. As we explained earlier this state is not as knowledge alone which take the world as it is but also as will which make the world as it ought to be. Absolute Man as accomplished and accomplishing itself.. The state not only as finished and produced but constantly producing it self. The state as determinative of the content or as Thinking Will. This synthesis will produce the living experience of self realisation.
We have earlier said that this is the Mahat of Samkhya philosophy and Anandamaya of Vedanta. The human spirit of this plane is what is called Atman or Jivatman. According to Sankara Atman realises it self as Brahman.. But as we explained earlier the second plane of divine mind is not same as spiritual mind but something beyond it.Similarly the first plane or The Absolute Being is a transcendental state and not attainable by human being as human spirit .This is because as we told earlier this is unknowable because the Being has not descended into the plane of knowledge. When one reaches this highest state of Absolute Being his self consciousness itself is obliterated and there remain only Absolute Being Himself as this state is independent of mind and world. So in this sense there is no point in saying jivatman realise it self as Brahman as Absolute Being Is as He always Was and no change of perception can be attributed to Being in this transcendental state. The third eternal spiritual plane as Absolute Spirit is not unknowable but knowledge as subject so the internal aspect or content is thought and external aspect or form of this thought is as passive nature or passive or ultracosmicf energy. As we explained all the spirits in this plane are permanent and eternal so human spirit can never transcend this nature. But it is true that human spirit as Absolute Spirit is Absolute Being &Absolute Subject Himself with the limitation of this third plane or the descend of the Absolute Being in Knowledge as Absolute Spirit.
As we explained earlier in Hegel's philosophy the transcendent state of Absolute Being as Unknowable Essence and beyond mind where mind is negative and non being so nothing when compared with the Being is missing. Besides speculating the nature or essence of Absolute Subject with predicates (Absolute Idea) as Mind, this Absolute Idea itself is not the most perfect or concrete state of Absolute Spirit ,but the Absolute Spirit later descending and developing through nature and finite mind into Philosophic Spirit. This Absolute Spirit as philosophic spirit can have Absolute Knowledge so the Absolute is completely knowable as Philosophic spirit. We have seen that the Absolute Spirit is a limitation of Absolute Being So even as philosophic Spirit Absolute Being remain unknowable. Similarly According to Hegel This Absolute knowledge covers all being so the whole world. But we have seen that as every being is unique so even as Absolute Spirit there can be no complete knowledge of other beings but each know other depending on ones potentialities and capabilities. This is what Kant says Ding un Sich-The Thing in Itself (Absolute) and things in themselves (beings) always remain unknowable .Third difference is in Hegel's system Absolute Spirit as philosophic spirit is complete Subjectivism in that the philosophic spirit sees his spirit as the Absolute spirit so the Thought is "I am Absolute spirit". We have seen that the focus shifts from I to Him so that it becomes He (Absolute Spirit) as the reality of all beings.
This third spiritual plane of the Human Spirit is what Heidegger calls experience of Being. So according to him complete authenticity is only reached in this third plane. This plane is described as the realm Ereignis where there is appropriation of Dasein and Being-the belonging together of Dasein and Being. Realisation of this plane is described as Aletheia (unconcealment). This happens only in human being because human being is Dasein (Being there) means man is the opening or lightning place of Being. Aletheia as unconcealment is the opening of Being in Dasein or the arrival in and as Dasein and in the form as the historical space time play of the fourfold (earth, sky, divinities, mortal) and Language. Here there is no subjectivity or Ego as the focus shift from Dasein to Being. Dasein is the shepherd as the opening place of Being. The nature of Aletheia is such that Being conceals in this unconcealment as it withdraws in this arrival of beings. So there is always an Unknowable aspect of Being. This is what we name the Transcendent Absolute Being.
Chapter 2: The Transcendent, the Eternal and the Temporal
As we explained already the Transcendental first plane can be viewed from two angles. One is from the angle of reason or logic which satisfies the rational people. According to this the state of Absolute Being is logically prior to Absolute Subject&Spirit. Here the state as Unknowable Essence is prior to Essence as Mind or prior to the descend of Essence into Knowledge. The second is from the angle of intuition which is the view of self realised mystics. Here the priority is neither temporal priority nor logical priority but the priority of Essence or Being and is the ontological priority. In this view the Absolute is always with all the perfect predicates and all the states or planes but never defined or limited by them, on the contrary always transcend them. What ever way we look to the state of Absolute Being, here mind and world is negative and non being so nothing. This also means one cannot have realisation of this state as human spirit. If and when one ultimately reaches this state his consciousness is obliterated and there remains no one to experience this state as Absolute Being is independent of mind and world and He alone remains and He is as He always was and there is no change in Him. .
In the second eternal aspect we have Absolute Subject and Absolute Spirit. Second divine plane of Absolute Subject is when Absolute Being has dawning of consciousness. This as we explained is the state of potential mind with infinite vibration so as to make energy at rest. This is the state of pure subjectivity without any content. This is the state of Absolute without any predicates, attributes or qualities. This is Nirvishesa or Nirguna Brahman, as Sat-Cit-Ananada (Being-Consciousness-Bliss). As this is beyond even the concept of time and space this is an eternal plane. This is the final permanent station of mystics, In the third spiritual plane Absolute Spirit the Spirit or Subject is one but the predicates or attributes and qualities are numerous. The spirits (subjective spirits, mental spirits.. up to human spirits ) in spiritual realm are nothing but the particular and specific relations of the Subject with predicates or attributes or qualities. In spiritual realm the One Absolute Spirit forms multiple spirits. These spirits have no separate being or existence of their own but depends on the Absolute Spirit for their being and existence. We can say at the plane of Absolute Spirit individual spirits exist as only the mental existence of the Absolute. As we explained earlier this spiritual plane can be roughly compared with an human subject making different concepts in his mind. This spiritual plane is the reflective mind. The one Absolute spirit becomes the being of each and every spirit and act through these spirits itself. In Absolute Spirit spirits are only a possibility. Spirits are dormant or potential at the stage of Absolute Spirit. There is only distinction but no division in the attributes and qualities of the Absolute as Absolute or Creative Spirit. Attributes like life and knowledge are one and inseparable from the subject or in Absolute Spirit without undergoing division. . This is the state of unity in diversity. These two second and third planes are the eternal aspect of reality. This Absolute Subject and Absolute or Creative Spirit are the eternal and immutable aspect of reality.
The third aspect is the plane of manifestations or the Absolute World. As we told earlier there are two major manifestations-soul world and material (subtle &gross) world. We have seen that this is reflective mind-conscious and unconscious reflective mind. As we told earlier this manifestation can be viewed from two angles or two aspects. One is the internal aspect or as mind and the other is the external or physical aspect or the form of this same mind. As already explained both are one and the same. So internal aspect or self consciousness and consciousness of souls & beings like spiritual thoughts, mental discursive thoughts, imaginary thoughts, material thoughts which emanates from these spirits &beings and external aspect or physical &material bodies like cosmic, Gamma, X-ray bodies (spiritual); UV ray, visible light, infra red (mental); TV,Micro,Radio (astral); and sub quark bodies (material)&sub atoms, atoms, molecules, compounds, other gross material bodies are also one and the same.
At this fourth plane of manifestation as Absolute World the One Absolute Spirit or Creative Spirit is manifested as multiple beings. The one Absolute Spirit which is internal reflective mind on manifestations become separate and individual beings due to externalisation as active mind. This is as we explained is the reflective mind. As we explained the cause of this external manifestation is the Love of the Absolute for perfection and this manifestation is the Power aspect of the Absolute and this manifest externally as energy with definite frequency. All physical and material manifestations are either active thought or active imagination of the Absolute Spirit. Now one being is differentiated from another in manifestation by separate being and existence while as Absolute Spirit the predicates or attributes are distinct but undivided due to one Absolute Spirit being the spirit of all. As we explained earlier the manifestation of Absolute Spirit into particular and individual souls and beings also contain both internal subjective aspect and external energy/material aspect of mind. So all the spirits in the eternal plane and all the corresponding souls&beings in the worldly plane are a combination of Absolute Spirits internal aspect as subjectivity and external aspect as ultracosmic energy or pure being. The mind's consciousness as pure subjectivity go on decreasing from maximum and the consciousness as energy/matter go on increasing from the minimum through spiritual, mental, astral, and material souls (soul world) ,then through subtle material world and gross material world till it reaches Earth which is Absolute Spirit's thought as minimum consciousness as pure subjectivity and maximum consciousness as energy/matter. This is the stage of involution or descent. From then on consciousness also go on increasing till it reaches human being as Absolute Man and in this as S1MAPor philosophic spirit which is Absolute Spirit's thought as maximum consciousness and maximum being. This is the stage of evolution or ascent.
Now we have explained that the Absolute Spirit as
spirits in the third eternal state or
in spiritual realm have an internal aspect or content that of thought or
knowledge and an external aspect or form of this very thought as ultracosmic
energy. So they are one and same thing looked from internal and external aspects respectively. All the spirits, and the plane of
all these spirits is the third eternal spiritual
realm. Like this all the souls like
spiritual, mental, astral, material &beings of the subtle material &gross
material world also have these two aspects in the physical realm. The internal
aspects of these beings as subjectivity and mind and the corresponding external
aspect is the form of this thought as body is also one and the same thing. So both mind and
the corresponding bodies are one and same being looked through the
attributes of thought and attribute of extension respectively. So all these
manifestations both spirits and corresponding spiritual thoughts, discursive
thought, imaginations, emotions, feelings and the corresponding physical and
material existence like light, gamma photons, quarks (beings and bodies) are
two sides of the same thing. So there is no soul world without this
photons and sub quarks and no subtle beings without the corresponding Quarks,
Sub atoms and Atoms. Similarly no
mental ,emotional and imaginative faculty without corresponding physical and
material existence and no physical and material existence without corresponding
mental and imaginative faculties.
Now the fourh plane or the Absolute world as soul world ,subtle material world and gross material world entirely depends on the third eternal spiritual plane or Absolute Spirit or Creative Spirit for their manifestations. The Absolute Spirit as permanent and eternal spirits are the reality of the Absolute World. They are the external expression of the spirits which are their internal reality. These manifestations of world have no separate initiative or power until the creative spirit as spirits act through them. The eternal spirits as subject are the inner controller of the manifested world. The real existence is that of spirits as subjects. All other existences and manifestations are derived from these subjects. Now the comparison of the world to its eternal spirits is like a shadow to the original. The spirits are real and eternal but the world is shadow and transient. Manifestations is the reflections of the spirits.. When one manifestation comes to an end a similar one replaces it. When we say the manifestation is the shadow of the essences it does not mean they are unreal. What we mean is they are only part of the real, which are the spirits.. They are the partial expression of the spirits. In this sense they participate in reality.
The relation between the Absolute Spirit and the Absolute World Ibn Arabi describe in various ways. One of the comparison is as we have seen Absolute World as the shradow of the Absolute Spirit. Here the permanent spirits are the projecting surface on which the shadows manifest so without this support shadows are not sensibly existent. Another comparison is Absolute World as the imagination of the Absolute. What we have to remember is here it is not the material world alone that is called imagination but this includes soul world and subtle world as well .Here as we explained earlier Absolute Spirit or spiritual plane is the thoughts or mental concepts of the Absolute Subject and Absolute World is the cosmic imagination. Yet another comparison is Absolute world as Breath of the Merciful (nafas-ar-rahman). Here the permanent essences are deployed in the breath. Here Divine breath is ultracosmic energy called universal nature. We have seen that ultracosmic energy is the form of reflective mind as Absolute Spirit. During expansion or expiration Absolute world is manifested. According to Ibn Arabi there is renewal of creation at each breath. During expiration world is created and during inspiration the world is annihilated. There is no temporal interval between creation and annihilation but only a logical succession. This means each moment the fourth plane of Absolute world appear from the third spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit and disappear again into Absolute Spirit as permanent essences and ultracosmic energy. Another comparison is women as universal nature (ultracosmic energy) or passive receptacle of the act. As the ontological rank of women is below man here the manifestation of permanent essences (forms) in universal nature (ultracosmic energy) by Divine Will and Divine Command (the Act-al amr) is compared with sexual act.
Chapter 3: Creative
evolution and dissolution
Cosmic Soul is the beginning of this evolution or development and the Soul World is evolved out of the Absolute Spirit as Cosmic Spirit. Since the Cosmic Spirit&Cosmic Soul cannot express all the perfection in detail further evolutions or developments are necessary. Here the Gamma spirit and Gamma soul evolves out of Cosmic spirit &Soul respectively. The primary cause of this evolution is the love of the Absolute Spirit for self expression who is the real being of the Gamma spirit. This evolution also depends on the attributes and qualities of Cosmic spirit. Gamma spirit cannot express all the perfection of the Absolute Spirit but partly restricted by the preceding Cosmic spirit and its attributes. So Cosmic spirit is the secondary cause out of which this evolution takes place. Every new spirit and corresponding worldly being is a result of the Absolute Spirit as its spirit which is its real and primary cause and the preceding spirit which is its secondary and contributory cause.
As we told earlier as Absolute Spirit predicates and attributes are multiple but only one Subject or Spirit and also one Being or Existence, in other words the internal or subjective aspect is as Subject and the external or objective aspect is as ultracosmic energy.. This Absolute Spirit is not external to the attributes but the internal being of the predicates and their inner reality. All the evolution proceeds according to this law. The primary cause of evolution is the love of Absolute Spirit for perfection. The evolution is contributed or limited by the preceding spirit out of which this evolution takes place.
We have seen that the real cause of manifestation is the Absolute's love of perfection. There is complete perfection only when all the predicates or attributes are manifested. We have seen that each individual beings of the world like universal subjective soul, cosmic imaginative being, planets like Mars or Venus or elements like Water or Air manifest only one of the predicates or some of the predicates. It is only when we look at the whole Absolute World(Macrocosm) there is manifestation of all the predicates in detail. As for the manifestation of all the predicates in summery as in one individual being this begins after descent. As we explained the ascending arc begins with minerals. It is only in human beings all the predicates are manifested in summery. There are couples of complementary predicates like beauty and majesty, wrath and mercy. Man is the synthesis of all the predicates. So man is called Microcosm. But normal human beings are only potentially contain this synthesis and only in Absolute Man the complete form is manifested. So the Absolute's love of perfection and self development of the world culminate with the manifestation of Absolute Man.
As we told earlier the spirits are eternal and immutable when compared to the world which is temporal and mutable and which depends on these spirits for their reality and existence.. What comes with time must dissolve with time. This universal dissolution is what is called pralya in Hindu philosophy. Before this universal dissolution individual things are perishing continuously. Whenever one thing is perished they are replaced by similar ones by their Spirits. But we have to remember that unlike human beings other animate and inanimate beings have no individual spirits but only species and subspecies spirit. After universal dissolution also the world again begins to evolve out of their Spirits which are in seed forms in the Absolute Being. This is what is called cyclic evolution and dissolution in Hindu philosophy and eternal recurrence by Nietzsche and Schopenhauer.
This view of an external transient but stable world is from the view of the ordinary humans or from discursive consciousness. From spiritual perspective or from the view of the self realised man all manifestations, means the world is nothing but active thought and active imagination of the Absolute Spirit which think or imagine through the spirits itself and not external to it. This is what idealists mean when they say world as an idea or imagination. Not only the external manifestation a cosmic imagination of the Absolute Spirit through the spirits the entire manifestations are renewed at every moment. Every moment one world is annihilated and a similar one is manifested. The instant of annihilation or dissolution coincides with the instant of manifestation. There is no temporal interval between manifestations but only a logical succession.
In modern physics this event is described as the subatomic event. According to quantum field theory in the subatomic realm by the instantaneous and local interaction of different quantum fields sub atomic particles are created. In the subatomic realm at each moment subatomic particles are annihilated and created. According to modern physics this subatomic particles are the ultimate unit of matter. So this world is created and annihilated every moment.
In Hindu philosophy this is symbolised by the Nataraja or dance of Shiva. In Buddhism in the Sarvastivada of Hinayana this is described as the replacing of mental, astral and material dharma every moment by similar ones. In Islamic philosophy Ashiri's describe this as the incessant renewal of the world. In Sufism Ibn Arabi describes this process analogous to respiration. At each in breath or inhalation a world is annihilated and at out breath or exhalation a similar one is manifested. Creation and dissolution as exhalation and inhalation of Divine Breath through the spirits or essences themselves.
Chapter 4: The living world
Usually we identify beginning of life and rudimentary form of consciousness from plant kingdom. Indian Scientist Mr. Bose has scientifically proved rudimentary feelings in plants. The first external sign of life is growth. As we explained earlier plants are characterized by growing soul. Some minerals like coral reef has shown the signs of growth. Even elements like fire, air, water, and earth have their own form of consciousness. This is because as we explained in the beginning everything is mind and the external material form is the form of mind so mind itself. Now up to mineral kingdom there is no external manifestation of consciousness. This is because as we explained minerals have only material self consciousness (Ps) and consciousness or thoughts as matter so they appear as unconscious in manifestation. This means there is no apparent sign of consciousness. The plants contains both gross material and subtle material (imaginal) self consciousness and consciousness. The material manifest as physical body and both physical and physiological activity. The astral or imaginal manifest as life, crude form of sensations, reflexes and instincts. The last ones are unconscious desire. In animal Kingdom besides material and astral there also present a little mental self consciousness and consciousness. The astral produce sensory knowledge and desire while the mental produce crude discriminating knowledge and weak will. This makes it possible the domestication and taming of animals. The human beings contains spiritual, mental, astral and material self consciousness and consciousness.. Physical body and physical and physiological activities are produced by mind as matter or material self consciousness and living consciousness . Astral self consciousness and astral consciousness produce sensory knowledge and desire. Mental self consciousness and mental consciousness produce rational knowledge and partial will. Subjective self consciousness produce self knowledge and spiritual knowledge. So the self consciousness of man is a combination of all these essences or SMAPs and MAPb. Now besides this what distinguishes man from all other beings is he alone is capable of manifesting his spiritual plane as Absolute Spirit which is his innermost reality and also divine realm of Absolute Subject and even occasional manifestation of Absolute Subject.. This is the realm of Absolute or Free will.
Chapter 5: Conscious
evolution
We have seen that all manifestation is the out come of self expression as love for perfection of the Absolute. World is a result of love for perfection and self expression. In manifestation also every physical and mental activity of the organism is an activity of the spirit as an act of love for perfection through self expression. Here also consciousness or knowledge is transformed to love or will before transforming to power or activity. Now take the case of plants. The plant spirit, which is material and astral essence is material and astral self consciousness in the soul plane or as pure knowledge or thought but transformed to love in imaginary or astral plane before producing physical and physiological activity in material existence like self preservation and self expression. In plants this love is identical with instincts and reflexes so these instincts are unconscious love. In animals also the astral self consciousness of soul world is transformed to love in imaginary plane of subtle material plane before producing activity in gross material existence. In animals this unconscious love is desire. Now take the case of human beings. If passionate nature predominates in the human Spirit(S3MAP) in the spiritual plane the self is identified with passionate nature in soul world, this produce sensory knowledge in mental plane, desire in imaginary plane and sense gratifying activity in material existence. As we told earlier this desire is unconscious love. When menatal nature predominate in spirit(S2MAP) this produce discursive self consciousness in soul world discursive in mental plane, partial will in astral plane and egoistic activity in material existence. This partial will is partly conscious love. When subjective nature predominate in spirit(S1MAP) there is subjective self consciousness in soul world, rational knowledge in mental existence, this produce rational desire and will in astral existence and transformed to duty bound activity irrespective of self interest in material existence. This subjective will is full conscious love. Now in Absolute Man or perfect man the perfect or complete nature of the spirit due to the manifestation of spiritual plane give him universal knowledge. This will make him identify his spirit with the Absolute Spirit hence with the whole creation. The perfect man ensouls the whole creation. This produces unconditional spiritual love in astral existence and transform to activities, which augment the whole evolution in material existence.
We have seen that human spirits are fundamentally three types. predominant subjective or spiritual nature(S1MAP),predominant rational nature(S2MAP)and predominant passionate nature(S3MAP).From this it is apparent that the inclination for conscious evolution and self realisation varies in individuals according to their nature. But as everyone contain all the predicates and can become conscious of the spiritual plane as Absolute Spirit, self realisation is possible for the whole human kind. Self realisation is impossible without Divine Aid. Now this divine aid is the aid of one's own spirit as Absolute Spirit. All the prayer and supplication are ultimately directed to the Absolute Spirit. Without the company of holy men or self realised men ,realisation is almost impossible from this same point. Apart from this divine factor which is absolutely necessary what augments self realisation is seeking and striving oneself for this realisation. All the mystics are of the opinion that mere seeking and striving, however hard and sincere it may be alone never make one perfect man but at the same time one who never seeks seldom find the Real. Now this conscious evolution depends on three factors. One is knowledge and conviction of this evolution and this as the real purpose of this earthly life.. Second is strong need and yearning for this evolution. Third is constant striving and activities which leads to this evolution. We have seen that self realisation besides human endeavor entirely depend on divine favor. This divine favor is nothing other than the favor of Absolute Spirit as that unique individual spirit. Unlike all other beings all human beings have the potential to realise the spiritual state as Absolute Spirit so divine favour may be received by any one without distinction. But as we already explained striving and seeking usually augment this divine favour. Now this seeking as we explained first of all depends on the knowledge and conviction that this self realisation is the true aim and purpose of one's life. Even prayer and supplication to the divine and keeping company with the mystics is impossible with out this knowledge as one cannot pray or supplcate for this state without a knowledge of possibility of such a state and such people either consider the company of holy men as foolish and waste or seek it only for temporal or psychological matters or heavenly benefit. Now even before this knowledge of such a higher state is possible one must be aware of one's ignorance of it. So first one must know one's present state and then only he can know his potentialities. This knowledge is about one's own nature and self consciousness. Only this knowledge will make one conscious of his various conditioning ,influence of religious, social and national indoctrinations, dominations of passions and egoistic tendencies .Only knowledge and dissatisfaction with this state may reveal the higher state possible for him and convince him that state as the real purpose of life. The second and third factors depends on this first factor. As we explained in the beginning one cannot will or desire what one does not know. So yearning, striving and seeking this state depends on this knowledge. Like this power for activities which actualize this state depends on this yearning and striving so indirectly on this knowledge. In fact these are complementary factors in the sense that activities further increase the desire and yearning and this in turn expand the knowledge. Now possibility of actualisation of the spiritual state is not equal for all. The first factor of possessing the knowledge and conviction of the spiritual state as the meaning and purpose of life is easy for the subjective nature and more difficult for rational nature and most difficult for the passionate nature. As power of activity depends on will and will in turn depends on knowledge the second factor of yearning and striving and seeking and third factor of constant occupation of activities which augment the actualisation of this spiritual state is also easy for the spiritual nature when compared with rational and passionate nature. This means compared with spiritual nature not only the others have to exert more and more will and have to struggle much more but even the inclination to do so is much less in these groups as there is also difference in other factors like knowledge and power of action. However since all human beings contain all the natures and there is only predominance of one nature over other only the relative proportions differ. In this sense self realisaton by conscious evolution is possible for all. We have already explained the means and the ways to conscious evolution in the section Absolute Man and will further discuss it in the coming chapter 'The path of the seeker'.
We have seen that everyone has a particular nature which is his permanent essential nature as spirit. This means one cannot alter one's nature but only can actualise all the potentialities thus express his true spiritual nature. Take the case of a man with predominant passionate nature who has excessive anger. In normal unevolved state he is so dominated by passion as he is not much aware of his rational and spiritual nature. This leads him to blind anger in many occasions in life and effects and consequences arising out of it. What happens when such a man begins his journey and becomes aware of his self nature and gain self consciousness is not that he does not become angry at all but he becomes aware of his anger. In normal state when angry we are not aware of our anger. When he becomes more and more aware of his state and nature he may still get angry but the expressions, effects and consequences of this anger will not be the same as in unevolved state. Secondly self knowledge will enable him to see similar occasions which caused anger earlier in a different perspective thus reducing the frequency of episodes. But as he is a man of passionate nature he will still get angry but only in the right occasions and for the right purpose and his anger also will be more intense than the anger of other natures. We have explained in the beginning that everything is mind or knowledge and passions and emotions are a lower form and reason is an higher form of mind. So what happens is self knowledge enable the passionate man to regulate his passions with rational and spiritual nature.
We have seen that everyone is unique due to his unique spiritual nature. This means artistic genius like Picasso or musical genius like Beethoven are specific spirits. All one is capable is to actualise one's spiritual nature but he cannot alter it. In contemporary philosophy circles there is the notion that a man can become anything in life if he try enough and has the proper environment. This conception was mainly derived from existentialism. Both the Gnostic Heidegger (philosophers describe him as agnostic but when one acquaint with later Heidegger and his assertion that meaning of life is experience of being it becomes apparent that he is not agnostic but Gnostic) and the atheist Sartre assert that unlike all other beings where essence precede existence in human beings existence precede essence. Now Heidegger use existence in an entirely different meaning from Sartre. Heidegger use existence n the sense of Transcendence. This is standing beyond other beings and capacity to understand their being. Man is the only one who question Being and can comprehend Being. Now this existence or ek-sistence is openness to Being and is due to the belonging together of Being and Dasein. This as we explained earlier is the ontological priority of man due to spiritual plane and unlike all other beings his potentiality of actualising this spiritual plane as Absolute Spirit. But Sartre's notion is different. According to him there is no permanent essence or nature in man so one is capable of making one's essence in life. Unlike all other beings which begins existence with a given essence (e.g.: plants, animals) man first exists and then he make his own essence. We have seen that this is a false notion as every one has a permanent essence and all one is capable is to actualise all the potentialities of one's spirit but cannot alter the nature of the spirit. .
Chapter 6: The unique human
spirit
The second difference is unlike other beings the human beings are a synthesis of all the predicates. This is his potentiality and he can actualise this and can fully manifest all the essences, which are spiritual, mental, astral and material essences. This means human being contain the essences of all other manifestation from Cosmic wave to animal kingdom. This we can compare with the light spectrum. While all other beings can be compared to individual rays like UV rays or blue rays or a combination of some of them like indigo and blue rays human beings can be compared with complete light spectrum. As there is a difference between the frequency and energy of individual rays but the velocity of all the rays are the same there is a difference in the nature of every beings though the same Absolute Spirit is the reality of all essences. White light is a combination of all the light rays so its frequency is that of individual rays in it and its energy is the total energy of the individual rays. Like this there is a difference between human and other beings. But as the velocity is same of all electromagnetic rays the underlying essence and Spirit is the one and the same in human and all other beings.
The third difference of human beings are while all other beings are represented by group soul human beings are characterised by individual soul. This means every individual is unique due to his unique soul. We have seen that human beings contain all the essences. So the quality of human essences are same in all but the quantity may be different. We have seen that all manifestation is self revelation of the Absolute Spirit. The one in whom the degree of self revelation is more will have more essences than the one in whom the self is less revealed. This means the degree of self revelation differs in every individual. According to this rule we earlier classified three types of human beings. Those in whom self revelation is maximum there is full pure subjective self consciousness. In this group wisdom dominate over will and power. We call this spiritual nature and earlier denoted by S1MAP.This is the philosophic sprit of Hegel. Those in whom self revelation is reduced there is reduction in pure subjective self consciousness. In this group will dominate over wisdom and power. We called this rational nature and earlier denoted by S2MAP.The religious spirit of Hegel. Those in whom self revelation is minimum there is only minimal pure subjective self consciousness. Here power dominates over wisdom and will. We called this passionate nature and denoted by S3MAP.The artistic spirit of Hegel. The one in whom the self revelation is more will be superior to one in whom it is less even though the essence is one and the same in both cases. This is because will always depends on wisdom. We can will only what we know. Like that power always depend on will. Because only will give rise to power and action. So wisdom is always superior to will and power. This superiority or hierarchy is similar to the hierarchy between different plants and plants and animals on the one hand and between different animals and animals and man on the other. This can be explained by our analogy to sunlight. Even though the white light has same individual rays, velocity and frequency everywhere the intensity and energy differs according to the distance from the sun, which is its source. Light, which is nearer to the sun, has more intensity and energy, which means more number of photons than the light, which is far from it. Like wise the one in whom more self revelation will have more essence than the one in whom there is less revelation. In reality there is only one Absolute Spirit behind all these spirits and it is the same Spirit which becomes the multiple beings in manifestation, according to the function and capacity of the spirits. So in reality all humans are equal since their Absolute Spirit is one and the same in all. The same law is applicable to sex, race and nations. In human spirit there is no distinction of sex, race, or nationality. During gradual evolution of human species and progression of history it is possible that the spirit of a higher nature manifested more or exclusively in a particular sex, race or nation. But this cannot be generalised, as the spirit has no distinction of sex, race or nation. The manifestation of higher or lower nature in a particular sex, race or nation mainly depends on historical time, geography and the surrounding society. Ultimately the manifestation of the spirits depends on the possibility of its transformation from potential to actual means its possibility of full self expression. As we told earlier the degree of self revelation is different in each and every spirit. Every individual is different. According to this rule every one is unique. No one can replace another. This is what Ibn Arabi says in Fusus that Divine Names never repeat itself . Each one has different capacity and different function. As we told earlier human species contain all essences, so all humans contain all three natures means spiritual, rational and passionate nature. These classifications are based on the predominance of one nature over the other natures. Now you can understand that each one is unique and represent a particular spirit. This is what Sufi Ibn-Arabi means when he says that each one represent a particular divine name. Each name is equal to all other names in essence but differs in its particular significance.
The fourth difference of human spirits are while in all other beings the essences are fully expressed during their existence like minerals or during their life time like plants and animals the human spirit is naturally not fully manifested during a man’s lifetime. This means while in all other beings the evolution was unconscious in man there is the possibility of conscious evolution.
As we told earlier every manifestation is an act of self expression of perfection and the motive power is love of perfection of the Absolute. Every physical activity is also an act of self expression. Whether the act is conscious or unconscious they are the result of self expression of perfection through that being.. Even the activity of self preservation is an act of self expression. We feel fulfilled only when we can express ourselves completely by returning to our home or source which is the spiritual plane. For complete self expression self realisation is needed. All the frustration in life is due to false self identity or inadequate self expression. We feel root less the whole life without full self expression. After self preservation all the activities of men are for self identity. Running after money, fame, sex, power, association with groups, religions ,organizations, politics are really an attempt of self identity. In reality we experience alienation, despair frustration and meaninglessness because we are suspended from our source or home and all our attempts are to alleviate this dreadful experiences. As we are only suspended and not severed from our source and root,or in other words idea of separation is an illusion we feel fulfilled only when we reunited with the source. For complete self expression we have to know the nature of our spirit. This means only by manifestation of our spiritual plane we will have true self identity and authentic self expression. Only after self knowledge self expression possible. Inadequate self identity leads to inadequate self expression. As we told earlier action depends on knowledge. Here it means knowledge of one’s own nature. This nature is nothing but the reality of one’s own spirit. Partial knowledge produce incomplete action or expression hence despair and discontent. Total knowledge produce full self expression hence serenity and contentment.
Chapter 7: The path of the
seeker
We have seen that the essence of activities which actualise spiritual realisation is constant contemplation of the Absolute as the only reality. But we neither know the form or nature of Absolute nor the nature of our own spirit and it's potentalities and capacities as Absolute Spirit. So we need some method or device so we can be aware of our own spirit and which further leads to complete self realisation. Here comes the necessity of the Master. Master is one who is a perfect man or Absolute Man. He is the one who not only realised his own self but can also lead others to self realisation. Like Osho Rajneesh’s words' he can point you the moon and even this pointing is an immense blessing and help'. The way to the self is full of obstacles and pitfalls and it is almost impossible to travel it without guidance. The master is the one who had traveled the path before and know all the subtleties of the human mind. The benefits of a living master on the way is immense and beyond description. A living master is absolutely necessary for self realisation and the exception to this rule is so rare that they can be neglected. Now apart from the presence of a living master who constantly watch and guide along the way the method consist the following.
The nature of our own spirit we cannot realise by contemplating on the external world or by sensory experience, imagination or by rational thought. Internal contemplation of the spirit is only possible if we know the full nature of our spirit. But we do not know the full nature of our spirit because a perfect spirit in manifestation is represented only by a self realised man. Our own master is a perfect symbol of fully manifested spirit. So by the contemplation of our master as our Self we can contemplate on the nature of our own spirit. Another more difficult method is to contemplate the form less Absolute. Whenever we contemplate our master as our self, the knowledge we receive will be from our own spirit. It is not from our master. This is analogous to a mirror. Whenever we look at a mirror what we see is our own face. We will not see the mirror. The function of the mirror is to manifest our own form. The master is also a spiritual mirror. In this computer age we can also compare the function of master to the interface in a computer. When we contemplate our master as our self this is a soul activity in soul world. Here we identify our spirit with our master. By conscious and continuous contemplation of our master as our self we become aware of the nature of our own spirit and gradually attain self realisation. So the method consists of conscious and continuous contemplation of our master.
As we earlier explained when we continue our contemplation we first slowly become aware of our own present state and nature. This as we mentioned is our conditioned and indoctrinated self. As we already mentioned human spirit is a combination of material, astral, mental and spiritual essences and our foundation is the spirit in spiritual plane and it manifest both the soul ,subtle and gross material world.. As we mentioned these essences are responsible for three natures of all human beings, which are passionate, rational and spiritual nature. When we contemplate the master in and as self consciousness or in soul world first of all we become aware of the material and imaginary part of our soul(APs). The self identify with passionate nature in soul world and produce sensory knowledge in mental plane, desire and passion in astral plane and sense gratifying activity in material existence. This material and imaginary self consciousness in excess is responsible for sense gratifying activities like excess drinking and smoking, excess food, sex, and sleep, visual and auditory pleasures, inertia and laziness. Passionate nature needs everything in excess because passionate nature never feels fulfilled. This passionate nature is also responsible for narcissism like excess obsession with body and adornment of body with ornaments and costly dresses. This nature also produce excess anger, excess desire for material possessions. This same passionate nature also yields to conditioning and indoctrination and is responsible for fanaticism, fundamentalism, intolerance, blind faith and blind conformity to social values. At this first stage the one in whom passionate nature predominate is more effected than others. At this stage one is almost helpless because imaginal self consciousness can only produce desire in subtle material or imaginary plane. At this stage rational nature is dormant so this desire can be prevented only by fear. Only obvious disadvantage to physical existence or threat to one’s own interest will prevent this desire through fear. This is the way wild animals are trained and this is the rationale behind religious laws and civil and criminal laws of society. As we explained those with passionate nature have to make more effort to sublimate and regulate this nature and even the inclination and will to do so will be less in them compared with spiritual nature. But when we persist in our conscious contemplation and continue our effort we gradually become more aware of our mental part of soul(Ms). The self identify with rational nature in soul world produce rational knowledge in mental plane, partial will in astral plane and egoistic activity in material existence. As the contemplation continues the self more and more identify with rational nature and gradually over shadow passionate nature. At this stage besides sensory knowledge we will have a discriminating type of knowledge. This is knowledge of the essence of things rather than phenomenon. One result of this knowledge is conscience. In rational nature or when mental part predominate in self consciousness desires are more easily regulated by will. At this stage even those in whom naturally passionate nature predominate are better able to regulate their desires and passions by partial will. This reason can moderate excesses and also give rational belief. This is the second stage of contemplation. But this rational nature is a manifestation of mental part of soul.. So this is the state of discursive thought. This will give rise to strong sense of self and non self; hence ego and individuality. So this rational nature gives rise to egoistic activity like activity for power, fame, and money, which are the ways to boost one’s ego. At this stage also those of passionate and rational nature are more affected than those of spiritual nature. But as we continue our contemplation gradually we become aware of our spiritual part(Ss) of soul.. The self identify with spiritual nature in soul world, produce spiritual knowledge in mental plane and spiritual desire and free will in astral plane and duty bound and action out of moral sense irrespective of self interest in material existence. As this contemplation continues the soul or self consciousness more and more identify with spiritual nature and gradually regulate both reason and passion.
At first this spiritual nature will give rise to what existentialists called angst (anxiety) and despair. Spiritual nature first give rise to meaninglessness and emptiness and produce utter loneliness. We cannot identify the self with anything and self seems like nothingness. When all objective contents like material things through senses ,imaginary contents and discursive thoughts are removed self consciousness becomes an object to itself. Without any content or beings it experiences as Nothingness. This is what Sartre say consciousness as nothingness. This is what Heidegger calls beings coming out of nothing in anxiety. Later spiritual knowledge will make him aware that separate being is an illusion of manifestation. At this stage egoistic activity is reduced and he will act more and more from an inner sense of right and wrong without considering personal advantage or disadvantage. Here partial will is replaced by free will, which give rise to selfless activity. At this stage those of passionate and rational nature are able to regulate it by free will. This is the third stage of contemplation. This stage will continue till self - realisation is attained. Contemplation of the master as one’s spirit and identification of this spirit with spiritual nature and selfless activity and regulation with free will continue till self realisation is attained. This is an arduous journey. The activity accumulated during ignorance was made in to strong habits which need strong effort and continuous contemplation. The transformation of blind will or desire to partial will or reason then again to free will is a long and difficult journey. Only continuous and constant effort as contemplation will produce result.
Usually this contemplation ultimately leads to self realisation. But this is not the actual cause of self realisation. Self realisation is a spontaneous happening. This total illumination cannot be guaranteed by any methods. There are multiple factors, which determine a man's self-realisation at a particular stage in his life. Besides these unknown and unexplainable factors contemplation usually leads to it. All this contemplation and meditation are at the level of soul world or self consciousness. But our foundation or real nature is as spirits. As we explained the knowledge, experience and plane of this eternal spiritual plane entirely different from the world plane. Self realisation is attainment of this second, spiritual eternal Absolute Subject plane and defy any kind of description.Before this realisation one first has to pass through the subtle and soul planes which is also considered as minor form of illumination. At self realisation one is transported to the spiritual plane and here all contemplation and efforts ends. Here one realise his sprit itself as Absolute Spirit and this is not an intellectual knowledge but existential experience. All the action proceeding from such a man will be from a global perspective and without any effort. As spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit is the first stage of self realisation Divine plane of Absolute Subject is the final and permanent stage of self realisation. As explained this is a state of pure universal subjectivity without any content so this is plane of awareness and bliss without any action in the world. Lastly Absolute man is temporarily also transported to the plane of Absolute Being.
Heidegger describe spiritual realisation as experience of Being He describe the spiritual plane, the plane of Absolute Spirit as the realm of Ereignis where there is the relationship of belonging together of Dasein and Being. As a preliminary to this path Heidegger suggest to avoid mechanical and calculative thinking. This is a form of manipulative thinking prevalent in modern society where when one deals with other human beings and other beings only think about one's own advantage and maximum exploiting others without least consideration to them. The second thing is moving away from the state of care. Normally man is involved with his world in three forms of care-epistemological, relational and existential. To experience being man must move away from all these three forms of care. The path of experience of being are three ascending path of essential thinking, dwelling in the neighborhood of being and seeing the truth of being. Essential thinking is meditative thinking on Being. According to Heidegger essential thinking is attained in release. Release is living in the world and using all the technology for one's need at the same time not dominated by it. This as we explained earlier is the essence of detachment and renunciation. This is same as the famous Sufi saying 'living in the world but not of the world'. We will discuss this in detail on the chapter on Heidegger.
In Grdjieff's system the method of self realisation is described using Enneagram. As we earlier mentioned he consider all reality as conscious matter or hydrogen with different potency and density. This is conscious matter. Hydrogen with low values are with higher vibrations, high potency and low density and and high values are with low vibrations, low potency and high density .like physical matter. Our normal automatic internal and external impressions of thoughts ,feelings, sensations are called H48 potency. This is transformed into high potency H12 by first conscious shock. This is by self observation and self remembrance. This is maintaining self consciousness while taking internal and external impressions and trying not to express negative emotions. Further by second conscious shock H12 is transformed to higher potency H6 and beyond. This second shock is a form of complete self surrender and acting with divine love towards all so as to transform negative emotions into positive ones. We have earlier mentioned that H6 corresponds to Soul world,H3 to third spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit, and H1 second divine plane of Absolute Subject. Gurdjieff summerises the way by the term 'conscious labour and intentional suffering'.
It is appropriate to conclude this section with a quote from Ibn Arabi. In his Fusus Al Hikam commenting on the famous saying attributed to prophet Muhammed 'man arafa nafsahu faqad arafa rabbahu'-'He who knows himself, knows his Lord' Ibn Arabi writes "From this one may deduce, either that God cannot be known and that one will be unable to reach Him-which is perfectly valid-or that God may be known. It is necessary that you knows, first that you do not know yourself, and then you knows yourself and that, in consequence, you knows your Lord".
Chapter 8: Wisdom, love and
power
We have seen that the principle predicates or attributes of the Absolute as Potential Mind in the secondt plane of Absolute Subject are Being, Knowledge, Love (will) and Power. Now in the eternal aspect this second and third plane of Absolute Subject& Spirit is the plane of mind. Here the unknowable essence of Absolute Being becomes knowable essence as reflective mind. We have seen that Being is Absolute Spirit as Subjective Spirit and Subjective Soul. What ever the plane may be, whether mental, subtle or material, subject remain the same as one subject -Absolute Spirit but limited by the manifesting plane. But this subject is nothing but the Absolute Being Himself limiting himself mind as essence of this subject in the second state. So Being is this subjectivity of the spirits, souls and beings of material plane. If we take Being as this subjective being or self the remaining main predicates are knowledge, will and power. We have seen that Subjectivity of Absolute Spirit is the unknowable Absolute Being himself in a lower state and like that subjectivity of worldly beings are subjectivity of Absolute Spirit or reflective mind in lower forms. What this means is not only Being which is a form of mind but knowledge, will, power and all the other predicates are also different forms of mind in different states.. So predicates are mental essence itself and mental essence is also a lower form of unknowable essence. This is why some mystics says predicates or attributes are essence itself. So all the predicates are various forms or lower forms of mental essence and mental essence itself is a lower form of The Unknowable Essence.
We have seen that Mind is the essence of third plane as Absolute Spirit and as Being is knowledge as subject or knower the principle predicates are Knowledge, Will and Power. Now these are mind itself. So these predicates are principal forms of mind. In vedanta we have seen that Sankara equate mind with maya and here these are called the three forms of Maya as Sattwa, Rajo and Tamo gunas respectively. Satwa is the wisdom aspect, Rajo is rational and activity aspect and Tamo is passion and inertia aspect. We have seen that depending on the predominance one over others there are three basic nature and groups in all beings from soul world to material world. These are spiritual, rational and passionate nature respectively.
The predicate (Subjective) Being may be equated with second plane of Absolute Subject, Knowledge with third plane as Absolute Spirit, Will or Love as the Divine Will or Divine Love which is the cause of manifestation and Power the plane of manifestation or Absolute World (soul, subtle and gross material world). The third plane as Absolute Spirit is a plane of knowledge. This give rise to love of self expression for perfection. This again transformed to power of manifestation and as a result world is manifested. In manifestation wisdom attribute give rise to soul world, love to subtle material world and power to physical and material world. In manifestation wisdom is identical with knowledge, love with will and power with action. In soul world predominance of wisdom to S1, M1,A1,P1souls,Love toS2,M2,A2,P2 souls and Power S3,M3A3 and P3 souls. In Subtle Material World and Gross material world also there are three groups of Being or beings based on the predominance of Wisdom, Love or Power.
In humans S3MAP group: Here there is predominance of passionate nature in spiritual plane, so self identify with passionate nature or astral and material part (ASs) in soul world, produce sensory knowledge in mental plane of subtle material world, desire and passion in astral plane ,and sense gratifying action is material existence.S2MAPgroup: Here there is predominant rational nature in spiritual plane, so self or soul identify with rational nature (Ms) in soul world, produce rational knowledge in mental plane, partial will in astral plane, and egoistic action in material existence.S1MAP group: Here there is predominant spiritual nature in spiritual plane, so Self consciousness as spiritual nature (Ss) in soul world, produce spiritual knowledge in mental plane, free will in astral plane and selfless action in material existence. So there are basically three groups of beings, one with maximum pure subjective self revelation or wisdom nature, second medium subjective self revelation or will nature and third with minimal subjective self revelation or power nature. What this ultimately means is everything from Absolute Spirit down to material plane is The Essence or Absolute Being Himself as mind. Predicates are also forms of mind itself. Lower forms and different forms of mind in different planes and mind itself is a lower form of Absolute Being. So in the final analysis there is only One Being or Essence and everything is the same Essence in different forms.
We have mentioned earlier that If we compare the Absolute Spirit with a human subject the third plane of Absolute Spirit corresponds to form less concept or pure thought so this is the realm of Divine Thought. Similarly the fourth plane of Absolute World (soul, subtle and gross material world) corresponds to imagination. So all these worlds are Divine Imagination. Now if we compare the Absolute World with a human subject soul world corresponds to pure thoughts and concepts, subtle material world corresponds to imagination and sensory knowledge and gross material world corresponds to material body. We have seen that the second plane of worldly plane is subtle material world. This world as a whole is also called the world of imagination (Alam Kayal). We have seen that every thing as individual and particular has it's origin in the soul world and then it descends in the subtle material world and lastly to the gross material world. In this sense the subtle material world is not only more vast and include our material world but it is as real as this material world or more real. Every material activity taking place in our world is preceded by first it taking shape in the subtle material plane So Sufis call this world the world of patterns or similitude (Alam Mithal). When a man turns his external and internal senses from everything temporal and worldly and continue in his contemplation of spirit as we explained earlier this subtle material world is gradually opened to him. This is nothing but the expansion of his own consciousness. As we explained man's spirit consists of all the planes-soul, imaginal and physical. This we can illustrate with one looking at some event through a hole. When the hole is small the field of vision is small and if he looks through the hole at some one walking he sees the man and only a limited area at that particular moment. But if the hole is large he can see the event in a larger area so that what looked like past (before) and future (after) happening when looked through the small hole looks like happening simultaneously. A similar relation occurs between our material world and subtle material world.
We have seen that the subtle material world consists of cosmic mental being, cosmic imaginary being and cosmic living being. From this the cosmic mental being is called higher astral world or absolute imaginal world (mutlaq). This is called so because this stage is more fine in nature and more resistant to change than lower stages. As this is more near to the soul world this stage is more a copy of the soul world and dreams and visions arising from this plane is always true. This is also called Devachan (abode of Gods) and Lawh al Mahfus (Guarded Tablet) and Alam Qalb.. What ever happens in the earthly plane is first formed here ,then it descends to the earthly plane so this is called original patterns. So what ever happens in the earth first happens here..
Cosmic imaginary being and cosmic living being together called lower astral world or limited imagination (muqadas). This is called so because this stage is more coarse than the higher stage and undergo constant changes. This limited imaginal world is also called the world of effacement and establishment (Lawh al Mahvi al Isbath). This means at every moment this imaginal world may undergo change so that there may be new pattern replacing the earlier one. As this plane is near to the earthly plane what ever happens in the earth is reflected here and influence the patterns. So this is also called reflected patterns. So whatever happens here first happens in the earth and then reflected here. So the dreams and visions coming from this plane may not be true as they are colored by earthly elements. This is also called Kama loka (desire world) and Alam Nafs.
Now we can see that every thing is not only determined already but also determining each moment of earthly existence. This we will explain in detail. As we have already stated the potentialities and capabilities of every spirit or every one is unique and they are permanent and eternal. So one cannot change one's nature and one is only able to actualise fully one's capabilities and potentialities during earthly life. This is what is called conscious evolution. Now the potentialities and capabilities are descending from the spiritual plane or the plane of Absolute Spirit first into the soul plane and from this plane it descends in to the higher astral or absolute imaginary plane From here it descends into the lower astral or limited imaginary plane and then to the earthly plane or the material world.. Now this is only one side of the coin. Simultaneously every action in the earthly plane ascend to the lower astral plane and modify this plane so that it will have an impact on the future earthly actions. Again this will ascend from this lower astral to the higher astral so that it can have an influence on the overall possibilities descending from higher astral plane to lower one. Again this will have an influence on the highest soul world so that it can have an influence on those descending from the soul world to the lower planes and to the earth. So there is not complete determinism in the sense that everything is fixed so that one is compelled to act in a determined way.
Take the example of man. As we explained his subjective or self consciousness is from the plane of the soul world and discursive thoughts and higher emotions and feelings are from the plane of higher imaginal world and imaginations and passions are from the lower imaginal world. We have seen that every word and action in the material plane is preceded by similar happenings in the higher planes. This means every action is preceded by thoughts and imaginations of the action. Every act first begins from the soul plane. Now the self consciousness of a man about his total potential in the soul plane depends on the potentialities actualised in the soul plane. Now we have seen that the activation of potentialities of the soul depends on the activities of the earthly plane so that one's self consciousness of himself at any moment is the result of sum of his actions and words in the world till that time. Reciprocally whatever actions or words we make at any moment depends on the self consciousness of our capabilities at that moment and so we only act accordingly. Secondly when this self consciousness descends to the plane of higher imagination we contemplate about the action accordingly. Now this thoughts on the one hand depends on the higher soul plane from where it comes and secondly the intensity and practicality of this thought depends on the degree of development of that persons higher imaginary plane which not only depends on the soul plane alone but also the result of his activities on the material plane till that moment. When the thoughts are weak or when we decides not to pursue that action then we could not act or may not act. So here the action depends on this higher imaginary plane. Thirdly when this thoughts descends into the lower imaginary plane where this action takes place in complete form before it takes place on gross material plane ,this happening in the lower astral world also depends on the one hand on the higher astral plane and on the other hand it also depends on the degree of development of this lower astral plane. We have seen that every action in the earthly plane produce a reflected pattern after the action and influence the degree of development of the lower astral world. Now take the case of some one who has penetrated into the imaginal world or some one who has constant self consciousness. Now when he acts this is a copy of his act in the imaginal world but as the man is self conscious from moment to moment so that these are conscious acts because every moment he is shaping his thoughts and imagination so that his imaginal world is changing and accordingly his material or physical action. But the case of a man who is not self conscious in his acts or who is a slave to habits and desires and passion and whose acts are unconscious and automatic are different. As there is nothing new in his thoughts and imagination each moment but a repetition so that his imaginal world is firmly established and does not change much from moment to moment.
Chapter 10: Life & Death
As we explained human spirit of the eternal third plane is the base or reality of human being. When this is individualised and particularised it is the human soul in the soul world or the soul plane. Now in the soul world the spirit have only self or soul consciousness as combination of SMAPs. At this plane as there is not yet subtle body or material body of subtle and gross material world so there is no consciousness or faculties like mental ,imaginative, sensory or physical etc. As the soul has to pass through in the descend through subtle world it has subtle body. The human soul first develops faculties or come in conscious contact with the subtle and gross material world and becomes conscious of subtle and soul body only after it joins the human sperm in the male body and forming what is called astral body corresponding to the subtle and soul body. There is no point in saying that soul is inside the sperm or external since soul and subtle body in it's internal aspect is self consciousness&consciousness which ensouls the whole world and external aspect is as photons,sub quarks,quarks,subatoms,etc whose dimension may extend far beyond the sperm. So it is more proper to say sperm is inside the soul .Any way a definite connection is established so much that due to this contact soul's self consciousness is lost and identify itself as this sperm body. As we know this sperm contain the cosmic living being of subtle material world but externally able to express only in the form of mineral essence or what philosophers call mineral soul. So at this stage human soul is not self conscious as SMAPs but only as Ps+Pb (material self consciousness and consciousness) and this appear as material faculty or mineral soul as life is unable to express through it. As mineral soul it has the character of maintaining the form of the sperm. Human soul as mineral soul is the one directing this particular and individual sperm towards ovum and making fertilization. Now from fertilization till birth the fetus is getting food from placenta in the uterus. Due to this food astral component of cosmic living being of subtle material world is fully developed and expressed in the form of living essence or what some calls growing soul or plant soul. So here there is the development of nutritional and vegetative faculties in the soul. So at this stage the human soul is Ps+Pb. This is the development of the corresponding astral living part of subtle body Now from birth till adolescence or adult due to food human soul also develops astral part of cosmic imaginary being and cosmic mental being of subtle material world in the form of animal and jinn essence or what is called animal soul. This is the development of sensations, imaginations and mental faculty like intellect, understanding etc. So at this stage human soul is MAPs+ MAPb.This is the astral component of mental& imagnal part of the subtle body When man reaches adult hood there is full realisation of self consciousness of human soul. Now we can see that at adult hood a human being contain self consciousness or ( SMAPs)+ Consciousness (MAPB) or (subtle material world+ gross material world). This is the causal or soul body. We have seen that during life it is the soul which keeps the subtle material body and gross material body in a unity with it and preventing it from disintegration. During Normal life the astral part of the subtle material world (imaginal world) like animal soul is only manifested. But during dream sleep and also in one who refined his subtle body by self consciousness the astral part of imaginal world manifest in greater glory. Like this the human soul is manifested normally as self consciousness and only during deep sleep and in self realised state it is manifested in its full glory. This imaginal world as part of human constitution of subtle body is called "Nusma" by Shah Waliyullah.
We have explained in detail the human constitution before-the human spirit with its three main bodies-the first causal body or soul body, second subtle body (this has three parts-mental, imaginary, living) and third material body.We have seen that during life the astral body develops from various kind of foods(3 types of food.1food-normal food through mouth,2 food-breathing of air3 food-external impressions through senses and internal impressions). All the faculties of the subtle and soul body is expressed through this astral body. Now when a man dies both the human soul and the subtle body along with the astral body leave its connection with the material body or rather this disconnection is what is called death. Within a few hours or days the astral component of living part of the subtle body also disintegrates leaving the imaginary and mental part intact. We have seen that all the faculties like thinking, imagination and sensation is the property of the astral body so that this is retained. Death is followed by a condition similar to deep sleep and after some time the human soul and subtle body along with astral body(Nusma) woke up from the sleep. As we told earlier during normal life we are conscious of only the lower subtle( imaginal) world as animal soul during dream and also this is the world of his worldly desires and imagination. So after death also upon waking from deep sleep the Nusma will manifest this world to him. This is mainly the intentions ,desires, hopes and fears of that man during life. So the man will feel pleasures or pain according to the contents of his imagination in the next world. So this world is similar to our dream world so it will be a subjective world so whatever he sees happening in this state will have only a subjective aspect so it does not affect the objective world. This means this world is not shared by others in the dream and it will not affect them objectively. But to the person experiencing this state similar to the state of dream it will be very real and he feels the pleasure and pain accordingly. secondly this state will last longer than dream. In religious term this is called the stage of grave. When further time passes the astral body or Nusma becomes week due to non availability of food after death and also by the exhausting of manifestation of the animal soul all the desires and imagination accumulated as subjective dream (stage of grave). At this time the astral part of lower subtle body (imaginary body) also disintegrates and the human soul and subtle body and the remainaing astral part again go to a condition similar to deep sleep. After waking from this sleep already weakened Nusma or astral body is completely passive (because this is the stage after active stage as subjective dream) hence is able to manifest the Soul and subtle body(mental&imaginal) and corresponding soul& subtle world completely.But those whose corresponding astral part is not well developed will have only a dim vision of these subtle and soul planes. Here the human soul experience with the subtle body the manifestation of subtle material world according to his merits during the life time. This is described as being in heaven or hell in religious terms. Unlike the stage of grave this is not a subjective experience but this is an objective experience. As we explained earlier subtle material world is as real or more real than this material world. Again with the passage of time the astral body (Nusma) becomes weak and weak and at last a time comes when it is completely lost. At this state those who can remain independent in their subtle body without the astral body can stay in the subtle world and gradually ascend from imaginal(desire) subtle to mental and from there to soul body and world. correspondingly during these journey first the imaginal and then the mental part of the subtle body is also completely lost so that the human soul is transported to the soul world. With the loss of subtle body there is loss of all faculties like understanding. memory, discursive thoughts, imagination because all these faculties are carried by the subtle material body. So in soul world the human soul will have only pure self consciousness. This subjective or self consciousness depends on the degree of the development of the soul which depends on the potentialities and capabilities actualised during the earthly life. The fate of those who cannot stay in the subtle body without astral support are unable to stay and ascend and some say they again have to take human birth after the disintegration of astral body.This is the theory of reincarnation.
What happens to the human soul after it loses the astral body there are various different theories among philosophers. Some say human soul will again take birth in earthly realm as human being or in other nonhuman forms according to merit and this continues till soul is capable of completing evolution in higher subtle words permanently without return and independent of astral body. Others of the opinion that there is no return to the earth and reincarnation but the human soul will gradually attain self realisation in higher worlds. Yet there are others who beleives the independent human soul will manifest again in other solar systems like ours but which are in a higher evolutionary scale than our solar system. When comes to the nature of liberation also there are different views. Some maintain that as individual experience is possible only due to causal or soul body human soul is permanent and there is no dissolution of soul at liberation. There are others like Ramanuja of Vishistadvaitha of Vedanta philosophy who maintains that as human spirits are permanent essences at liberation the human spirits without losing their own nature and reality as spirits in the spiritual plane enjoys the bliss of Brahman. Yet there are others like Sankara of Advaita of Vedanta philosophy who maintains that at liberation the human spirit becomes one with Brahman, hence non distinction and complete identity with Brahman as according to him state of human spirit and spiritual plane itself is a result of Maya (illusion).
Chapter:11 -The Concept of God
As we finish the first section we can see that the correct concept of God is neither seeing him in simple unity nor in complete duality but the real nature of the Absolute is unity in duality. As Ibn Arabi says mere transcendence is also limiting Him like mere immanence. The correct conception is He is both transcendent and immanent simultaneously. Transcendence and unity include and overlap in itself immanence and duality hence predominance of unity and transcendence. We will discuss in detail concerning his essential nature, predicates and opposing nature of predicates.
We have seen that His Essence is Unknowable and His essential nature is beyond us mortals because our essence as mind is a lower form of this Essence. Absolute Being is Pure Being and mind is only his predicate or a lower form of this Being so the complete nature of this Being is unknowable. As we explained in the beginning all the predicates like being, knowledge, energy or mind and all it's forms are either only potential at this state or the Being is always with all the predicates but transcends them and not limited by them. We have seen that Absolute Being is one Essence which contain in itself mind as negativity. Mind is negative and non being when compared with the Absolute which is Positive and Being. So the Being contain in itself it's opposite and transcend it. As mind is only the lower form of Being in this sense it is Essence itself. This is unity in spite of dual nature. Here in this state all opposition is submerged in the face of Unity of Being. As predicates are mind itself and at this state they are Essence itself. When we comes to the second and third plane of Absolute Subject& Spirit and fourth plane of Absolute World predicates like Being, Knowledge, Will, Power etc in the second and third plane or its form like Spiritual world, Soul world, Imaginal world or Material world in the fourth plane there is duality because the nature and essence of these predicates and worlds are mental essence so different and opposed to the nature of Absolute Being. But here also there is unity in this duality because we have seen that all these predicates or natures like thought, imagination and gross matter as mental essence is nothing, negative and non being to Absolute Being and only the lower form of this Being. So here also there is unity of Being in this duality. . When we consider the second and third plane of Absolute Subject &Spirit in itself we have seen that it's nature is mind. Here also there is apparent dual nature as mind and matter. But as explained at this state mind is positive and being and matter or energy is negative and non being when compared to mind. Matter is not a separate being but only the objective form of mind so mind itself. So we have to see this dual ,opposing nature of mind and matter in Absolute Subject&Spirit itself as subjective and objective aspect but mind is not only opposed to matter but overlaps and includes matter because we have seen that matter is mind itself as it's form. So here also there is unity in duality in this second and third state of divine &spiritual plane as Absolute Subject&Spirit. When we view the predicates in itself like love and hate here also there is opposition and multiplicity but as their essence is mind itself there is also unity in this multiplicity. Thirdly when we look into the opposing nature of the predicates in itself like one and other, male and female, mercy and wrath, love and hate, majesty and beauty, good and evil, pleasure and pain infinite and finite, truth and false, heaven and hell etc there is duality and opposition among the predicates. But here also unity includes duality because finite is a form of infinite, other is a form of One, mercy and love include and overlaps wrath and hate and when correctly understood they are nothing but a form of Divine Mercy and Love itself for our evolution. Good includes evil and is a form of good itself. Hell is a form of heaven and what is heaven for the mystics are hell to the uninitiated and the heaven of common folk like money, luxury, power and fame are like hell to the saints. So here also there is Unity in this Duality. The complete perfection includes both opposing elements and transcend them. There is no day without night and the perfect experience of happiness and pleasure is impossible without comparing with the experience of wretchedness and pain.
Part II: Philosophy
&Branches of Philosophy.
Chapter: 1:Philosophy
Philosophy cannot be defined easily. The word is derived from the Greek philo meaning to love and sofia meaning wisdom .So a simple definition is philosophy is love of wisdom. To philosophise is to examine things in thought. Unlike empirical sciences philosophy is not satisfied with experience. The different empirical sciences have specific objects as their subject matter and look into the causes or laws pertaining to them. Philosophy is not on such groups and particular laws but try to explain the world as a whole or universal fact by first cause.From the object's immediate, individual and accidental character it passes into it's ultimate principle. Philosophy examines the totality of experience in the form an organic system in harmony with the laws of thought. Philosophy is the rational explanation of the nature of reality and the knowledge of the ultimate source of everything. It enquire in to the fundamental reason and principles of everything. Philosophy seeks answers to questions which the theologians assert on faith and the science cannot answer. According to Kant philosophy is considered as the knowledge of world and life or in short philosophy is a scientific world view. This is a conscious and rational interpretation of the world and life. So the task of every philosophy is the formation of a scientific world view. Philosophy is examination of things -subjects and objects in thought. It differs from empirical sciences in that it looks at the grounds of things –in it’s final principles. According to Hegel Philosophy is the comprehension of the ultimate nature or essence of things. According to Hegel the nature or essence of Absolute is Mind as Absolute Spirit. In the beginning Mind is abstract and is as implicit Absolute Spirit. World and History is the self development of this abstract Absolute Spirit becoming explicit as concrete Absolute Spirit. Philosophy is the comprehension of this self development in pure thought. According to Heidegger it is neither world view nor comprehension of the ultimate nature as Absolute Spirit but Being is the proper and sole aim of philosophy. According to Heidegger this is because philosophy is not concerned with beings but only with the Being of beings. Here Philosophy is the Experience of Being
Philosophy is broadly divided into Western philosophy and Eastern philosophy. Western philosophy in turn again broadly divided into Analytic philosophy and Continental philosophy. The basic categories of philosophy are Logic, Metaphysics, Epistemology, Aesthetics and Ethics. There are other categories like politics, philosophy of Mind, Philosophy of Language, philosophy of religion etc
Hegel and Philosophy.
According to Hegel philosophy aims at understanding what is unchangeable, eternal and it's aim is truth or what is real. Philosophy is not subjective opinion but objective truth. Truth consists in knowledge and it can be known only thorough thought not by senses or perception. The aim of philosophy is to find this truth in thought and conception. The aim is to know one truth as the base of nature, life and consciousness and everything and to lead these natural laws and finite mind back to one truth and from that source to comprehend them and derive them. This one truth is not solitary empty thought but one determined within itself. The product of thinking about mind is thought, but it is formal, more defined it becomes notion and finally idea. Idea is thought implicitly and explicitly determined. This idea alone is truth. It is in the nature of idea to develop and only through development it comprehend itself or become concrete or what it is. Thus the Idea as concrete in itself, and self-developing, is an organic system and a totality which contains a multitude of stages and of moments in development. Philosophy has now become for itself the apprehension of this development, and as conceiving Thought, is itself this development in Thought. The more progress made in this development, the more perfect is the Philosophy. So philosophy and history of philosophy is a system in development.
According to Hegel philosophic spirit is the final and complete form of Absolute spirit. Here the truth is realized in thought and as free mind. Here the mind abandon the representational form of religion and becomes rational form. This is through philosophic spirit. The content of religion and philosophy is same but the container different In religion it is imagination and representation while in philosophy this is reason. philosophic truth is religious truth in the form of concept. It is realized truth. Here absolute spirit becomes perfect .
Philosophy is comprehension in pure thought of the self development of the Absolute Spirit through history. The history of philosophy and individual philosophers are also stages in the development of Absolute idea as Absolute Spirit. According to Hegel the succession of philosophical systems corresponds to succession of logical categories in logic. They represent different categories. e g: Parmenides being, Heraclitus becoming etc. This culminate in Absolute idealism of Hegel as Absolute philosophic spiritA: Continental Philosophy.
Continental philosophy is used in opposition to analytic philosophy. Unlike Analytic philosophy which stress more on natural sciences continental philosophy stress on humanities. .This term is used by the English philosophers to describe philosophies like German Idealism, Phenomenology, Existentialism, Structuralism etc. It is broadly rest on the Kantian theory that Knowledge and experience have an a priori element.
There are some common features in all continental philosophy. First it reject Scientism-the view that natural science is the only correct method to understand life and world. They argue in an a priori element in experience beyond natural science. Secondly continental philosophers believe in Historicism .Unlike analytic philosophers who think philosophic truths are objective and independent like natural science they say philosophy is influenced by history , context. culture etc. Thirdly according to continental philosophy as experience is dependent on history, culture etc so conscious human action can also change the experience. So they see unity in theory and practice and their philosophy is concerned with personal ,moral and political transformation. Another trend in continental philosophy is emphasis on meta philosophy. Due to the success of natural sciences they redefine the nature and method of philosophy. German idealism and phenomenology hold the traditional view that philosophy is still the foundational a priori science .Others say that philosophy seek cultural or practical knowledge. Some others disagree with any traditional view of philosophy.
B: Analytic Philosophy.
Analytic Philosophy is opposed to continental philosophy and become widespread in 20th century among English philosophers. Analytic philosophy stress on clarity and argument and believe in natural sciences for revealing knowledge and uses the method of formal logic and analysis of language for solving problems. Gottlob Frege who helped develop predicate logic argued that unlike psychologism of Husserl which showed the concept of cardinal number deriving from psychical act of grouping objects and counting them, mathematics and logic have their own validity independent of the judgments and mental states of individual philosophers.
The main features of Analytical Philosophy are first of all unlike the traditional view of philosophy as the highest science Analytic philosophy like positivism says that there is no specific philosophic truth and the aim of philosophy is only logical clarification of thought. So according to them philosophic knowledge is like natural science or subordinated to it. These logical clarification of thought is possible only by analysis of the logical form of philosophical propositions. Logical form of a proposition is by formal grammar and symbolism of logical system representing it to show it’s similarity with other proportion of same type. Analytical philosophers reject grand theory of philosophical systems and instead advocate common sense and ordinary language. Logical positivism use formal logic for substantiate an empirical knowledge of world. According to them truth of logic and mathematics are tautologies and science is verifiable empirical facts. Only these two are of meaningful judgments and all else like meta physics, aesthetics, theology are neither true nor false but nonsense. They relayed on verificationism-that is meaningful statements must be either analytic or verifiable by experience.
As explained earlier they provide logical clarification of thought by an analysis of the language used. This is by formalism and natural language. Formalism try to understand language and through this the philosophical problem by formal logic. This is by formalizing the way philosophical statement made. They also try to understand philosophy by close examination of natural language used to express it by emphasizing on using common sense. Some argue that language is the only tool for philosopher. Philosophy consists in showing how language can be used. When language is used clearly philosophical problems automatically dissolves. This is called Quietism. Russell and Wittgenstein developed what is called ideal language analysis or formalism which is free from the ambiguity of ordinary language and helps in philosophical analysis. Wittgenstein showed that world is a totality of actual states of affairs and they can be expressed in language of first order predicate logic. A picture of the world can be made by expressing atomic facts in atomic propositions and linking them by logical operators. Another turn is ordinary language analysis developed from later Wittgenstein philosophy. Here unlike earlier ideal language analysis where natural language is considered as ambiguous, ordinary language contain subtle distinctions unnoticed by traditional philosophers. Here philosophical problems are seen as misunderstanding of natural language..
After decline of logical positivism and ordinary language philosophy Analytic philosophy mainly considered as analytic style in general characterized by precision about narrow topic as opposed to imprecise discussion of broad topics.
Analysis:
We have seen that there are different views about philosophy as world view, comprehension of Absolute in thought and as science of Being. Philosophy is knowledge of the nature and essence of things and ultimate essence of everything. We have seen that knowledge is mind and it is not limited to rational knowledge which is soul mind or conscious reflective mind. Besides this knowledge there is existential knowledge as spiritual mind or reflective mind and intuitional knowledge which are glimpses from this spiritual realm. Both of these are not behind rational knowledge but beyond reason. So these different views are not mutually exclusive but grades of knowledge. Science of Being as experience of Being is existential experience from spiritual plane and knowledge in pure thought and world view are from soul plane or rational plane about nature of beings and their ultimate nature.
The view of Analytic philosophers about higher philosophical quest as nonsense is not correct. It is true that as logic and language are physical forms of thought better the language better the comprehension of realty in thought. But as we explained there are other dimensions of reality beyond rational thought such as existential and intuitional realm of mind. No logic or language can produce those experience as they are beyond them.
The view of the continental philosophers like knowledge having a priori element and also influenced by history, culture etc is nearer to truth than analytic view. The view that conscious human action can change the experience hence the unity of theory and practice is also more nearer to reality. We have seen that spiritual knowledge, soul knowledge and subtle material knowledge are all a priori knowledge. Even though this knowledge begins with experience these are not derived from experience. We have also seen that Absolute Spirit is a becoming through history. So it is also true that Knowledge is modified by history, culture etc. We have also seen that the lower astral world (finite imaginal world) is constantly undergoing changes when there is conscious human activity in the material plane. This in turn ascend to the higher astral world and then descend to lower astral world and then to material world ,thus further changing the activity.
Chapter:
2: Mysticism:
According to mystical philosophy the real purpose of human life is self realisation. This is conscious attainment of a spiritual and divine state where we becomes aware of our eternal divine nature. This state is what we call self realisation or enlightenment. Mystics claim that all the great religions of the world are founded by the masters for this single purpose but they were corrupted in course of time by the followers and substituted for lesser purposes like sociological and psychological stability of people. According to this all individual, social ,national and international activities and aims are secondary importance and arise from man and society as a result of forgetting this real purpose of life. Mysticism devices various methods to awaken man form this deep sleep to his real purpose and also to help him attain the spiritual state. There are mystical sects in all religions like Sufism in Islam, Kabala in Judaism, Christian mysticism, Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism in Hinduism. Zen in Buddhism and even non religious sects like theosophy, new age etc. What distinguishes these mystical groups from all other sects and organisations is all are unanimous about the final aim and there is no hostility between the different paths and all agree that all the paths leads to the same goal and difference in paths are mainly due to the difference in temperament and other factors.
When we analyse the different doctrines and methods we can see much similarity in all of them. First of all as we mentioned earlier all mystics are unanimous in stating that enlightenment or self realisation is a Divine favour and cannot be exclusively attained by effort. It depends on multiple cosmological and evolutionary factors and depends on the state and stage of one's life. But even though finding is not the result of seeking they are unanimous in stating that one who never seeks seldom finds. Second point stressed by all is the absolute necessity of an enlightened teacher or master. They agree that there are exceptions to this rule but they are so rare so can be neglected. The unknown territory of spiritual path is full of lurking dangers and the guidance of the one who traveled the path before and is familiar with all of them make the travel much easer and help to attain the goal. Thirdly in most of the mystical systems there is a group or community of the disciples and part of the training and advance of the seeker take place within the community. Fourthly all the mystical systems suggest various means and devices and methods for the attainment of enlightenment. Vedanta advocates jnana (knowledge) and upasana (meditation). According to Sankara jnana is developed through sravana (study of scriptures), manana (reflection on it) and nididhyasana (meditation). Shankara elaborates four means which are necessary for the attainment of jnana through sravana, manana, etc. These are first ,Viveka (discrimination) , second Vairagya (renunciation), third six ethical virtues like Sama (calmness) Dama (Self control) Titiksha (forbearence) Shradda( faith) Samadhana (self setteldness) Uparati (self withdrawal) and the fourt and last is Mumukshuta (yearning for liberation). When we comes to Sufism there are methods like Mujahada (struggle with sensual self), Murakaba (contemplation), Musahada (witnessing) etc. In Christian mysticism also there are stages like purgation, illumination and union. Among all these mystics give most importance to three things. ,One discriminative knowledge of real and unreal which is needed for contemplation, second renunciation or detachment, as we explained real renunciation is renouncing the ego or detaching the ego and the third is divine love or bhakti (worship). As we explained earlier all these means and the final result can be broadly divided into three groups. They are self purification or self purgation, contemplation or meditation and union. As we explained the essence of all these methods is constant contemplation of the Absolute as the only reality and the reality of oneself and all beings and proceeding all activities like thought, speech ,actions from this consciousness. What prevents this constant self consciousness is identification with our limited ego and negative emotions arising out of it.Sufis call this nafs ammara (commanding self) .We have explained this in detail in previous sections like Absolute Man, Conscious evolution and The path of the seeker.
A mystic is one who is enlightened or self realised. One who realised the self as nothing but Absolute Subject is known as a mystic. To the Perfect Mystic the first plane of Absolute Being is manifested according to his capacity temporarily now and then during life and the second eternal divine plane of Absolute Subject is his permanent state and he can revert to the third eternal spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit which is his state as human spirit thus revealed, which is always hidden from common man even though this spiritual plane is the base and reality of every one. Complete self realisation and self expression also means full manifestation of spiritual, mental, astral and material essences.So before self realisation there is realisation of subtle and soul body and corresponding subtle and soul world.This is partial illumination. We told earlier that total illumination is a spontaneous happening. One who identifies his self with spiritual nature regulates his rational and passionate nature with spiritual nature. When one by conscious and continuous contemplation able to regulate his passionate and rational nature with spiritual nature self realisation or total illumination happens spontaneously. In this sense we can say contemplation leads to it. There is no single direct cause for self realisation.
After self realisation the first plane as Absolute Being, the second divine and third spiritual plane of Absolute Subject&Spirit is expressed through the mystics. We have seen that when the first state of Absolute Being reveal Himself the mystic lose his self consciousness so at this state Absolute Being alone remains. This highest plane is not a permanent state during life but manifest temporarily now and then and the mystic have consciousness of these state only when he returns to the second plane of Absolute Subject. We have seen that the second divine state of Absolute Subject is a permanent state.This is beyond the spiritual third plane of Absolute Spirit as human spirit so a state of pure universal subjectivity without any contents like predicates or attributes. As we explained there are those who remain in this plane without any activity or consciousness of world and those who can willingly return to the plane of Absolute Spirit and act in the world. The manifestation of the second plane divine plane is responsible for the ineffable experience of the mystics. Expression of this plane without any consciousness of other is also the cause of utterances like "I am God" I alone Exist" among mystics. This is the nirvana of Buddhism. These experiences are expressed as oneness with God or merging with God. The expression of Absolute spirit in spiritual third plane make him aware that there is only one Subject and every thing is a manifestation of that Subject. The one and same Being assumes different forms in manifestations. It is the realisation that the Subject can manifest its infinite attributes only as multiple beings, but behind all these phenomena the real Being is one. At this stage he will identify himself with the whole creation. This is not an intellectual awareness but existential experience. This experience by mystics described as oceanic feeling or cosmic consciousness. Spinoza described this as seeing the world from the perspective of eternity or "sub specie aeternitatis." The awareness that a single essence and one conscious being behind all manifestation make him identify his self with the whole creation. The mystic ensoul the whole universe. This is the meaning of J. Krishnamurthy's famous sayings like "You are the world" "observer is the observed" and controller is the controlled. Besides indicating the state of conditioned self this is its deep and inner meaning. After self realisation what ever be the predominant nature of one's spirit one is able to regulate it and act from the perspective of the whole creation. When one's spirit is identified with the whole as creative spirit this spiritual knowledge is transformed to self love and compassion before transforming to activity. The motive power of action is not ego as in rational nature or sense of duty as in spiritual nature. The activity results from pure and unconditional love. There is the realisation that separate ego is an illusion and every thing is the expression of one cosmic self. Here there is no need for effort or will for activity. There is effortless and spontaneous action. He will never expect anything return for his action and never react to any unfavorable response. It is an action without any reaction. The mystic acts because he is overflowing with love and this action is his nature. His love and action will be for the whole creation. Behind every activity will be the love of the whole. This does not mean always turning the other cheek. This does not mean suffering all humiliation beyond human dignity oneself or advising others to do so. As a man readily amputate his cancerous or diabetic finger if it threatens his very life by going to spread all over the body the perfect man also take stern action if it is absolutely necessary for the whole evolution. This is the experience of unity in multiplicity.
This unity in multiplicity is the first stage as second spiritual plane. Here one will experience his uniqueness and at the same experience the unity of all creation in its plurality. This is called the stage of wahidiyath in Sufism,the plane of Absolute Spirit.. After this there is the final experience of Wahdath (Unity) or second plane of Absolute Subject. Here unity dominate plurality and the multiplicity disappear in this unity. This is the state of Absolute Subject with four potentialities-Being, Knowledge, Love (Will) and Power. This is the last station of the Mystics. As we explained the first plane of Absolute Being isist beyond knowledge and when one attain this state he loses self consciousness and self identity. Here it is the Absolute Being revealing Himself according to the capacity of the container. As the first plane is the state of Absolute Being, Who is independent of mind and world this state is beyond action and result, beyond pleasure and pain and even beyond consciousness of identity of oneself with Absolute Being as at this state there remains nothing besides Absolute Being to identify with It. About this state Ibn Arabi says in Fusus Al Hikam.
"No one (particular being) attaches itself (as such) to God by virtue of His (supreme) Unity. It is because of this that the men of God cannot receive the 'revelation' in the Unity.; for if you contemplates Him through Himself ,it is He who is contemplating Himself ;-He does not then cease to be Himself contemplating Himself by Himself (fusus-Ismail)"
Now as we explained earlier there are different views concerning the state of liberation after death. We have seen that the human spirit of spiritual plane is always with one or all of the bodies. It is the causal or soul body which makes individuality possible. Individual experience and bliss are not possible without this causal body. According to some as the mystics during life time experience the Absolute while he was in all the three bodies like wise liberation after death also maintain his soul body so he will enjoy the bliss of the Absolute without losing his individuality. A second view is that after liberation one loses all the bodies including causal or soul body and there is no return to this world but maintain the spiritual nature so remain as the eternal human spirit of the second plane of Absolute Spirit with its unique, individual characteristics and enjoy the bliss of Absolute from this state. Among others Ramanuja of Vishistavaita hold this view. Yet a third view is that after death liberated mystic will remain in the second divine plane of Absolute Subject so that there exists no more even the spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit and remains only Absolute Subject Himself without any sense of individuality as Sat-Cit-Ananda (Being-Consciousness-Bliss). Among others Sankara of Adwaita hold this view. We have seen that the causal body of the spirit is the soul body or what is called Vijnanamaya kosha (knowledge sheath) in Vedanta. Shankara but identify causal body with Ananda maya kosha (Bliss Sheath) or spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit in Viveka Chudamni which is the reality of human spirit hence with the loss of this there is complete identity as Absolute Subject. Yet there are others who maintain that after death the complete mystic return to the source itself -the first plane of Absolute Being.
Chapter: 3: Metaphysics
Metaphysics means
study of subjects beyond physics or matter. Aristotle called metaphysics first
philosophy. Metaphysics is a main branch of philosophy that is concerned with the nature of
reality. It investigate the fundamental nature of beings. It not only looks into
the relative nature of beings but also to their ultimate nature or foundation. Metaphysics try to answer problems like
meaning of life, nature of objects and whether world has independent existence
outside mind etc. Ontology and Cosmology
are the two divisions of metaphysics. Ontology looks into the nature and
relations of beings.
Some of the fundamental issues dealt in metaphysics are the following ones.
1-Universals and particulars-Realism and Nominalism. Universals are common things like humanity, plants, predicates, attributes and mathematical objects etc .Particular are individual objects having many universal as their predicates or attributes or properties.. Now what is the nature of particular object and it’s properties. According to some universals are abstract objects having some relation with particular objects while others maintain that particular object is only a collection of universals. According to latter universals have real existence and they are more real than the particulars. This is called Realism. Plato and some of the idealists are realists. According to the former Universals have no real existence but only mental conceptions derived from the particular objects. Here particular objects are the only real objects. This is nominalism and Aristotle and empirical philosophers hold this view.
We have seen that universals like life, knowledge have real existence in the spiritual plane or Absolute Spirit and they are more real and also the innermost reality of particular objects. Accordingly we favor realism.
2-Cosmology-Cosmology deals with the whole universe of space and time and cosmogony deals with the origin of the universe. It asks question about origin, cause, nature and whether it is necessary and reason for it’s existence .Whether world has a purpose for it’s existence, What is the component of the world etc..
3-Detrminism and Free Will. Determinism views everything happening is determined and free will is an illusion. This is also called fatalism. According to free will man has control over their decision and actions.
4-Identity and Change .According to Identity this is the base of things and change is superficial and illusion. Parmenides is the proponent of identity or Being. According to others change is the basic nature of things and identity is an illusion. Heraclitis is the proponent of change or becoming. Those theory which support some form of identity or permanence in things are called Endurantism and those theory which support change is called perduranticism.
5-Necessity and possibility. A necessary fact it true every where while a possibility may be true somewhere. The theory of necessity is similar to determinism in that it denies chance occurrence and everything and all events as it is due to necessity. Possibility supports chance and denies necessity.
6-Theology.This is the study of Absolute and the nature of this Absolute. Concept of one God is monotheism, many Gods polytheism, not faith in God is atheism, inability and unknowability of existence or non existence of God agnosticism, God involving in the affairs of world is theism, sole function of God only as the first cause of world deism, identity of God and World is Pantheism, and different as in dualism.
7-Space and Time. In idealism space and time are apriori elements so mental concepts used for organising perception. In realism space and time have real existence outside mind.
8- Nature of reality
and Mind and Matter. This
involves nature of ultimate essence, matter and mind and the relation ship between them. The various doctrines can be classified in to monism, dualism and
pluralism
A. Monism:
Monism is the view that there is only one single substance underlying all manifestations. Every thing is the expression of one single reality.
Monism is broadly divided into idealistic monism, materialistic monism and neutral monism.
i. Ideal Monism:
Idealism in general is the doctrine that mind or spirit is primary and matter is secondary. Ideal monism believes in a spiritual or mental essence behind all manifestations.
Ideal monism is further subdivided into absolute monism and qualified monism.
a. Absolute monism:-According to absolute monism all that exist is either one unknowable essence or mind. What we call matter is either mental projection or some form of mind itself.
Hegel consider the essence as mind while Ibn Arabi is the proponents of unknowable essence.
b. Qualified Monism:-According to qualified monism also there is only one essence or mind behind all manifestation but manifestation is a different state and different entity. Here the relation is between the essence and its attribute. The proponents of qualified monism are Plato, Ramanuja and Suhudiya Sufis.
ii. Material Monism:
According to materialism the prime reality is matter. This is further subdivided in to dialectical materialism and mechanistic materialism.
a. Mechanistic materialism: -Proponents of this materialism reduce mind into matter and life and thought into motion of atoms. Main exponents are Democritus, Thomas Hobbes, etc.
b. Dialectical materialism:-According to this also matter is the prime reality and mind is a property of matter. Mind is the highest product of matter and qualitatively different from matter. Once evolved mind cannot be reduced to matter. This is the doctrine of Marxism.
iii. Neutral Monism:
There is a third type of monism, which is neither ideal nor material. According to this the ultimate essence is neutral. Neutral monism, identity theory and dual aspect theory represent this type of doctrine.
a. Neutral Monism:-This was expounded by William James and Russell. According to this spirit and matter or rather mind and body is one in its internal nature. It says reality is a single substance, which is neither mental nor physical, but is capable of mental and physical aspects or attributes. The difference is due to the different arrangement of a neutral substance. This neutral substance is not one entity but different entity like ideas and experiences but of same fundamental kind.
b. Identity theory: -This is a materialistic theory which state being in a certain state of consciousness and being in a corresponding neuro physical state is same. Mentalistic or physicalistic term describe the same event. But unlike behaviorism it says statement of mental events not synonymous or analysible into physical events or state.
c. Dual aspect theory-This states the basic essence is neutral and from one aspect it is mental and from another aspect physical. This is what Spinoza says as Thought and Extension are one and the same looked from different angles.
B. Dualism:
According to dualism there are two eternal substances. One is consciousness and the other is matter. Aristotle, Descartes, Kant, Madhava and Ijadiya Sufis were dualists.
C. Pluralism:
Pluralism is not about the basic essence or type of reality, but the substances and attributes in manifestations. According to pluralism there are multiple substances. Democritus believed in a variety of atoms. Leibniz believed in the plurality of monads. Madhava believed every Jivatman or human spirits are different.
Analysis:
According to our view Absolute Monism of unknowable essence is the correct view. We have seen that the ultimate nature of Absolute is Unknowable Essence and mind is non being and negative to this Being. Mind is a lower form of The Being as Absolute Subject&Spirit and matter is only the form of this mind so mind itself. Mind always has the form of matter either as energy or as matter. So there is no mind without matter and no matter without mind. Now the view of qualified monism of attributes as something different from essence.The predicates are in reality Absolute Being himself and the reality is the Subject abstract or negate from everything so that he is the subject and the other his predicates. Mind or predicates are a lower form of Subject Himself. The view of pluralism is from the plane of Absolute Spirit. This is the plane of multiple essences or spirits. The Real is not neutral as neutral monism says .It is beyond both mind and matter. Mind is nothing and non being when compared with the Being. Mind or matter has no reality of their own -They depend on Absolute Being for their reality. At the second logos or Absolute Subject, Wahdat (Unity) there is internal distinction of self and non self or subject and object. This is the stage of dualism. At third logos-Absolute as Creative spirit exists as multiple essences or spirits so this is the stage of pluralism. We have told earlier that predicates or attributes are not entirely different from the Being but Being itself that in this state manifest as essence and attributes or subject and predicates. Similarly the third spiritual state of Absolute spirit as multiple spirits and the fourth plane of Absolute World with multiple beings are also the same Absolute Being descending in his knowledge. Against materialism we told earlier that all material manifestation is the active imagination of the Absolute Being. In this sense also matter is a form of mind.
About universals and particulars. What is known as universals are the principal predicates or principal names or principal spirits in the plane of Absolute spirit. We have seen that the synthesis of some of the predicates or all of them are the spirits and these spirits are the inner reality of beings of the world. In this sense universal are more real than these particulars.
About Cosmology-we have seen that Absolute world begins with Cosmic wave. Both space and Time or space-time is this cosmic wave. Space as abstract object and time as abstract subject. Now all these stages such as first logos, second logos and third logos and manifestations are only a logical succession. In reality the ultimate is single essence and multiple essence at the same time. It is neutral, mental or material at the same time. Reality is nothing and every thing at the same time. Ultimately all differences are due to different point of view.
Chapter 4. Ontology:
Being is used in two senses. In one sense it is used for the entity or substance and here Being means Subject. In the second sense being is used as an attribute of the substance. Here being is Isness or existence of the entity. This is predicate of the Subject.. Basic constituents of being are essence and existence. Essence refers to whatness and Existence refers to way of being. There are necessary being and contingent beings. Necessary being is not just another being like contingent being which includes all other beings. Necessary being is the Being of beings and beings are the beings of Being. According to Heidegger ontology is the science of Necessary Being. According to Hegel being is implicit mind itself. Being is the immediate state of mind where knowledge is limited to Isness. According to Hegel major categories of Being are quality, quantity and measure.
Ontological argument. This is used to prove the reality of God. According to this we have the concept of a greatest Being and existence necessarily belong to this concept. There fore God has real existence. Some further augment this argument by saying as all are contingent existence it must have a cause and agent who is necessarily existent and this proves the real existence of God. Avicenna, Anslem of Canterbury, Suhravardi and Rene Descartes are proponents of various form of this argument..
Analysis:
We have seen that in the first plane as Absolute Being the essence is unknowable. Ibn Arabi, Mulla Sadra and Heidegger call this Absolute Beingt, as Being. Here Being is this One and only Subject. If we take being as the predicate of the Subject this Isness or existence of Subject is essential to the concept of Subject. This is why both Ibn Arabi and Spinoza says the idea of essence involves existence. When we comes to the second and third divine and spiritual plane as Absolute Subject& Spirit this is the plane of mind. Here Subject is mind so in this second and third plane being as subect is reflective mind. So in this state and all the succeeding planes being is as mind. We have also seen that all the planes are the descends of this same Absolute in knowledge .So the various forms of beings are spiritual being, soul being, mental being, imaginal being and material being. Here being is used either as subject or as a principle predicate of subject as existence. In both cases the essence is mind. Here also there is unity because being either as subject or as the predicate is one.
Chapter 5: Epistemology
One form of knowledge is belief. But belief is subjective knowledge which may or may not be truth which is objective knowledge independent of subject's belief. Truth also has different definitions. One common criteria of truth is when subjective knowledge corresponds with the nature of object. But according to Hegel truth is when an object corresponds with the notion or idea of the object. Here truth is ideal or notion. According to Heidegger knowledge is not a relation between subject and object. According to him knowing is a kind of being which belongs to man's ontological structure of being in the world so it is prior to subject object distinction. According to Heidegger essence of truth is also not correspondence of reason with the object of knowledge. Truth is here uncovering of Being in beings. This is beings showing themselves as unconcealment (aletheia).
One widely accepted definition of knowledge is justified true belief. But according to Gettier all justified true belief cannot be counted as knowledge.To over come this defect some advocated infallibility-justification must be infallible. Another factor is indefeasibility-there cannot be defeating truth of the justification. Another factor is Reliabilism-here justification must be by a reliable belief forming process. One of the problem considered in knowledge as justified true belief is one justification for belief depends on other belief and this will lead to infinite regress. This impossibility of completing an infinite regress gives raise to skepticism. Skeptic says as no one can complete the chain to infinity there is no justifiable belief, so there is no true knowledge. Solution to this regress include infinitsm, foundationalism, coherentism etc. Infinitism says it is not impossible for an infinite justificatory series to exist. Foundationalism says some beliefs that support other belief does not need another belief to support them as they are foundational and self evident truth. Coherentism states that the infinite regress is not linear but circular. Here one belief is justified as it fits with other belief system of which it is a part
Another theory of nature of knowledge and how it acquired is externalism and internalism. According to externalism for true knowledge condition external to the subject is necessary. This is mainly empiricists and positivists. Empiricists say all knowledge are derived from experience or they are a posteriori knowledge as they depends on senses. Constructivism is a form of empiricism according to which all knowledge is constructed as it is contingent on convention, perception and social experience. According to internalism as all knowledge external to the subject is gained through the senses they may be fallible as senses may be defective. So only reason can affirm true knowledge. This is rationalism. Rationalists say the primary source of knowledge or necessary and general character of knowledge is independent of experience and is derived from reason or it is a priori knowledge According to Kant knowledge is limited to experience but besides experience derived from a priori innate ideas like space, time, causation and concepts and categories. One of the problem with knowledge is whether our knowledge of objects corresponds with the external objects. Idealists of the opinion that there is no objects external to the mind. Realists argue that there are objects independent of our mind and our knowledge corresponds with the nature of objects. Kant agrees about the independence of objects but argues that apart from our knowledge of them the 'thing in themselves' are unknowable.
Analysis:
We have seen that the most real is the spiritual plane as Absolute Spirit as this is the reality of all beings as their spirits and all the succeeding planes are faint copies of this plane and material plane is the least real when compared with this spiritual plane of concepts. So truth as the correspondence of reason with the object is wrong and here the idea of Hegel about truth as the correspondence of object with the concept more nearer to truth. What we have to remember is there are two planes of concepts ,one is the concepts of spiritual plane and other is the concepts of soul plane and mental plane. Here the concepts of spiritual plane is meant. Heidegger's idea of truth as unconcealment of being also indicates this spiritual plane as spirits are the essence and base of beings.
In the theory of knowledge internalism and rationalism and apriori knowledge are nearer to truth. We have told earlier that the cause of knowledge or knowledge is stimulated by experience as empiricists say but the source is the essences as the human spirit. Discursive thought is concept about these essences. As we explained material plane is the least reliable source as they are faintest copies of the spiritual plane. So depending solely on gross senses without the aid of reason only gives illusionary knowledge. The scope of our knowledge is limited to experience according to Kant and empiricists. As we told earlier we can have knowledge of not only material and astral essences but also mental and spiritual essences. There are so many supra sensual knowledge like moral sense, aesthetic sense, subtle emotions, philosophical and mathematical or logical knowledge, concepts, causation, categories which cannot be reduced to experience. There are rational and spiritual elements in this type of knowledge. Above all one can have spiritual knowledge about one’s own essence. At self realisation there is perfect and complete knowledge of one’s spirit.
Kant is right in saying that we can have only knowledge of objects as phenomena or noumenon means by appearances or by rational concept. The Dingansich (the thing in themselves) are unknowable. Even after self realisation only our own essence is perfectly revealed to us. Other beings as things in themselves always remain unknowable. As our own essence is a synthesis of all essences we can have relative knowledge about other essences only as much as our self reveal them. This ultimately depends on the grade of our spirit in the hierarchy of beings. As we explained earlier in the spiritual plane the human spirits are only potentiality as they have no external or individual existence. Human Soul is only the individual and external existence of these spirit in the soul plane or this is causal body of the spirit.. Now Knowledge or experience starts only when this individual human soul is connected with a specific sperm. When connected then this soul is the controller or director of this sperm and is called the mineral soul. Like this in the womb this appear as the growing soul or plant soul. Up to adolescence Animal soul .At adult there is full development of human soul. Now all these developments are due to the subtle body of the spirit. All the faculties of knowledge are attached to these subtle cover (subtle material body). Now we receive knowledge with the faculties of the subtle body when they are in contact with the corresponding subtle pane. Like this only the perfected human soul can have contact with the soul plane and derive knowledge. So the development of these faculties and transmission of experience through these faculties to the soul depends on the connection with the body and the experiences gained from it.
It is true that we cannot have knowledge of objects independent of our mind. But our knowledge corresponds with the nature of the objects this is because human spirit is a synthesis of all the essences so his knowledge of himself reveal also the nature of objects. This is what Heidegger says man as being in the world. Every spirit is unique so complete knowledge of other is impossible but as man is a synthesis of all natures our knowledge of other beings and other men is not illusion but corresponds to their real nature.
Chapter 6: Logic
Logic is a branch of Philosophy. Logic is the science of correct thinking. In philosophy it is connected with epistemology. Logic is the study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration. Logic is mainly concerned with the correctness of argument. and is used in dialectics Logic may be divided into two forms .deductive logic and inductive logic. Another is analytic logic and synthetic logic. Analysis is from the whole object examining the parts and synthesis is form the parts arriving at the whole object. It is said that validity of an argument is determined by logical form, not by content. So logical form is important in logic. Logical form analyse and represent the form of any valid argument. Form of an argument is made by substituting it's sentences into formal grammar and symbolism of logical language to make it's content usable in formal inference. We have seen that logic is divided into two forms,deduction and induction. Deduction is making conclusions from definitions and axioms and induction is general conclusions form specific examples. An inference is deductively valid only if there is no such situation that all it's premises are true but conclusion false. An inductive argument can be neither valid nor invalid but it's premises give only some degree of probability and not certainty to it's conclusion.
Broadly there are two types of logic. Formal logic and informal logic
Informal logic: is the study of natural language arguments and includes study of fallacies. Argumentation theory is the study and research of informal logic, fallacies, and critical questions as they relate to every day and practical situations. Specific types of dialogue can be analyzed and questioned to reveal premises, conclusions, and fallacies.
Formal logic: is the study of inference with purely formal content making the content explicit. Formal Logic must have the properties of consistency, validity, soundness and completeness. Sub types of formal logic are syllogistic logic and symbolic logic. Types of symbolic logic are mathematical logic, propositional logic and predicate logic.
Syllogistic logic:- This deals with categorical propositions .The parts of syllogistic were the analysis of the judgments into propositions consisting of two terms that are related by one of a fixed number of relations, and the expression of inferences by means of syllogisms consisted of two propositions sharing a common term as premise, and a conclusion which was a proposition involving the two unrelated terms from the premises.
Symbolic logic-This is the study of symbolic abstractions that capture the formal features of logical inference
Propositional logic-Here formula representing propositions can be formed by combining atomic propositions using logical connectives, and a system of formal proof rules allows certain formula to be established as theorems.
Predicate Logic.-Predicate logic is generic term for symbolic formal systems such as first order logic, second order logic, many sorted logic and infinitary logic. It allows sentences to be analysed into subject and arguments in several different ways. predicate logic can give an account of quantifiers enough to express all arguments occurring in natural language. It can also solve the problem of multiple generality.
Modal logic-In language modality deals with the phenomenon that subparts of a sentence may have their semantics modified by special verbs or modal particle. Aristotle started the logical study of modality with the alethic modalities of necessity and possibility which is dual..
Mathematical logic-This is extension of symbolic logic into other areas and study of model theory, proof theory, set theory and recursion theory. This includes both the application of formal logic to mathematics and also reversely mathematics to formal logic. The main application of logic to mathematics is logicism This maintained that mathematical theories are logical tautologies showing by means of reduction of mathematic to logic. The application of mathematics to logic is proof theory and model theory. Other two theories are set theory and recursion theory which deals with the idea of computation in logical and arithmetic terms.
Philosophical Logic-. This deals with formal descriptions of natural language. They believe normal reasoning can be understand by logic if there is a right method of translating ordinary language into that logic.
Hegel and Logic.
According to Hegel Mind or Thought is the whole reality. Logic is the science of Thought. Thought in it's nature is dialectical and passes to contradiction is the main lesson of logic. As Thought itself is the Absolute logic is the study of pure Absolute Idea in and itself. Pure because it is studied in the medium of thought. As Absolute is Truth ,Truth is the object of logic. Science of logic study thought in it's actions and productions of other thoughts so the theme of logic is the supersensible world. Logic coincide with metaphysics as it express the essential reality of things. As logic is the study of pure thought forms philosophy of nature and philosophy of mind are applied logic and logic is the soul of them. As thought is dialectical logical form has three stages. First the thesis-abstract side of understanding, second anti thesis-dialectical, that of negative reason and third synthesis, speculative or positive reason. First thought posit something as true and this is thesis. Then it is contradicted by another thought and this is antithesis. Lastly a richer form which contain the truth of both and devoid of their negative element is reached. This is synthesis or speculative truth.
Thought is both subjective and objective so absolute reality. Both intellectual and natural things are derived from thought., the development of logical categories are through the above dialectics. This consists of this thesis-antithesis and synthesis. the resulting synthesis becomes a new thesis.As logic is the science of Absolute in thought the categories of logic are reality itself. The major categories of logic are Being,Essence,Notion.
1-Being .Here the Absolute Idea is implicit and in germ. Major sub categories of Being are i-Quality ii-Quantity iii-Measure. Sub categories of Quality are a-Abstract Being b-Determinate Being c-Being for self. Sub categories of Quantity are a- Abstract Quantity b-Quantum c-Degree
.2-Essence .This is thought in it's reflection and mediation, the being for self and the show of notion. Major sub categories of Essence are i-Ground of Existence, ii-Appearance, c-Actuality. Sub categories of Ground of Existence are a-categories of reflection b-Existence c-Thing .Sub categories of Appearance are a-world of appearance b-content and form c-relation. Sub category of Actuality are a-substance b-cause c-reciprocity
3-The Notion .This is Idea's return into self. and it's developed abiding by itself-the notion in and for itself. Major categories of Notion are i-Subjective Notion, ii-Object, iii-Idea. Subcategories of Subjective Notion are a-notion as notion b-judgment c-syllogism. Sub categories of The Object are a-mechanism b-chemism c-teleology. Sub categories of The Idea are of a-life b-cognition general (theoretic and volition) c-Absolute Idea.
Chapter.7: Philosophy of Mind.
A-Mind-body relation
I. Monism
According to monism there is only one substance so mind and body are not ontologically distinct. There are three types of monism. They are idealism, physicalism or materialism and neutral monism.
a: Idealistic Monism.
This theory held by idealists like Hegel, Ibn Arabi and Sankara. According to this view there is only Mind and Body is a form of this Mind.
b: Materialistic Monism.
This is also called Physicalism. According to this only physical entities exist and mind will be explained in physical terms as science evolves. Here mind is not something separate from the body. There are two types of physicalism-reductive and non reductive physicalism.
i-Reductive Physicalism:
According to this all mental states can be ultimately explained by scientific explanation of physiological states. These are behaviorism, identity theory and functionalism.
1) Behaviorism:-According to logical behaviorism all psychical function can be defined in terms of behavior. Every thing can be reduced to stimulus, response &reflexes. According to them unverifiable statements of inner mental life is senseless. Mental states are just descriptions of behavior
2-Identity Theory.-According to them mental states are material and identical to internal states of brain.
3-Functionalism.-Here mental states are analyzed in terms of non mental functional properties. Mental states are characterized by other mental states and sensory inputs and behavior outputs-non mental functional properties.
ii-Non Reductive Physicalism:
According to this even though mind is brain based mental state cannot be reduced to behavior, brain states or functional states. These are Anomalous Monism, Emergentism and Eliminative materialism
1-Anomalous Monism-According to this mental states supervene on physical states but cannot be reduced to them. This is a form of functional dependence and there will be no mental changes without changes in the physical.
2.Emergentism-According to this one reality is arranged in layers of increasing complexity and each corresponds to it's special science. Some maintains that the emergent properties causally interact with more fundamental levels while majority maintain that the higher order properties supervene over lower levels without direct causal interaction.
3.Eliminative materialism.-This is an extreme form of materialistic monism. They say mental states are fiction introduced by folk psychology.
c: Neutral Monism:
According to this there is a neutral substance and body and mind are properties of this substance. These are neutral monism, identity theory and double aspect theory. We had discussed their view elsewhere. According to Spinoza also mind and body are two aspects of one substance. Thinking mode and extended mode are two attributes of one substance.
II: Dualism
According to dualism mind and body are two separate substances and realities. Aristotle, Descartes, and samkya philosophy advocate dualism. In samkya philosophy there are two entities Purusha (spirit) and Prakrit (matter). According to Descartes the two are thinking substance and extended substance. Dualists says our normal experience of mind is distinct from body experience. Another point is mental and physical have different and irreconcilable properties. Mental events have a subjective quality while physical events have objective quality. This subjective aspect of mental events is called qualia. emotions like pleasure ,love cannot be reduced to physical. There are two types of dualism, substance or idealistic dualism and materialistic dualism
a: Idealistic or substance Dualism:
Here mind is a separate independent substance or reality. How the mind and body interact and influence each other is explained by different theories. These are Interactionalism, parallelism and occasionalism.
i) Interactionalism:-Descartes is the proponent of Interactionalism. According to Descartes mind and body are two separate and independent things some how mysteriously connected through the pineal gland. The theory of interactionalism, which is derived from this, states physical events cause mental events and vice versa.
ii) Psychophysical parallelism:-Leibniz also believed in the independence of mind and body. According to him there is no interaction but both are acting and working by pre established harmony. Theory of psychophysical parallelism, which is, derived from this, states that physical and psychic events occur separate and parallel to each other. There is causal relation between psychic and psychic and between physical and physical only.
iii) Occasionalism-According to this theory the sole agent of causal relation between mind and body is God. Our will is only occasional and there is direct intervention of God and there is divine act in every causality.
b: Materialistic Dualism (emergent materialism):
Here mind is not a distinct substance but a group of distinct, independent properties that emerge from body but cannot be reduced to body. These are Epiphenomenon and property dualism.
i) Epiphenomenon:-According to this theory mental states are not the cause of physical changes but they are the effect. Here physical events can cause both physical events and mental events but mental events are inert and only the by product of physical events so they cannot cause anything.
ii) Property Dualism:-This is a form of emergent materialism. According to this Mind is not a separate substance. When matter is organised in special way mental faculties emerge from the brain. These are independent properties and cannott be reduced to the brain.
There are philosophers like Wittgenstein who consider the mind-body problem as illusory. According to them human experience can be described in different ways-mental and biological vocabulary. The problem arises only if one tries to describe one in terms of other vocabulary or if mental vocabulary used in wrong contexts.
Externalism and Internalism.
According to internalism mind is internal to the body and mind depends only on factors happening inside the body. Here neural activity is sufficient to produce the mind. According to externalism mind is external to the body so it also depends on factors outside the body so world is in some way constructive of mind.
B-Mental Causation.
This is the problems of whether Mind is responsible for initiating changes in the physical body or influence the physical in any way. There are both idealistic and materialistic theories.
According to idealism Mind can influence and initiate changes in physical body
Materialistic Theories:
a:: Epiphenomenon:-According to Epiphenomenon mental events are caused by physical events and they have no power to cause physical or other mental event.
b: Mental Realism: According to this mental causation is possible and there must be laws connecting mental to physical.
c: Anomalous Monism:-According to this mental events cause physical events due to property causation. Mental events are causes and effects of physic events This means mental event has a physical property such that an appropriate law connects this property with the property of the physical event. Here it is not clear how these mental properties can be causally efficacious properties. Two theories which deals with this problem is
1-The counterfactual account-According to this theory mental events due to mental property can cause physical events because sometimes appropriate psychophysical counterfactuals are true..
2-Supervenience account:-According to this mental properties supervenient on physical properties .So a mental which is supervenient on one physical base can be a supervenient cause for another physical event.
C-Self.
According to idealists self is an eternal and immutable substance having independent existence. But from the physicalist point of view there is no such self.
D-Determinism and Free Will
According to materialistic determinists as mental state and will are material, human behaviour is completely determined by natural laws.. Some extend this further and says man cannot decide what he want or what he do so he is not free. According to compatibilists like David Hume freedom is not indetermination. A free act is that where one can act otherwise if he chooses so, and in this sense one is free even if determination is true. According to incompatibilists like Kant the course of the world and especially will is not completely determined by natural laws so will is potentially free.
In continental philosophy discussion of mind is less focused on language and logical analysis but on reason and other forms of experience. Phenomenology of Husserl focus on the content of mind and how phenomenological process influence our experiences. Existentialism focus with the content of experiences and how mind deals with these experiences.
Hegel and Philosophy of Mind
According to Hegel Mind is the Absolute and Real. In it's logical form it's complete developed form is called Absolute Idea and as manifestation it's complete development take the form of Absolute Spirit as Philosophic Spirit. So according to Hegel Mind is also the truth of nature. In nature Mind is in the form of Being. Mind's formal essence is freedom-extracting itself from everything else. It’s material essence is manifesting as mind-as conscious rationality-intellectual universe as it’s kingdom and building a structure of objective rationality. In mind the subject and object of the idea are one. Essential feature of mind is freedom when considered in it’s abstract self contained negativity. In order to know itself explicitly as free it must pass through certain stages of development.Mind undergo development through history to become explicit what it is implicitly. Development through 3 stages.
1-Subjective Mind. In the form of self relation. subdivisions are a-soul-.This is mind in it’s immediacy as spirit in nature. (with further division of i-physical soul ii-feeling soul ii-actual soul). b-consciousness-mediated mind. This as identical reflection into itself and to other things. Mind in correlation. (subdivisions are i- consciousness proper ii-self consciousness iii- reason) c-Free Mind-mind defining itself in itself as an independent object. (sub divisions are i-theoretical mind ii-practical mind iii-free mind.)-
2-Objective Mind. In the form of reality. World produced and to be produced by the mind. Here freedom is as necessity. sub divisions are a-Law ( subdivision i-property ii contract iii-right vs wrong) b-morality of conscience (subdivision of i-purpose ii-intention and welfare iii-goodness and wickedness). c-social ethics (subdivision i-family ii civil society iii state).. Subjective and objective mind are finite mind. finite here means disproportion between concept and reality.
3-Absolute Mind-This is unity of subjective and objective mind. As ideality and concept. Mind in it’s absolute truth.-sub divisions are a-art b-revealed religions c-philosophy
The term mind or consciousness we use in two different meaning. One is contrasting with matter and the other is contrasting with human body. In the second sense it is identical with human mind. We have seen that all knowable reality is mind, whether as internal reflective mind or conscious or unconscious reflective mind. We have also seen that matter or energy is not a second reality but only the objective form of mind so mind itself. When compared with the subjective aspect which is positive and being this objective aspect of matter is non being and nothing. So the idealistic view of mind as the only reality and matter as illusion is nearer to reality. When we comes to the Human being we have seen that he simultaneously exist in all the four planes-spiritual plane or reflective mind, soul plane or conscious reflective mind, unconscious reflective mind or subtle material plane and gross material plane even though he may be focusing only in one of his planes. So in what ever plane he is focusing we have seen that for that plane there is an internal subjective or consciousness aspect (mind) and correspondingly an external objective material aspect (body) which is the form of the same mind. The material aspect maybe either electro magnetic energy, sub quarks, quarks, sub atom, atom, molecules and compounds depending on the plane. So there is no mind without body and no body without mind. As objective material aspect is form of mind or mind itself in this sense human mind means human spirit with it's three bodies, causal (soul) body subtle body and gross material body.. but usually when we say body we mean the physical body alone. We have seen that human being is not a single thing but different planes in a unity. There is spiritual plane at the base or as foundation and then soul plane, subtle plane and gross plane. Further we have seen that each plane has an internal, subjective consciousness aspect and an external, objective material aspect which is nothing but the forms of these mind. So each exist through other and one cannot exist without other. So mind and body is one and the same thing looked through different angles or more correctly body is mind itself or form of the mind. But commonly we use the word body only for the gross material plane and mind for all other planes combined-spiritual, soul, subtle planes. Here it is correct to say mind is independent of body as the planes are changed and this mind exist even after the annihilation of the body as after death.
. About mental causation these monistic and neutral theories come nearer to reality. As we explained what we usually call mind is human spirit with two of it's bodies both causal (soul) and subtle body Now the real cause is the spiritual plane. So both causal ,subtle and material bodies are different expression of the same spirit. Their nature depends on the nature of the Spirit. When the essential nature reveals there is change in all the bodies. So soul, subtle and material body are not depending on each other but both depends on the human essence or spirit. So not only the material body but even the subtle and soul bodies are the effects. But the cause first descend into soul plane from spiritual plane, then to higher astral plane and lower astral plane. then to material plane. In this sense we can say the higher influence the lower.. But as we explained earlier both unconscious and conscious action in the material plane becomes a cause in the lower astral plane and then higher astral plane. This is the reflected pattern .This again descends into lower astral plane and effect the material plane. So in the final analysis mind and body influence each other and they are not separate but different aspect of the same but the cause is always the spirit. We told earlier that when passionate nature dominates the essence or spirit, self identify as passionate self, there is sensory knowledge in mental existence, desire on astral existence, and sense gratifying physical activity. The body cannot act or has no power unless the human spirit acts through it. Nay, the body is the mere expression of the spirit. So the view that body or repeated physical activity cause or change mind or character is wrong. The repeated physical activity itself is a result of revelation in essential nature. Like this when by contemplation rational nature dominate the human spirit or essence, self identify with reason, produce rational knowledge in thought or mental existence, will in astral existence and will regulated activity in physical body. Here also the view that soul and subtle body cause body or physical activity is wrong. Here also it is the revelation in essential (spiritual ) nature, which is responsible for both reason and action. So the bodies can influence each other to some extent but the real cause of all activity is spirit.
About Self-Philosophers use self for different things. If by self we mean human spirit in the spiritual plane we know that it is eternal. Even during universal dissolution when spiritual plane is dissolved spirits exists in seed form in Absolute Being so that at the beginning of next cycle of manifestation it will come out and form the plane of Absolute Spirit. We have seen that this spirit or self is the cause of everything and all causality is ultimately return to one's spirit. Some mean by self the human soul. As we have explained already this is the spirit with it's first body (causal) . Now the spirit during manifestation always have either one or all of the bodies. This bodies are responsible for individual existence. The spirits depends on the bodies for individual existence and external manifestation and the bodies depends on their spirit for their reality. In fact each depends on the other and one cannot exist without the other .So the human soul is also eternal till the end of one cycle of manifestation. The fate of subtle and material body is different. As we explained these are not eternal.
About determinism and free will-We have seen that every human spirit is unique and special having a specific nature. we cannot change our nature. In this sense there is determinism. But the spirit is only full of potentialities. The actualisation and perfection of our nature depends on conscious activities as we have explained. In this sense there is free will
Chapter 8: Philosophy of Language
Language is considered as a separate branch of philosophy in Analytic Philosophy. Philosophy of language is the enquiry in to the nature, origins and usage of language Analytic philosophers are concerned with four problem in philosophy of language. These are the nature of meaning ,language use, language cognition and relation between language and reality. Continental philosophers treat philosophy of language only as part of logic, history or politics.
The main issue is nature of meaning which try to explain what we understand by meaning. This include nature of synonymy, origin of meaning, possibility to know meaning and also study into how sentences are made into a meaningful whole out of its parts.
According to some linguists there are two different type of linguistic meaning. conceptual and associative. Conceptual deals with definition of words and features of these definitions. This is done by the technique of semantic feature analysis. Conceptual meaning include both definition (connotation, intention) and extension (denotation.) Associative meaning deals with individual mental understanding of the speaker. There are 6 subtypes-connotative, collocative, social, affective, reflected and thematic.
There are mainly 6 theories explaining linguistic meanuing.1-idea theories of meaning. According to this meaning are mental contents provoked by signs.2-Truth conditional theories. According to this meaning to be the condition under an expression may be true or false.3-use theory-According to this meaning involve or related to speech acts and particular utterances ,not the expression themselves.4-reference theories of meaning (semantic externalism). According to this meaning is equal to those things in world that are actually connected to signs. Two sub types are social and environmental.5-verificationist theories of meaning. According to this meaning of a sentence is it's method of verification or falsification. There is also a modified form of verification which states that the meaning or comprehension of a sentence consists in the hearer's ability to recognise the demonstration (mathematical, empirical etc) of the truth of the sentence.6-pragmatist theory of meaning. It states the meaning of a sentence is determined by the consequence of it's application.
According to the principle of compositionality a sentence can be understood on the basis of the meaning of the parts (words, morphemes) and it’s structure (syntax, logic) Another solution by Tarski is explaining lexical parts of a sentence by appealing to their satisfaction conditions. This is by looking at the extension of the word-the objects which are governed by certain meaning. Linguists have developed two methods to understand the relation between parts of a sentence and how sentence is made. Syntactic and semantic trees. syntactic tree looks on the words of a sentence with grammar in mind while semantic tree looks to meaning of words and how these combine to give semantic facts.
Another issue is the relation of language to truth and world. Here it is not which sentences are actually true but what kind of meanings can be true or false.
The nature of language's interaction with the world are called theories of reference.1-mediated reference theory. Here semantic content of sentence is divided into two part sinn (sense) and Bedeutung (meaning, reference, denotation etc). The sinn of a sentence is the thought it express. This is abstract ,universal and objective. Sense of sub sentence consists in contributing to the sense of embedding sentence. Sense determine objects and mode of presentation of objects. Reference are the objects in the world in the sentence. Sinn are thoughts while referents are truth value. (true or false).
According to direct reference theory some terms have no two components but only denotation. According to Russell there are direct referential expression only in logically proper names (I, Now, Here). Proper names are abbreviated definite descriptions. Definite descriptions are denoting phrases which are analysed into existentially quantified logical constructions. They denote in the sense that there is an object of that description. Such objects are not meaningful on their own but only in the proposition. So they are not directly referential like logically proper names.
Another issue is what speaker and listener do with language in communication and also social use. Topics include language learning language creation and speech acts.
Vagueness-Meaning expressed by speaker is not precise as the listener wants it.
Problem of universals and composition-One opinion is that universals are real abstract existing in the world –called philosophical realism .others say they are some collection of particular individual rocks that we make a common category. -nominalism
The nature of language-Semiotics says language is manipulation and use of symbols to draw attention to signified content. According to Chomsky syntax has important role in language. As about the difference between one language from another one view is that there is no clear general and principled difference. This opinion favors Chomsky’s theory that language means I-language (internal) of persons based on certain rules which generate grammar. Another theory is E-languages which is language use in specific community with specific set of well formed utterances in mind.
Innateness and learning-Problems common to philosophy of language and mind are is language innate? Is language acquisition a special faculty in the mind? connection between thought and language. There are three views on language learning. First behaviorism which states that all language is learned mostly by conditioning. Second is hypothesis testing perspective which says the child’s learning of syntactic rules and meanings involve the postulation and testing of hypothesis trough the faculty of intelligence. According to third view some of the syntactic settings are innate.
About faculty in the brain associated with language also there are various views. connectionist model says a person’s lexicon and thoughts operate in a distributed associative net work. Nativist model says there are specialised devices in brain related to language acquisition. computational model gives a representational language of thoughts and logic like computational processing performed by brain. Emergentist model says this complex system emerge out of simple biological parts. Reductionist model reduce higher mental process into low level neuro physiological activity of brain
Language and thought-Another common problem of philosophy of mind and language is relation between thought and language. One view is that language is analylitically prior to thought. Opposite view is that thought or mental content has priority over language. According to this spoken and written language derive their meaning from an internal language encoded in mind. This is possible because structure of thought and structure of language share a compositional systematic character. Another reason is it is difficult to explain how signs and symbols on paper represent any thing meaningful unless meaning infused by the mind.. A third view is that language and thought are co-extensive and one cannot explain with out the other..
Social interaction and language-It is agreed that language is influenced by social convention. Questions concerned are first what is convention and how can we study it. It is stated that convention is a rationally self-perpetuating regularity in behavior. Secondly to what extend convention matter in study of language. Noam Chomsky of the opinion that language could be studied in terms of I-language (internal) of persons. This is in favor of conventions and comes under meta semantics. This is the study of development of semantic facts. Meta semantics include study into the social condition that associated with meaning and language, Etymology (study of origin of words) and stylistics (philosophical arguments of what makes good grammar, relative to particular language)’ In sociology symbolic interactionism says human organisation is based on meaning so any explanations of social structure (eg :institution) involve shared meaning which create and sustain that structure.
Formal versus informal approaches-About the use of logic in language study there are opposing views. According to some formal logic can be used to analyse and understand languages. This is by development of formal languages. According to others (ordinary language philosophers) natural languages must be studied without formalisation because social and practical dimensions of linguistic meaning cannot understand by logic. Speech acts theory deals with the kind of things can be done with a sentence (assertion, commend, inquiry, exclamation) in different context of use in different occasions..
Another issue is how language relate to minds of speaker and listener. Topic include successful translation .
Translation and Interpretation-Quine argued the indeterminacy of meaning and reference based on the principle of radical translation. semantic holism hold that meaning is not associated with single word or sentence but the whole language. Radical interpretation says meaning of a sentence can be determined only by giving meaning to all utterances and also his mental states and attitudes.
In semiotics (study of meaning of signs and symbols) language is one among others humans use to take advantage and manipulate the world to create meaning for themselves and to others.
Language and Continental Philosophy
In continental philosophy language is not studied as a separate subject but as part of logic, history and politics. This is dealt with in various fields like phenomenology, hermeneutics, existentialism, structuralism, deconstruction and critical theory.
Heidegger and language.
Heidegger with hermeneutics and phenomenology made some contribution to the study of language. According to him language is one of the most important concept of Dasein because Language is the House of Being. So through proper language we can understand Being. But existing terms are inadequate due to overuse to describe Being so he coined his own philosophical terms and his own ontology. Heidegger makes his own theory of language centered around speech. According to him speech (talking, listening, silence) is the most essential and pure form of language. writing is only a supplement to speech. Most important feature of language is projectivity-idea that language is prior to speech. This means when Dasein is thrown into the world from the beginning there is a pre comprehension of the world. According to Heidegger the essence of language is not that it is an expression and activity of man. In order to understand language we must let the language to speak to us in it's being. According to him essence of language is a showing or letting appear. It shows or make appear the world. The naming of an object is calling of a thing to it's being. Language is Being as worlding in it's revealing concealing character and which unfolds in the history in time-space play. So the language as saying is the house of Being. Language protect the presencing of Being by gathering everything in it so that they find their essence, name and their being in language. Language needs man in order to speak of Being. Man is neither the inventor nor the speaker of language but the co speaker passing the speaking of Being. Man co speaking pre supposes a listening. Only in listening man lets himself be spoken to.
Gadamer describe language as the medium in which substantive understanding and agreement takes place between two people. He says world is linguistically constituted and cannot exist apart from language. He also says every language provide a world view and this linguistic nature of world free one from objective environment.
Hegel and Language.
According to Hegel language is the perfect expression of the mind as physical appearance. Here Mind which is the only reality makes it's perfect material form in language.
Analysis:
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Chapter 9:Aesthetics.
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy and many consider it as same as philosophy of Art. It deals with the nature of beauty, art, taste, it's creation and appreciation. Aesthetic judgments involve senses, emotions and reason. According to Kant beauty has a universal and objective character. Aesthetic judgments are also influenced by desire, values, culture and social institutions. One major issue is how judgments of beauty is unified across different art forms like sculpture, painting poetry, music, literature etc.About the nature of art and aesthetic judgment there are different opinions. Art deals with senses and real art has no moral or political purpose. Art usually mean creative arts. Here skill is used for the expression of creativity or to engage audiences aesthetic sense or to reveal to them the finer, subtle and truth concealed in nature or objects. Earlier it was considered that the essence of art is beauty. In twentieth century mainly with cubism the idea that beauty was central to art is changed. Now this is replaced by ‘expression’ or ‘sublimity’.It looks for beauty, sublimity and harmony. About factors involved in an aesthetic judgment also opinion differs.Aesthetics also has learned and culturally conditioned and preferential elements. It is also linked to will and desire so to judgments of economic, political or moral value. According to savanna hypothesis some positive aesthetics are based on innate knowledge of productive human habitats. About judgments questions like whether to judge the art, or the work of the artist or art in it’s context of presentation. Ontologically, how are we to think of the work of art? Is it a physical object? Several objects? A class of objects? A mental object? A fictional object? An abstract object? An event?. Some say there is some underlying unity to aesthetic judgments to different art forms like beauty of music, painting and mathematics. Others say there is no unity and each art form has it’s own system for judgment so that the beauty of music is different from the beauty of mathematics.About the goal and value of art some says each artistic medium try to make it unique among mediums and purify itself of other than itself as form. According to Dadaism the goal is destruction of corrupt and mad social order. Formal goals, creative goals, self-expression, political goals, spiritual goals, philosophical goals, and even more perceptual or aesthetic goals have advocated..About the values many views it give insight into human condition. It reveal us reality without covering. Give us spiritual pleasure and scientific and religious values. Philosophers are searching the relation between psychology and aesthetics and looking evolutionary psychology and cognitive science. Denis Dutton identified seven universal elements in aesthetics.1-Expertise or virtuosity- Technical artistic skills are cultivated, recognized, and admired. 2-Nonutliarian pleasure- People enjoy art for art's sake, and don't demand that it keep them warm or put food on the table. 3-Style-Artistic objects and performances satisfy rules of composition that place them in a recognizable style. 4-Criticism- People make a point of judging, appreciating, and interpreting works of art. 5-Imitation- With a few important exceptions like music and abstract painting, works of art simulate experiences of the world. 6-Special focus- Art is set aside from ordinary life and made a dramatic focus of experience. 7-Imagination- Artists and their audiences entertain hypothetical worlds in the theater of the imagination
History of aesthetics.
Ancient Aesthetics-To Greeks aesthetic objects were beautiful in itself .In Greek art, beauty of material form especially human form and anatomically correct proportion is evident. According to Plato beautiful contain proportion, harmony and unity. Aristotle also identified beauty with order, symmetry and definiteness.
Islamic Aesthetics. In Islam mosaic, calligraphy, architecture, music (quawali's &ghazals) and poetry (Rumi) are various art forms.
Indian Art. Indian art emphasis on inducing spiritual or philosophical states with the help of art or they represent spiritual state symbolically. Main forms are architecture ,sculpture, music, poetry and painting. Temple architecture are examples of this. Indian poetry, drama and dance contain Rasa which is the emotional flavours contained in the art. There are nine Rasas.
Western medieval and renaissance aesthetics-Here art is mainly in religious form.. Here religious inspiring is more important than figurative examination. Nature, aim and aesthetic experience is also considered in religious terms like skill of the artist as God given for the purpose of informing God to mankind. During this period St Thomas Aquinas art theory is the most prominent. Aquinas consider beauty as transcendental like truth and goodness. Three main features of beauty here are integrity, consonance and clarity. During renaissance art becomes secular in form again.
Modern aesthetics-According to modernism beauty is central to art. To Kant aesthetic experience of beauty is subjective judgment but universal. To Schiller aesthetic beauty is perfect reconciliation of sensual and rational in human nature. . To Schopenhauer experience of aesthetic beauty is the freedom of intellect from will, because here we seek perfection of form without any thought of worldly gains.British modernists are divided into intuitionists and analysts. Intuitionists believed aesthetic experience disclosed by some mental faculty. To some beauty is the sensory version of morality. To others beauty is subjective .Analysts reduce beauty to attributes. Hogarth, thinks that beauty consists of (1) fitness of the parts to some design; (2) variety in as many ways as possible; (3) uniformity, regularity or symmetry, which is only beautiful when it helps to preserve the character of fitness; (4) simplicity or distinctness, which gives pleasure not in itself, but through its enabling the eye to enjoy variety with ease; (5) intricacy, which provides employment for our active energies, leading the eye "a wanton kind of chase"; and (6) quantity or magnitude, which draws our attention and produces admiration and awe. Later analysts linked beauty to theory of psychology.
Post-modern aesthetics-In post modern times the concept that beauty is central to art is challenged. According to some expression is central to art. Another view is art is counter-environment in that it makes visible what is usually invisible in society
Hegel and aesthetics.
To Hegel Art is the first stage of manifestation of Absolute Spirit in and through imagination and senses and it is not subjective but objective form of beauty.Absolute Spirit in its immediacy present to sensuous intuition as beautiful or art. Beautiful is the appearance of idea through a sensible medium. To the beautiful there are both thought and matter. They are inseparable. Matter is the outer appearance of thought and should express only thought through it. Different way in which matter and form connected are the different forms of art. .In symbolic matter predominates and idea expressed with difficulty. In classic art ideal has full expression in matter. In romantic art mind predominates and matter only a sign As art is the first form of Absolute Spirit here the Absolute Idea transform matter in its image. But Idea is limited by immediacy, intuition and imagination. different form of arts are
Architecture-Here as first stage of art idea and form are distinct. the materials for architecture are the grossest matter so the form only suggest idea without fully expressing it .It is symbolic art.
Sculpture-This also employs gross matter but the dualism of idea and form is lost. It not only suggests but fully express the idea.Sculpture unlike architecture which only symbolises, spiritualise matter.
Painting. Matter of painting is less gross than sculpture as three dimensional is reduced to plane so depth is reduced. Here the soul itself is revealed to the eye and also it can express only a moment of life. Here also idea is bound to matter and extension.
The above three forms of arts which are external ,visible and material are called objective arts.
Music-This is immaterial, invisible and subjective art.Music is spiritual art which reproduce the human soul in its infinite shades of feeling. It is the opposite of objective art so it is also incomplete art.
Poetry. This is the union of subjective (music) and objective art. so this is the perfect art. Poetry is art with speech so this can express everything and is universal art. Music and poetry both uses sound but in music it is a symbol and vague like feeling but in poetry in become definite like language and bring the idea to nature and history. Architecture and music shows Theistic religious ideas while sculpture and poetry shows pantheistic ideas. Poetry as perfect art contain all the rest so it constructs like architecture, sculptures and design like sculpture, paints like painting and sings like music. Corresponding to objective art-architecture, sculpture, painting there is epic poetry-this represents childhood poetry. Epic poetry like objective arts narrate natural wonders and historical glories. Lyric poetry corresponds to music-it falls upon the invisible world of soul. Perfect poetry is dramatic poetry. This reproduces history, nature and human soul with its passions and emotions.
Art has corresponding to three forms has historical development in three epochs. Oriental art is mainly symbolical. It is powerless to overcome matter and this feeling revealed in it’s works. It is not self explanatory but must be interpreted. Greek art symbolism overcome by direct expression. Here idea fully descends into form. This is also imperfect because the idea sacrificed to physical form and outer beauty. The perfect art is romantic or Christian art. Here attention shifted from the physical to the ideal so physical subordinated to spiritual. Here the idea of beautiful is spiritualized .Instead of physical beauty alone moral beauty purity and holiness adored. Here the material form is inadequate to express moral ideal. So the romantic art relapses into contempt of form and excessive spiritualism.
Analysis:
We have seen that Reality is one but they are expressed through different planes. In imaginary and material plane the reality is expressed through sensual forms. When we consider the differnet view of art as beauty, expression or counter environment they all indicates the perception of the essential reality of the perceived object. This essence is also the truth of the object. Even though this perception is a subjective act the truth or reality of the sensed is objective so art has universal validity. We have seen that art is the truth or reality of the object perceived through senses. Now the truth of everything is their spirits as essences in the spiritual plane. This is mind as reflective mind and form of concepts. So in viewing art and knowing it's beauty which is it's truth and reality besides senses, emotion and reason is also involved. So higher the form of art lower is the attention fixed on senses and emotion and higher on spiritual and reason. Here the sensual and emotional are not an end in themselves but the means and medium through which one come in contact with spiritual and reason. As Hegel says these highest forms can be seen in literature. Naturally the contents of such highest forms are spiritual and philosophical. Such forms are seen in religious scriptures, the poetry of Rumi and others, philosophical work of Plato, Spinoza, Hegel etc and in modern times novels and poetry containing philosophical or spiritual themes.
Chapter 10: Philosophy of Religion.
Philosophy of religion is a branch of Metaphysics. It is the philosophical study of religious problems like nature and existence of God, prayer, miracles, evil and good and relation between religion and science, ethics etc. Philosophy of religion asks whether there is reason to believe in God’s existence. It examines the epistemological, logical, aesthetic and ethical foundations inherent in claims of religions. Other topics of concern are nature and rational of miracles, prayer, relation between faith and reason, morals and religion, status of religious language etc.
Aristotle describe first cause as a topic in metaphysics. This first cause is called unmoved mover or prime mover. About the nature and essence of God involves answer to questions like what is God? what is the meaning of the word God. To answer this first we must be familiar with the conception of God. There are three views.
1- Monotheism.
Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) believes in one God. or Monotheism. The principle predicates of God are Omnipresence (All pervading), Omniscience (All knowing), Omnipotence (All powerful) . Monism believes that there is only one essence or substance behind everything.In Deism God after the creation does not interfere in day to day activities of the world. In Theism God is always active in world affairs.
2-Polytheism-
In polytheistic religion there are many gods. This vary from dualism as in Zoroastrianism to many in Hinduism.Polytheism believe in different gods but Hindu philosophy make it clear that they are manifestation of one God.
3-Pantheism and Panentheism-
According to pantheism God is itself the universe. Panentheism contain both immanent and transcendent aspect so apart form God as world God is more than the world. Here the world is in God so God is in world but as He also transcends the world his definition is not limited by world. The famous pantheists and panentheists are Spinoza, Ibn Arabi and Shankara
To the question concerning the Existence or non existence of God there are four major positions.1-Theism-belief in God based on faith.2-Deism –belief in God based on reason or common sence.3-Agnosticism-Belife that existence or non existence of God unknowable.4-Atheism-Not believing in God.
Hegel and Philosophy of Religion
According to Hegel man is unable to give ideal an adequate material form so religion springs from art. Art is idea for intuition while religion idea for representation. Primitive art are religious in nature and natural religions are artistic in nature. Idolatry is the link between art and religion. Religion become conscious and part from art by denying idols. This is seen in Judaism. Bible condemns idolatry because it recognizes man’s inability to express the infinite by matter. Though it forbids from picturing the invisible it does not prevent from picturing it ourselves-it does not prevent imagination. This is because religion is representation. Art represents the infinite in intuition, but the religion represents it to itself as a personal and extra mundane being.. So anthropomorphism is it’s characteristic feature. In religion unlike art the finite and infinite are disjointed. it is dualism. but it separates the two in order to unite them. The essential elements of religious idea is :infinite God, finite man and their relation and seek their union. This prevail in the history of religion.
In natural religion of orient the idea of infinity predominates. it is pantheism. This is acosmism Here God is power of nature infinite and everything, and man is finite and nothing. Hinduism shows this character. Here the act of creation and the will of sustenance come from God, man has neither will nor liberty. Higher idea of God is seen in religions of spiritual individuality. Here God is looked upon as subject. Exalted subjectivity ,wise and powerful as in sublime religion of Judaism, or Greek religion of beauty where there is union of divine and human. God with finite and form and related to earth. Here religion is art and art the worship of humanity or as an absolute end of state as in religion of understanding of Romans These two extremes are united in Christian religion. Here God is neither the abstract Father nor man in the abstract but the concrete unity of divine and human in Jesus. The God Jesus revealed to us is neither infinite like oriental nor finite like Greek but who is both God and man the God-man. Here heaven and earth meet because God comes down and live an earthy life then dies and rising from dead enter his glory. Christianity to other religion is like poetry to other arts. It includes and purifies and complete them as it is the synthesis of all religions, The Absolute religion.
The defect of religion is, it is in the form of representation. Here three stages of development of reason-idea, nature and mind represented as three persons-Trinity.. The union of infinite and finite in human consciousness happening through out history represented as only once happened in Palestine long ago. In religion this dogma is imposed as external authority and not experienced as free realization
Analysis:
As we explained there is only one reality which we call the Absolute or God. All existences are the different planes of One Being. As Absolute Being It is unknowable essence and here mind is non being or nothing. The one is Positive and Being containing in itself negative and non being. When we comes to the second plane and all the succeeding planes the essence is Mind. Here also Mind is positive and being which contain matter as negative and non being. So there is only One Essence or Being and all planes are the gradations or forms of this Being. According to this view Panentheism is the correct view. The world is nothing but God in manifested aspect and as he has a transcendental aspect he is more than this world.
We have seen that to Hegel religion is not the highest form of Absolute as it represent the idea in imagination and representation and not in pure thought as in philosophy. This distinction is not correct as in both philosophy and religion the man who attained unity experience the same form of God and in the same medium. The philosopher and the founder of religions experience the same state and when communicating the difference arises. The philosopher who is not concerned with the masses but only a limited intellectual group express the idea more boldly while the religious founder who is concerned with the uplifting of the whole society present these spiritual truth in a way that is within the understanding of all. Further in organised religions the original teaching often corrupted by the followers so that the teaching as a means of self realisation is lost and used for secondary aims like psychological and social stabilisation.
When speaking about the merit of revealed religions Hegel is silent about the religion succeeding Christianity-Islam. Where he criticizes Islam he says like Judaism The God of Islam is as essence and not as subject. Let us look at the facts. Even a casual reading of Quran will shows that the God of Islam is an Absolute Subject. The definition of God is most perfect in Islam. As Ibn Arabi shows one Ayat (sentence) in Quran describing God is "Nothing is like Him. He is the Hearing, Seeing." This single sentence covers both the transcendental (first part) and immanent aspect (second part) of God. Throughout Quran God is described as an Absolute subject with predicates like knowledge, will, power, compassion etc. He is described as a living God who is not indifferent to man but communicate himself to his devotees through revelation, speech, vision and other forms .Now about Man. Man is not insignificant and impotent in Islam. He is the image of God which means he is the only one which contains all the attributes of God. He is the representative of God upon earth and he is capable of raising spiritually above angels and attain self realisation or illumination.
Chapter 11:Political Philosophy
Politics is a branch of Philosophy. Political philosophy deals with state, government, liberty, justice, property, rights, law etc. Three most important issues are political economy by which property rights defined and access to capital regulated, demands of justice in distribution and punishment, truth and evidence that determine judgments.
In ancient philosophy Plato’s republic contain many issues like forms of government like Aristocracy, Monarchy, democracy, forms of justice and social organisation etc. Aristotle’s Nicomachean ethics and politics contain many theories like ‘polis’ needed to bring good life to society etc. In India Chanakya's Arthasastra is a political treatise containing rules and guidelines for social law and political order in society. In medieval Christianity in social and political matters reason was subordinated to faith. Aquinas stated that there are 4 kinds of laws. God's cosmic and scriptural law, natural laws of universal relevance and human specific law for specific circumstances. In medieval Islam Mutazilites advocated reason above revelation in social and political matters while Asihari's opposed and made the place of reason below revelation.
During renaissance Machiavelli’s The prince contributed much to politics. He presents a pragmatic and teleological view in which good and evil are only means for an end-the secure and powerful state. John Locke in his 'Two Treatises of Government' state a natural theory founded through contractual obligation. According to him man seeks to be happy in a state of social harmony as a social animal. He refute the divine right of king theory and also Hobbes's theory of absolute ruler. For him natural law is based on equity and reason, seeking peace and survival of mankind. During enlightenment Locke, Rousseau and Hegel were important figures. Two basic issues were reason for formation of state and best form of state. This involved distinction between the concept of state and government. State is a set of enduring institutions through which power would be distributed and its use justified. Government is a specific group of people who occupy the institutions of the state, and create the laws and ordinances by which all the people would be bound. Locke in state of nature described a social contract theory based on citizen’s fundamental rights. He argued for a government with power limited to protection of private property where morality in society is independent of government interference. Rousseau considered social contract as an expression of general will and argued for absolute democracy where people are sovereign.
During modern age and industrial revolution one marked political philosophy is Karl Marx’s Marxism. Marxism and socialism was a response to capitalism. His historical materialism argued historical dimension to understanding society, culture and economics. He created the concept of ideology in the sense of belief that shape and control actions and introduced class division as a mechanism of governance and social interaction. In the last century analytic philosophers expressed skepticism about the possibility that normative judgments had cognitive content and political philosophy declined.Contemporary philosopher John Rawls used a thought experiment called original position where representative parties choose principles of justice for basic structure of society from behind a veil of ignorance .He also offered a criticism of utilitarian approaches to question of political justice.
Hegel and Politics.
According to Hegel politics comes under objective mind. This is divided into Law,Morality of Conscience and Social Ethics
1-Law (sub division. i-property ii contract iii-right vs wrong) Law is the objective mind or free will first in it’s immediacy so it is abstract and is as single being-this is as person. The existence of the person gives to it’s liberty as a direct external thing .This is property The free will in order not to remain abstract give itself reality-sensible material of this reality are external objects-so as property.-freedom conceded and guaranteed to all. This is the sphere of formal and abstract right, to which belong property in the more developed form of contract and also the injury of right-crime and punishment. here the person or subject is free independently and give himself reality in things (property). When individual will oppose this is wrong. The right as right is formal-abstract right.
2-Morality of Conscience (subdivision of i-purpose ii-intention and welfare iii-goodness and wickedness). The abstract right of Law is direct reality which is not enough for freedom and negation of this is morality. When the will is reflected into self to have existence inside it and to be characterized as particular is right of the subjective will which is contrasted to the universal, here the idea is divided .The right of the subjective will is in a relation of contrast to the right of the world.. Here idea exists only implicitly. This is morality of individual conscience. In morality one is not directly free but free subjectively-freedom within. This is the sphere of insight, intention and end and external is considered indifferent. This is objective mind becoming subject. Morality is legal system of heart. ,the law of the will of individual is conscience.There is removal of opposition of the universal and particular will in the subject in morality. In morality freedom of will carried to self determination of subjectivity and abstract right becomes duty and virtue. Moral stand point is that of conscience-right of subjective will-right of free ethical decision. In strict right there is no question of one’s view or purpose but in morality it is the purpose of the will. To Hegel this moral reflection and dutiful action for a reason is morality. This has 3 elements1-resolution2-purpose3-good.
3-Social Ethics [subdivision i-family ii civil society (sub division a-system of wants b-administration of justice c-police and corporation) iii state (subdivision a-constitutional law b-external public law c-universal history) This is unity and truth of the other two abstract elements.. The thought ,idea of the good is realised both in the will turned back to itself and the external world. Here free will is the substantial will ,made actual in the subject and conform to the concept and as necessity-it is ethical life in family ,civil society and state.The good is the universal end which must not confine to internal of individual but to realise itself. The subjective will must receive external reality and good must be completed in external reality. So morality like formal right is also abstraction and it’s truth is reached in ethical life.In morality conscience and abstract good opposed. .The concrete union of both is ethics, union of subjective and objective will. Ethical life is the unity of the concept of will with the subject. The primary reality of ethical life is natural in the form of love and feeling. This is family life. Here the individual transcend his personality becomes one in a totality. The fundamental moral institution is family, both civil society and state rests on family.Ethical mind in natural form and in immediacy is marriage and family. When the family becomes separated and multiple this is civil society. Here independent members are bound by wants, constitutional right and external administration. In the stage of civil society there is loss of natural ethical existence and formation of substantive unity. Here family falls and members become independent and held together by bond of mutual need.. Civil society is grounded on family. Its aim is the protection of individual interests. Civil society passes into state. So third stage of ethical life is state. State differ from civil society because it try to realize idea and ready to sacrifice individual for the cause. family and civil society become the means and state is the the end-kingdom of objective mind. Here individual independence and universal substantively are in union. It is freedom in most concrete form.Here individual interest loses in ethical whole. This is ethical idea actualised. The difference between civil society and state is in civil society society is the means and individual is the end while in state individual is the means while state is the end. The ideal state is constantly realised through history –through historical states. Each state is only certain side of the ideal. One state is replaced by other which express more of the idea .This forms the dialectics of history .States like individuals rises and falls in world history.This is national history. When one state falls another more perfect comes to the top and represent world spirit. This is international history. In the various form of government Republic is not the ideal state because here individual has more importance’ Monarchy is the best political form. In the free and sovereign action of ruler the idea finds full expression.
Analysis:
We have mentioned earlier that manifestation is the becoming of the Absolute so that He is perfect in relative being and relative knowledge. Politics, state and governments are these gradual becoming of the Absolute through history.
Chapter 12: Social Philosophy.
Social philosophy is the scientific study of man as a social being. It looks into the nature of a wide range of subjects like laws, social contract, revolution, effect of science on culture etc. It studies the pattern, changes and tendencies of societies. Ethical philosophy, political philosophy, jurisprudence, philosophy of language are some other forms of social philosophy.
Hegel and Social Philosophy.
As we explained earlier in Hegel's philosophy society comes under objective mind. Here the Idea as intelligible substance unlike family particularise into many persons who are connected each other for their particular interests. Developed totality of this connective system is society. This has three elements.
1.The system of wants. Various wants are satisfied from general stock. This need the possessor's will and the exchangers labour. Indefinite number of wants and their means produce division of labour. Training in these produce nominal culture. This division of general stock into different masses depending on talent, skill etc give rise different estates or ranks. There are 3 fundamental ranks. Natural estate whose capital is the soil and ground ,reflected estate has social capital and these are the middle men and thinking estate has capital both by his skill and by the whole society.
2-Administration of justice.-When society is thus developed it has the concept of liberty as formal right. This right with universality and authority is law. The positive form of laws promulgated and made known as laws is a condition of the external obligation to obey them. Legal forms get the necessity in judicial system. Abstract right exhibit itself to court as proven
3-Police and Corporation-In civil society the aim is to satisfy individual need and as the needs of many conflict each other and as the capacity of individual differs it needs an external universal force to control and make harmony and this is police. Corporation provide the citizen to secure his stock and at te same time and in it he emerges from personal interest and acct for a universal end.
Chapter 13: Philosophy of History.
Philosophy of history here means speculative philosophy. It is concerned with the significance and the final aim of history. Speculative philosophy deals with three basic issues. First is the unit to study history, whether individual, city, nation, culture, civilisation or the whole humankind. Second is common pattern in history like progress, cycles and deterministic or is it random events and impact of great men in history. Thirdly if it is progress the driving force behind it and it's ultimate aim.
Some historians believed it is their duty to make mankind better and this influenced their history. Others were more faithful to facts. Ibn Khaldun the Muslim historian was the first to critically examine the data and thus to introduce scientific method in writing history. Another trend in history is to consider it as linear or cyclical.. Most eastern and ancient historians believed in cyclical nature alternating between dark and golden ages. This is the doctrine of eternal return of Egyptians, Indians, Pythagoreans and Stoics. Usually there are four great ages, Golden, Silver, Bronze and Iron or Satya, Treta, Dwapara and Kali Yugas in Hindu philosophy. Greeks believed that as man's nature is different during each ages so is the state. Democracy and monarchy are the form in golden ages and oligarchy and tyranny in dark ages. Another concept in history is teleological sense in history or theodicy. According to this history is progressive and proceeds according to the divine plan to it's ultimate end. To most modern thinkers this theodicy is immanent in human history itself. Judaic and Christian scholars, Augustine, Aquinas Leibniz and Hegel, Fukuyama were it's proponents. Others like Nietzsche and Foucault deny any theodicy and see history characterised by discontinuity and ruptures.
To most western historians with their belief in causal relation history is linear. During enlightenment history is seen as linear ,irreversible and leading to social progress and infinite perfection through time. Rousseau, Comte (positivism), Immanuel Kant advocated this view. Comte's social evolutionism consists of three stages, theological stage, metaphysical stage and positivist stage of modern science. Social Darwinism, Herbert Spencer, and unilinear evolution are other forms of social evolutionism. According to this society starts from primitive stage and become more civilised over time and some identified this evolution with western culture and progress. Recently Fukuyama in his 'The End of History and the Last Man' make similar claims and identify liberal democracy of the west as the best and most progressed system. Another issue is the role of great men in shaping history. According to Hegel the head of a state or nation like Monarch is the perfect manifestation of the Absolute Spirit as Objective Spirit. So such figures are the base of progress in history. According to Thomas Carlyle history is the biography of great men. Others instead of particular individual stress on social individuals such as social class, national groups, political groups, religious groups, social movements as the shaping factor of history. According to Marx's historical materialism class struggle and underlying economic factors are important in shaping history. Another issue is the historical account of writing history. When history is written by those in power or their supporters there is possibility of biased history and also using it as propaganda. Victors always try to conceal the loser's perspective and use factors like theodicy and progression to propagate their own cause and reason.
Hegel and Philosophy of History.
According to Hegel history is rational because world and history is the actualisation of Absolute Spirit itself. According to Hegel's philosophy Absolute Spirit externalises through and as nature and history. So history is this unfolding of Absolute Spirit in it's perfection. As a result of this Hegel focus on world history rather than regional or national history. Hegel sees history in a teleological sense. As history is what is implicit as Absolute Spirit becoming explicit through historical process it is rational as it is reason itself. So According to Hegel history is the divine design and is progressive as its aim the full externalisation of Absolute Spirit. Hegel's conception of history is based on dialectics as the driving force throughout history. According to Hegel all the major events ,evil and good can be seen as one set of ideas or systems as thesis replaced by opposite set of ideas as antithesis and later these two sublated and reconciled in a higher third called synthesis which contain the positive elements from both and much more. This synthesis in turn form the thesis for the next cycle of change.
Absolute Spirit is Absolute freedom. So history is the development of spirit's consciousness of it's freedom and consequent realisation of that freedom. The history begins from Africa passes through China, India, Persia and Greek and Romans and culminate in European history. Along with this progression of history there is simultaneous realisation of freedom. According to Hegel Asians knows that only one is free, Romans and Greeks only some men are free and Europeans and Germans know all men are free. So this consciousness of freedom moves from despotism where only a few are privileged to be free to the idea that humanity is free in and for itself. Hegel see highest form of freedom in constitutional monarchy where the monarch represent the spirit of the state.
Heidegger and Philosophy of History.
According to Heidegger history is the spatio-temporal manifestation of Being. So history is history of Being. As to the cause of this manifestation according to Heidegger there is no ultimate cause but this is the play of Being. Man as existence is a co- player in this play.
According to Heidegger man is historical in a primordial sense due to his temporality and historicality, and historicality of other beings are secondary as related to man. Historiology is ontologically rooted in man's historicality. This is because every entity thematised for historiology is primarily related to man who has been there at that time and again they can be meaningfully studied and asses only on the basis of the historicality of the contemporary historian who do the investigations. So in the authentic historicality of man, manifested in the repetitive disclosure of what-has-been-there, lies the existential foundation of historiology, as a science. Since the past human being who has been there is the basic theme of historiology and can be disclosed in repetition as a resolute fate, a true historian who treats this theme historiologically, can disclose the history of the past in his potentialities so powerfully that he may have telling effects on the future. Therefore, historiology takes its starting point not from the present moving towards the past, but from the future. Such an historiology is not subjective in the limited sense but the authentic historicality of the historian make it objective historiology. If the historicality is genuine, authentic and founded on the fateful destiny of man, then historiology is used for life. Founding historiology on inauthentic historicality would amount to abusing it.
Analysis:
We have seen that world and history is the manifestation of the Absolute and the purpose behind this is the love of perfection. The Absolute who is perfect in Absolute Being and Absolute Knowledge by this becoming perfected also in relative being and relative knowledge. So theodicy is true as it is the Absolute Himself Who is manifested as the world and history. Now as we can see this Divine govern is not as something external to the world but Absolute is the real actor immanent in them and act in and as themselves. As perfection is the motive force behind this history it is progressive and is capable of infinite perfection through time. This also means the future is not completely determined as a finished product and as Absolute as Absolute Spirit is not only a thinking subject but also a willing subject. So it is not only knowledge alone that takes the world as it is but also as will which makes the world as it ought to be, Absolute Spirit not as already produced and finished but constantly producing itself, Absolute as determinative of the content or as thinking will, Absolute Spirit as accomplished and accomplishing Itself. We have also seen that conscious manifestation of the Absolute Spirit is the Absolute Man as self realised or enlightened men. We have seen that the Absolute Spirit is acting not from without the beings but through the beings themselves and as these enlightened men are the perfect vehicles of Absolute and It consciously act through them as Absolute Spirit the governing and the affairs of the world and it's destiny is solely carried out through these realised ones. In this sense both Hegel and Carlyle are right and the history of the world is the biography of great men. We have seen that this becoming or manifestation is eternal. As Absolute always love perfection there is always manifestation. The perfect manifestation is the perfection of all the predicates and we have seen Absolute contain contradictory predicates like mercy and wrath, life and death, day and night etc. As we explained even though when we consider Absolute in Itself there is no duality or opposites and there is only unity and positive which contain in itself negative when we view the world and history this contradictory predicates give rise to golden and dark ages so history of the world is not linear but cyclical. There is also cyclical occurrence in the Absolute's state of rest and activity. During activity the universe appear and during rest or Pralaya there is dissolution of universe. In an ultimate sense this cyclical process is the nature of reality itself as we have seen every moment during inspiration or in breath of the Absolute, world is annihilated and next moment during out breath or expiration world is created.
Chapter 14: Ethics; good and evil.
Ethics or Moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy. Ethics is the study of ideal conduct. It is the study of values and customs of individual and society. It is concerned with right and wrong, good and evil, justice and virtue and responsibility. All moral activities stems from some purpose or aim. Now the source and basis of this moral idea may be God, nature or society according to different moral philosophy. According to all organised religions God is the source and basis of all morality. An action is good or evil depending on whether it conforms to God’s will. This is called theological ethics. According to Herbert Spencer and Marxism the source and basis of morality is society. Spencer believed morality is not innate they are natural to individual only due to habits formed by the society. According to Marxism ethics is super structure developed from infrastructure. These are means of production and production relations of society. Historically developed society is the source and basis of morality. According to ethical naturalism nature either cosmic or human is the source and basis of morality. Main branches of Ethics are Meta Ethics, Normative Ethics ,Applied Ethics, Moral Psychology and Descriptive Ethics..
a.
Semantics of ethics divided into descriptivism and non descriptivism. Descriptivism says ethical language (commands and duties) is subdivision of descriptive language and has meaning in virtue of the same kind of properties as descriptive propositions. Non descriptivism deny this and says ethical propositions and their meaning cannot be reduced to descriptive propositions. Epistemology of ethics is divided into cognitivism and non cognitivism. Cognitivism is equivalent to descriptivism and says ethics is concerned with judgments of the same kind as knowledge judgments about facts. Non cognitivism is same as non descriptivism and claims ethics reach beyond the scope of human cognition and it is concerned with action not knowledge. Ontology of ethics concerned with idea of value bearing properties-kind of things that correspond to ethical propositions and is divided into realism and non realism. According to descriptivism and cognitivism which are realism ethics is objective so the validity of different ethical values can be judged ,According to objectivism morality is objective truth irrespective of personal and majority tastes or desires. According to Hegel Ethics is Objective Spirit and in its most complete form it is represented in State in its constitution and laws. According to non-realism ethics do not require specific ontology since ethical propositions do not correspond to objects as descriptive propositions. Here ethics is subjective so an objective assessment of different moral values not possible.
According to the doctrine of emotivism moral attitudes are neither subjective nor objective truths but only expresses the feeling of the subject. Their aim is to persuade others to share one’s own attitude. Their reality cannot be verified by experience. According to subjectivism moral attitudes are subjective truths. They may depend upon the natural taste and desire of the majority. According to subjectivism ethics must be supported by evidence for objectivity. According to ethical relativism also moral values depends on the social environment and historical time. There are no universal standards of moral values like good and evil or right and wrong.
b. Normative ethics:
This deals with the practical means of determining moral action. This discusses problems of the meaning of human life and aim. This is mainly concerned with the contents of moral principles, good and evil and right and wrong. This is a theoretical substantiation of moral norms, principles and ideals.This is the study of ethical norms.-the way to determine moral values. There are three theoretical forms, virtue ethics, deontological ethics and consequentialism.
1:Virtue Ethics: This is elaborating on good habits we should acquire for ethical life. According to Socrates knowledge is the base of ethical life. One who knows what is good and right naturally do it so evil is the result of ignorance. He equated knowledge with virtue and virtue with happiness.Plato and Aristotle also believed good and justice is due proportion of everything with its own nature and evil as an error.According to Aristotle when a man act according to his nature and develop all his potential he will do good and become happy. Happiness is the aim of life. For this development moderation is necessary and this moderation or middle path is virtue. Courage is the middle between the extremes of cowardice and recklessness. According to Hedonism ethical principle is maximum pleasure and minimum pain. Cyrenaics supported even immediate gratification of sensual pleasures as to them pleasure is the only good. On the other hand to Epicureans who also advocated hedonism, the greatest good was prudence exercised through moderation and caution. They also preferred intellectual pleasures over sensual ones. To the Stoics greatest good was contentment and serenity. They considered good as a life consistent with nature.The aim of life is not happiness but peace of mind (Apatheia). This is obtained by self mastery over desires and emotions or by the unconquered will. Contrary to hedonism they advocated abstinence in the face of temptations.According to Spinoza moral life was a life of regulation of passion and a life of reason. Schopenhauer and Nietzsche also identified inner sense with morality. But Schopenhauer’s moral nature was will of want and Nietzsche’s will to power. . According to existentialism moral sense is natural but special to each individual. There is a trend in Neo-Platonism, Advaita of Sankara, Buddhism, Gnosticism and some other mystical philosophy to consider all manifestation as evil and worldly life as evil. Nirvana or Moksha is liberation from Sansara. Sansara is repeated births and which is evil and suffering.
2-Consequentialism.According to this consequence of an action is the basis for moral judgment. Main proponents are Jeremy Bentham and Stuart Mill. The main issues in consequentialism are what are good consequences, how it is judged and by whom and who is the primary beneficiary. According to hedonistic utilitarianism a best action is that, which result in most pleasure for the greatest number.Utilitarian ethics is morality from the practical aspect. Utility is greatest happiness of greatest number. According to this theory actions are right in proportion to promotion of happiness. Happiness is described as the presence of pleasure or absence of pain. In eudemonic consequentialism a full flourishing life is the aim. In aesthetic consequentialism it is production of beauty, which may also include material equality, political liberty, is the ultimate aim..
3-deontological ethics. Here ethical right is made from the act so looking at duties and rules. Here neither consequences (consequentialism) is considered nor intentions (virtue ethics). We have a duty to act that are inherently good as acts or to follow objectively obligatory rule. Kant is the proponent of this theory. Kant also believed moral sense as innate and apriori. According to him it is categorical imperative means authoritative and applicable to all situation due to objectivity.According to him highest good is good in itself and good without qualification and he identifies it with good will.
c: Applied ethics:
This is the use of ethics in practical life. It is used to decide public policy. It involves moral choice in issues like abortion, euthanasia, immigration, affirmative action etc. Applied ethics are very important in formulating policies in politics, economy, professions (medicine, law, business, journalism) and environmental policies. .
d: Moral psychology
This deals with how morality develops and it's nature. Main topics in this field are moral responsibility, moral character, moral development, altruism, psychological egoism, moral luck etc. Some psychological theories are based on the idea that ethical behaviour is due to moral reasoning. This is divided into stages which refers to set of principles one uses for ethical judgment. One famous theory of this type is Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. Another psychological theory is Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory in humanistic psychology .According to this highest human need is self-actualisation which means fulfilling one’s potential and trying to correct what is wrong in world. R.D.Laing also deals with many moral issues through interpersonal psychology. According to evolutionary psychology theories ethical behaviour is seen as an evolutionary adaptation .Here Qualities like altruism towards members of one’s family seem to promote one’s inclusive fitness. Contrary to this theory some sees morality and guilt as a mal adaptation of the evolution of rationality.
e: Descriptive Ethics. This is morality practiced in actuality. Some rely on descriptive ethics and choices made and challenged by society and culture to make categories. This leads to situational ethics and situated ethics. They view aesthetics, etiquette and arbitration as more fundamental for the existence of theories of value or conduct. Descriptive ethics examines the following subjects. Ethical codes applied by various groups, informal theories of etiquette, practices in arbitration and law, observed choices made by people with out expert aid or advice..
Hegel and Ethics.
According to Hegel Ethics is objective mind in it's second and third stages.as morality of conscience and social ethics.
Morality of Conscience (subdivision of i-purpose ii-intention and welfare iii-goodness and wickedness). The abstract right of Law is direct reality which is not enough for freedom and negation of this is morality. In morality one is not directly free but free subjectively-freedom within. This is the sphere of insight, intention and end and external is considered indifferent. This is objective mind becoming subject. Morality is legal system of heart. ,the law of the will of individual is conscience.There is removal of opposition of the universal and particular will in the subject in morality. In morality freedom of will carried to self determination of subjectivity and abstract right becomes duty and virtue. Moral stand point is that of conscience-right of subjective will-right of free ethical decision. In strict right there is no question of one’s view or purpose but in morality it is the purpose of the will. To Hegel this moral reflection and dutiful action for a reason is morality. This has 3 elenents1-resolution2-purpose3-good. When the will is reflected into self to have existence inside it and to be characterized as particular, this is right of the subjective will which is contrasted to the universal, here the idea is divided .The right of the subjective will is in a relation of contrast to the right of the world.. Here idea exists only implicitly. This is morality of individual conscience..
Social Ethics. [subdivision i-family ii civil society (sub division a-system of wants b-administration of justice c-police and corporation) iii state (subdivision a-constitutional law b-external public law c-universal history). This is unity and truth of the other two abstract elements.. The thought, idea of the good realised both in the will turned back to itself and the external world. Here free will is the substantial will ,made actual in the subject and to conform to the concept and as necessity-it is ethical life in family ,civil society and state. The good is the universal end which must not confine to internal of individual but to realise itself. The subjective will must receive external reality and good must be completed in external reality. So morality like formal right is also abstraction and it’s truth is reached in ethical life.In morality, conscience and abstract good opposed. .The concrete union of both is ethics, union of subjective and objective will. Ethical life is the unity of the concept of will with the subject. The primary reality of ethical life is natural in the form of love and feeling. This is family life. Here the individual transcend his personality becomes one in a totality. The fundamental moral institution is family, both civil society and state rests on family.Ethical mind in natural form and in immediacy is marriage and family. When the family becomes separated and multiple this is civil society. Here independent members are bound by wants, constitutional right and external administration. In the stage of civil society there is loss of natural ethical existence and formation of substantive unity. Here family falls and members become independent and held together by bond of mutual need.. Civil society is grounded on family. Its aim is the protection of individual interests. Civil society passes into state. So third stage of ethical life is state.According to Hegel as ethical life is objective the complete form of this ethics is developed as Objective Spirit in the State, in its laws and constitution. Ethics attain its perfection when there is union of this objective will and Subjective will. In a perfect state the laws are followed by the people who have complete subjective freedom. They follow the law out of their freedom.State differ from civil society because it try to realize idea and ready to sacrifice individual for the cause. Family and civil society become the means and state is the the end-kingdom of objective mind. Here individual independence and universal substantively are in union. It is freedom in most concrete form.Here individual interest loses in ethical whole. This is ethical idea actualised.. The difference between civil society and state is in civil society, society is the means and individual is the end while in state individual is the means while state is the end. The ideal state is constantly realised through history –through historical states. Each state is only certain side of the ideal. One state is replaced by other which express more of the idea .This forms the dialectics of history .States like individuals rises and falls in world history.This is national history. When one state falls another more perfect comes to the top and represent world spirit. This is international history. In the various form of government, Republic is not the ideal state because here individual has more importance. Monarchy is the best political form. In the free and sovereign action of ruler the idea finds full expression..
Analysis:
We can see that in the metaethical issue ethics is objective facts as according to us also it is the manifestation of The Absolute through society, state and history. In normative ethics when comes to base of moral action it can be seen that as Socrates says right knowledge is the base for morality. Now the highest form of this knowledge is self knowledge which include in itself objective knowledge. As the best knowledge is that which enable one to act from a universal perspective this automatically produce as a byproduct best consequences and happiness and peace not only for one self but for the majority. So neither is the intention as happiness, pleasure or peace of mind as in virtue ethics nor the consequences as in cosequentialism is base for moral action but they are usually the out come of right action. Similarly self knowledge makes one aware that duties ,rules and obligations as family, society ,state, nation or international citizen is the law of the Divine itself as these are the manifestation of Absolute Spirit and He is the real actor behind all these laws and the necessity of these laws for the evolution of human kind. Such a one always act within the law and according to duty and rules so deontological ethical view is also one factor of this self knowledge and not the sole base. When we comes to the actual practice of an ethical life besides this knowledge, will also becomes an element. As we have explained earlier both the knowledge and will depends on the basic nature of man and those with passionate and rational nature will have to struggle more to maintain an ethical life than spiritual nature
We have earlier told that moral sense is coming from our spiritual nature. Every human beings contain spiritual nature but in different proportion. In reality one creative being is acting through all the spirits. So moral sense is objective and corresponds to facts. Every individual is unique due to his unique spirit. The degree of self revelation is different in every one so moral sense and moral requirement may also differ. Besides every one is at different stages in the evolutionary scale. When one is regulated by passionate or rational nature one may consider cheating or hurting others as wrong. When after conscious evolution the same one is regulated by spiritual nature he may consider not helping others or preventing injustice even at personal peril or risk as wrong. So morality has a subjective aspect. In short morality has both absolute and relative aspect. The real moral sense arises from one's own spiritual nature. God is expressing as creative beings through the beings themselves. So the basis and source of morality as God or nature is true. Morality depending on the historical development of society is morality of rational nature and relative morality. As we told earlier morality has also absolute value. The practical ethics of utility forget about the human nature. An activity, which is directed to the well being of the entire universe, may not produce happiness in the short run. Conversely as an immediate effect it may produce pain to the majority. The majority is regulated by passionate and rational nature and cannot appreciate activities, which ultimately benefit them. Like the mystic saying ''what we want may not be the thing we really need:'' so real ethics are directed to the real need of man and society and not towards the illusory wants. According to our view the world is reality expressing itself. The perfect man is the synthesis of all essences. Through the perfect man the ultimate reality is contemplating itself as single essence and multiple essences at the same time. So the world is not evil but good in its very nature. What Buddha says as root of evil is three things. One is desire and this is the passionate and rational nature. Second is hate and this also comes when one is regulated by lower nature. Third is illusion. This is false identification with body or material world or reducing the entire reality to material existence and not in the sense of world as unreal or evil.
We have seen that every thing in the world is expressing their essential nature. Up to human being everything in the world is completely and spontaneously expressing their essential nature. In this sense all beings up to man is beyond good and evil. Neither the dove good nor the vulture evil. Neither the peacock beautiful nor the toad ugly. Every being up to man is good and beautiful because they are fully expressing their nature and this nature is nothing but reality itself. According to this view moral sense and ethics has relevance only with human beings. All moral principles can be classified into two groups. One concerned with the evolution of the individual himself and second concerned with the evolution of the world. From this perspective all individual activities, which make one remain in his present nature or further degrade him to lower nature, can be called evil. Like this all conscious efforts, which gravitate him to his higher nature and help in perfecting his whole nature can be called good. This is what Stoics, Plato and Aristotle called good. Good and justice as due proportion or everything with its own nature and evil as error.According to Spinoza also moral good is regulation of passion with reason and co-ordination of one's whole nature. In this sense attainment of perfect nature and self realisation is supreme good. This is what Plato means by at the top of the ideal world is the form of good. This is the ethics of self realisation of personalism. This is individual moral attitude or personal ethical life. Second is the moral attitude towards the world. World include society and all other beings. Here as the exponents of evolutionary ethics say the ideal moral attitude is to promote the evolution of the world and not to hinder it. So every activity that augments total evolution is good and every attitude and activity that retards or devolute the world is evil. We told earlier that every being up to man is beyond good and evil. But from an evolutionary point of view we can grade relative goodness according to the hierarchy in the evolutionary scale. In this sense plants are more good than minerals, animals more good than plants and mammals more good than vertebrates and humans more good than other mammals. The ideal attitude will be to promote the evolution of all beings and interfering only when lower forms threatens the survival of higher forms or when for the existence, survival or natural expression of the higher form lower form are essential. This is the moral sense of using mineral as chemical fertilisers for plants, removing weeds for cultivation of crops, using vegetables, fruits and plants as food for animals and man. The same moral sense is behind using pesticides, destroying bacteria, mosquitoes and other harmful vectors. It is this same moral sense behind taking animal foods like fish, fowls and meat.
In society we have seen that there are three groups of people depending on the predominance of nature due to degree of self revelation. These are predominant passionate nature or rational nature or spiritual nature. We have told earlier that in the unevolved man or before conscious evolution one is regulated by his predominant nature and this will rule over his whole nature. But with conscious evolution by contemplation or other methods even those with predominant passionate nature are able to regulate it with rational nature and later regulate rational nature with spiritual nature. This regulation with spiritual nature continues till self realisation is attained. Perfect man or self realised man is a special category because what ever be his predominant nature he is able to regulate his action in harmony with the whole world. In human beings also there is a hierarchy like other beings. Self realised man or perfect man is at the top. As we have seen with Hegel as Absolute Spirit also most perfect is philosophic spirit(S1MAP) followed by religious spirit(S2MAP) and artistic spirit(S3MAP). Below this the man regulated by spiritual nature, then those regulated by rational nature and lastly those ruled by passionate nature.
In society also the ideal moral attitude will be to promote human evolution and not to hinder it and to resist the forces of devolution. Such a man will view every one with compassion. He neither hates any one nor condemns any activity. He knows that every one is acting due to his predominant nature and due to his unevolved state so he compassionately persuade others to regulate passion with reason and those with rational nature to regulate it with spiritual nature. His moral attitude and final aim will be to lead others to self realisation. He will be strongly advocating the strict law if he thinks it will benefit the whole and will be lenient and forgiving if he knows it is better than implementation of law. This moral attitude of curbing the passionate nature is behind the religious and state laws of liquor, adultery, theft etc. The same attitude of rational nature is behind movement against fundamentalism, movement of feminism, movement of equality, liberty and fraternity. Such a moral attitude will always resist any factors, which hamper the societies evolution and produce devolution. Such a one will resist whenever a passionate group try to dominate the rational group and society or rational group try to dominate spiritual group or those of spiritual nature trying to dominate self realised men or perfect men.
Part III: History of Philosophy.
Chapter 1:Introduction.
History of philosophy is the study of philosophic ideas through history. Issues dealt in this are historical changes in philosophy, cause of philosophical ideas in historical context, etc. There are philosophies in all nations and all cultures across the world. History of philosophy classify and categorise these various philosophies. According to culture and nation history of philosophy is broadly classified into
1-Western philosophy
2- Eastern philosophy
3-Abrahamic philosophy
4- African philosophy
Philosophy is an integral part of the social and political life of a nation. So the philosophy of a nation and it's history is influenced by the evolutionary and cultural state of the society during that period and is influenced by religious political and social conditions of the race. So the circumstances of men's lives do much to determine their philosophy, but, conversely, their philosophy does much to determine their circumstances. We have seen that philosophy and empirical sciences have reciprocal relation so empirical science condition philosophy but also conditioned by it. As a result in history of philosophy succession of different philosophical system advancing along with progress of empirical sciences and universal, civil and social cultures. The object of history of philosophy is to represent the content, succession and the inner connection between different philosophical systems. As every philosophy is philosophic expression of collective life of that time, different system reveal an organic movement and form one rational and internally connected system. This is the striving of the spirit for more higher point of consciousness and knowledge
Hegel and History of Philosophy: According to Hegel history of philosophy shows great and noble men with the power of reason penetrated into the being of things, nature, reason and Being of God. In the history of philosophy the tradition of the past is preserved and transformed to higher level by the succeeding minds. Noblest thinking is when thought is not indulged in other things but thinking of itself-about thought or mind itself.. History of philosophy is mind finding itself. It is the nature of mind that it finds itself only by producing itself. It exists and actual only in finding itself .Various philosophical systems are this production of mind.
The aim of philosophy is to find the truth in thought and conception. The aim is to know one truth as the base of nature, life and consciousness and everything and to lead these natural laws and finite mind back to one truth and from that source to comprehend them and derive them. This one truth is not solitary empty thought but one determined within itself. The product of thinking about mind is thought, but it is formal, more defined it becomes notion and finally idea. Idea is thought implicitly and explicitly determined. This idea alone is truth. It is in the nature of idea to develop and only through development it comprehend itself or become concrete or what it is. So for knowledge of truth these two principle of development and concrete are important. To understand development three terms are needed ,being in itself or potentiality and being there or actuality and being for itself which is the unity of being in itself and being there. Being in itself is the abstract initial stages of the history of philosophy and being for itself is final stage of concrete Idea after passing through successive stages of development through different philosophical systems in history. Thus the Idea as concrete in itself, and self-developing, is an organic system and a totality which contains a multitude of stages and of moments in development. Philosophy has now become for itself the apprehension of this development, and as conceiving Thought, is itself this development in Thought. The more progress made in this development, the more perfect is the Philosophy. So philosophy and history of philosophy is a system in development. Succession of different philosophical system in history follows the succession of logical idea from abstract to concrete. So the study of history of philosophy is study of philosophy itself. All the philosophies except the last had forms different from content which is truth or Absolute Idea and the last have absolute form identical with content. different forms are elements in the idea. So the first philosophy is the most abstract and the last most concrete. So history of philosophy is not conceived as isolated disconnected theories but as logical development evolution from abstract to concrete, simple to complex and gradual advance towards truth.
Analysis:
We have seen that empirical sciences, social ,political and religious conditions of the existing society have an influence on the philosophy of that period. When we analyse this influence we can see that this is neither in the form nor in the content but as the generating cause of a new philosophy. This is as because we have seen that all the systems like philosophy, religion, politics, civil society is the expression one and the same world spirit. In all these realms Spirit is the subject as the self consciousness of the time but in philosophy as thought or knowledge of this content spirit becomes also an object to itself. Philosophy is the thinking of what is substantial in that period. As it knows the substantial it makes it an object against itself .In self-knowledge spirit posits itself as distinct from what it is; it posits itself for itself and develops in itself. Here there is a new difference between what it is in itself and what its actuality is; and, thus, a new manifestation emerges. This knowledge of itself is the actuality of mind, the self knowledge of mind of itself which is not present in other forms as in all other forms like politics, art etc mind is as subject and not an object to itself as in the medium of thought. Now through this knowledge spirit makes a distinction between this knowledge and what it is actually as the whole system, the present form of the spirit becomes an object to thought and it's deficiency and imperfection becomes knowledge and this knowledge produce a new form of development. This new form are first only as new mode of knowledge as the new philosophy and this is the inward cause of the new form of spirit which becomes actual form later in the form of new political, social and government form.
The idea of Hegel of succession of philosophical systems in history corresponding to succession of logical idea face criticism. Similar is the idea that art and religion is same to philosophy only in content but the forms are different. According to Hegel the object of all three is the Absolute but in art it is presented in sensory objects and in religion in imagination and representation and only in philosophy Absolute becomes an object to itself in thought. We have seen earlier that in logical idea the realisation that Absolute as Subject comes only in the end. Before this mind is seen as being and essence. But in the case of history we can see that philosophers and mystics who had self realisation having the same concept of the Absolute as modern philosopher like Hegel. As we explained when one reach the third spiritual plane he will have the knowledge that there is only One Absolute Spirit or Subject and he himself is not different from from this Subject.Similarly when one attain the second divine plane of Absolute Subject he will have the realisation that only this subject exists and all other is illusion. This we can see from the Ancient Indian philosophical systems like Veda and Upanisads where there are reference like Aham Brahmasmi(I am Absolute) and Tat va ma si (you are that) etc. In Pythagoras, Plato, Stoics etc also we can see the highest conception of the Absolute and development of methods for self realisation. So the reality is in the course of development of man and history, one man or few men develop this spiritual consciousness. Spiritual organisations like family, civil society, political systems, nation comes after them and they are the driving force and architects of these systems. So as Hegel say it is not the concept of Absolute as Subject and mind from that of being and essence that is developing through history of philosophy but the form of the Absolute that is capable of infinite perfection. This form is socio politico ,national form of the world. Now it is these spiritual organisations that is developing through history as the systems of one period is the self consciousness of the world spirit during that period. The driving force of these development of systems through history is also the mystic or philosopher, as the Spirit of the people becomes an object to him in knowledge or thought and he can differentiate this knowledge from what is actual at that period and what ought to be. As we explained a new philosophy as forms of knowledge is the seed from which a more developed systems comes into actuality in the future. Similarly the origin of art and religion is also from the same self realised minds as mystic or philosopher. Here also it is not that the concept of Absolute is sensuous or representation for these great founders but the medium of presentation always depends on the self consciousness reached by the world spirit at that period. So when the majority of the society can conceive the Absolute only in sensuous form it is presented in Artistic medium and when they can conceive only in imagination and representation it is presented through religions. Another point in religion is when self realised men conceive the best form of presenting the reality for the development of world spirit is religious form. So it is not in the realisation of the spirit that religious founder or ancient mystic who presented it in artistic form differs but on presenting this knowledge that is best suited to the time, place and people which enhance the development of world spirit. Only when the self consciousness of world spirit developed in a society enough for them to conceive the Absolute in thought philosophy arises. This is why in history philosophy comes after art and religion amongst a people. So the succession of philosophical systems in history is successive development of the form of the Absolute Spirit while the essential content remain the same. We have explained in the beginning that Absolute Being is the Being aspect and Absolute Spirit is the Becoming aspect. This becoming is due to love of perfection. Perfection of relative being and relative knowledge. This Absolute Spirit is the Spirit of the world. The state of the world at any time is the self consciousness of Absolute Spirit reached during that period. We have seen that in all other systems like politics, society, nation etc it is as subject and not become an object to itself, Only in self realised men as philosophers and mystics it becomes an object to itself in knowledge. Absolute Spirit as Human Spirit become actual only when it becomes aware of itself or becomes conscious of itself. Now development and more perfection is only possible through this self consciousness of itself as object so there exists a difference between knowledge and actuality. New forms of knowledge gives birth to other forms of actuality later and this continues till complete development and complete perfection is attained. Now the final aim is the Absolute Spirit becomes an object to itself and we have seen that this happens only in self realisation and so the final aim is self realisation of all.
Section A: Western philosophy
Chapter 1:Introduction
Western philosophy is classified mainly into four divisions.1-Ancient or Greek philosophy 2-Medieval philosophy.3-Modern philosophy 4-contemporary philosophy.
Ancient or Greek philosophy.
This is Grecian and Graceo-roman philosophy. Ancient philosophy mainly Greek philosophy. The era include Greek philosophy and philosophies up to the fall of Rome.
Medieval philosophy
This extends till 1400 and Renaissance. These philosophers mainly concerned with the nature of God and application of Aristotelian logic. Important figures are Thomas Aquinas, St Anselm, Duns Scotus etc.
Modern philosophy.
This is the period of abstract or individual subjectivity. This starts with Francis Bacons.17th-century philosophers were René Descartes, Leibniz, Berkeley, Spinoza. John Locke, Thomas Hobbes. etc. The 18th-century philosophers were those of the early period of enlightenment. These are Voltaire, Rousseau. Immanuel Kant, David Hume etc.19th-century philosophers include Hegel and Schopenhauer.
Contemporary philosophy
Main figures are Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre. Other figures are john Dewey, Karl popper, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Bertrand Russell, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Gadamer
Division I: Ancient Philosophy.
Chapter:1: Greek Philosophy.
The Greek have always a sense of freedom and beauty. In their arts we can see that there is substantial unity of natural and spiritual in the medium of beauty. But here mind governs as the determining subject so nature has no importance than expression of the spirit Greek philosophy started in 6th century B.C. in the time of Cyrus and in the period of decline in the Ionic republic in Asia Minor. This was a period of transition in Greeks from patriarchal systems of kings to one of law. This was first the time of seven sages.. They were men of understanding and law givers. They gave their understanding expressed in sayings and also as moral maxims in civil laws. They were practical men and most of them were statesmen. Their names vary. Thales, Bias were representatives of Ionic towns., Solon was administrator and law giver in Athens. Others are Periander, Pittacus, Chilon and Cleobulus. Some of the wise sayings are Solon’s ‘Law’s are like a spider’s web; the small are caught the great tear it up’; ‘speech is the image of action’; ‘Nobody is to be esteemed happy before his death.’. Chilon says ‘Stand surety, and evil awaits you.’;’Ally yourself closely to any particular thing, and unhappiness will fall upon you’
The Greek philosophy can be mainly divided into 3 periods. Pre Socratic period, Socratic period, Post Aristotelian period. .
i- Pre-Socratic period-This is from Thales to Sophists. This is the first period of Grecian philosophy. Ancient philosophy started with Thales of Miletus around 585 B.C. His students were Anaximenes and Anaximander. In the next centuries in Greece main philosophers were Heraclitus, Anaxagoras ,Empedocles and Democritus. There is then the Eleatics (Parmenides and Zeno). Then sophists. At this time philosophy was concentrated around Athens. The first philosophers of Pre Socratic philosophy enquired about the basic element of nature.. Here Philosophy seek reality not in thought but in nature. Anaxogorus returns to reality as thought as nous. In sophists reality is seen as particular subjectivity. This is mainly the analytic period. .
ii- the Socratic period. This include Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Here reality is idea or objective thought...
iii- Post Aristotelian period- This is after Aristotle upto Neo-Platonism.
The most important philosophers of Greek philosophy are Socrates, Plato who was the disciple of Socrates who found the Academy. and Aristotle who was Plato's student
i. Pre Socratic Period.
Chapter 2: Ionic
philosophers
This is the period of realistic philosophy. Most of these philosophers placed one material as the basic principle. Everything arises from this and all is dissolved into this again. This principle remain the same and changes only in it’s particular quality and is called element. They enquired about the basic element of nature. So most of the ancient philosophers were natural philosophers. They mainly studied the sensual elements and the changes in nature. This is the analytic period. Ionic philosophers started with the concrete like water, air etc. Ionic philosophers made sensuous principles the basic principle like one water, or air or chaotic matter. The Ionic philosophers differs from one another only in the question of what constitute the primordial natural substance as the first principle. Three points of these philosophy are 1-They enquired the universal essence of concrete being.2-They found this in material essence.3-They derived all beings from these principles.
A: Thales
Philosophy start with Thales He is the first Ionic philosopher. He is not only the first philosopher but first physicist, astronomer and geometrician among Greeks. Thales lived when Ionic towns were under Croesus. He was born at Miletus in Asia Minor around 640 or 629 B.C. He was a statesman partly with Croesus and partly in Miletus. Due to his ethico political wisdom he is counted among the seven wise man. He was in Egypt in old age and learned geometry. He discovered how to calculate the distance of a ship at sea from observations taken at two points on land and taught the Egyptians to measure the height of the pyramids by shadow-by taking the relation of a man to his shadow. He is credited with first calculating and predicting the eclipse of the sun on 28 May 585 B.C.. He fixed that solar year should have 365 days. One anecdote says ’In gazing at and making observations on the stars ,he fell into a ditch, and the people mocked him as one who had knowledge of heavenly objects and yet could not see what lay at his own feet’. Some of his sayings ’A wise man, if he wishes can easily acquire riches’; ’It is not many words that have most meaning’. According to him all is divine and all things have soul in them and is alive. According to Aristotle Thales consider soul having capacity for motion. He says magnet has soul because it moves iron. One of his saying'' world is animated and full of demons’ According to Cicero ‘Thales says that water is the beginning of everything but God is the mind which forms all that is out of water.’. According to Diogenes the golden tripod given to the wisest man was given to Thales first and after circulating around it once again came back to Thales. Thales died aged 78 or 90 in 543 B.C. while at games due to heat and thirst. It is said that he had written 200 verses on astronomy and some maxims. He was familiar with the phenomenon of magnetism and with the attractive property of polished amber. He urged the Ionians to unify and name a single capitol.
Thales identified water as the basic substance. water is the nature of all things. According to him ‘the principle of everything is water, from water all arises and into water everything returns’. According to Seneca ’Thales considered that the whole earth has water as it’s support, and that earth swims there on and derive it's nourishment from water'. According to Aristotle Thales chose water because all nourishment is moist, and warmth itself comes out of moisture thus sustain life, and other reason is all germs are moist and water is the principle of moisture.. According to Aristotle The modification into particular things are through condensation or rarefaction or through grater or lesser intensity. Here quantitative difference gives rise to qualitative difference. Water through rarer becomes air and through denser becomes earth.
B:Anaximander.
Anaximander was also from Miletus and was a friend and disciple of Thales and is younger than him. His birth was in 610 B.C. and he died at ninety. He wrote book on his philosophy and also about nature, stars, etc. He developed some map showing boundary of land and sea. He also made sun dial and chart of starry heaven.
According to him the original principle is an infinite atmosphere called boundless and this indistinct infinite matter is the mother of heavens and earth. This ‘unlimited ,eternal and unconditioned’ principle which cover and rule all things and as it lays at the basis of all finite and changeable, itself is infinite and indeterminate. Any way it was not immaterial or incorporeal but some base material,, as the basis of four elements, as this will give rise to warm and cold and wet and dry which is the basis of elements. According to him the primal matter cannot be any of the four elements but must be a neutral one other wise due to their opposition except the primal one the rest vanish after some time. This infinite element .is the principle of all; becoming and passing away. The opposites such as warm and cold, dry and wet which do not exist in this indistinct matter gradually parted from this principle and form nature with it's opposite qualities and separate elements. The first opposition is between warm and dry which occur on earth and cold and wet which takes place on heaven. Every thing exists owes it's being to this principle and comes out of it by separation and goes back to it by the appointed time by fate so that new forms arise out of it again. 'At long intervals infinite worlds or gods rise out of it, and again they pass away into the same’ .It does not need any other material for continuous origination, contain everything in itself and rules over all, it is divine ,immaterial and never passes away. The opposites contained in it. Everything in the manifestation is there in undetermined form. or contained as possibility.. The part of the infinite changes but whole itself is unchangeable. This infinitude is in size and not in number. Aristotle says his principle is thicker than air but thinner than water.. In the infinite the like separates it self from the unlike and unite itself to the like; so what is in the whole potentially gold becomes gold etc So nothing originates as it is already there. the infinite becoming finite is by condensation and rarefaction. This is by warm and cold. Warm rarefies or disintegrate form and cold unite them..
According to his cosmogony there is eternal motion and due to this ‘out of the infinite, infinite heavenly bodies and infinite world have been set forth but they carry within them their own destruction, because they only are through constant dividing off .The earth has the form of a cylinder, the height which is third part of the breadth. Both the eternally productive principles warm and cold separate themselves in the creation of the earth, and a fiery body is formed round the air encircling the earth, like the bark around a tree. As this broke up the pieces were compressed into circles, and sun ,moon and stars formed. Earth floats freely in an infinite ether, being in equilibrium due to it's equal distance from all heavenly bodies. Infinte worlds are formed and destroyed. The first animals were produced from water and from them arises more advanced species. Man comes from fish. Individuals and species perish but the indefinite matter is indestructible because it is uncreated. It envelops everything, governs everything and produces everything. It posses vitality and is the supreme divinity.
C: Anaximenes.
He was born around 560-548 B.C. at Miletus and was a friend and student of Anaximander. His basic principle was Air. According to him soul is air. Out of it everything comes and into it everything is resolved. It is immeasurable, infinite and in constant motion. It is endowed with soul. .This selection of air may be due to as breath sustains life and air surround all things.. He thought air is infinite, eternal and mobile which due to motion out of necessity on rarefaction form fire and on condensation forms first clouds, then water, then earth and rock. Condensation and rarefaction also change temperature as condensed air cold and rarefied air hot. So here the difference between things are only quantitative. According to him earth is shaped like round table.
Analysis.
The positive point of the ionic philosophy is they found a basic element behind this world. This means they were aware that this diversity and finite manifestation is not in itself reality but behind these multiplicity the real is One. They have also understood that everything is a form of development from this basic element and dissolve into it again. Secondly a deeper examination of their philosophy reveal that all have some concept of immaterial God as the ultimate cause. The negative point is they identified material or physical principle as this basic element. As we explained objective aspect of mind either as energy or matter is only the form of mind and it has no independent reality. So what they say as air or water is not matter but mind in the form of matter. Secondly the development of water, air etc is not the beginning so they are not the basic element but the basic is cosmic photon.. The gross material world develop only after the development of soul and subtle material world. Thirdly the cause of finite manifestation is ignored. Cause of motion or becoming is the love of Absolute as Absolute Spirit in the third plane. As we explained cause of motion and manifestation of world is love of Absolute , love of perfectio.n External reality is the manifestation of the spirits, so the spirits are the ultimate causes.
Chapter:3:Pythagoreanism
Pythagoras born on 608 B.C. or 584 B.C. He was contemporary of Thales and Anaximander. He was born at island of Samos in Asia minor. His youth was spent at the court of Polyerates. From here he journeyed to the main land of Asia minor and here acquainted with Thales. He was first the pupil of the theologian Pherecydes and later perhaps also of Anaximander during this time. Then he traveled to Phoenicia and Egypt. He was initiated into the mysteries of Greeks and barbarians and also got admission into the order of the Egyptian priesthood. This might have influenced him in his formation of brotherhood. He was also introduced to geometry in Egypt.. After a long time returning from Egypt and after a brief stay in Samos, he traveled to Italy and settled in Crotona in Magna Greacia..
. He started as a public teacher and made an order for moral, religious, social, political and philosophical reform and regeneration of lower Italian cities. It is said that he preached to animals. He considered himself some what divine as he is reported to have said 'There are men and gods, and beings like Pythagoras'. Physically he was handsome and have a majestic appearance. He wore white linen clothes and was a vegetarian. He had great eloquence and profound perception. He not only thought his followers and public theoretically but also associated them in a particular life to make them skillful in professions and good in morals. His popularity brought much envy and he died in the year 504 B.C. at the age of 80 or 104.In history he was often confused and identified with Buddha .This is because there are many common threads in their philosophy. These are dualism. pessimism, metempsychosis, celibacy, common life according to rigorous rules, frequent self examinations, meditations, devotions, prohibitions of bloody sacrifices and animal food, kindliness towards all, fidelity, truthfulness and justice. The Pythagoreans possessed all sciences in their time-astronomy, medicine, geometry, music and acquired overpowering influence among Doric people. They dominated croton in Sicilian republic until middle of fifth century when democracy expelled them, and then they settled in Athens and their influence counteracted sophism and brought spiritualistic reaction of Socrates and Plato against materialism and skepticism.
His religion contained in a religious order called order of brotherhood, which in some places controlled the state and established the rule of saints His order of brotherhood was a regular community formed for the purpose of spiritual knowledge and moral culture which will last one’s whole life. His school exerted great influence on the life of Greco-Italian states. The order of brotherhood had the character of monastic order. In order men and women admitted equal terms, common property, common way of life. Before being admitted one’s education and obedience is tested. Information is collected about conduct, inclinations and occupations. Members given special training and divided further into exoteric and esoteric groups. The former had to go through a training of five years. The latter initiated into spiritual knowledge and also engaged in active politics. Each member must surrender his belongings to the order and received it back on retirement. In probationary period silence was enjoined. In the league a life regulated in all respect was advocated. All members should wear similar dress –the white linen of Pythagoras. A strict time table was set for each day. The morning after rising must spend in recalling the events of previous day. In the evening severe self examination must be done to know whether the work done in the day are right or wrong. They also had to learn by heart from Homer and Hesiod, and all day studying music, physical exercises like wrestling, racing, throwing etc were also compulsory. They dined together. Honey and bread were principal food. water principal and only drink. Meat and fish prohibited .From vegetables beans are forbidden. Some of the rules of the order were 1-Abstain from beans,2-not to pick up what is fallen,3-never touch a white cock,4-not to break bread,5-not to step over a cross bar,6-not to stir fire with iron,7-not to eat from a whole loaf,8-not to pluck a garland,9-not to sit on a quart measure,10-not to eat the heart,11-not to walk on highways,12-not to let shallows to share one's roof,13-not to look in a mirror beside a light,14-When the pot is taken off the fire, not to leave the mark of it in the ashes, but to stir them together,15-when rise from bed clothes roll them and smooth out the impress of the body.
His metaphysics was founded on mathematics. The philosophy of Pythagoras can be considered as a transition from the Ionic realistic philosophy to intellectual philosophy. In ionic philosophy we see the abstraction of matter from everything to it’s essence and .Here this abstraction go higher when no sensible and qualitative properties like water, air etc considered but only quantity. Determination of quantity is number. Number is between sensuous intuition and pure thought. Here there is identification of number and what is numbered, measure and measured. According to Pythagoreans number is the reality of things and the whole universe composed of an harmonious system of numbers and of their relations. Number is the material and formal cause of things, elements of number are elements of things, even and odd elements, even unlimited, odd limited, one comes from both, and other numbers from one. Numbers have magnitude. Pythagoreans were fascinated by the proportion of things and considered number as the essence of things. It is not sure whether number used in a material sense-number as the material of things or a formal basis-number as the archetype of things. It may be possible that some Pythagoreans thought number as the substances and others as the archetypes. According to them "number is the essence of things and everything is number. In the phenomenon of nature there is a rational order, harmony and conformity to law and these laws can be best represented in measure and number". What impresses Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans is the immaterial in matter, the order which prevails in the world, the unity, proportion, and harmony in its contrasts, the mathematical relations underlying all things. In geometry, in astronomy, and in music, everything is ultimately reduced to number. Hence number is the principle and innermost essence of the world and things are sensible numbers. Every being is a number and the final aim of science is to find each being's number. Infinite series of numbers, which are same as all things is derived from unity. As number is the essence of things, unity is the essence of numbers. There are two kind of unities, the unity from which all the numbers are derived and which comprehend them all, the absolute and unopposed unity, the God of gods. This unity is neither even nor odd or both even and odd, singular and pleural ,God and world. This is identity as continuity and positivity.-this is the universal essence The relationship of this one to concrete existence is through simulation. The elements of number are even and odd. Even is infinite and odd is finite and unity proceeds from both and out of this again comes number. The first One they also identified beside God, with mind, Hermaphrodite (odd-even). The second unity is the One ,first among the derived numbers. This is opposed to two, three etc plurality and limited by them. The second is opposition or undetermined duality, unit added to unit –two. According to this theory there are two principles in things or participate in things- one is unity-through which all number-units are units. The second is unity and multiplicity or undifferentiated duality-which is two. Undetermined duality through which all determined dualities are dualities. Duality is as important as unity.-unity is like form and duality is like matter. The duad they also called matter, principle of unlike, strife etc. The next is Third or triad .Here monad reach reality and perfection. Monad proceed through duad and again brought into unity with this undetermined multiplicity-this is triad. They say all and everything is determined through triplicity. Triplicity has absolute form, triple-or the number of the whole has beginning, middle and end. Four or tetrad is triad more developed. It is the most notable number. Tetrad has the source and root of eternal nature within itself, because it is the logos of the universe, of the spiritual and the corporeal. Decad is another form of tetrad. Decad contain within itself the first four numbers,1+2+3+4 makes 10.The opposition between one and many is the source of all the rest. All contraries of nature like warm and cold, wet and dry, male and female, good and evil, finite and infinite are varieties one and the many or odd and even. There are 10 basic categories of antithesis to which all things are traced. These are 1-the finite and the infinite.2-the odd and the evEn.3-the one and the many.4-the right and the left.5-the male and the female.6-resting and moving.7-stright and crooked.8-light and darkness. 9-good and evil. 10-squre and parallelogram
Matter and motion are to them negative and absence of ideal unity. they also deny origin. According to them world existed eternally without beginning. Pythagorean cosmogony represent eternal unity as a compact sphere in which parts are not distinguished and which float in infinite. The ideal opposition between odd and even, one and many becomes real opposition between full and void. In the beginning full was without void or external to it. The cosmos begins by void breaking into the full. This process is like perpetual breath which agitates the world. The universe has grown from a primal unit which breathes in air or void and then splits up, imposing limits on the previously unlimited. The void penetrate the disc and breaking it into infinite number of infinitesimal particles, smaller images of disc. Since in geometry quality is reduced to quantity and form, these particle differ only in quantity and figure. They form either cubes, pyramids (tetrahedron), octahedrons, icosahedrons, dodecahedrons. The unity reacts against this separation so these elementary particles are again joined according to their geometric affinities ad form elementary bodies as ether, fire air, water and earth. Fire is the element par excellence a it is formed of tetrahedrons. It is the symbol of divine principle in nature and concentrated into a central sun, the hearth of universe and abode of supreme God. Around this revolve 1-Ouranos ,enveloping counter earth and earth,2-the cosmos proper consist of moon, sun and planets,3-Olympus with fixed stars. The distances separating the spheres are proportional to the numbers which express the relations that exist between tones and the respective length of vibrating strings, and their revolutions around the axis of the world is a divine harmony which only perceived by musical genius. The harmony is the soul of the universe. Different beings form an ascending arc according to the degree of perfection with which they reflect the universal harmony.
From this numbers to finite concrete reality emanation is as follows. The point corresponds to unity, It is indivisible and the principle of lines like unity is that of numbers. The motion of elementary being the physical point produces the line which is duad, line moves and produces the plane or surface which is triad, plane produce solid body which is tetrad. So what is material is formed from numbers ,then from them also proceed definite bodies like air, water earth and the whole universe and they are harmonious. Like this from this sensation, perception and intelligence gradually arise by emanation. Harmony also consist of numerical relations only. So music is another thing determined by numbers. The difference in music shows as various relations of numbers. Relation of tones to one another is found on quantitative difference whereby harmonies formed and others by which discord is formed. So in music consonance and dissonance is a mathematical arrangement.
As decad is the perfect number they maintained that the heavenly bodies are ten. These are 1-milky way.2-saturn.3-jupiter.4-mars.5-venus.6-mercury.7-sun.8-moon.9-earth. 10-Antichthone.This ten bodies due to movement makes tones, each makes different tones so a harmonious sound arise in the heavenly region. We do not hear the sound because we live within it.
Pythagoreans know the morning and evening star are one and the same and moon get light from the sun. He thought of numbers as shapes and invented cubes and squares of numbers. The greatest discovery of Pythagoreans was the famous Pythagorean theorem, proposition about right angled triangles; the sum of the squires on the sides adjoining the right angle is equal to the squares on the remaining side-hypotenuse. In physics the Pythagorean Philolaus taught the circular motion of earth. Earth is not at the center of the universe, but swings in a circular motion around a central fire, which motion produces day and night
In ethics they taught and practiced asceticism and strict culture of character. According to him we are strangers in the world . One of his parable is there are three kind of men in world similar to men who come to Olympic games. The lowest come to buy and sell, the middle to compete and the best group is who simply watch. So the greatest purification id disinterested knowledge, the man who devote himself to this is the true philosopher who is released himself from wheel of death. They considered earth (lower world) as inferior, they opposed suicide, considered body as prison of soul According to them soul is also number .Thought is 1 ,knowledge is 2,opinion is 3 and sensuous feeling is 4.The individual is mortal as he is the union of material elements according to a ratio that varies within certain limits. when these limits are exceeded there is disproportion which result in unequal struggle, disease, decay and death. As the ideal content of the body ,the soul is beyond this destruction. They believed in immortality of the soul, transmigration of soul and also metempsychosis (human soul living in animal body). Soul is transformed to other kind of living things, so nothing is new and everything that comes into existence born again in the revolution of cycle. So all living things considered akin. Soul is a fixed number in the eternal scale of things, a portion of world soul and a thought of God. So it is immortal and at death it passes into a state inferior or superior to past earthly life according to whether the soul has lived for God, for the world or for itself.
In practical philosophy they advocated 10 virtues. Among them first was justice. Some of their maxims are ‘honour the oath and the illustrious heroes’;' honour to be paid to parents and relatives’ They established morality through brotherhood among it’s followers. According to them to see truth we must purge, as medicine purge body, music purge soul.
Analysis.
The positive point of Pythagorean philosophy is unlike Ionic philosophers they found a more abstract thing than sensuous material as the basic principle. So they even abstracted elementary determinations like quality and reduced matter to quantity (space and time). Number is between sensuous and thought. It is a non sensuous object of sense. The primary defect of this philosophy is they identify number with mind and spirits-which are pure thought with the form of essence of energy or unexcited strings. These spirits are the archetype of things and not numbers. Secondly like the Ionics they does not explain the cause of formation of world from numbers-the cause of change, becoming and motion. Thirdly they fail to adequately explain sense qualities
What Pythagoreans says as the first unity which comprehend all numbers and which is beyond odd and even is the plane of Absolute Subject of unknowable Essence. The second unity or one is the first manifestation of Absolute Spirit as universal subjective being from which emanate all the succeeding beings. Decad as the perfect number consists of all the planes; 3 eternal planes+4 divisions of soul world +3 divisions of subtle material world.
In Pythagoras we can see the union of the being aspect of reality of the Eleatics and the becoming of Heraclitus. This is the breaking up of the sphere into infinitesimal ideal atoms and further their combination to produce elements and the rest. Similarly here we can see the blending of mathematics and theology or religion and reason for the first time. This may have a great influence on Plato and Platonism and the archetypes and ideal world of Platonism is may be developed from Pythagoreans. Form the concept of the first unity which is beyond odd and even and souls as thoughts of God we can see Pythagoras had the correct concept of Absolute and his order and various disciplines and methods in these order prove beyond doubt that he is a self realised soul and a mystic philosopher
Chapter:4:The Eleatics.
The first real problem in the start of philosophy was that of becoming. Being persists and beings also change, This problem of being's both permanence and change gave rise to three philosophies. The Being of Eleatics, The Becoming of Heraclitus and the Atomistic system, idealistic in Pythagoras as ideal unity or number, materialistic in Democritus and Lucippus as material unity, atom, and dualistic in Anaxagoras. To monadists and atomists there exist both permanence and change, permanence in being ,perpetual change in their relations.
Eleatics chose pure being as the basic principle. This is an abstraction of all material things-both quality and quantity. They also denied all changes, so non being and becoming. This undetermined changeless being is the ground of nature and the world. This is a form of Monism as everything reduced to pure being.. Eleatic philosophy has 3 periods-1-Xenophanes-foundation 2-Parmenides and Melissus-systemic formation 3-Zeno-completion.
A-Xenophanes.
He was a contemporary of Anaximander and Pythagoras. He was an Ionian and for reason unknown he escaped from his native town, colophon in Asia minor to Magna Garcia and settled in Elea- colony in Lucania.. In his old days he was so poor so that there was no means of burying his children and so done it with his own hands. He died around the age of 100.He wrote a book ‘on nature’ explaining his philosophy. His philosophy was developed and systematised by Parmenides and Melisses and later defended by Zeno by his dialectics.
His philosophy is monotheism identifiable with pantheism. He criticised polytheism, anthropomorphism and anthropopathism (attribution of human passions). He advocated the unity of God.. He criticized the concept of God as born, having human voice and form. There is One God, neither comparable to God of homer nor to mortals, neither in form nor in thought .About Greek’s anthropomorphic and mythological concept of God he reacts like this; "Hesiod and Homer have attached to the gods all that which brings shame and censure to men; stealing, adultery, and mutual deceit' Mortals deem that gods are begotten as they are, and have clothes like theirs, and voice and form . . . yes, and if oxen and horses or lions had hands, and could paint with their hands, and produce works of art as men do, horses would paint the forms of gods like horses, and oxen like oxen, and make their bodies in the image of their several kinds. . . . The Ethiopians make their gods black and snub-nosed; the Thracians say theirs have blue eyes and red hair." In another anecdote he made fun of Pythagoras theory of transmigration:' Once they say, he (Pythagoras) was passing by when a dog was ill treated. Stop, he said, don't hit it, it is a soul of a friend! I know it when I heard it's voice".
. To him godhead is seeing, hearing, understanding, unmoved, undivided, not like man neither in form nor in understanding and rule over everything by his thought. To him ‘The all is One and God is implanted in all things; he is unchangeable, without beginning middle or end.’ he thinks everywhere ,sees everywhere, hear everywhere.’ One God ,is greatest amongst gods and men, neither like unto mortals in spirit or in form. This God is all eye, ear and thought and no different organs and faculties. It is immutable and immovable so he carry out all wishes by thought alone. This infinite God has neither generation nor corruption, neither change nor origin.
To him thought and reason are everything and eternal and denied the truth of origination and dissolution., change and movement. It is impossible for anything to arise either from like or from unlike. If from like there will be no distinction from begetting and begotten; if unlike non-being rise from being. The God is One ,this is because if there are more than one he won’t be the mightiest, he is everywhere alike. he sees hears and all other senses are also everywhere. Since God is everywhere alike he has a spherical form. He is eternal and neither limited nor unlimited. To be unlimited is nonbeing., to be limited means by another .since there is only one it is not limited. Like this he neither move himself nor unmoved. Unmoved means non being ,to be moved means several. So the one neither rests nor is it moved. He also believed everything made out of water and earth.
B-Parmenides
. He was born at Elea, in the south of Italy around 504-501 B.C.. He was a student of xenophobes. One of the important thing in his life is journey to Athens with Zeno and meeting with Socrates. According to Plato Socrates in his youth had an interview with Parmenides (who was then old) and learned much from him He is the main philosopher of Eleatic school.. He was revered and admired by all. ’A life like Parmenides’ becomes a proverb in Greek. .He may be influenced by Pythagoras. He is associated with invention of logic. He furthered the monotheistic conception f Xenophanes. Since there is no change in God and He is everything change is an appearance or illusion and there is only Being. It is not a union of opposites since there is no opposites.
Parmenides also believed there are two aspects of reality. One, the Real, permanent aspect, he called the doctrine of truth and the other, illusionary aspect, doctrine of opinion or seemingly true. Truth corresponds to reason and opinion to and senses. While Heraclitus gave importance to change Parmenides stressed the permanent aspect. So he is known as an idealist.. The central philosophy of Parmenides is the opposition between being and non-being. He explained his philosophy in a poem called ‘on nature. The poem has two parts In the first part dedicated to truth he proves by arguments that our ideas of change, plurality and limitations are contrary to reason. The second part deals with what is illusory and explain nature from stand point of illusion.
In first part he discuss the conception of being. This being is opposed to finite and changeable. This being excludes all becoming, departing, relation to space and time, divisibility and movement. The only positive determination of this infinite pure being is Thought. Being and Thought are identical. Now thinking about this pure being is true knowledge while phenomenal knowledge is deceptive. In the poem the goddess explains as developing everything from knowledge of truth and opinion. Goddess says’ understand, which are the two roads of knowledge. The one which is only being, and which is not non-being ,is the path of conviction, the truth is in it. The other that is not Being ,and which is necessarily non being is ,I must tell you, a path quite devoid of reason, for you can neither knew, or attain to ,or express non-being.’ ‘It is necessary that saying and thinking should be being, for being is but nothing is not at all’. We cannot know non being. The finite and limitation is the forms of this nothing. To think that nothing is true is the way of error in which the ignorant mortals live. The truth is only the 'is' .This is neither begotten one nor transient, whole, unmoved, without end, it neither was nor will be. It is the all. ’Thought ,and that on account of which thought is ,are the same. For not without that which is ,in which it expresses itself will you find thought, seeing that it is nothing and will be nothing outside of that which is. The same thing exists fro thinking and for being. So thought produces itself and what is produced is a thought and thought identical with being. It is limited, determinate, and complete in itself. Being having perfection the spherical shape. So it is same and equal everywhere.
Here beginning with the idea of being, he proves that, that which is cannot have become what it is, nor can it cease to be, nor become something else. If being has a beginning it must be from being or non being. In the former it is it's own product which is same as no origination so it is eternal. In the latter it is not possible for being to come out of non being. Similar is the case of it's change and death. In death it passes either into being or non being. If being is changed to being it does not change and to say it passes into nothing is same as it came from nothing. So being is eternal. It is also immovable. It can only move in space. Space is or is not. If space is it is identical with being and to say being move in space is same as being move in being, which means at rest. If space is nothing there cannot be any movement, as motion only takes place in space. So motion is an illusion or appearance. Being is a continuous and indivisible whole and there is no void any where so there is no atoms. If for argument sake we admit there is void-a break between parts, if this void is real, it is what being is, so it continues being instead of interrupting it, unite the bodies instead of dividing it. into parts. In this case all beings constitute one single being. Being is absolute and self sufficient. If it is relative it must depends on either another being or non being. If it depends on being it depends on itself and is independent, and if it depends on non being it is still independent, which exclude from it all desires, need and feeling. When one is everything there is no desire. Being is one, a second or third being is the continuation of the one so itself.. So Being is eternal, immutable, immovable, continuous, indivisible, infinite, unique. The Being that thinks and the being that is Thought are same thing. 'The thing that can be thought and that for the sake of which thought exists is the same; for you cannot find thought without something that is, as to which it is uttered.' When you think or speak a name it is always about something. Since we can think of something anytime we want, that means there is no change so becoming and passing away are illusion.
Second part is about the phenomenal world so only opinion of mortal which depends on senses and is illusory. The universe which to reason is indivisible unity divided into two realms by senses. One is day, light, fire or heat. The other is night, darkness and cold. The universe which is eternal to reason has an origin and beginning to senses. This origin is the victory of light over darkness. Light is the father and night is the mother of all forms. Everything in the world consists of these two elements in constant proportions .The manifestations are due to mingling of these two basic elements warm and cold or fire and earth. According to Aristotle Parmenides united warmth with Being and cold with Not-being. There are two forms of opinion. one ,ethereal fire and light is fine and right opinion. by this warm and soft and light expressed. The other belonging to night is thick and wrong and .this expresses cold. Parmenides thus make two principles in things light and night, warmth and cold. and everything is a mixture of both. Light ,warm is called the active and animate, cold the passive. Thought contain more light and warmth ad sensation contain more night and cold. The universe consist of a series of concentric spheres alternating with light and warm spheres with dark and cold spheres. The outermost sphere which enclose all is solid ,cold and dark, below is the fiery sphere of fixed stars. The central sphere is also solid and cold and surrounded by a sphere of light and life. This fiery sphere which surround the solid core of earth is the source of movement (which is illusion), hearth of universal life, seat of Divinity, Queen of world, Mother of love, Justice and Necessity.
C-Zeno.
Zeno was born in in Elea in 500 B.C. and was a student of Parmenides. Parmenides was very fond of him and adapted him as son. He was respected as a teacher and was famous in Greece. Except the brief journey to Athens he remained in Elea. He freed a state from it’s Tyrant by sacrificing himself so his death was celebrated. He was the first one to write in prose among Grecian philosophers. He wrote in dialogues. He is the father of dialectics and sophistry.
He like his master believed in a single ,simple and unchangeable being and showed the contradiction in phenomenal being. He showed the inherent contradiction in the reality of motion and multiplicity.The One alone is conceivable, and extension, motion, magnitude and space cannot be conceived By proofs and dialectical method he showed the many ,the changing, that relate to time is not being. While Parmenides confirmed being Zeno denied appearance. Aristotle named him founder of dialectics. According to Zeno the many is not. Some of his reasoning is as follows. Firstly he says if the many is it must be either great or small. if great it must be infinite in number, but infinite is neither great nor many. If small so small to have no size ,then if it is added to another does not increase size and if taken away does not decrease size so it is nothing. Against the negation of motion and change he put 4 proofs and they are due to infinite divisibility of space an time.1-Movement cannot be conceived. We cannot traverse an infinite number of points in finite time. Line which separates staring point from rest composed of points, since point has no extension infinite number of points. So every distance even the smallest one is infinite and stopping point cannot be reached.2- However near the swift Achilles to the slow tortoise he will never be able to overtake it since he first have to pass one half of the distance and for this, one half of that half, and so onto infinity. By the time Achilles reaches the place from where tortoise stared tortoise will have got some way ahead. So motion has no truth. because what is in motion must first reach the middle of the space before arriving at the end. When two bodies move in the same direction and one in front and the other behind but moving quicker than the one in front, will not be able to overtake the one in front this is because the second one requires a certain space of time to reach the place from which the one in front started at the beginning of the given period.3. Arrow moving through air is an illusion. In order to reach destination it must pass over series of points in space. so it must successively occupy these spaces. This means rest so motion is an illusion. The flying arrow rests, and for the reason that what is in motion is always in the self-same Now and the self-same Here, in the indistinguishable;”4-similar bodies moving in opposite direction in the space beside a similar body, and with equal velocity, one from one end of the space the other from the middle. It necessarily results from this that half the time is equal to the double of it. Again motion only take place in space. If space is real, it must exist some where, in space ,this in turn in another space upto infinity. So motion is impossible.
In Parmenides philosophy there is no connection between the doctrine of truth or being and doctrine of appearance. This contradiction resolved by Zeno saying that from the very conception of being the world of not being is dialectically dissolved. This method of showing the contradiction and nullity of the finite and the many hence the negation of change and motion Hegel calls the negative side of objective dialectics. Dialectics means the movement of thought in notions .Here objective means contradiction and nullity is not brought by the subject but arises from the thing itself and negative means here only negative side or nullity is proved but the positive or synthesis is not considered.
Analysis.
The positive point of Eleatic philosophy is they identified Thought as the basic principle of the world. It is possible to assume from Xenophanes that he believed in a transcendent God. As the Being is devoid of both quality and quantity and is beyond opposites and beyond ordinary conception of mind and matter. it is identical with our first plane of Absolute as Absolute Subject. As we have seen from this standpoint mind itself is nonbeing and nothing. We have seen that mind as reflective mind or spiritual plane is the cause of the concept of origin, time ,space, motion and objective aspect of Absolute Spirit as essence of energy is the extension and magnitude aspect. We have also seen that what Parmenides call the realm of opinion is the plane Absolute Spirit whose subjective, consciousness aspect is light and objective aspect of essence of energy is darkness. We have also seen that when the subjective aspect is more there is soul and subtle plane and when objective aspect more material plane. The view of Parmenides looking at the Absolute only from the higher plane and denying all other plane as illusion is some what similar to the view of Sankar's Advaita Vedanta where only Brahman without qualities is real and Brahman with qualities including even personal God (Ishwara), plane of Mahat (Absolute Spirit) are considered as unreal and the effect of Maya (illusion). Here the difference is in Parmenides Being aspect is real and the spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit as the plane of subject with predicates is as eternal as Subject Itself and and unlike the Absolute World which is the becoming aspect, they as the plane of permanent spirits is the Being aspect. The defect of this philosophy is they reduced reality to Being and denied all changes, motion and becoming. They confined reality to the plane of Absolute Subject and Absolute Spirit and deny Absolute World. This is the plane of becoming. As Ibn Arabi says complete perfection is only when there is both Being and Becoming-both Absolute and relative Knowledge. As we have seen everything is the gradation of One Essence, Hence they are not unreal but less real when compared with the Absolute Subject and they are called illusion in the sense that they are the mental projections and imaginations of the Subject who is beyond mind. But a deeper reading of Parmenides may reveal that they also completely deny becoming aspect but give more reality to the being aspect. This as we have seen is nearer to reality as permanent spirits of spiritual plane are the base and ultimate cause of manifested world. It is possible that Plato was greatly influenced in his idealism and plane of ideal world by Eleatic philosophy..
Chapter:5;Heraclitus.
He was born at Epheses and lived around 500 B.C. He was often called The Mystic. He was a contemporary of Parmenides. He was the first one to withdraw from civil and social life and devote entirely to philosophy. He was hated by his people and in turn he also hated them. he said ’the Ephesians all deserve to have their necks broken as they grow up, so that the town should be left to minors'. When they asked him to take part in state administration he declined. His philosophical work named 'On nature' he deposited in the temple of Diana at Epheses. It is so difficult a book to understand that Socrates used to say about this book ”what I understood of it was excellent, and I had no doubt that what I did not understand is equally good .but the book requires an expert swimmer.’ He was called the obscure due to his love of paradox. His contempt of mankind made him think that only force will compel people to act for their own good. 'Every beast is driven to the pasture with blows', 'Asses would rather have straw than gold'. He also believed in war. 'War is the father of all and king of all; some he has made gods and some men, some bond some free, "We must know that war is common to all and strife is justice, and all things comes into being and pass away through strife'.
Heraclitus believed there are two aspects of reality. The first he called logos which does not change and is permanent. It is the universal law, which matter obeys but which is above and beyond matter. The law of nature represented by fire comes into being due to this universal law or necessity. This is the form of fire or nature. Things come from fire through this logos. Truth is eternal and immutable and senses gives us only relative knowledge of becoming and passing away, so only reason gives us real knowledge, stable ,divine law, fixed point in flow of things. But human reason is as far from divine reason as ape is from human perfection. Logos is the unity in all things. "Wisdom is one thing. It is to know the thought by which all things are steered through all things." There is unity of opposites. Beyond changing fire as substratum unchanging logos. It is the law, intelligence and immaterial. Men are asleep when wake up enable them participate in logos which govern all and common to all things. We will be morally awake insofar as we are alive to the Logos; which is dry and fiery, insofar as we see the hidden harmony in the constant strife which is the universe.
The second aspect is this material world represented by fire. He identified fire as the basic principle and to him time is the first corporeal existence. He calls world an ever living fire, which in certain stages extinguishes and rekindles itself. He says everything can be exchanged for fire and fire for everything. It may be possible that Heralitus mean fire represent the abiding power of transformation and transposition or the concept of life. So to Heraclitus fire is the symbol of becoming and also of motion. According to him things arise from opposition and partial extinction of fire. The product of extreme opposition is earth and other things lie intermediary. As a process fire has two sides, one the way upwards and the other downwards-one division due to opposites other unification of these opposites, one enmity and strife which is principle of origin of difference, other harmony and friend ship leading to combustion. So nature never rests always becoming or changing or in motion. It is the transition out of the one into the other, from division into unity and from unity into division. Fire condensed into moisture and when concrete it becomes water, water hardens into earth and this is the way downwards. Earth again becomes fluid, and from it moisture, from this evaporation of sea ,from which all else arises. This is the way upwards. Water divides into dark evaporation, becoming earth and into what is pure ,sparkling becoming fire and burning in the solar sphere, what is fiery becomes meteors, planets and stars. According to him thus the universe was made neither by god nor man, but it ever was and is ,and will be, a living fire, that which ,in accordance with it’s laws, kindles and goes out’. Fire is the fundamental substance. Everything like flame in a fire is born by the death of something else. 'Mortals are immortals. and immortals are mortals, the one living the others death and dying the others life. Everything derived from fire and eventually return to it so every being is transformed fire. Air and water are fire in the process of extinction or renewal. Earth and solid are extinguished fire and will be rekindled anew at a fixed hour by fate. According to immutable law fire of heavenly spheres is successively transformed to vapour, water and earth and return in the opposite direction again to fire. This condensation and descend and rarefaction and ascend continue ad infinitum. This process has neither beginning nor end. There is end in the sense that everything returns to fire only to re arise from it.
All things including souls come into existence from fire and into the fire they dissolve again. The basic character of fire or nature is constant change and motion or flow. The transformation of fire is the sea. There is perpetual change and there is mingling of opposites. In strife opposites combine to produce motion which is harmony and so there is unity of world through diversity. Heraclitus stressed and give important to changing aspect over permanent aspect. Eleatics could not reconcile the infinite and finite, the one and many. Heraclitus reconciled this by saying 'being and not being, one and many existed as becoming. Everything changes into its opposite and things comes into existence due to the conflict of opposites. So there is unity in opposites. To Heraclitus world is both being and not being or becoming. This is the principle of motion, the cause for change and manifestation. According to Heraclitus everything is in an eternal flow, constant movement and transformation or becoming and permanence of things are only an appearance. There is unity in the world ,but unity of opposites. Rest and being is an illusion of senses. In the eternal whirl non being transformed to being and being to non being. Being and non being, life and death, growth and decay are same other wise they cannot be transformed to one another. Becoming is a strife between opposite forces, one coming from above and try to transfer celestial fire into solid matter, while other re ascends to heaven trying to change earth back into fire. It is this continuous strife of opposites which produce vegetable, animal, and human life on earth. Everything arise from strife of opposites. organic life by male and female music by sharp and flat notes, sickness makes us value heath, without exertion no rest, without danger no courage, without evil no virtue. As fire lives the death of air, air death of fire, water death of air, earth the death of water, so is animal lives the death of vegetable, man the death of animals, gods the death of man, virtue the death of vice and vice the death of virtue. As good is a destroyed evil and evil is a vanished good so evil and good does not exist without the other. So evil is a relative good and god is a elative evil and like being and non being disappear in universal harmony. All things come out of one and one out of all things, but the many have less reality than the one, God. Sometimes he stresses on unity-'good and evil are one', 'to god all things are good, fair and right, but men holds some right and some wrong',' the way up and the way down is one and the same', One of his famous saying ’In to the same stream we descend, at the same time we do not descend; we are and we are not. For into the same stream we cannot possibly descend twice, since it is always scattering and collecting itself again, or rather it at the same time flows to us and from us’. All becoming is due to the synthesis of opposites as harmonious union of warring opposite determinations. His famous words are ‘Strife is the father of things’ and ‘The one setting itself at variance with itself, harmonises with itself, like the harmony of the bow and the viol’ ’Unite,the whole and the not whole, the coalescing and the not coalescing, the harmonious and the discordant, and thus we have the one becoming from the all, and the all from the one. ’He says ’being and non-being are the same ,everything is and yet is not’. In another ‘everything is in a state of flux, nothing subsists nor does it ever remain the same’ Aristotle says he declares ’there is only one that remains, and from out of this all else is formed ,all except this one is not enduring’. This is becoming. Another Aristotle quote,' join together the complete whole and the incomplete, what coincides and what conflicts, what is harmonious and what discordant, and out of them all comes one, and from one all’.
Heraclitus identifies fire also with the animating principle or soul. Soul is an emanation of celestial fire and can live only by remaining in contact with this source. It is constantly renewed by respiration and sensation. Generation is transformation of liquid seed into dry breath. So the latent fire of earth passes trough the liquid state and return to it's original condition in the human soul.
He regards soul as a mixture of fire and water,. fire noble part and water ignoble part. The soul that has more fire is dry soul and it is the wisest and best soul. Soul find pleasure in becoming wet by indulging in passions and sensual pleasures. Heraclitus value power by self mastery and despise passions that deviate from central aim of life. In death the soul gradually return to earthy element. According to him 'sensory knowledge has no reality, men’s eyes and ears are bad witnesses, for they have barbarous souls. Reason is the judge of truth, not the arbitrary but only the divine and universal judge’. The whole, the universal and divine understanding ,in unity with which we are logical is the essence of truth. He further says, ’The surrounding are reason ‘,and again ‘we do and think everything in that we participate in the divine understanding hence we must follow the universal understanding. but many lives as if they have an understanding of their own, this understanding is ,nothing but interpretation. Of the manner in which all is ordered. and in so far as we participate in the knowledge of it ,we are in the truth, but in so far as we are singular we are in error’. He further said “men are mortal gods, and gods immortal men; living in death to the former and dying is their life”. He also believed senses are the base of knowledge but only reason will leads to wisdom. An individual energy and knowledge depends on his communion with celestial fire, supremely intelligent and wise soul of the world.
Analysis.
The positive point of this philosophy is it explains manifestation or motion. There is constant strife between opposites like being and non being etc and this cause becoming which is motion. So the cause of motion is the strife between the opposites. Becoming is an important aspect of reality. The defect of this philosophy is like Eleatics this is also mostly one sided. In considering reality we have to see both Being and Becoming. The second point this does not really explain the cause of the becoming or motion. It is true that becoming is the result of strife between opposites like Being and mind which is the non being. But the cause of this strife is the love or desire of Being for perfection. The logos of Heraclitus and the truth of Parmenides correspond to our eternal aspect as spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit while the fire of Heraclitus and opinion of Parmenides corresponds to temporal manifested world. Fire also symbolise the objective aspect of Absolute Spirit as essence of energy and the objective aspect of universal subjective soul as supra light waves like cosmic, gamma,X-ray waves. We have told that permanence and change are two aspects of one and same reality. The ideal or spiritual existence is not apart from the world but they are the inner reality of the world; in other words world is the self expression of the ideal existence. There is no predominance of one over the other. The only thing is world of ideas are permanent while world of senses transient.
Chapter:6:Empedocles
He was born at Agrigentum in south coast of Sicily in 472 B.C. It is said that he worked miracles and controlled the wind. He gave life to a women who was dead for 30 days. He was considered as a god and magician .He was respected very much during life and a statue was erected to him in his native town after his death. He is Zeno’s fellow student and had Pythagoreans as students. He is known as a natural philosopher, physician, poet, seer and a miracle worker. He was younger than Parmenides and Heraclitus. He was a democratic politician and was later banished from his land. He is the first one to discovered air as separate substance and sex in plants. About evolution he says first there were creatures of different forms and the best forms survived. He discovered moon shine by reflected light and solar eclipse is by interposition of moon. He is also the founder of Italian school of medicine He died by jumping into the crater of Etna. Two of his philosophical poems which survived are 'on nature' and 'purifications'.
He tried to unite the Eleatic being and the Heraclitus becoming. Matter is immutable but bodies constantly change. This is due to combination and separation of elements in different proportions. According to him there is no elementary unity and four elements and two immaterial principles are the fundamental ones. According to him these unchangeable being is four eternal basic elements which though divisible are independent and un derived from each other. These are fire, air, water, and earth. He is the originator of the four elements. These elements uncreated. The union and division of this elements is due to two forces, friendship or love and strife. Love unite and, strife separates them. Love is in the elements but strife external to them. These opposing divinities alternatively unite the elements. Love first unite them in to a spherical body. So at first the four elements were alike ,unmovable, living in a divine sphere united by love, until strife pressing from periphery to centre broke the union resulting in formation of world. This beginning of material world sphere is the golden age where love inside and strife outside, then gradually strife entered and expelled love until strife is fully inside and love outside, then after some period opposite movement takes place, golden age returns and this way the whole cycle repeated. These strife and love are the modern forces of repulsion and attraction. Love and strife separate and unite elements and substance continuously and there are dominant periods of love and strife. When combine by love strife separate them, when separated by strife, love unite them. While Parmenides starting from one made love his principle and Heraclitus from many made strife and Empedocles combines these two. He is called an Eclectic who united the two theories of his predecessors. According to him world events have no purpose and it is only chance and necessity
Man is the image of the original united spherical body. He represent all the four elements. Earth by solid parts of body, water by liquid parts, air by vital breath, fire by spirit. He is also affected by love and hate. His intellectual superiority is due to all cosmic elements are contained in him. He perceives everything because he is everything, he perceives solids because he is earth, liquids because he is water etc. We perceive what is out side us through the same thing within us. Within us there is earth, water, fire, air, love, strife etc and these meet the same outside. Objects give stream of particles which are picked by the same elements within us in sensation. So to know is to become what we know. Blood where the four elements are closely mingled is the seat of sensation and soul. Senses are accepted as a path to understanding, the openings through which reality can be known by us. Health of man depends on normal composition of blood and blood is sacred and must not be used as food.
In his poem purifications he describe spiritual matters. According to him like Heraclitus soul is a fiery substance. strife detached it from spherical body where it first existed with all other beings. Like all other things it eventually return. Life is the expiation of soul's desire for separate existence. Passing through stages of plant, animal. man, it raises by degrees, by abstinences, fasts, and continent living finally again return to God. According to him there are some men who become sinless after many incarnations achieve immortal bliss in the company of gods but at last they appear as prophets, poets, physicians and princes among men. According to this poem Empedocles and probably all men are fallen gods from blissful state of love, the state of unity and wholeness due to lapse and strife and incarnated as other animals in sea and land and also as man and must make purification for the return. Wisdom and knowledge of God cannot get from the objects through senses. God is not like anything in the world. God is a sacred and unutterable mind flashing through the whole world with rapid thoughts. It is man's misdeed which disrupt the unity and produce the present condition of man. When the soul has finished the forms of mortal life it once again passes in to love and unity. According to him propagation of human species is evil because it maintain that actual state of strife and delay return to unity. Empedocles also reduce these four elements and two principles into a higher unity-God. Love is the principle of principles, four elements are it's agents and strife is it's indispensable accomplice .This one is the invisible immaterial One God flashing through the whole world with rapid thoughts.
Analysis.
The elements fire, air, water and earth as basic principles of this philosophy is only material things. Further we have seen that they all are not fundamental but air developed out of fire and water out of air etc. Even fire is not fundamental but as we mentioned they are the successive developments starting from supra light waves( cosmic, gamma,X-ray waves). Now this objective or material aspect is in reality mind in the form of universal subjective soul. Secondly love and strife as the immaterial principles which unite and divide them. We have seen that the cause of movement which manifest the world is Love, desire of relative perfection, both in becoming and relative knowledge. This is true upto manifestation of spirit which is self realisation. From this angle both attraction and repulsion, union and division are not opposition but form of love itself.
Chapter:7:The Atomist:-
Democritus the materialist:
The atomists were Leucippus and Democritus. Leucippus was born in Milius and lived around 440.B.C.He was influenced by Parmenides and Zeno. Democritus was born in Abdera of Thrace ,an Ionic colony, on the Aegean sea in 470 or 460 B.C. He lived in the time of Socrates and Sophists . He was rich and made journey to Egypt and the East like Persia.. He traveled extensively and left writings which contain his philosophy. For rhythm and elegance of language Cicero compared him with Plato. He was a friend and disciple of Leucippus. Democritus is known as the father of materialism. He died at the age of 100.
The atomists Leucippus and Democritus also attempted a union of Eleatic and Heraclitic principles. Atomism also attempt mediation between monism of Parmenides and pluralism Empedocles. Democritus believed in two eternal realities, of atom and void. Atom and void, being and non being both exists.He is the founder of atomism. Atoms are eternal, immutable, innumerable, indivisible and in constant motion. There is difference in size, shape, position and order of atoms. Atoms also differ in heat, spherical atoms, which compose of fire is the hottest. Atoms have hooks to connect them with other atoms. These atoms are the basic substance and. they are without beginning and eternal. Atoms possess only physical properties. Qualities are supplied by the subjective mind. To atomists full and empty are the basic elements .Full is existent and it’s principle is atoms, empty is nonexistent and example is vacuum. Atom is impenetrable and indivisible because there is no void in it.
The full or atom is not simple but infinitely many and these many move in vacuum. Their combination brings origination of things and their disintegration and separation is passing away. In material things atoms are separated by vacuum. The diversity of things are due to the diverse nature of atoms in three ways, in figure (like A from B) or in order( like AB from BA) or in position (like N from Z). To Atomists the basic principle of manifestation is these unlimited number of atoms. Atoms are homogenous in quality but diverse in form. They are unchangeable, material, have extension so only have magnitude. As atoms are being without quality they are incapable of qualitative change or transformation so becoming is only a change of place. The world is the result of the union of atoms in different form and combinations. The atoms as undivided and impenetrable are limited and separated from each other. The void is necessary to distinguish atoms hence for their existence and also for motion. It is the void space which makes them limited and separate. This is the objective form of the being and not being, in becoming of Heraclitus. The cause of the becoming was explained by atomists by explaining matter as the abiding being and force as the ground of motion. This forces are love and hate. . He reconciled the Being of Parmenides with becoming, motion and many of Heraclitus by stating atom and void. Void is non being and atoms being and infinite and invisible atoms moving in void results in coming together or becoming and separating or passing away.
As a result of collisions, collection of atom produce vortices, thus form bodies and worlds. The world is formed by the different variety of atoms in different combinations. Perpetual motion produce whirling movement and thus combine according to external affinities, like size and form, since chemically they are all same and neither attract nor repel each other. There are many such worlds, some growing, some decaying, some have no sun or moon and some have several of them. Every world has a beginning and end and a world is destroyed by collision with a larger world. The heaviest atom move down wards in infinite space while the lightest form the atmosphere. some atoms have uneven, rough, sharp or hooked surfaces and these combines to form acid or bitter substances. Atoms with smooth surfaces form substances which are sweet or agreeable to senses. Souls are spherical atoms. Soul consists of finest ,smoothest and so most nimble atoms. When such atoms are alone or in small groups they are insensible and when joined in large quantity they acquire the faculty of sensation. They are scattered all over the body, but more in sense organs producing sensations in brain as seat of thought, in heart as seat of feelings and in liver as seat of desire. They explained that from things the surfaces detaching fly into the eyes and ears etc and this is the way feeling and sensations are produced. So sensations and perception is effluences comes from objects and enter sense organs producing sensations and entering brain produce images and ideas. Life developed out of primeval slime. First living species including man generated from mud or slime by chance.There is fire everywhere in the body but most in brain or heart. Thought is a kind of motion so able to cause motion elsewhere. Perception and thought are physical process, two kind of perceptions, one of senses, other of understanding. Perception of latter depends on things perceived and the former also on our senses and so may become deceptive. Like Locke Democritus also maintained that qualities like warmth, taste and colour are not in object but in the sense organ of subject while qualities like weight, density, hardness are in the object. Sensation only source of knowledge and there is nothing in thought that is not first in senses. Our ideas represent impressions of relation between ourself and external world and not exact reproductions of object themselves whose essence is unknowable. So Democritus believed that even though senses are the main source of knowledge, they present only a dim view of reality. Real knowledge is by the aid of reason, which present the essence of things.
Human soul is also formed by soul atoms which are bound to the brain and which disperse at death to form another soul. So there is no after life. We are self conscious as long as soul atoms are intact in the body. When certain number of atoms escape there is loss of consciousness and sleep. When all of them except a few escape there is seeming death, and when all soul atom separated from body at once there is death. death cannot destroy the atoms as they are indestructible, but destroy union in a body and individuality by such union. Since feeling does not belongs to isolated atoms but only combination of atoms in brain ad sense organ death ends feelings and personality.
The gods are more powerful than men, and live much longer but they are not immortal as they also composed of soul atoms and eventually die by its separation. Since they are more powerful and wiser than us we should venerate them. Above the gods and above everything is the Necessity, the supreme, impersonal and impartial law which governs heavens and earth. This natural law which imposed on all beings we must submit with joy and our happiness depends on that. The cause of the initial motion of atom or the ultimate ground of becoming he placed in absolute necessity and this final ground or first necessity is ‘chance’. So he argued that everything happened through natural cause and necessity. Perpetual motion, not from outside but belongs to their essence and deny teleology and design and chance and apply necessity and laws. According to him the word chance is due to ignorance of real causes, nothing in nature happens without cause and al have reason and necessity. He was a Determinist, everything happen due to natural laws and necessity-not by chance or final cause, only mechanistic explanation. He was a materialist, to him soul is atom and thought physical process and no teleological purpose in world as atom governed by mechanical laws. He had no belief in popular religion and denied nous of Anaxagoras.
In ethics he considered cheerfulness and happiness the goal of life, and regarded moderation and culture as the best means to it. He disliked everything violent and passionate; he disapproved of sex, because, it involved the overwhelming of consciousness by pleasure. He valued friendship, but thought ill of women, and did not desire children, because their education interferes with philosophy. He preferred democracy.
Some of his sayings are 'poverty in a democracy is as much to be preferred to what is called prosperity under despots as freedom is to slavery'; 'to be happy and not to suffer one must not seek pleasure in mortal things'; 'works of justice produce happiness'; 'man must concern himself with society, state ad public affairs'; 'one must not quarrels contrary to right, nor acquire a power contrary to the common good'; 'The well-run State is the greatest protection, and contains all in itself; when this is safe, all is safe; when this is destroyed, all is destroyed'; 'one must respect one's own opinion than that of others and this must prevent him form doing wrong'; 'Courage is the beginning of action, but Fortune is the arbiter of the goal, but only fool are shaped by chance and more men become good through effort than by nature' ;'we must limit desires, strive for the possible and key to true pleasure is moderation'; 'one must be content with what is attainable and what one has, never envy and and look upon those who are higher in state but look upon who are less fortunate than us and this will bring content knowing how fortunate we are when compared with them ;'Those to whom their neighbors' misfortunes give pleasure do not understand that the blows of fate are common to all; and also they lack cause for personal joy."
Analysis.
This is a pure mechanical explanation of nature. Here the atoms and void which are the forms of mind is taken as reality and nature of mind is ignored. The defect of this philosophy is ground as some thing material and indivisible like atoms and to derive extension from that which has no extension. Another defect is necessity as cause and of chance as the ultimate cause which ignore all conception of design from nature.
Chaptwr:8:Anaxagoras.
He was an Ionian and often mentioned as from Ionic school. He was the first to suggest mind as the primary cause of physical changes. Hermotimus was his teacher and it is said that he was also the student of Anaximines. He was born in Clazomenae in Lydia inv 500 B.C. and was contemporary of Democritus, Empedocles and Parmenides. Withdrawing from public life he devoted entirely to philosophy. He made numerous journeys and in the 45th year in 456 B.C. came to Athens after the Persian war and lived and taught there thirty years from 462-432 B.C. Pericles ruled at this time and he become a friend of Pericles. When Pericles becomes old, his opponents began a campaign against Pericles by attacking his friends. They passed a law permitting impeachment for not practicing religion and teaching higher things. He was accused of despising and disrespecting gods like saying 'Sun is a red hot stone and sun moon earth and other stars are natural things and not gods' and was condemned to death by people. His death was avoided by Pericles by pleading for him and it is said that punishment reduced to banishment and in other version he escaped with the help of Pericles. Any way he returned to Ionia ,founded a school settled. He died around 72 in 428 B.C. at Lampsacus. It was during his time philosophy first flourished in Athens which later become the centre of philosophy. Through his relations with Pericles, Euripides, Themistocles, and Thucydides he made a great influence on the culture of the age. His well known written work was ‘concerning nature’
Anaxagoras differ from Heraclitus mainly on two points-one he opposes his dynamism with mechanical cosmogony and secondly substitute dualism for monism-one is the unintelligent inert substance and the other is intelligent principle as the cause of the others motion. Like his predecessors Empedocles and Atomists he also deny the becoming. According to one of his sayings ’The becoming and departing the Greeks hold without foundation, for nothing can ever be said to become or depart; but ,since existing things may be compounded together and again divided, we should name the becoming more correctly a combination, and the departing a separation.
According to him matter cannot be reduced to primary elements like air, fire etc that is transformed to other substances. It is inconceivable how a substance become another substance. Everything is infinitely divisible and even the smallest matter contain some of each element. This means everything contain fire or earth etc but we call fire that where the element fire predominates. So there are infinite number of primary elements. These are infinite in number and infinitely small, uncreated, indestructible and unchangeable in essence. Their quantity is always same so nothing is added or destroyed. No change in quantity or quality, so nothing comes into being and nothing passes away and nothing is produced and nothing is lost. This first principle has homogenous parts which are infinitely many like principles and are eternal. All arise from union of these like particles and dissolve by separation of these like parts. As everything contain all elements change is only separation of some particles so original object appear different than before, like hot and cold exist together and when cold separated we notice hot.So gold arises by union of more gold particles than other particles etc. So things formed by their combination and disappear by their separation. So coming into being is mixture and passing away or death is separation. He also denied void. The constituent elements of things (homoiomeria) existed together originally in a chaotic state until with their separation and parting there is the formation of world. So manifestation is due to combination and dissolution is due to withdrawal of a moving force which is separate from the matter.
So second principle and this moving force is world forming intelligence or mind (nous). Mind is the source of all motion . This is the end or good and acting with design. This intelligence is free to dispose, separate from matter, ground of movement, itself unmoved ,everywhere active and the most refined and pure of all things. This has the attribute of mind and act consciously with design. This is the cause of motion. So Anaxagoras identified Nous or reason as the basic principle. He regard mind (nous) as a substance which enter into living beings and cause life. Everything contain everything except mind which only contain in some things and not in all things. Mind has power over everything that has life. It is infinite and self ruled and mix with nothing. Except mind everything contain opposites like hot and cold ,black and white etc. Motion is not inherent in the elements as they are inert and unintelligent. It is caused by mind (nous) which is the the intelligible element. It is simple and homogenous and distinct from the other and not mixed with them. Inert elements are passive and have no consciousness of their own while mind is active ,free and source of all movement in the world. It knows all things past, present and future. and arrange and organise everything with design and teleological purpose. It is the eternal governor of the world and more powerful than all the elements.
In the beginning all was alike and unseperated and in chaos resting for infinite time. In the beginning inert, unintelligent elements were all together and in chaos. Here gold, Iron air ,earth are not separate but all together form an indeterminate and inert mass. This first mass identified as air or ether. At this stage only the intelligent principle have a life of it's own distinct from this chaos. Nous brought movement and separation of likes and union of likes It entered the chaos disentangle it and make the cosmos out of it. The primary infinite elements being set in motion by Nous combined together and again separated according to inner affinities. From the point of motion in the chaos whirling motion gradually extends all over the world. It continues as proved by rotation of heavens till original chaos is completely separated. It causes a rotation which spreading trough out the world causes light things to the circumference and heaviest things to the center. Our earth is a cylindrical body composed of the heaviest primary elements and is carried towards the center of the world by original motion. The lighter elements which form water is deposited on this earth. Higher up atmosphere is formed by the more lighter elements as air. At last in the heavens most subtle elements, fiery ether mixed again. A second separation of elements take place, and by original motion from earth different solid, mineral, and other bodies parted and from water parted different liquids and this continues till our world and earth has the present form. The stars are sold masses separated from earth by the it's original motion common with the universe and they were ignited by contact with celestial ether.
The sun is a fiery mass ,moon's light is reflected light from sun and has mountains and valleys in it. He explained moon shine by reflected light. He made the correct theory of eclipse and also moon' position is below the sun and moon is inhabited. Sun and stars are fiery stones and we do not feel the heat because of distance. All living things like plants, animals, men contain Nous and man is more intelligent only because his mind employ developed organs. So mind is uniform and same in animals as in man and differences in intelligences are due to bodily differences like hands in men. To him reason is the criterion of truth ,the senses cannot judge truth on account of their weakness. One of his saying ’the snow is black, for it is water, and water is black’. The Nous is moving self determined Thought .So Anaxagoras put first mind or intelligence superior to object or matter. Nous knows all things past, present and future before the organization of matter. So it has a transcendent aspect, having reason purpose, freedom, conscious of it's action. As it is present in all living things it has also an immanent aspect. So Nous is both transcendence and immanence. As Nous is the cause of motion he rejected necessity and chance as cause of things. Socrates and Aristotle criticise him for making nous only as the initial cause of motion then leaving everything else to physical and mechanical causes. With Anaxagoras ends the realistic period of Grecian philosophy.
Analysis:
The positive point of Anaxagoras is he put Nous or self determining mind as the basic principle. The primary defect of this philosophy is here Nous is not seen as the only reality of being or matter or matter as the form of nous but as something different and besides matter. This is supposing two principles Nous and matter. Secondly as Socrates commented the doctrine has a mechanical character because the function of Nous is only to move matter.
Chapter:9:The Sophists.
Sofistai means teacher of wisdom, but their laxity in morals and unbelief in polytheism stigmatised them as sophists. They were not concerned with what things we can know but how can we know and gave rise to scepticism. Sophists are men who made a living by teaching the young what is useful in practical life. Unlike other contemporary philosophers they found no school and no esoteric teaching for a few of the members apart from public teaching. They taught the art of arguing. They applied the Eleatic principle of negation of finite to all worldly objects and practical life and made the individual subjectivity the deciding factor. They were the first teachers of Greece and taught men wisdom, music, mathematics and philosophy. They instructed the wealthy youths. They were teachers of rhetoric or oratory. They teach individual to lead a good family life and become a good citizen of the state. According to sophists virtues can be taught. Sophists were wealthy and accumulated riches. They taught men to see duty ,justice and right only from the advantage of the individual or from particular subjective view and not from universal so they destroyed the belief in morality and religion. When there are equally valid various point of view the satisfaction of the individual made the ultimate aim..
Sophists considered mind as above nature and different from nature. The objective world which was above subject before came below subject so they established the superiority of subjective thinking, but this was finite as empirical subjectivity. In sophistic philosophy the subject after recognizing himself as something higher than objective world-not only as above the laws of the state ,above customs and religious tradition and popular faith, but also attempted to prescribe subjective laws for this objective world. They looked upon world as exanimated matter where he can exercise his will. Sophism is not philosophy in the normal sense but an intellectual movement of that age spreading across the moral, political and religious character of Athenian life. Sophist philosophy represented theoretically what Athenian life was during Peloponnesian war practically. In this philosophy the empirical subject is absolute,he can determine what is right and good and true. The public life had become full of passion and selfishness. Every one set up his own private interests above the common good of state and decided his own advantage the measure of all actions. Customs lost validity. State laws considered as agreement of majority, civil ordinances as arbitrary restrictions. Moral feeling, faith and piety all lost their validity. Sophist philosophy influenced every aspect of life in Athens and was directed to the universal culture of man. Protagoras was teacher of virtues, Gorgias rhetorician and politician, Prodius grammarian and teacher of synonyms, Hippias astronomer, mathematician and made theory of mnemonics. They all taught for popularity, fame and money. They bartered their instructions for rich people. They advocated pleasure. Along with these negative points they contributed positively every department of life. They demanded investigations into the theory of knowledge, logic and language. They laid the foundation for methodical treatment of all branches of human knowledge thus partly started the intellectual activity in Athens at that age. In language they created and formed the Attic prose. They give language grammar ,syntax or philology. They made style a separate object of study and made investigations into number and the art of rhetorical representation. Athenian eloquence started with them. They are the fore runners of the science of logic. The most important sophists were Protagoras, Gorgias and Prodicus. Their criticism destroyed the mental foundation of polytheism and prepared for the religion of Socrates, Plato and Stoics,
A:Protagoras.
Protagoras was born at Abdera in 500 B.C. and lived around 440.B.C.He was a fellow countryman and friend of Democritus. He was older than Socrates. He is the first public speaker in Greece. He came to Athens and lived there with Pericles. He made a code of laws for the city of Thurii in 444 B.C- He taught his entire adult life in Sicily and Athens for wages. He taught practical efficiency and higher mental culture to the wealthy youths. He was pampered by wealthy, cultured and sceptical youth, and hated by traditional religious common folk. He was prosecuted and driven out of Athens for reviling gods and his books were burnt in public in 411 B.C. While on a journey to Sicily he was drowned at the age of 70 or 90 .Unlike other sophists he was esteemed by all due to his good personal character. He wrote a book named 'On the Gods'. One part of the book says ‘I can know nothing concerning the gods, whether they exist or not; for we are prevented from gaining such knowledge not only by the obscurity of the thing itself, but by the shortness of the human life.’ In another writing he develops his doctrine of knowing or not knowing. starting from Heraclitus’s everything is in constant flow, and applying this preeminently to the thinking subject. He taught that 'Man is the measure of all things, who determines in respect of being that it may be ,and of not being ,that it may not be'. This means in the constant movement of things and the subject himself what is true is that of perception and sensation. This mean individual subjective knowledge of sense objects and even moral judgments is all possible and may seem different to different individuals. According to him one opinion can be better and desirable than another, but not truer.
The sensible world is in constant becoming so senses show things only that passes away and do not reveal immutable, necessary and universal. Reason is a better source but according to Democritus reflection only shows what is first in senses. So if sensation is changeable, uncertain and illusory and the only source of knowledge, there is only uncertain knowledge. Only those which we feel, sense and experience exist for us. Atoms of Democritus, primary elements of Anaxagoras, elements of Empedocles and primary principles of Milean school, all these are hypothetical and cannot be demonstrated. There is no truth for man except in what he perceives, feels and experiences. The subject has no relation to the external world than sensuous apprehension and sensuous desire. Since perception and sensation are variable in different subjects and in the same subjects at different times and states this means nothing has objective truth and all claims are true and there cannot be error or contradiction. So there are as many truth as individuals and and man is the measure of truth and good. There are no universal truth or we have no criterion to assess such truth. Practical truth like theoretical truth is also relative depending on matter of taste, temperament and education. It is impossible to know the cause or ultimate nature of reality. He says ’truth is a manifestation for consciousness. Nothing is in and for itself one, but everything has a relative truth only’. As this is the case man must occupy with himself and his happiness which is the ultimate aim. Happiness consists in controlling one self and others. Control one's self mean to be virtuous and philosophy is the art of being virtuous. To govern others in a society which is fascinated by the beauties of language and give more importance to form than matter, one must be eloquent which means think and speak correctly. Philosophy is the art of thinking and speaking correctly. Philosophy consists of three branches-practical ethics, dialectics, rhetoric. This disbelief in objective truth make majority opinion practicable and so he also defends law, convention and traditional morality.
B: Gorgias.
He was born in leontium in Sicily and was a statesman.. He was a student of Empedocles. He came to Athens from Leontium during Peloponnesian war(426 B.C.) to get help for his native city against Syracuse. After this he lived some more time in Athens then shifted to Thessaly in the latter part of his life and died at almost the same time as Socrates at the age of 100..The pompous ostentation of his external appearance is often ridiculed by Plato in his dialogues. One of his book is ‘concerning not-being or nature’. In this discourses through poetical ornament, florid metaphors, uncommon words and unheard figure of speech he try to dazzle and delude the mind. He was an adherent of Eleatic Zeno and tried to prove through dialectics that universally nothing is, or if there could be being it would not be cognizable and if cognizable not communicable. This is by his dialectical arguments and it has three parts. In the first he proves objectively that ‘nothing exists’-if being is everlasting it is bound less, and if boundless no position, and if without position does not exist. If it is created it must comes either from being or non being both are impossible. If being is neither everlasting nor created it cannot be both so being does not exist. It cannot be one, if it exists ,it has size and infinitely divisible. If cannot be one neither can be many as many is plurality of one. So nothing exists, neither being, nor non being nor a mixture of the two. In the second part subjectively that assuming that being is ,it cannot be known -if we can think about non existent and imagined things which have no reality ,this means reality cannot be thought. We think about existent thing only because we perceive them. In third part both objectively and subjectively that were it to exist and knowable ,no communication of what is known would be possible-we communicate by speech and it is not the same as the subject of speech, the perceptibles, it is not speech which communicate perceptibles but they which create speech.
C: Later sophists.
Famous among them were tyrant Critias and Polus, Callicles, Thrasymachus, Hippias,Antiphon and Prodicus.. They were free thinkers ,who ridiculed the religions laws and customs of the country. Callicles and Thrasymachus openly taught the right of the stronger as the law of nature, the unbridled satisfaction of the desire as natural right of the stronger, and the setting up of a restraining law as a crafty invention of the weaker. Critias in a poem described the faith in gods as an invention of crafty statesman. Hippias of Elias though having great knowledge and good character also was boastful and taught the same. Prodicus was famous and there is a proverb ‘as wise as Prodicus’. Plato and Aristophanes mention him with respect. His lectures concerning choice of a mode of life, external good and it’s use, about life and death were famous.
Analysis
The merit of sophism is it's form. It is in them for first time there is opposition of subject and object. Reality is not entirely external to the thinking and feeling subject. The thinking subject is coefficient in the production of phenomenon. That is subjectivity as the ultimate principle. we have seen that Absolute Spirit as human spirit is self conscious subject. The defect of this philosophy is it's content. Measure of everything as individual man .Here the content is that of finite ego. There is no objective content like that of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. We have seen that Human Spirit as Absolute Spirit has a universal character. So real subjectivity is not finite and confined to the limited interests of the individual ego but is universal and think and act from a universal perspective.
ii. Socratic Period.
Chapter:10:Socrates.
The philosophy of Socrates is same as his character .He was born in 469 B.C. The son of sophroniscus ,a sculptor, and Phanarete, a midwife. In his youth he was trained as a sculptor by his father. Nothing definite is known about his education. Except one journey to a public festival he remained in Athens throughout his life. He followed his father’s profession in his youth but had great desire and love for philosophy. He was a student of Anaxagoras and after his expulsion from Athens, at the age of 37 of Archelaus, Anaxagoras's successor. He was also studied under sophists like Prodicus and other teachers of music and poetry. He also served the country in his youth. He made three campaign in the Peloponnesian war. He was not only a brave soldier but also saved the life of others like his pupil Alcibiades and Xenophon. He also occupied various civil offices like member in the council which is the representative of citizens of Athens etc. He started teaching philosophy around 423 B.C. Delphic oracle, Pythia pronounced him as the wisest man. He was a critic of sophists and had contempt for metaphysics, natural science and mathematics .According to him study of moral men and one's duty is the main concern of education. His motto was know yourself which means subjectivity and must look within oneself to know the truth. He taught the youths by illustrating with common examples taken from everyday life. He was also occupied with getting competent men by training into positions of power.
He was praised by all his narrators. According to Xenophon he was 'just, the best and the happiest man possible’. Socrates was an example of the moral virtues of wisdom, discretion, temperance, moderation, justice, courage, inflexibility, firm sense of rectitude in relation to tyrants and people. He has neither cupidity nor despotism, he was indifferent to money. He was good in company and his relation with others were just, open and honourable. His main method was visiting the public Lyceum and discussing philosophical problems with men.
Physically he was very ugly and had a crooked, turned up nose, projecting eyes, bald head large paunch and corpulent body. He dressed miserably, walked barefoot and he often stand still a long time rolling his eyes. He was indifferent to heat and cold, hunger and thirst. had mastery over bodily passions, and seldom drink alcohol. Aristophanes in Clouds criticise Socrates as the sophist. After the fall of thirty tyrants in his 70th year he was brought to trial for neglecting the gods of the state, introducing new gods and corrupting the youth. In the trial of Socrates the two points of accusation were, one he did not believe in the gods of Athenians but introduced new gods. This new god is like his daemon, which he told that he had revelations from god and this tell him what to do. Second he led the youths astray and told them not to obey their parents but him. After the Heliasts (jury) pronounced him guilty and pronounced death Socrates had the liberty of suggesting a penalty of either fine or banishment instead of death. Socrates refused this saying that it amounted to pleading guilty. After 30 days in prison he drank poison and died at the age of 69 in 399 B.C. His last words were 'The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways. I to die, you to live, which is better, God only knows'.
. Socrates philosophy we get form two sources One Xenophon’s Memorabilia and Plato’s Dialogues. Xenophon makes moral philosopher and supporter of natural religion. Plato's Socrates is a metaphysician. Socrates believed in a Daimon or oracle which reveal to him concealed knowledge. He used to hear the voice of this demon inside him .This genius (daemon) which can predict what should be done in a present situation and also divine future events. The philosophy of Socrates was opposed to all preceding natural philosophies and also sophist philosophy. In Socrates we the see the transition from natural morality to reflective or conscious morality. In Socrates human mind turned back to itself ,to it’s own being and conceived it as active moral spirit. His philosophy is mainly ethical –an enquiry into the nature of virtue. Scepticism of sophists is the starting point of Socrates philosophy .To him self knowledge is the starting point of all philosophy and knowledge. He declared that he excelled other man in wisdom only in this that he was conscious of his own ignorance All he knows is that he knows nothing. Certainty is impossible in physical science and cosmology. This scepticism does not extend to morals. Hence he believes there is something in the world that can be known and this is man, so know yourself. Knowing oneself is the meaning and aim of life and it is the highest good of soul and this knowledge is the only possible and also real and useful knowledge. So philosophy is ethics. Ethics is real, certain and positive science resting on universal principles. So the second feature is his opposition to sophist philosophy. Like sophists he also believed all moral acts must be conscious acts but unlike sophists it is not as the limited ego or finite subjectivity but to Socrates, thinking is the activity of the universal principle, so free objective thought as the measure of all things .So instead of referring moral duties to fancy and caprice of individual it referred to true knowledge, to the essence of spirit.. To the Sophists the content is limited subjectivity and it’s interests, Socrates grasped the content which is in and for itself or as universal. While sophists identify subjectivity with the individual opposed to the objective ,contingent and lawless limited will, Socrates see subjectivity as objective and universal in itself, the real existence as the universal ‘I’. This is also the truth, the good and the end. To him conscience as universal is within every one same and Socratic principle is that man has to find from within himself this universal truth, and good and also the end of his actions. So unlike Protagoras whose 'man as the measure of all things' means individual and particular men, here it is general human nature and universal principles and. not particular, changeable, accidental individual but immutable and necessary moral element common to all. Moral ideas have objective and absolute value. Goodness, justice and truth does not depend on individual taste, but hidden and concealed behind individual prejudices. When given proper education we discover the same ideas in all towards good truth, justice and beauty. This education is mainly giving words their exact meaning by making definitions and concepts. The earliest of platonic dialogues which are most Socratic, he is occupied mainly in search of definitions for ethical terms. The Charmades concerned with definition of moderation or temperance. Lysis with friendship, Laches with courage.
In old history of philosophy it is said that Socrates introduced ethics to philosophy. Cicero says Socrates brought philosophy from heaven to earth-into the market place. Socrates replaced finite subjectivity with Absolute subjectivity. Spirit in the form of free moral will and thought as truth of all reality. Socrates made the absolute or ideal subjectivity instead of limited empirical subjectivity. He carried the principle of freedom and self consciousness to it’s truth. A true world of objective thought. The true measure of all thing is not individual opinion, fancy or will. What is true and good and right does not depend on my opinion or any one else’s opinion. It is the rational in one’s thinking which decide this. My reason is not something exclusively of me but to every rational being. So reason is universal and so when I am rational my subjectivity is a universal one. Every rational thinking individual consciousness has conviction that what he hold as right, duty, good and evil has validity for others also so universal validity, so objectivity. This is the philosophy of objective thought. Here rational thinking led to the same results as faith and religion and customs induced on ordinary man. So there is no conflict between reason and state. To Socrates universal man is the measure of all things. Here according to Hegel Socrates put morality on ethical grounds instead of custom and habit. The logical condition for this objective ground of unconditional moral law is formation of concepts.
Socratic method.
His method was go to the working place of people and talk to them about their interests as topic and from this particular he led them to universal and absolute truth and value His method was dialectics, this is seeking knowledge by questions and answers. It has two sides, a negative and a positive. The negative side is Socratic irony. He begins by playing ignorance and let the others bring out their conceptions and teach him. Here the philosopher take the attitude of ignorance and let the opponent teach him. But by putting questions he will show the contradictions in the teaching and make them agree they know nothing. The positive side is the so called obstetrics or intellectual midwifery. He then shows by dialectics that the opposite proposition is also true. This makes the listener confused and he agrees that he know nothing.-this is assisting others to produce new knowledge which is already contained in their consciousness. This new knowledge is the right and good in universal form. Here the teacher will help others to bring forth thoughts themselves instead of teacher teaching them. The means of this is by the method of induction.By inductive arguments arriving at universal definition.This is leading the representation to a conception. According to him moral ideas are fundamental to humanity. Every mind already contain truth so education create nothing that is already there but only awaken and develop the germs of knowledge. His chief delight in teaching hearers to discover the true definitions themselves by dialectical method and this is spiritual midwifery. Socrates teach them how to think correctly and to know the truth and the object not to make them learned but useful and happy citizens. Wisdom or knowledge is not an end in itself, but the indispensable means of right living for private individual ,citizens and statesman. Aristotle says about Socrates that two merits of his philosophy are method of induction and forming logical definitions. Starting from individual concrete case, and finding most common notions about it and by removing what is individual hence contingent and accidental, bring out the essential ,universal truth and determinations-thus forming conceptions. So by forming conception of every virtue in this method means making conscious of these virtues. So every moral action start from conscious action, from this conception. This means it is not the individual things but this concepts or thoughts are the essence or real being of things. Platonic ideas are these universal conceptions posited as individual real existing things. So Aristotle compare the Socratic method with platonic doctrine of ideas saying 'Socrates does not posit the universal conceptions as separate, individual substances, while Plato does this, and names them ideas,’.
Doctrine of Virtue.
The relation between knowledge and will constitute the fundamental principle of his philosophy. More a man thinks and knows better he will act. From this it follows that virtue is teachable and secondly it is one which means one cannot be virtuous in one thing without being so in all things-and thirdly evil is not voluntary but the result of ignorance. So to Socrates virtue is knowledge or perception. To Socrates virtue is a knowing so nothing is good which happens without discernment and nothing bad which is done with discernment. One who knowingly does wrong is better than one one who does it ignorant because in the former morality alone is wanting while in latter lacks both morality and knowledge. To him good action necessarily follows from the knowledge of good. Good is pleasure and evil pain. Form the view that virtue is a knowing has logical consequence of unity of virtue and practical aspect of teachability of it. Socrates is the first one to make a scientific ethical philosophy. The ethical system of Socrates is a mean between the idealism of Pythagoras and realism of materialistic Ionians. It aims the ideal but love to express this ideal in sensible forms, to reflect moral beauty in physical beauty. In religion he agrees with his predecessors and criticise myths and fables. He believes in superior beings who watch over nations and inspire individuals. He emphasise the universality of Providence and criticise the partcularism of Athenians thus paving the way for universal brother hood of Stoicism and Christianity.
Analysis
. Knowing oneself as the real knowledge is knowing one's spirit which is nothing but Absolute Spirit. As we explained when one is aware of one's spirit he thinks and act from the universal or cosmic perspective and not from the interests of limited particular individual point. This gives morality an objective character. As we explained in the first part of the book when one try to know oneself gradually the spirit reveal himself and at first it responds in the form of conscience. As this conscience is also the dim revealing of spirit it has also a universal validity. Secondly as virtue is this spiritual knowledge it has unity and evil is nothing but ignorance of the spirit. Only this spiritual knowledge gives rise to knowledge of good and only this knowledge will give rise to desire or inclination or will to do good. So Socrates is right in saying virtue is knowledge. Now here self knowledge means spiritual knowledge. It is apparent that by infallible inner sense or conscience Socrates means glimpses from spiritual plane which has universal and objective validity. As we earlier mentioned the realm of Socratic conceptions and Plato's ideas are the spiritual plane of spirits and this knowledge is spiritual knowledge which is infallible, objective and universal. Intellectual and rational knowledge is not enough for action from a universal perspective. Only spiritual knowledge produce spontaneous action. Virtue as this spiritual knowledge is teachable as all the schools and methods of mystics are developed only for this purpose.
Chapter:11:The Socratics
To all Socratics determination of subject for which the absolute principle of good and true is the end or aim. All agree that subject himself is the end and reach this subjective end by cultivation of knowledge. The common character of Socratic school is taking Socrates as the ideal. According to them man should have one true aim-this they got from Socrates teaching. But about the nature of this aim there are mainly 3 views that of 1-Antisthenes or the Cynical,2-Aristippus or the Hedonist 3-Euclid the Megarian .
A:Antisthenes and the Cynicism.
Here the idealistic teaching of Socrates is exaggerated. Cynic define the principle of good in keeping conformity with nature and simple needs of nature. To them the content of good is the greatest independence of nature and slightest possible necessities. Antisthenes was a student of Gorgias in early life and was a teacher of sophistic philosophy. Later he become a student of Socrates and after his death found a school in cynosarges and his adherents are known as cynics. He associated with working class and dressed like them. He despised luxury and pleasures of senses.He believed in the return to nature philosophy in it's extreme. He taught against government, marriage, organised religions, private property. Like Socrates he also considered virtue as knowing and final cause of man and which can be instructed. But virtue was to him absence of every need and it is avoiding evil. His motto is virtue for virtue's sake and virtue as the final and only goal of all our actions-virtue is the highest good Wise man is to him is self sufficient, independent of everything, indifferent to family, civil and state life. This ideal is devoid of the Socratic dialectics. Some of the sayings of Antisthenes are ‘I had rather be mad than delighted'.Virtue is self-sufficing, and requires nothing more than a Socratic strength of character. The good is excellent, the bad discreditable. Virtue consists of works, and does not require many reasons or theories. The end of man is a virtuous life. The wise man is contended with himself, for he possess everything that others seem to possess. His own virtue satisfies him, he is at home all over the world. if he lacks fame this is not to be regarded as an evil, but as a good., etc' .According to him pleasure is evil and forthe sake of virtue renounce all material and intellectual pleasures. Cynics even reject mental culture and philosophy as evils, and despising even simple social pleasures they rebelled the rules and laws of society. Here civilisation is replaced by state of nature.
The later cynics like Diogenes of sinope advocated contempt for all knowledge and social customs. He rejected all conventions, religious, food, dressing, housing, decency. They found virtue in ‘the shortest way by a life according to nature and shutting out the outer social world completely. He sought virtue and moral freedom from in liberation from desire. Diogenes says ’An easy life is assigned by the gods to that man who limits himself to his necessities, and this true philosophy may be attained by everyone through perseverance and the power of self denial’. Diogenes lived like a dog so called by the name cynic which means canine, The Dog. He confined to the barest necessities. He lived by begging. He proclaimed brother hood not only with whole human race but also with animals. It is told that he lived in a tub It is told that he threw away his cup when he saw a boy drinking water with his bare hands. He says ’To have no wants is divine, to have as few as possible is to come nearest to the divine’. It is related that one day while Diogenes was washing his greens Aristippus passed by. Diogenes told that if you knew how to wash your greens yourself ,you would not run after kings and Aristippus retorted that if you know how to associate with men, you would not wash greens, One day he walked in the beautiful and expensive carpet of Plato's house with dirty feet saying ’I tread on the pride of Plato’ and Plato replied ’yes,but with another pride’. When Alexander visited and asked him whether he need any favour his reply was 'only to stand out of my light'. So cynicism is the negative side of Socratic doctrine. The moral idealism of Cynics reappear in a new and purer form in Zeno and gave rise later to Stoicism
B:Aristippus and Hedonism.
. The cyreniacs take knowledge in its subjective aspect and define good as pleasure of enjoyment and happiness. Aristippus of cyrene in Africa is the head of this school. He was a sensualist Sophist before joining Socrates and adhered to their theory. Like Protagoras he maintain that all our knowledge is subjective and we cannot know the real nature of things. He distinguishes thing in themself and our knowledge of it. His ethics is also more near to Protagoras than Socrates. His doctrine is called Hedonism. Socrates said virtue and happiness coordinately the highest end of man. From this Aristippus chose pleasure as the ultimate end of life and the highest good. Like sophists they say the motive of all action is the desire for happiness and it's end is the pleasure. Here pleasure is not limited to individual sensual pleasure but sublime pleasures which extends whole life and he recommends knowledge, self control, temperance and intellectual culture as means for acquiring and preserving enjoyment. So he advocated not sensual pleasures but mental pleasures. He said we must have self control and be master of ourself in all circumstances. Mental pleasures, friendship, paternal and filial love, art and literature take precedence over fleeting sensual pleasures. Wise men should seek not the pleasure of the moment but lasting joys, permanent state of moral content. To them sensation is the criterion .Sensations are either pleasant or unpleasant or neither. Unpleasant feelings are bad and it’s end is pain and pleasant feelings are good and it’s end is happiness. Aristippus also has the same view of Protagoras in religion. They were free thinkers and criticised polytheism.
A later cyreniac, Theodorus made joy and sorrow the end, joy found in understanding and sorrow lack of understanding. He defined good as understanding and justice and bad as opposite and enjoyment and pain indifferent. He is called the Atheist and in a book titled 'The Gods' he advocated atheism. Another Hedonist Euhemerus in a sensational treatise held that gods were heros, kings and distinguished men who had been deified after their death. The other leaders of this are Hegesias and Anniceris. Hegesias is a pessimist. He is reported to have said ’There is no perfect happiness. The body is troubled with manifold pains, and the soul suffers along with it It is hence a matter of indifference whether we choose life or death. In itself nothing is pleasant or unpleasant’. This development of pessimism is inevitable as for the hedonists aim of life is pleasure, for some momentary pleasures and for others permanent happiness. But in real life there is more pain than pleasure and unalloyed happiness is only a dream. So the aim of life cannot be realised and life has no value. Here death becomes preferable to life. It at least give us negative happiness as suppression of pain. Later in Anniceris philosophy pessimism is again replaced by optimism. Further development of this school is in defining the nature of pleasure like, momentary sensation or enduring whole life, mental or sensual ,whether individual can posses it or only social life, whether it is positive or negative as absence of pain. This hedonism later given rise to Epicureanism where ethics of Aristippus and physics of Democritus combined.
C:Euclid and the Megarians.
Union of ethical and dialectical is character of all Socratic schools. Here ethical is made to serve the dialectical. Ehical is given metaphysical support. Here there is a combination of Socratic and Eleatic principles. From Parmenides teaching of being as one and Socrates reality of nous and moral principles he concluded mind or goodness is being, the only absolutely existing being.
The idea of good on ethical side same as idea of being on physical. So Euclid called good pure being and not good not being. This gives rise to later Scepticism. The Megaric school held the good as simple and universal. They showed the contradictions in particular conceptions by dialectics. They maintained the Eleatic being as the good. One of Euclid's saying is ‘the good is one, and it alone is ,though passing under many names, sometimes it is called understanding, sometimes god, at another time thought, and so on, but what is opposed to the good does not exist'. This making of contradictions in speech and ideas are called Sophism. Eubuild who was the student of Euclid said because truth is simple, only simple answer is required. Another one Stilpo give prominence to universal as opposed to particular. According to him as the universal ideas in their separation is only the real, the individual which is a union or separation of universals have no truth or reality. Euclid's philosophy becomes the connecting link between Socrates and Plato
Analysis
True renunciation and asceticism is not avoiding all material comforts but dropping attachments so that mind is not affected neither when having it or with the lack of it. So Cynic's renunciation is not a true form of renunciation. This true renunciation is coined by Sufis as 'being in the world and not of it'. As hedonists say virtue is neither pleasure nor is it a means to happiness. We have seen that virtue is realisation of spiritual nature and it is an end in itself from which serenity and happiness follows as a natural consequence. Stilpo is right saying the universal is the true-which is what we called the Absolute Spirit but particular and individual is also true because the Absolute Spirit manifests only as particular spirits-plant spirit, animal spirit and human spirit.-and in humans every individual has a unique spirit. This is Unity in multiplicity. We have earlier explained that mind and matter is not two realities but mind itself and matter is only the objective form of mind. So Euclid is right in saying idea of good and idea of being as one.
Chapter 12: Plato
Plato is the only student who represented the whole Socrates. He gave the philosophy a system. Plato was an Athenian born in 427 B. C in an aristocratic family.. His father was Ariston, of a noble family and his mother Perictione. He is a descendent of Codrus and Solon. Besides Socrates he also studied the philosophy of Heraclitus, Eleatics and Pythagoras. His first instruction was from Cratylus, disciple of Heraclitus. He came to Socrates in his 20th year and remained with him 8 years. He was an intimate disciple of Socrates. After Socrates death in 399B.C, in his 30th year fearing the mob he left Athens along with other Socratics to Euclid’s Megaric school at Megara. Euclid introduced him the study of Parmenides. From here he visited cyrene in Africa and studied mathematics under Theodorus., then also went to Egypt, Magna-Grecia and Sicily. In Magna –Grecia he came in contact with Pythagoreans and this also influenced his philosophy.. After 10 years he came back to Athens in his 40th year in 389 B.C. After return he found the academy which was a present from his friends and become the head as teacher. From 389 to close 348 he taught philosophy in the academy.. He made a second and third visit to Sicily in which his ideal state and philosopher king idea he tried to materialize in young Dionysius but which failed. He died at the age of 81.According to some he died while writing and others during a marriage feast in 348 B.C. and his remains was buried at Ceramicus. After the death of Plato in the old academy, there was no progress but a gradual retrogression of platonic philosophy. Plato is the oldest Greek philosopher whose complete work is preserved. According to some his definite works are nine .1:The Pheadres-this opposes the selfish rhetoric of sophist with true eloquence of philosopher, whose object is knowledge of invisible world.2-Protagoras-this discusses the Socratic doctrine of virtue.3-Symposium-this is concerning different manifestations of Eros, form sensual love to philosophical love of beauty, truth and goodness as personified in socrates.4-Gorgias-explains true sage as opposed to Sophist.5-Republic-concerning state which realise the idea of justice.6-Timeas-concerning nature and origin of world.7-Theoetetes-concerning knowledge and ideas.8-Pheado-concerning immortality of soul. 9-Laws-partial retraction of republic and there is minor criticism about the authorship of 10-Apology and 11-Crito and.Doubtful origin are 12-Parmenides,13-Sophist,14-Cratylus and 15-Philebus.According to some others twenty-four dialogues are generally recognized as authentic works of Plato. These are: Apology, Crito, Euthyphron, Laches, Protagoras, Charmides, Lyris, Gorgias, Meno, Euthydemus, Hippias Maior, Cratylus, Symposium, Phaedo, Republic, Phaedrus, Theaetetus, Parmenides, Sophist, Statesman, Philebus, Timaeus, Critias, Laws and there seems to be insufficient reason to reject: Ion, Hippias Minor, Menexenus and Epinomis.
. Plato is the product of Heraclitian, Socratic and Italian philosophy. So Plato’s philosophy has an inner development and it can be broadly divided into 3 periods. These are Socratic (discipline period, Anti-sophistic-ethic) Heraclitic- Eleatic (travel period, dialectic) and Pythagorean (instruction period, systematic) periods. The first period is an adherence to the method and principles of Socratic doctrine. . Here, in this period he is mainly concerned with analytical treatment of conceptions. The dialogues of this period, like Socratic doctrine attempt to determine the certainty of an absolute content (objective reality) to the good. In the works of Socratic period he treats Socratic themes in Socratic method. Charmides discuss temperance, Lysis friendship, Laches valor, lesser Hippias knowing and willful wrong-doing, first Alcibiades moral and intellectual qualifications of statesman. Protagoras is a criticism of sophistic philosophy and discusses Socratic conception of virtue from different sides (as knowing, it’s unity and teachableness) The Georgias written after Socrates death criticizes the sophist negation of absolute moral standards and their identification of virtue with pleasure and good with the agreeable. These dialogues proves good is not the right of the stronger and thus arbitrariness of subject, but has independent reality and objective validity and and it alone is truly useful and so the measure of pleasure must follow the higher measure of good. From Socrates he learnt that though we cannot know the world completely, we can know ourselves and we can get knowledge of highest good through infallible inner sense. It is from Socrates he developed ethics and teleological cause. Second period shows Eleatic and Pythagorean influence and dialectic foundation for the doctrine of ideas. Here the Socratic method of forming conceptions is developed into a science of conceptions or doctrine of ideas. Theoetetes crticise the Protagorean theory of knowledge, against identification of thinking and sensible perception or against the claim of objective relativity of all knowledge. Contrary to this he maintains an independent being and objective reality for the logical conceptions which lie at the ground of all representation and thinking (ideas) or try to prove the objectivity of truth. These conceptions which have objective reality are those of a species, likeness and unlikeness, identity and difference etc. In Sophist and the Philosopher, conception of appearance, not being and being is discussed. They are directed to Eleatic doctrine. In this by dialectic development of Eleatic principle he shows that the one must be at the same time a totality ,organically connected and including multiplicity in itself. First in Sophist he shows being of appearance or non being and in Philosopher showing the one contains many. Like Heraclitus he believed visible world is constant becoming, senses are deceptive and cannot give truth, and immutable does not exist in sensible world but in world of ideas. As nothing is permanent in sensible world and when this combined with Parmenides's philosophy the out come was knowledge not to be derived from senses but from reason. Third period, unlike the other two there are excess of mythical form due to influence of Pythagoreanism and internally apply the doctrine of ideas to to concrete sphere of nature, psychology and ethics. Ideas have objective reality and is the foundation of truth and the phenomenon are only copies of ideas was already established. So here the separate branches are united into a systemic whole and also shows the inner application of Socratic doctrine to ethics , Eleatic for dialectics and Pythagorean for physics. Pheadrus and symposium criticizes the rhetorical theory and practice and show instead a true scientific principle attained only by basing everything on idea. Phaedron prove the immortality of soul from doctrine of ideas. Philebus shows the conception of pleasure and highest good, Republic the essence of state and Timaeus that of nature. In Italian Pythagorean and Eleatic system he found the inner sense not only as moral conscience and practical reason but also as theoretical reason revealing absolute, eternal and necessary essence of things. From Parmenides reality as eternal and change less, and all changes as illusory. From Pythagoras, religious trend ,immortality, otherworldiness, interest in mathematics ,intermingling of intellect and mysticism. Mathematics, especially geometry influenced him because as it is based on apriori intuitions. Lines, triangles, circles are intelligible realities and their properties does not change like sensible things which reflect them.
Plato's philosophy is in the form of dialogues. Socrates is the chief speaker in most of them. Socrates asks the leading part. He starts from particular conceptions of individuals and the dialogues later becomes a systematic development of the main idea by a dialectical form of argument. Socrates begin the topic, lays his own views ,draws a conclusion all through dialectics. Large parts of the dialogues are presented in myths. It is difficult to systematise his teaching due to dialogues. He frequently employ myths and allegory and these assist in understanding abstract truths and also mislead fanatical democracy as to his religious convictions. Catholic mysticism borrow heavily from Plato's theology. To Plato philosophy is man’s highest possession and true reality. Philosophy for Plato is vision of truth and love of wisdom. In Timaeas he says ’our knowledge of what is most excellent begins with the eyes. The distinction between the visible day and the night, the months and courses of the planets, have begotten a knowledge of time, and awakened a desire to know the nature of the whole. From this we then obtained philosophy, and no greater gift than this, given by God to man, has ever come or will come’. He says an ideal state or government is possible only when philosopher becomes kings. In republic he says ’when philosophers rule the states, or the so called kings and princes of the present time are truly and completely philosophers, when thus political greatness and philosophy meet in one ,and the many natures who now follow either side to the exclusion of the other ,come together, then and not till then, can there be an end ,dear Glaucon, either to the evils of the state or as I believe, to those of human rice’. In republic Plato speaks of the difference between philosophic knowledge and ordinary knowledge in his famous myth of the cave analogy. ’let us think of an underground den like a cave with long entrance opening to the light. It’s inhabitants are chained so that they cannot move their necks, and can see only the back of the cave. Far behind their backs a torch burns above them. In the intervening space there is a raised way and also a low wall, and behind this wall towards the light there are men who carry and raise above it all manner of statues of men and animals like puppets in a marionette show, sometimes talking to one another meanwhile ,and sometimes silent. Those who are chained would see only the shadows which fall on the opposite wall, and they would take this for reality. They would hear ,moreover by means of the echo ,what was said by those who moved the figures, and they would think that it was the voice of the shadows. Now if one of the prisoner were released ,and compelled to turn his neck so as to see things as they are ,he would think that what he now seeing was an illusive dream and that the shadows were the reality. And if any one were to take him out of the prison into the light itself, he would be dazzled by the light and could see nothing, and he would hate the person who brought him to the light, as having taken away what was to him the truth, and prepared only pain and evil in its place’. Platonic system can be broadly divided into 3 parts Logic (Dialectics), Physics (Philosophy of nature) and Ethics (philosophy of mind). Mathematics hence does not include in philosophy but lies midway between opinion and philosophy.
Logic (platonic dialectics): .
For everything that exists there are three classes of objects through which knowledge about it must come; the knowledge itself is a fourth; and we must put as a fifth entity the actual object of knowledge which is the true reality. We have, then, first, a name; second, a description; third, an image; and fourth, a knowledge of the object, this is the knowledge or concept of ideas and fifth is the ideas itself. There is three things, knowledge, opinion, ignorance which corresponds to forms or ideas, senses, and nonbeing. Plato is famous for his theory of ideas. Philosophy of Plato is the science of Ideas or forms. They are partly logical, partly metaphysical. Logical part is universal names like man or horse which is not any particular confined to space and time but eternal. Metaphysical part is the ideal form-ideal man or cat created by god and unique and the particular partake of this ideal one only imperfectly. So the ideal one real, the particular only appearance. Ideas are laws of thought and morality. This is what Aristotle called categories which are general forms of things, which natural science calls types, species etc. Ideas are all possible generalizations or common names. Common name designate ideas, proper name designate individual. Senses reveal particulars or natural objects, abstraction and generalisation gives ideas. Unlike sensualism ,according to Plato general concepts or notion also represent realities, and these realities, objects of our notions he call ideas. Ideas to our notion what natural objects are to senses. They are their objective cause. The ideas are self evident and necessary science like mathematics, they are the unchangeable form or eternal type of transient things, noumina or objects of true science as distinguished from phenomena or objects of sense and opinion. Objects of mathematics are intermediate because even though they are eternal and immutable like ideas but unlike ideas there are many alike. It is called dialectics due to it's new method. In 'Republic' he illustrates this as follows. A line has cut in to two unequal parts. The small part is visible and the large intelligible. Both are again divided into two unequal parts. The small visible part is images and reflections of visible things and relate to them as copy to reality. Knowledge of this is like opinion. The large visible part is all existing living and things and this knowledge is belief and science. The small intelligent part is mathematics, here mind uses figures from former visible to form images and arrive at hypothesis. The larger intelligible is the realm of forms and it goes to the principle without hypothesis not as first principles but only as s step and without use of images but proceeding in and through idea themselves. Concern with the forms, without recourse to sensible as mathematics is called dialectic. Here starting is from higher principle of ideas and moving among themselves. In response to what is the nature of knowledge he first deny knowledge is sensation saying senses itself is not knowledge but they are the means of knowledge, knowledge is not sense impression but reasoning about them. He also deny knowledge as true opinion and true opinion plus account.He believed in two realms of reality. One the realm of eternal forms or ideas. This he equated with being. The second the realm of matter which he equated with non-being. Sensible world is a combination of both so in an intermediate level. The world of ideas, the intelligible or ideal world is eternal, real, immutable, indivisible, irrelative and beyond time and space. The world of sensible things or manifested world is mere appearance, temporal, mutable, divisible, relative and within time and space. Plato believed the sensible world is a faint and imperfect copy of the ideal world or the observed world as the reflection of the ideal world, which is the real world. Opinion differs among scholars whether Plato believed in two separate realities, means the world of ideas separate from the sensible world. Plato’s famous myth of the cave illustration in republic gives the impression that he believed ideal world as apart from sensible world. But his later references comparing ideal world with more cakeness and sunlight nearer the sun and the famous “third man argument” in “Parmenides” make it clear that Plato believed the ideal world as the inner reality of the sensible world. According to this sensible things are partial reality, because they participate in the reality of the ideas and not merely reflect them. To Plato ideal world is the real world and truth and eternal. This ideal world is the beauty itself while the sensory world is only shadows or images or copy of this ideal world. The knowledge of ideal world he calls true while the sensory opinion. Opinion only participates in the ideal world. Thus there is a distinction between reality and appearance ,and knowledge and perception. Empirical knowledge is derived from perception while real knowledge is that of concepts. He criticise the view of knowledge as perception. As perceived is in constant change perception is of what becomes, and not what is. Perception is interaction between object and senses and as these always changing so there is change in perception. According to Plato we perceive through senses not with them. Some knowledge like comparison such as difference and opposites, like and unlike, and knowledge of existence and non existence, unity and number, qualities like good and bad ,all these mind know through itself while others like sense objects through bodily faculties. Only mind can reach existence, with senses we cannot know object's existence so knowledge consists in reflection and not impression or perception.
So there is a supersensible world which is reason and knowledge and which is and exists and certain. Senses give only opinion which is uncertain of things. It is about something that is and is not at the same time. Sensible objects contain opposites, intermediate between being and non being. Particular beautiful thing is ugly also in some other aspect while knowledge or reason is concerned with beauty itself. So there is a world of intellect and a world of senses. Two kind of intellect are reason and understanding. Reason is higher kind, as it is concerned with ideas and it's method is dialectic. Understanding kind of intellect used in mathematics. It is inferior to reason as it uses hypothesis which it cannot test. Plato explain the difference between clear intellectual vision and senses by an analogy from sense of sight. Sight unlike other senses apart from eye and object also need light. We see clearly objects on which sun shines, in twilight we see confusedly, in darkness not at all. World of ideas is what we see when object is seen with sun, .world of senses twilight world, .eye compared to soul, sun, source of light to truth or goodness.
This distinction is also seen in simile of cave. Unphilsophical prisoner in cave can only look in one direction because they are bound. Fire behind them and wall in front. All they see is the shadows on the wall cast by fire from the objects outside the cave. They regard theses shadows as real and no notion of the real objects. We regard objects of sense as real while object of notion-ideas as shadows. But in reality ideas are more real than sensible objects. General ideas expressed by our concepts like, good, being, man are realities. Plato says we consider sense objects as real and ideas as unreal because our sense of ideas-reason is at fault. If we develop reason we see reality not in material existence but in ideas in intelligible world. We also consider ideas as mental copies of sensible real things but in reality ideas are the originals and sense objects the copies. Ideas are both our thoughts and the eternal object of these thoughts. They are the thoughts of God which no human can wholly reproduce and which are absolutely real. Sensible object has something of the idea , as they partake in the idea. Every thing in the senses like beauty etc is relative, transient and uncertain. while ideal is eternal, without beginning or end, immutable, without change in quality or quantity and absolute. Ideas are real, more real than sense objects and the only true reality. Sense objects have borrowed existence from the ideas, ideas are the eternal pattern after which things are made. Objects are images, imitations, imperfect copies, symbol, allegory of ideas. As sensible world is a copy of ideal world, ideal world like sensible world also forms a hierarchy. Ideas are joined together by ideas of higher order and this go on and the highest and at the top is the idea of Good which comprehends, contains or summarizes the entire system of ideal world. Ideas are in succession,. higher concepts or ideas include lower ones and. at the top of this succession is the idea of Good, the metaphysical God. This is the highest idea and the ultimate limit of all knowledge, the independent ground of all other ideas. According to Plato one can only have knowledge of ideas after reaching this form of Good, which is at the top of the ideal world. The relation between all other ideas and idea of Good is similar to that of ideas and sense objects. Other ideas have self existence and are substances only when compared to their sensible copies. When compared to Idea of Good which is the absolute idea they are also only accidents and have no existence of their own but only modes of the idea of Good. Science and truth are only like Good, but Good is higher, Good is not essences like ideas, but far exceeds essences in dignity and power. Dialectics leads to the end of intellectual world in the perception of absolute Good. He says of this Good in republic. ’In the same manner as the sun is the cause of sight, and the cause not merely that objects are visible but also that they grow and are produced, so the Good is of such power and beauty, that it is not merely the cause of the science of the soul, but is also the cause of being and reality to whatever is the object of science, and as the sun is not itself sight or object of sight but presides over both, so the Good is not science and truth but is superior to both ,they being not the Good itself but of a goodly nature. The idea of Good excludes all presupposition. it is the ultimate ground at the same time of knowing and of being, of the perceiver and the perceived, of the subjective and the objective, of the ideal and real, though exalted above such a division' (Republic). Highest knowledge knowledge of Good. Knowledge and truth like Good, but Good highest. Idea of Good is the highest knowledge, and that all other things become useful and advantageous by this knowledge. Goodness is even beyond being. By an analogy with sight and its need for the sun by whose light the visible is seen, the Good is spoken of as that Form or Idea in terms of which all other Forms are intelligible.Hence ideas are both individual, self existent and at the same time members of a higher unity. The ideas of Plato form a unity or an organism. They live a common life. It is impossible to separate them from each other and to make distinct being of them. The home of the idea is ideal world or intelligible place or mind, idea as such. It has no place out side of itself. The idea as real is one and unextended so beyond space and time. Idea is also independent of our concepts in the mind. It neither goes nor comes. Our concept of the idea like sensible things is shadow copy of eternal ideas, only less shadowy than sense objects. What is concentrated in idea is distributed in space and time, over thousands of places and times so becoming as feebly copy. So the world is relative while idea is absolute. As ideas are in mind or ideal world they cannot come from without, from sensory world by sensations. They are the essence of mind. First they are latent in mind and we are not conscious of them. Senses only show us their feeble copies, but also remind us of the original existing in mind. So sensations only provoke ideas but does not produce them. Their function is to recollect to our mind the ideas we possess. besides senses are deceptive and instead of reveling the idea they conceal it. Reason is the only way to knowledge of ideas and reason comes from love. Love of truth is a particular form of universal love. To Plato Eros is divine madness and is the greatest happiness. It is a state of enthusiasm resulting from the knowledge of the ideal world.
According to Plato creator is the eternal God, who create the world .He contemplates the eternal which is the idea of Good which serves as His model. Since some times Plato describe God as inferior to idea and other times superior to idea it is likely to infer that God is the idea of Good itself considered as an active, plastic, and creative principle. This also can be inferred from the attributes given to both the Good and God. The Absolute Idea (Good, One) is the lord of spiritual world, as sun is that of physical world. It even exceeds being and essence in dignity and power. It is the universal author of all things beautiful and right, parent of light, and lord of light in visible world, source of reason and truth in the intellectual. God of gods is the eternal cause of the good in the world, supreme wisdom compared to which human philosophy is imperfect, supreme justice, highest law and law giver, who rules the beginning. middle and end of things, the pure reason which has nothing to with matter or evil. As God is the idea of Good it does not mean it is not real. To Plato idea only is real so it is the highest reality.
Plato differentiate logic or dialectics from physics The former is the knowledge of eternal and immutable while the latter is that of changing and becoming. It also differs from ethics in that in ethics is discussed not absolute good but good in the concrete in the form of morals and state, but logic deals with absolute good. Plato define dialectics as the art of developing knowledge by way of dialogues in questions and answers (republic) and also as the science which brings speech to a correct issue, and which combines or separates the species (eg: conceptions of things) correctly with one another (sophist). Dialectics has two divisions, one to know what can and what cannot be connected, second to know how division or combination can be. In short we can say that it is the knowledge of the ideas. The first part of dialectic shows the contradiction in the finite by showing opposite determinations in it and hence the dissolution of the particular and the second part tries to bring the universal into the consciousness. So this is the uniting of opposites in one thing and showing the unity. Dialectics is dealt in Sophist, Philebus and especially in Parmenides dialogues. Now the universal as true, beauty and good are abstract so they need determination and this determination is the unity of opposites as determinate idea. In Sophist Plato discusses both being and non being and unlike Eleatics shows non being is also real and makes the universal the unity of being and nothing, one and many etc. According to Plato true is the identity of the opposites. Through the unity of opposites like cold and warm, dry and moist, health arises. In the dialogues dealing with what is real knowledge first he shows it is opposed to sensation. Theataetus is a discussion of real knowledge in opposition to Protagorean sensualism. As we already discussed the protagorean view that all knowledge consists in perception so both are one and the same thing. From this they further infer that things are as they appear and so perception or sensation is infallible. But perceptions are different in different individual and also in the same individual in different occasions So there is no objective reality. So we do not know the real nature of things and all concepts of quality and quantity are relative, so also conceptions of species and kind as the combinations of changing many are unstable and inconsistent. This theory Plato refutes by the following points. First if being and appearance ,knowledge and perception are one and the same the animals which have perception are also the measure of all things like man and if all perception are infallible then there is no need of instruction, scientific conclusion, refutation etc. Secondly, this doctrine is a logical contradiction since every one is correct, Protagorus is no more correct in a discussion than others ,so he must concedes the truth of others and every disputer. Thirdly Protagorus denies foresight. To know what is really profitable need a calculation of future and thus only the wise can have foresight. Fourthly the theory of Protagorus destroys perception. Perception according to him rests on the distinction of perceived object and perceiving subject and it is the common product of the two. But to him objects are in constant flow so all knowledge from sense-since there is identity between perception and knowledge –makes all knowledge impossible. Fifthly Protagorus denies apriori knowledge. Another factor dealt is the relation of knowledge to opinion. An incorrect opinion is not knowledge but a correct opinion, as it is same in matter but different in form is midway between knowledge and ignorance and participates in both. So knowledge and true opinion have similarity and differences. knowledge is knowledge of essences so cannot be mere names. Mind and true opinion differ as mind is implanted by instruction opinion by persuasion, mind is by true reason other not, mind is attribute of gods and only shared by very few men, opinion shared by all men.Another factor dealt is the relation of knowledge to thought. There are two sources of knowledge-sensation and rational thinking. Sensation refers to becoming and change and it is a source of dim, impure and uncertain knowledge. Thought on the other hand refers to abiding knowledge which neither becomes nor departs but remain the same. So true knowledge is thinking of true being or ideas ,the means to discover and to know the ideas is the dialectic-art of separating and combining conceptions and the object of dialectic are ideas.
In Sophist Plato shows the reality of appearance or not being and the relation of being and not being. The Eleatics deny all appearance saying they are not being, but false opinion is not- being so there is reality to non being. So after fixing reality to non being Plato discuss the relation between being and non being.-relations of conceptions generally in their combinations and differences. So every conception contain both being and non being-.it is a being in reference to itself, as self identical, but it is not-being in reference to other conceptions which can be referred to it ,but due to difference it can have nothing in common with them. Conception of same and different is a general form of antithesis. This reciprocal relation of conceptions as being and not being at the same time form the basis for dialectics .He illustrates this by taking being, motion and rest. The conception of motion and rest cannot be joined together but both may be joined to being-.so the conception of rest as self identical being but in reference to motion not being. In Parmenides he proves that one is not conceivable in its complete singleness without the many, nor the many without the one. This is done in four antinomies. First antinomy shows that one is inconceivable as such since it is apprehended in opposition to many. Second like this the many also alone inconceivable .Third shows that the one or the idea cannot be conceived as not being .Fourth shows that many cannot be conceived without the one or idea. The result of Parmenides is to show that one and many is Idea and phenomenal world and the phenomenal world has true being only so far it has the one or idea within it and the one or idea must actually have many in unity to be able to be in phenomenal world. So the phenomenal world derives it’s whole existence from the ideal world which appear in it ,and has being only so far as it has an idea or concept for it’s content. Ideas may be defined in their historical connection as common in manifold, universal in particular, one in many, constant and abiding in changing. Subjectively they are principles of knowing which cannot be derived from experience and innate regulators of our knowledge. Objectively they are immutable principles of being and of phenomenal world, incorporeal and simple unities which have no relation to space and can be predicated of every individual thing. So idea is wherever universal conception of species or kind is found. There is an idea wherever there are many things characterized by a common name, to every class of being. The relation between ideal world and phenomenal world Plato describe as a participant or things the copies and adumbrations while ideas are the archetypes. In phaedo he says about ideas presence and participation in sensible things, that by beauty, beautiful things becomes beautiful.While he admit the reality of phenomenal world he affirms that ideas are the only actual. He consider phenomena only as subjective appearance, confused way of representing ideas. In this sense phenomena entirely depends on ideas, they are ideas in the form of non-being. The phenomenal world derives it’s whole existence from the ideal world which appear in it.
Physics (Philosophy of Nature).
Nature is idea acting on matter as a plastic principle. The connection between physics and logic is the conception of becoming to that of real being. He deals extensively on physics in Timeaus. According to him God is the good and being free from jealousy he desired to make all things like himself and.this is the motive of creation Because the world has to be visible corporeal and tangible, God first made fire and earth then air and water. World is spherical in form and it is in circular motion. Since God wished to make the world a god he gave it soul and placed it in the centre and diffused through the whole. There are three worlds. The first is the ideal or divine world, plane of forms or ideas. This is the pattern of other worlds and is the eternal world. This world is without origination and decay and is the invisible world. The second world is the copy of the ideal world and is visible and originated. This is the heavenly spheres, plane of world soul. The third world is the world of matter or earthly spheres. Plato also describe the manifestation in detail. Here at the top is a creator as a moving and reflecting principle and on one side ideal world as immovable eternal archetype and on the other side, chaotic, formless, irregular, fluctuating mass, which contain in itself the germ of material world but without any determination. With these two the creator first makes the world soul which he distributes according to the relation of numbers and set it in definite and harmonious motion. This way the material world become actual through arrangement of the chaotic mass into four elements and completed by formation of organic world. So world soul is between the ideal world and the material world, so it denotes sensible world as thought represented in the form of material existence. Platonic view of nature unlike earlier mechanical view is teleological and he conceives the world as the image of Good, as the work of divine munificence. As it is the image of the perfect one it is also one, it is spherical as it is the perfect form and it is in circular motion returning to itself like reason. In Timaeus he also discuss the derivation of four elements ,separation of seven planets according to musical scale, stars as immortal and heavenly substances, earth has an abiding position in the middle of the world, reference of all material figures to triangle as simplest plane, division of inanimate nature according to the four elements, into creatures of earth, water, and air. The fundamental idea is world conceived as the image and work of reason, as an organism of order, harmony, and beauty, as the Good actualizing itself.
Nature presupposes a second principle matter. God is good and life. Goodness must create good, life must create life. So idea must reproduce itself. As idea is the only reality and being, there is only nonbeing outside it. As it is also highest activity the being that communicates itself to nonbeing. so idea becomes a cause, creator, will or plastic principle for non being. so that non being becomes like being, and take part in the absolute existence of the idea. The non being becomes the first matter out of which idea in it's image forms world. Matter is not corporeal and becomes body only on impression of form by idea. Matter as such is unlimited itself, devoid of positive attributes, indeterminate, indefinable, formless, imperceptible. It is the receptacle, mother and receptacle of all also called universal nature. Matter means that origin of all things that Plato calls necessity, receptacle, womb, mother, and the locus of all generation; his students call it hyle, that is, building material (silva), while Plato himself called it prime matter. By action of idea it can receive all forms and determinations .It is the mother of sensible forms and universal recipient. Matter is not a creation of idea because firstly, being cannot produce non being and matter is non being, secondly creation is action-all action presupposes an object acted upon so divine activity presuppose matter and does not create it. It is co eternal with idea. Though eternal, matter as non being does not limit the idea as it is absolute being but it limits idea's operation in the universe. It is both it's condition of action and it's obstruction. Even if it is passive it's cooperation is in the form of resistance. It is formless and unlimited so oppose form, limitation and finish which eternal idea desire to give it. This resistance manifest itself as inertia, weight, disproportion, ugliness or stupidity. It is the primary cause of imperfection of things, physical and moral evil, their instability, constant change, what is uncertain perishable and mortal in them. While explaining being, motion, rest he concludes being contain both motion and reast, but motion and rest participate in being but also contain non being as motion is not same as being.Since God is Good he made the world after the pattern of the eternal and wished everything good. From the union of the ideal, paternal principle and material, maternal principle comes the cosmos the image of invisible divinity. This is the visible god whose relative perfection remind us of invisible God. This cosmos consists of a body governed by necessity and a rational content, a purpose, meaning, final goal and end to realise for which it is made, and a soul that link the contrary principles and it's function is to subordinate the material to the idea and adapt it to final purpose of creator. So He put intelligence or idea in soul and soul in body. God made first soul then body. Soul is a compound of both unchangeable (idea) and changeable (matter), and is a third intermediate kind of essence. The whole world a living organism having soul and intelligence. There is only one world.. One visible animal comprehending in itself all other animals. So the world is a visible animal-visible God, image of the invisible God. It's motion is circular which is the perfect motion. The four elements represented by number are in continued proportion-fire is to air as air is to water, etc. God used all elements to make the world so it is perfect and harmonised by proportion. The body of cosmos is spherical, most beautiful form and faithful image of archetype. It revolves around it's own axis and return to itself, the most perfect movement and symbolises the ideas immutability. It is perfect and not liable to decay or disease. The universe is not eternal like idea so God make it as eternal as possible so created endless time. The nous or mind of the universe, its final cause is the most possible realisation of the idea of Good. Soul of the world consists of number, which subjects chaotic matter to laws of harmony and proportion. So Plato take creation in a teleological point of view. He acknowledge physical causes but subordinate it to final causes. Elements explained theologically, fire as a means of vision, earth as a means of tactile perception, the other two intermediary between these two extremes and number four represent corporeality. Like the Eleatics he rejects the void. Since matter is identical with space and it is universally same substances composing it are not heterogeneous. Spaces considered apart from their content differs only in their outward form. There are two kind of causes in the world, one intelligent which endowed with mind, workers of fair and good (idea) ,and the other ,those moving others and moved by them by necessity and produce chance effects without order or design (matter). Creation is mixed with both mind and necessity. Fire, air, water and earth are not primary elements ,or principles or numbers. They are not substance but state of substance. Space is something between world of essence and world of senses. It is eternal, cannot be destructed and home for created things, perceived by senses, and hardly real. True elements are two kind of right angled triangles, one is half square, other is half equilateral triangle. First everything was in chaos, then elements are arranged in order to form universe, then God fashioned them by form and number. These two triangles, which are the most beautiful, used to make four of the five regular solids, and each atom of one of four elements is a regular solid. Matter divided into homogenous corpuscles of different shapes. These forms are not accidental like forms of atoms. They are absolutely geometrical, means ideal, final and providential. Solid elements composed of cubes, fire tetrahedral, water of icosahedrons, air of octahedrons and ether pyramids.
The whole visible sphere not at rest, but moving in irregular and disorderly fashion , God brought order. When God saw the image of eternal heavenly gods living and moving he rejoiced and made the copy still more like eternal, original ideal one. While the ideal being is eternal, it is impossible to make world as eternal, so made a moving image of eternity, set in order heaven, eternal but moving according to number. This image we call time before that there was no day or nights Time and heavens came in the same instant. After fashioning first matter with a view to it's ultimate structure the creator made the stars, first fixed stars, then planets, then earth. These beings are created gods hence mortals, but God made them immortal. God made the sun so that animals can learn arithmetic. The sight of day and night, month and year created knowledge of number and conception of time., hence philosophy and .this is the greatest boon of sight. There are four kind of animals, gods, fishes, birds and land animals. The gods are mainly fire. The fixed stars are divine and eternal elements. These gods make the mortal part of all animals ,immortal part being made by creator. The creator made one soul for each star. Souls have sensations, love, fear, anger and if they overcome these they live righteously. God put some souls on earth ,some on moon, some on planets, some on star and left to gods to fashion body for them. At God's command these divinities especially earth produced organised beings, chief among them men the paragon of creation, and everything on earth was made for him. Plants made to nourish him, Animals serve as habitat for fallen human souls, Women is a degeneration of men, who is the first born son of earth. Man is the epitome of macrocosm.
Human soul like world soul form which it emanated combine immortal elements (ideas) and mortal elements (matter). Intelligence or reason is the immortal part and sensuality which depends on body is the mortal part. will, energy or courage is the union of the two and is soul proper and it's individuality. So the soul consists of three parts. One the divine or rational or eternal ,second part is mortal body or irrational and perishable and third is spirit which partake of the qualities of both reason and body. This three fold nature of soul corresponds to anthropological division of reason, soul, body, and division of theoretical knowledge into science (thought), correct opinion (sense perception), and ignorance and metaphysical division of ideal world, mathematical relations and sensible world. This also furnishes ground for deriving the ethical division of virtue and political division of ranks. Soul as far as it participate in reason it is opposite to nature and have an independent nature and so immortal. So human soul is endowed with reason and is incorporated in a body. Head is the seat of reason, the immortal soul and is round as it is the perfect form. Other two are mortal souls Chest is the seat of noble passions and it is below the head so reason regulate passion. Coarser appetite is in abdomen and separated from noble passions by diaphragm. In the Phaedrus Plato describes the three parts of the soul in the following way: the rational part is a charioteer, the spirited and appetitive parts are two horses. Man's task is to bring the two steeds under the control of reason. Human body is thus constructed in view of the moral perfection soul. So there are two souls in man, immortal created by God, mortal by gods. Mortal soul subject to irresistible affections, pleasure-incite to evil, pain-deter from good, anger and fear, these mingled with irrational sense and love, according to necessary laws to model man. Immortality of intelligent soul is due to many reasons like due to it's simplicity as only complex ones dissolves and soul is as simple, which makes decomposition impossible and from the goodness of create and it is the very principle of life and transition from being into non being impossible. immortality of intelligent soul is also proved by the philosophers desire to free from body and direct communion with ideal world, by the fact that life produce death and death life, pre existence of soul, relation between soul and ideas, as it conceives it soul must be similar to it and immortal like it and by the fact that it controls the body. Another argument is things having opposites are generated from opposites, as life and death are opposites each must generate the other. So soul of death men exist some where and come back in due course and another argument is knowledge is recollection. We have ideas such as absolute equality which cannot be derived from experience, so it must be from our earlier existence.. But immortality is to the intelligent or rational part of the soul even will has no part in it. According to Plato before incarnating in the body the soul was in the ideal world contemplating the ideas. After receiving physical body this ideal world is forgotten. Sensory knowledge will produce recollection of this knowledge of the ideal world. Senses have no role in ideal word but the need for acquiring this knowledge and this makes us awaken and recollect ideal world. The essence of things or ideal world can be reached when withdrawing of mind to itself-from senses. According to Plato as human soul contains all knowledge so every learning is only a recollection. This recollection will produce Eros means love or longing in the soul to return to the ideal world. The soul being eternal is at home in contemplation of eternal ideas but confused when engaged with sense objects. Contemplation of ideas is the result of this love and the way to return to ideal world. He also speaks of lower world, future rewards and punishments of good and evil, purifying punishments like purgatory in Hades, migration of human soul to human and animal forms etc. Fate of soul as good ones to heaven, bad to hell, and intermediate to purgatory. The soul of true philosopher who in life liberated from flesh after death depart to invisible world to live in bliss with gods. Impure soul, who loved body become ghost haunting sepulcher, or enter body of animal according to it's character. If a man lives righteously after death he happily goes to his star. a virtuous man, but unphilosophical become wild land animals, bee, wasp etc of social sort, if not in next life coward and unrighteous men becomes women , .if still not righteous she becomes a brute,, innocent ,ignorant ones become birds, , the stupidest flies and this further goes on and on till reason is reached.
According to Plato philosopher does not fear death, but welcomes it, but they do not commit suicide as it is unlawful. He advocates not complete abstinence from sensual pleasures but moderation and not to become slave to them. He must seek pleasure only from the soul. Thought is best when mind is gathered to itself and not troubled by sensual or other things. For true knowledge body is a hindrance due it's requirements of food and it's disease and it fill us with love, lust etc. Purification is the separation of soul from body by death and true philosopher seek this release. The homesick soul living in exile in the world of sense longs to be united with the absolute, principle of light and truth. This desire seeks satisfaction in earthly emotions, friendship and aesthetics. This human embodiments or material forms of the idea do not satisfy it. Pure idea is obtained only by direct or immediate contemplation by pure thought. The enthusiasm of lover and artist is a feeble beginning enthusiasm felt by philosopher in the presence of unveiled truth, ideal beauty and absolute goodness. Philosopher must not boast of attained this ideal goal, for absolute truth is in God alone and love of truth is only possible if filled from light from high.
Ethics (Philosophy of Mind)
Ethics is idea as final goal of nature or highest good so it is the science of the highest good. Plato developed ethics according to three sides ,first as good in individual will and action, secondly individual virtue in morality and thirdly classes in the ethical state. It is the conception of duty behind ethics.
1-good and pleasure. As supreme good is unattainable by humans we can only follow different manifestation of this highest good which is good in becoming like knowledge, truth, beauty, virtue etc. He combines highest good with true pleasure. He make a balance between Hedonism (cyrenian theory that pleasure is the highest good) and cynicism (pleasure as absence of pain). He refutes Aristippus and hedonism by proving the indeterminacy and relativity of all pleasure and refute cynicism by showing necessary connection between true pleasure and virtue like enduring pleasure of reason found in possession of truth and goodness.
2-virtue:Man is the end of nature and idea is the end of man. Highest good is not pleasure but perfect likeness to God. Now God is Good or Absolute justice so we can resemble God only in justice. In earth there is always evil, but heaven is free from evil and mortal nature. Flying to heaven means resemble God. God is the most righteous and and the most righteous man resemble God. In virtue he follows Socrates. There are four cardinal virtues wisdom, courage, temperance, justice. Like Socrates he maintains virtue is knowing and there fore teachable and due to it’s unity it is one and also many. So there is union and connection of all virtues and he make justice comprising in itself all other virtues. Justice is the fundamental virtue, and mother of virtues belonging to each of three souls. Justice is everybody doing his own work without meddling with others. For intelligence, correctness of thought and wisdom is the justice of mind, for will, in courage and it is the justice of heart, for sensibility, in temperance and it is the justice for senses. piety is justice in our relation to deity. it is synonymous with general justice. In republic he elaborates and tries to derive the virtue from the three parts of soul. The virtue of reason is prudence or wisdom, directing or measuring virtue in whose absence courage becomes brute impulse and calm endurance becomes stupid indifference, The virtue of spirit is valor, help mate of reason-it tries to preserve the intelligence against the sensual desires, The virtue of sensuous desires is temperance and the virtue which regulate and adjust the different parts of soul and constitute unity of these other virtue is justice. In justice all the moral qualities meet and the moral life of the person becomes one perfect whole. Plato defined justice as due proportionality. This is the effective co-ordination of the whole nature or having and doing what is one’s own nature in society. In individual case each soul faculties has its own virtue and justice is all three parts functioning harmoniously .Plato identified virtue with goodness. According to Plato every one naturally do what he consider good. Evil is not sin but ignorance. He also denied acrasia or weakness of will. According to him there is no such situation where one really want to do something but do the opposite due to weak will. According to Plato the aim of life is supreme good. This good is contemplation of true knowledge and the object of true knowledge is ideas. Sensible things are only the object of belief or opinion.
3-The state:Man must be educated to attain justice and resemble God. Virtue cannot realise in isolation, so justice is realised only in collective man or in the state. He describes ideal state in Republic .Republic consists of three parts. First section consists of construction of ideal common wealth, second section define philosopher, third section discuss various kind of actual constitutions and their merits and demerits. Nominal purpose of republic is to define justice. As it is easier to define justice in a state than in individual and a just state is the best state he outlines the character of just state. Plato also classified three types of people depending on the predominance of their natures. So Plato's ideal state comprise, like individual three classes. We have seen three forms of virtue like wisdom that of head, courage that of heart and temperance that of abdomen. According to Plato depending on predominance of one over the others God created men of three kinds, gold, silver and brass or iron. Hence citizens are divided into three classes of the state and three distinct groups, common man, soldiers and guardians ,the last fewer than other classes and only they have power. So the first is the legislative and administrative class and they are the governors and men of learning and wisdom, Second defense and the group of warriors and third the group providing individual wants by groups of husbandman ,handicraftsman etc. By this division of classes virtues and moral qualities are produced .There are mainly four cardinal virtues. First is wisdom which is realized in the governing class and who advice in state affairs accordingly. Second is courage and realized in warriors. Third is temperance and is specially concerned to the third class. The fourth is justice and it is realized in the state when each one do only the work proper to his constitution and nature and justice is the virtue which give rise to other three major virtues and also maintain it. In the individual subject his wants and desires and it’s satisfaction corresponds to third class, reason which has mastery over the temptations corresponds to rulers and the third is anger which allies either with desires or reason according to situation and corresponds to warriors and justice is here each part doing it’s duty and not interfering in others.
First the guardians are selected by legislator, then they succeed by heredity. In exceptional cases a promising child of lower classes may be promoted to guardians and unpromising one of guardians may be degraded. First guardian group are people with predominance of reason or wisdom. They are truth loving or philosophers. They should rule the society and represented in the body by head. who constitute the legislative and executive power, intelligence and head of state, the ruling class Second ,soldier people with predominance of will or emotion. They are power loving people and represented by army in society and chest in the body. warriors, the heart of state, militant class. Third merchants, artisans, agriculturists, slaves, the servant class corresponds to sensuous soul, people with desire or appetite. They are possession loving people represented by workers and industry man in society and loin in the body. Wisdom belongs to ruling class, courage to military class. obedience to these two higher classes, who think and fight for them belongs to the labouring, commercial and serving classes. All humans contain these three natures and the classification is based on the predominance of one nature over others.
Establishing and maintaining such a state is by giving education to the young. Those who are selected for rulers are specially given knowledge of philosophy and also music and gymnastics.. To ensure the guardians carry out the intensions of legislator there are various educational, economic, religious, biological proposals. State is the father of the children and also educate them. Children are taken away from the mothers after birth and care is taken not to recognise each other and reared in a common place by nurses. Deformed and children of inferior parents taken away. Upto the age of three education consists of caring for the body. From three to six it's moral education is anticipated by narration of myths, from seven to ten gymnastics, from eleven to thirteen reading and writing, from fourteen to sixteen poetry and music, from sixteen to eighteen mathematics, from eighteen to twenty military exercises. At twentieth year state makes a selection from them for military and government and those qualified for government make a thorough study of different sciences till they reach thirty. Proper education is given to the young to become guardians and selected on intellectual and moral qualities, also who are just and gentle, fond of learning , having good memory and harmonious mind. Mainly four Pythagorean studies like arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and harmony. They were studied to prepare mind for vision of eternal things At thirty a second selection made and the least distinguished enter upon secondary position of administration. Others continue their study of dialectics for many ears and lastly ethics. After being introduced to the highest good they are ready for higher positions of state. He makes the oldest and the best of warriors to become rulers. They have given best education and the best among them selected at age 30 and given special training and from 35-50 some fills posts of public service and when he reaches age 50 some have vision of greatest good and the remaining in study and service in the highest delibrate council of state, he my become ruler in his turn and spend the remaining time in philosophy
Education mainly divided into music and gymnastics. Girls same education as boys, like music, gymnastics and art of war. Women compete equality with men in all respects. Gravity ,decorum and courage are cultivated in education. In 'laws' Plato enjoins to include theology and belief in religion to the education of young. From early life there is a rigid censor on literature and music access to them. Mother and nurses tell them only authorized stories. Homer and Hesiod banned, because they represent gods sometimes behaving evilly ,but they must be taught the gods are the source of only good things. They also make children fear of death, but education must make people willing to die in battle. Then there are passages in tem that approve loud laugher, praising rich feasts, lust of gods which discourage temperance. There must be no story in which wicked are happy and good unhappy , so poets are condemned. He also argues against drama on similar grounds. In music Lydonian and Ionian harmonies forbidden because it is relaxed and express sorrow. Permissible rhythm must be simple as a the expressions of courageous and harmonious life. Training of body is very austere, no fish, only roasted meat, no sauces and confectionary. Upto a certain age young are not exposed to ugliness or vice. At suitable age they are exposed to enchantments, and to terror that must not terrify, and bad pleasures that do not seduce the will. Young boys should see war but not fight. Only after they resisted these they fit to be guardians. In economics social life is communism. Legislators selected some men and women for guardians. They have small houses and simple food and live in a commune, dining together. Sexual relation are not for the pleasure of the individual but to bring forth children for the state. Women are no private persons but like men can choose any class suited to her Women are common for men and no private property beyond absolutely necessary. Everything should be common including women and children. Gold and silver forbidden. Children by union without state sanction considered illegitimate. Reproductive age for women twenty to forty and men twenty five to fifty five. Outside this age sex free but abortion or infanticide compulsory. Marriage is arranged by state's choice not couple's choice. Lying is a prerogative of the government.
In the state of Plato individual subjectivity and it’s freedom is sacrificed for the sake of the universal or state, so individual have no right to select the class. The class is selected by the elders of the state by considering natural abilities and talents. In Plato's republic private property is also abolished. All the classes are like one family and the products of their work is common to all. Everyone receives according to his requirement. He also abolishes marriage. .The main feature of Plato's state is the sacrifice of the individual to the state, reference of moral to political virtue. Since man can attain his complete development only as a member of the state individual purpose should conform to general aim, state must represent a perfect and harmonious unity ,a counterpart to the moral life of individual. In a perfect state everything must be common to all and this universality and unity can be actualized only when individuality and particularity is given up. Private property, domestic life (instead a community of goods and wives), duty of education, choice of rank and profession, arts and sciences all are subjected and placed under the control of the state. Individual can be happy only as a constituent of state. So Plato does not recognize the will and choice of the individual. He elaborates the features of the republic like teaching gymnastics and music, which forms the two means of culture of higher ranks, studying mathematics, philosophy etc, age of marriage, abandoning the deformed and denying food and shelter to the sick etc. The political institution of platonic state is aristocratic. He prefers an absolute monarchy and this ruler should be a philosopher. He says the state can attain it’s end only when philosopher becomes rulers. This absolute monarchy in 'Republic' he abandons in 'Laws' and recommend a mixed constitution of both aristocracy and monarchy. The other forms of government are less ideal. Thus, in what Plato calls the timocracy, where the spirited element takes the ascendancy and those who would be simple guardians occupy the highest rank, praise (time) becomes the object of action. A lower type of society, oligarchy, is the reflection on the level of government of the predominance of the acquisitive sense in the individual: oligarchy thus is plutocracy, government by those whose sole concern is wealth. The descent to democracy is to a condition where the state reflects the individual driven by all the baser appetites. The lowest type of government is the despotic or tyrannical where the tyrant balances on one end of the scale the philosopher king on the other. As we mentioned earlier he also make three division of ranks. First ruler corresponds to reason, warrior corresponds to spirit and crafts man corresponds sensual desires. Function of ruler is making law and caring for the general good, that of warrior is defending the country from external enemies and that of craftsman is care of separate interests and wants eg: agriculture, commerce etc. From ruler the state get the virtue of wisdom, from warrior bravery and from craftsman temperance. In the proper union of these virtues is found justice of the state, which is the sum of all virtues. According to Plato the craftsman exist in the state only as means and .it is not necessary to give them rights and laws. This is the way the state is raised to the unconditional rule of reason under the supremacy of the good. In order for the state to form a real unity individual interests merged in general interest, family absorbed in the state, individual cease to be the proprietor and children belongs to the state, which forms one large family. State is a pedagogical institution whose mission is to realise goodness and justice on earth so will not tolerate art for art sake except means of education and employed in the service of good. In Aesthetics Plato considers the essence of beautiful as intellectual, the idea of reason. As the truth of the phenomena is idea so the truth of phenomenal beauty is also the idea. The essence of beauty is the idea present to the senses as a thing.
Analysis:
Plato's Idea of Good which is at the top of the ideas and whose nature is not ideas or essences and which is also beyond all contraries like idea and matter is what we have explained as the first plane of Absolute Subject of unknowable essence. Plato’s ideal world and sensible world corresponds to our plane of Absolute Spirit or spiritual world and manifested world. As we told earlier they are not two separate realities but two aspect of one reality. World is the external expression of the ideas and ideas are the internal reality of the world. Ideas are eternal while world is temporal and transient. Plato’s classification of human nature is similar to spiritual, rational and passionate nature. Plato’s supreme good as contemplation of ideal world is path of self realisation and definition of justice is perfection of one’s own nature. As he says in Parmenides one and many or ideal world and phenomenal world is what we called spiritual world and manifestations. As we explained spirit is the inner reality of the manifestations. They are the different planes or states of one subject, so subject is one but states different.
Now Acrasia or weak will is a real situation. As we told earlier will depends on knowledge and knowledge on nature. When passionate nature predominates in essence it produce desire. By contemplation of self or by other self improving methods when rational nature start manifesting will interfere with desire. But until rational nature regulate passionate nature desire triumph’s over will and this is the situation of Acrasia or weak will. The doctrine of Plato that there is no Acrasia is true only if consider knowledge as spiritual knowledge or self realisation. As we explained at this stage activity is spontaneous. We have seen when dealing with Socrates that knowledge is virtue and here knowledge is spiritual knowledge and self realisation which is the sole aim of human life. Justice in all walks of life is the natural out come of this self realisation
One of the main defect of Plato's he sometimes speaks as if there are two eternal realities, mind and matter and he identify evil with matter. We have explained that there is only mind and matter is nothing but objective aspect of mind so mind itself. What we call inertia, evil, ugliness is difference in predicates due to different states of mind as it becomes more concrete or most abstract. So evil is a form of good itself. Another point of Plato's philosophy is his abolition of the freedom of subjectivity by abolishing the rights of the individual and marriage and private property. He denies this in favour of the state. Problem of modern state is to unite individual and state-to bring the universal end and the particular end of the individual into harmony ,to reconcile the highest possible freedom of the conscious individual will, with the highest possible supremacy of the state.
Chapter:13: Aristotle
Aristotle was born in 384 B.C. at Stagira ,a Greek colony in Thrace. His was a family of physicians.His father Nichomachus was also a physician. At a very early age he lost his parents. He began his study in 367, became a student of Plato at 17 and spent there 20 years. Due to his indomitable zeal for study Plato called him ‘The Teacher’. He was first pupil and later rival of Plato. After Plato's death Aristotle went with Xenocrates to Hermeas, the tyrant of Atrneus, and married his sister Pythias. After Hermeas was killed he fled with her to Mitylene and lived there some time. After her death he married his concubine, Herpyllis and had a son in her, Nicomachus. In 343 he was called by king Philip of Macedon, to educate his son Alexander. When Alexander went to Persia, Aristotle went to Athens and taught in the Lyceum from 334. From the shady walls of Lyceum, in which Aristotle used to walk and teach, the school received the name peripatetic. Aristotle used to teach in the mornings his most senior students, in profoundest questions of philosophy which is called acroamatic, and in the evening normal students on general and preparatory topics which is called exoteric. He taught in Athens for 13 years and After the death of Alexander, when accused of disrespect towards gods ,atheism and Macedonianism, fled to chalcis, in Eubaes and died there in 322 B.C. at the age of 63.The school of Aristotle is called peripatetic school. After his death Theophrastus, Eudemus and Strato were it’s famous teachers.
The general character of Aristotle's philosophy is it is realism or it makes experience the principle of knowledge. Plato’s dialogues are poetic and mythical but Aristotelian is prose, Plato’s thinking is intuitive while Aristotelian is discursive. Immediate beholding of reason in Plato becomes reflection and conception on Aristotle. Unlike the idea of Plato which is abstract actuality Aristotle sees idea in concrete actualization. So he devote to particular and give attention to the manifoldness of phenomenon. The method of Plato is dialectic and synthetic while that of Aristotle is analytic and regressive course. So in the former from idea to concrete in the latter from concrete back to idea. This is the method of induction. (derivation of certain principles and maxims from a sum of given facts and phenomena). He is the father of logic, natural history, empirical psychology and science of natural rights.
Philosophy is love of wisdom. Wisdom then is the knowledge of the first causes, the ultimate principles, in any given area, whether in the realm of production or in the realm of things, knowledge of which is sought for its own sake. He gives us a threefold division of knowledge: theoretical, practical and productive. Productive knowledge is like agriculture, carpentry etc. The end of theoretical knowledge is truth, that of practical knowledge action. The object of theory is absolute and changeless, practical changeable and relative. The principle of practical within the subject, theory within the object. The two characteristics of the theoretical object then are immateriality and unchangeability. Theoretical sciences which have truth for their object like mathematics, physics, theology or first philosophy;. practical sciences which treats the useful-ethics, politics etc and poetical sciences whose object is beautiful. So object of theory are sense object in it's universality like physics, mathematics which do not need sense object and metaphysics which neither need sense object or mathematical object.
Logic.
Aristotle’s logic is a history of finite thought.Logic is concerned with natural things from the point of view of what happens to them when we know then. The logic is contained in five books which is called Organon. It is the name given to the collection of categories, on interpretation, prior analytic, posterior analytic ,topics, and on sophistical refutations. Aristotle is the real founder of logic. What was rudimentary in Eleatics, Sophists and Socrates, Aristotle coordinated these elementary axioms, completed them and formulated them into a system of deductive logic. The problem of logical faculty and logic as a science is to form conclusions and through it to establish proof. Conclusions arise from propositions and this form conceptions. According to this Aristotle divided the content of logical and dialectical doctrines. So the first treatise in Organon is categories, which treat universal determination of being and concepts and this is a first attempt at an ontology. Ten categories are substance, quantity, quality, relation, place ,time, position, mode of being or state, activity and passivity. Substance is a primary thing to which predicate can be attributed."Substance, in the truest and primary and most definite sense of the word, is that which is neither predicable of a subject nor present in a subject; for instance, the individual man or horse."In the Categories, we find a distinction between complex and incomplex expressions. Examples of the former are "the man runs" and "the man wins," of the latter, "man," "ox," "runs" and "wins."The Categories is concerned with simple terms, the elements of assertions.The heart of the Categories is the discussion of substance , quantity , relation , quality and action and passion .The second book is on interpretation and it is the doctrine of judgments and propositions which are either true or false.In the first chapter of On Interpretation we find a distinction made between thoughts which do not involve truth or falsity and those which must be either true or false. What are called simple or incomplex expressions in the Categories are not true or false; however, it is not just any complex expression which is either true or false, but only the enunciation or proposition. It is divided into three parts: antepredicaments, predicaments, postpredicaments. The first three chapters discuss things presupposed by the doctrine of categories: equivocity, univocity, denomination; the distinction of simple from complex expressions; the notion of predicability. This treatise discuss speech as the expression of thought, doctrine of the parts of speech, propositions and judgments. Man alone is endowed with speech. Through language we designate things as we conceive them, we conceive them by reason as they are in themselves. General ways of designating things or parts of discourse (categories of language and grammar) correspond to different forms according to which we conceive them or the categories of understanding (ten categories above mentioned) and these in turn signify the mode of being of things themselves-that is the thing are in reality substances, qualities quantities etc. Analytics and subsequent works are concerned with reasoning or discourse. Third is on Analytic. There are two parts-the prior and the posterior. they deal with proof and syllogisms. In the Prior Analytics, the syllogism is defined as a discourse (logos) in which if certain things be maintained, something else necesssarily follows. This book shows how conclusions may be referred back to their principles and arranged in order of their antecedence. Most important work in logic is prior analytic which is the doctrine of syllogism. The syllogism is defined as a discourse (logos) in which if certain things be maintained, something else necessarily follows The first analytic contains in two books- the universal doctrine of the syllogism, conclusions are according to their content and end either apodictic, which possess a certain and incontrovertible truth, or dialectic, which may be disputed and is probable and finally sophistic which are announced deceptively as correct but they are not. The doctrine of apodictic conclusions and proof given in two books .Argument consists of three parts, a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion. As an illustration below is a syllogism. All men are mortal (major premise), Socrates is man (minor premise), there fore Socrates is mortal (conclusion). There are four such syllogism which make first figure. Aristotle later added second and third figure. Some inferences can also be made from single premises. From all men are mortal we infer some mortals are men. He also taught that all deductive inference is syllogistic. Setting all valid kind of syllogism and argument in syllogistic form we can avoid fallacy. Second analytic, that of dialectic ,is furnished in eight books of Topic and sophistic in treatise ’sophistical convictions’. This also discuss the trouble of deductive theory as to how first premises obtained and proved, and writes on definition. Definition is a things essential nature. Essence is those property which it cannot change without losing it's identity. Forth is The Topics. This treat of places-in this the point of view from which any thing can be considered discussed. Fifth book is on refutations.
Metaphysics:
The term metaphysics was coined by commentators. Plato called it dialectics and Aristotle first philosophy while he called physics second philosophy. According to Aristotle philosophy is the science of universals. Special sciences are general theories of one or some system but philosophy proper or first philosophy is a separate science coordinated with other sciences (second philosophy) having a distinct subject matter, which is being as such, Absolute, God. It is also universal science embracing all specialties, as God contain everything in principles and is the first cause of all. So the relation of metaphysics to other sciences is that while all other sciences investigate a determinate form of being, metaphysics enquire about being itself. If there is only physical substance physics would be the first philosophy, but if there is an immaterial and unmoved essence which is the ground of all being this is first philosophy and as this essence is God, he also call it theology. Unlike sophists and sceptics, Aristotle maintain the possibility of knowledge. Man is the only being that partake active intellect, of God, through him of knowledge of absolute. So the object of metaphysics is the chief of categories, substance. to which the rest are based and related. It inquire into nature of being as such irrespective of time and place, absolute and necessary being, eternal essence of beings opposed to relative, contingent and accidental. In his metaphysics there are seven distinct groups.1-criticicm of previous philosophies in light of four Aristotelian principles.2-positing of apriories or philosophical preliminary questions.3-The principle of contradiction.4-definitions.5-Discussion of conception of essence and conceivable being or conception of form and matter and which arise from the connection of these two.6-potentiality and actuality7-Divine spirit unmoved itself and moving all.8-polemic against Plato's ideas and numbers.
Form and Matter.: This is prime matter and substantial form. There are three substance; matter, form, compound of two. Matter potentiality, form actuality. Two type pf actuality possession of knowledge, use of knowledge. In metaphysics he discusses and distinguishes four metaphysical principles. In his theory of causation Aristotle identified four causes. First formal cause, which is due to its form, idea, essence or quality, second the material cause which is due to matter or substratum, third is the efficient or moving cause which is the real and first cause of the things motion or change or principle of motion and fourth principle of final cause or good, which is due to its final aim or purpose. As an illustration take a painting. Here matter is canvas, paint, brush etc; form is the conception of image in mind; moving cause is the painter and end is finished painting. These principles are generative causes ,through the cooperation of these four principles the real being, whether art or living being is produced. These principles do not subsist as substances, but they always inhere in the particular thing. potential becomes actual only through efficient or motive force. These four causes can be reduced to the antithesis of form and matter. The moving cause can be reduced to form and end. Moving cause is that which make the transition from incomplete actuality or potentiality to complete actuality or becoming of matter to form. But in every movement of incomplete to complete the complete antedate in conception and is it’s motive. So the moving cause of matter is form. Like this the moving or efficient cause is also identical with final cause or end, because the end is the motive for all motion and becoming. Then form and end may be considered as one ,because both united in conception of actuality. So in the final analysis Idea is formal cause ,motive cause and final cause. So fundamentally there are only form and matter. So there are two causes the idea, which is the cause and aim, so this is the essential and proper cause, matter of which they are made, a conditionery and secondary cause. Since these two are necessary for all becoming, they cannot have produced themselves so they are eternal.
Potentiality and actuality: Pure matter or when abstracted from thought Aristotle consider as without predicate ,determination or distinction. It is the abiding which becomes, but in it’s own being different from all becoming. It is capable of all forms and is everything in possibility ,but nothing in actuality. There is a first matter which is at the basis of every determinate being.. With this Aristotle overcome the difficulty of explaining becoming. It is not out of not being absolutely but out of that which as to actuality is not being ,but which is possible or potential being anything becomes. So matter is positive substratum for Aristotle unlike Plato who treat it as not being. So matter coincide with potentiality and is antithesis to form which coincide with actuality. Like pure matter pure form is conception of being and no determinate being. Every existing thing is a combination of matter and form. The opposition between matter and form varies because in a table the wood is matter while in relation to unhewn tree it is form. According to Aristotle every substance becomes the matter for the higher form to evolve from it and this evolved substance, which contain both matter and form in its turn become the matter for still higher form. In this view existence is like a ladder whose lowest step is prime matter and highest step is pure form (absolute divine spirit), in between form and matter with increased proportion of form at every step. It is due to form ,matter is a definite thing and this is the substance of the thing. Form of a thing is it's essence and primary substance. Not everything has matter. There are eternal things and these have no matter, except those that move in space, things increase in actuality by acquiring form. Matter without form is only potentiality. Matter is potential form, all evolution is due to more and .more form ,hence more actual, God pure form ,pure actuality so no change. Idea and matter not opposed as they unite, cooperate and produce all. Non being and real matter are two different things. Matter is accidental non being. Matter is close to the notion of substance. It is potential being, possibility or capacity of being, the germ and the beginning of becoming. Concrete being is the development of this germ, realisation of possibility, potential actualised. Matter is the germ of form, potential form. The form or union of form and matter, which constitute particular thing is matter in actuality. So matter is the beginning and form is the goal of things. Matter is the imperfect state, form is the completion. Instead of opposing form, matter strives after it and desire it as female desire male. Matter and form are so correlative terms and each presupposes and supplement other. Motion is the term which mediate between them. Motion is the transition of matter into form. if matter is to form what potentiality to actuality all things are both potentiality and actuality, matter and form. Every being in the universal scale of being is idea or perfection when compared to the lower stages and matter or imperfection when compared to higher stages. So the matter in the final stage of development, last matter and form are same.So there are matter or potentiality and the other form or actuality also called entelechy or free activity which has end in itself and realize this end. Entelechy he defined as an inner purposefulness which resides in things and which convert the potential nature of the thing in to actuality Potentiality is unformed matter which can becomes all forms but not form itself. substance has potentiality and actuality or matter and form not separated from one another. The relation of matter to form ,logically apprehended is the relation of potentiality and actuality. If matter is potential form or reason becoming then there is no opposition between idea and phenomenal world, because there is then only one being which appear as matter at one time and form at another in different stages of development. The relation between potential and actual Aristotle explains by the relation of unfinished work to finished work, and one asleep to awake. Potentially the seed is tree, but the full grown tree is it’s actuality. Actuality or entelechy is the gained end ,completely actual. Plato consider the idea as being at rest ,independent in itself ,in opposition to the becoming and to motion, but to Aristotle idea (form) is as actuality or entelechy so joining form with motion and becoming. It is the eternal product of becoming, an eternal energy, an activity in complete activity, it is not perfect being, but being produced in every moment and eternally, through movement of potential to actual end. Opinion differs whether Aristotle believed in the reality of forms and innate ideas or he considered them as mere concept and nominal relation of things. There are references in his ‘Metaphysics’ where he says forms are eternal and after perishing of individual things they become the form of new things. He also believed in the immortality of the active reason. From this it is apparent that Aristotle also believed in the reality of ideas. What he stressed was there are no two separate worlds but one world of substance, which contain both form and matter. Aristotle describes three mode or kind of substances depending on the relation of form to matter or actuality to potentiality. In these three kind of substances first is sensuous and perishable substances. Here matter is distinguished from form so this is the realm of finite, plants and animals. Sensuous substances undergo four types of changes-first regard to what-causing origination and decay, second quality-causing further qualities, third quantity –causing increase or decrease and fourth regard to place –causing motion. Matter is permanent in these changes and these changes is from potential to actual existence. Second is sensible but not perishable. This is the higher kind of substance in which matter already contains form or actuality. This is soul or understanding and heavenly bodies whose content is the aim which it realizes through it’s activity. Third is neither sensible nor perishable and this is the highest form of substance where potentiality and actuality are united. This is Absolute Substance or Absolute Being or the unmoved mover and rational soul where there is no matter so potentiality same as actuality and as absolute activity.
Criticism of Plato's ideas and theory of universals:
The main points of Aristotle against the Ideas are the following. First, he maintains that the essences of material things cannot be separate from them, essence of a thing and a thing is one and same.; secondly, that Ideas are unnecessary to explain the coming into being of material things; Ideas are neither efficient nor exemplar causes; finally, as Plato speaks of them, the Ideas cannot be substances. Aristotle unlike Plato identified individual things as substance and primary reality. Assuming Plato believed in two separate worlds Aristotle contended that substance contain both form and matter. To Aristotle form and matter are inseparable. There is neither matter less form nor formless matter. The individual things contain the ideas. Forms exist in things. Aristotle denied separate existence of forms. According to him form or idea is the character or nature of substance and matter is its receptive element. This is the base of his criticism of platonic ideas. To Plato idea is the only actual so it is unable to explain the being and becoming of the sensible which stand against the idea. In Aristotle's view relation between idea or mind and phenomenon is actual to possible ,form to matter. He consider mind as the absolute actuality of matter ,and matter ,as the potentially mind. According to Aristotle Plato provide no proof for the objective and independent reality of ideas. For true knowledge Plato posit certain substances independent of sensible and uninfluenced by it’s change but this he derives from the individual thing so he gave this individual a universal form and call this idea. So this idea cannot be separated from the individual sensory objects which participate in them. In other words ideal duality and empirical duality is one and the same content. Ideas differs from sensible only by appending per se to the names, expressing the ideas .So there is only formal change and the finite content is not removed but characterized as eternal. This objection that in doctrine of ideas we have only the sensible posited as non sensible and endowed with immutability Aristotle calls ‘immortalised things of sense’. Secondly doctrine of ideas cannot explain being. The idea give no aid to the knowledge of the individual things participating in them, since the ideas are not immanent in these things, but separate from them. The ideas cannot also explain becoming, the arising and departing of sensory things, no motion no causality, even though Plato in Phaedron says ideas are the cause of being and becoming ,nothing becomes with out motion. To overcome this indifferent relation of ideas to actual becoming Aristotle makes the categories of potentiality and actuality. To him ideas are potential and only possibility and essentiality because they are wanting in actuality. According to Aristotle the inner contradiction of ideas is it posits an individual immediately as a universal, and at the same time makes the universal, the species, as numerically an individual, and also on one side ideas are made separate individual substances, and on the other side as participant, and therefore as universal. Plato has left the relation between ideas and individual objects obscure. He calls the ideas archetypes and says the objects participate in them. It is impossible to conceive how and why matter participates in ideas. In order to explain this we need a higher principle which contain both and which is the moving principle. So to Aristotle nothing universal, kind or species exists besides and separate from the individual. a thing and it’s conception cannot be separated from each other. Strongest argument against Plato is third man argument. if a man is a man because he resembles the ideal man, there must be more ideal man to whom both ordinary and the first ideal man are similar. According to Aristotle in language proper names like moon, sun, India etc refer only to particular things while cat, man, animal apply to many things so universal, also adjectives like white, round etc .Proper name is substance, adjective or class name is universal., indicates sort of thing, not particular thing. Universal is not substance as.substance is not predicable of subject, but universal is.Universality is something that happens to what Socrates is as a result of our knowing that whatness. It is a relation between the nature as grasped by our mind and the individuals whose nature it is, e.g., Socrates. This relation of predicability is something following upon our knowing a thing, not part of what is known, the concept which terminates the mental act.So universal cannot exist itself but only in particular things. Plato is right in regarding knowledge as that of real being instead of appearance ,.but he is wrong in conceiving the ideas as real beings existing apart form the individuals which express them. It only add to the real world a world of useless homonyms. Separate ideas do no contribute towards the production, preservation or knowledge of things. Plato's words like 'ideas are patterns and things participate in them' is vain words and poetic metaphor. If idea is the substance of particulars or essence of things it cannot exist outside and along side of particulars. So ideas considered apart from things are not real beings. Aristotle does not deny the objective existence of idea. For him also idea is the essence of particular. What he denies is idea existing apart from things. Idea is inherent or immanent in thing. It is it's form and cannot be separated except by abstraction. It is the essence of the particular and constitute the indivisible whole. Mere matter has also no reality without form. Matter without idea is also an abstraction like idea without particular things which realise it. Motion also has no independent existence as it presupposes a substratum. So neither idea, nor matter, nor motion has alone any real or substantial existence. Reality is concrete and particular thing consists of the whole these taken together. Only thought abstract it's constitutive elements. But most important of these is idea or form, identical with essence or soul. Form is more real than matter. Matter is only it's support, but indispensable support.
The Absolute Divine Spirit:. This is the unmoved first mover. He deduce it from the following points.
a-The cosmological form: The actual is prior to potential not only in conception but also in time. This leads to the first mover which shall be pure activity. Secondly there is motion and becoming and causality only because there is a mover or principle of motion. This mover must be actuality since that in possibility cannot alone itself becomes actual and cannot be principle of motion. All becoming postulates a being who is unmoved and which moves .
b-The ontological form-The necessary and eternal being cannot be potential, potentiality can either be or not be but not be is temporal, so absolutely permanent is actual.
c-Moral form-potentiality has a possibility of opposite. Who has the possibility of well has also the possibility of sick,. but in actuality no one is well and sick at the same time. So actuality better than potential and it belongs to the absolute.
d-If the relation of potentiality to actuality is identical with matter and form then the the supposition of pure or absolute matter without form also suppose Absolute form without matter.
So the concept of form contain three determinations- moving cause, concept and end. So the absolute being is principle of motion (first mover), absolute intelligence and absolute end. All other predicates of the absolute follows from these premises. Unity because he is without matter and matter is the cause of many, he is immovable and eternal. Only this supreme being is form without matter. As matter is the antecedent to development and higher perfection, since supreme being is absolute perfection he contain no matter so immaterial. This eternal actual being is the motive, form and final cause of things. The first mover itself immovable. Motion always caused by higher motive force, this from still higher and this ends in first mover. First cause act always so motion is eternal. So universe has no beginning or end in time although limited in space. Matter has a desire for eternal idea, God and God is the first cause of this desire. God's object of desire and object of thought cause motion. Motion with out being moved is caused by love. So matter is moved by Absolute Being without slightest motion on first mover's part. As supreme being is immaterial it can have no impressions, sensations, appetites, will in the sense of desire, feelings in the sense of passions, all these things depends on matter, the passive receptive female principle of form. God is pure intelligence. The divine mind has an immediate, intuitive knowledge of essence of things. Absolute thought is identical with it's object. Since nothing is higher than God and thought of God has the highest possible object, God is the object of his own thought. God is pure thought, as thought is the best. Life also belongs to God, actuality of thought is life and god is that actuality. It is on itself divine thought thinks. So divine thinking is a thinking on thinking. He is life as active self end and actuality, He is intelligible and intelligence, He is self contemplating intelligence and absolute actuality, so he only thinks of himself and attain actuality within himself .Aristotle define absolute as ‘the thought of thought’-unity of thinking and thought, knowing and known, absolute subject object.As the final cause and highest good God is the immanent essence of things and also transcendent. God is both the law and law giver, the order and orderer of things. Unity in the world proves the unity of God, .on this absolute depends both heaven and nature. All living things are more or less aware of God and moved to action by admiration and love of God. God is the final cause of all activity. Change consists in giving form to matter.
Physics (philosophy of nature):
Aristotle call physics ,second philosophy. This is mainly explained in books 'physics' and 'on the heavens' .Physics is concerned with nature and nature of a thing is it's end, for the sake of which it exists. So there is teleology in nature. Some things exist by nature, some form other causes. Animals, plants, elements exist by nature, they have an internal motion or purpose. Nature is a source of being moved or at rest. A being's nature is it's essential attributes. A being's nature is in form rather than in matter, so motion is making potential actual. In the idea of nature Aristotle emphases on two determinations, the conception of end (final cause) and the conception of necessity (efficient cause). He teaches a conception of end as the inward determination of natural things. This is inward immanent end and necessity is for this an external condition. This corresponds to form and matter. Necessity is in matter but end is in form ,so matter and it’s movement is necessary in natural things, but end or form is the higher principle. Sky is the perfect sphere and earth is at it's center. Nature is everything within this sphere subject to motion or rest. Physics is a theory of motion. It inquire into immovable principle (divine),imperishable moving power (heavens) and perishable world of sublunary nature. There are many kind of motions like categories of being. One motion that affects substance, origin and decay; other motion that affect quality, alteration; motion that affect quantity, addition or substraction, local movement or change of place. Motion, change, entelechy is the realisation of the potential, but not a substance and does not exist apart from things that exists. Aristotle consider heavens as neither have beginning nor end This is designated as ether and the eternal matter. The fundamental elements are four and they proceed from one another First there is fire out of this Air then water and lastly earth. Nature is the becoming of matter into form. It pass through living being to individual soul. Becoming culminate in end and end is form and absolute form is spirit. Aristotle consider human male as this form. Other elements and kingdom of nature is the attempt to produce male human and which fail this aim he calls abortion. Everything in nature, animals and even females are imperfect in comparison to male. This imperfection is due the working of nature with unconscious impulse.
The universal condition of nature like motion, matter, space, time he discuss in physics. These are reduced to potentiality and actuality. Motion is defined as activity of being potentially so a mean between mere potential and complete actual., space is the possibility of motion so possess potentially the property of infinite divisibility., time is also the infinitely divisible, expressing measure of motion in number and is the number of motion according to before and after, all three are infinite potentially. From this conception of motion he derives the view of collective universe. The perfect motion is circular since it is uniform and return into itself. The world is conditioned by circular motion and has spherical form. Since motion which return to itself is better in this spherical form the better spheres are in the periphery where circular motion is perfect and the inferior one will be in the centre of the universe, the former heaven and the latter earth and in between are planets. Heaven is the scene of unchangeable order, stand nearest to absolute and is under it’s immediate influence. It is the abode of divine. It’s parts, the fixed stars are passionless and eternal essences which attained it’s end, in tireless activity and is more divine than man. Lower to fixed star is planets. Besides the five known planets (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Venus) he counts sun and moon among them. These are less perfect than the higher region. Instead of moving from right to left like fixed stars they move in contrary direction and oblique orbits. They serve the fixed stars and ruled by their motion.
Below God, other separated substances arranged in a hierarchy answering to the various spheres within the supposed ultimate sphere of the universe. These lesser immaterial movers are ordered to the Prime Mover in much the same way as the lesser motions are to the first. The separated substances which are as final causes of lesser spheres seem to be related, given their function, in terms of degree of power and knowledge. "That the movers are substances, then, and that one of these is first and another second according to the same order as the movements of the stars is evident." .The immaterial substances are hierarchically arranged, ordered to the first, and this not by chance. Aristotle believed that everything is in constant motion. This is initiated by God who is the unmoved mover. According to Aristotle God is the unmoved mover or the first cause. He identifies this with both thinking reason and heavenly bodies.. The second cause is heavens which are moved and also cause movement. The motion of heavens are spherical or circular which is the perfect form of motion and it’s centre point represent the Absolute being which causes movement but itself unmoved. Heaven consists of fixed stars and then planets. The third is sublunar world which are moved by heavens but does not cause movement. The first manifestation of Absolute substance is motion which produce space and time. space is like a substance, it is not the material out of which bodies are made as Plato says. it is the limit between the surrounding and surrounded body, between the content and container. He rejects void. Motion does not imply the existence of void, it is a change of place of different bodies. condensation of a body presupposes rarefaction of surrounding body and vice versa, .so there is no void in the body or outside of them. Since space cannot be conceived with out movement the immovable (divine) is not in space and also as space is the limit between the contained and container and since universe not contained in anything but contain all so cannot occupy space. Hence universe, the whole of things not move. It's parts only move. The whole only revolve upon itself. Certain portions of heaven moves, not upwards or downwards but in circle and only denser or lighter particles carried downwards or upwards. Like space time exists only as a condition of motion. It is the measure or number of motion.. There always was motion as time, the uncreated cannot exist without motion. So unlike Plato's opinion it is potentially infinite like motion and this distinguish it from space which is limited. As time is measure of motion, it is a number and supposes a person so cannot exist without a numbering soul. .
In different kind of motion most important is change of place. It has different forms. The first and perfect motion is circular which is endless, simple and uniform. The unmoved mover first causes circular motion, this is the primary kind, continuous and infinite. Rectilinear cannot be constant, so less perfect. Circular and rectilinear motion upwards and downwards are the motion in world. The former belongs to highest heavens ,the solid vaults which support fixed stars. the rectilinear moves the central or lower part of universe. the eternal revolution of the outermost heavens on it's axis is caused by unmoved mover who moves other parts indirectly and by means of fixed stars. These lower spheres which are around fifty revolve around the centre of earth, which is also centre of the world. Earth is placed under direct influence of planets and indirectly fixed stars. it does revolve around its own axis but mainly upwards and downward movement. Things that move downwards from periphery to centre are heavy, that move form center to periphery are light. Heavy and light is same as cold and warm. Heavy and cold matter form earthy elements ,light and warm fire. Water or wet and air or dry forms intermediate elements whose purpose is to reconcile contrary extremes. Elements are successive transformation of one and same matter as fre into air, air into water etc. The difference in the elements of earth is due it's peculiar motion so not found in heavens. Heaven contain ether which is not a fifth element but neutral substance and substratum of the four elements. There are no various elements there as no contrast between heavy and light, warm and cold. It is in direct communion with first mover who is in outer most heaven and are ever happy and immortal and, of all beings they most resemble God. The more reason a being has less arbitrary it's action but more regular. Upper heaven more divine than lower The planets which are inferior to fixed stars are also immortal and uncreated, endowed with life ad activity. The movers of planet produce motion opposite to perfect and divine motion of fixed stars making independence of planets and hostility to universal order. This is the beginning of evil but when compared to earth they have divine, perfect and happy existence. Things below moon are subject to generation and decay, above moon everything ungenerated and indestructible. Operation of four elements and the resulting motion and change is confined to earth and sublunar region, sphere of becoming, birth and death. The earthy atmosphere consist two regions, one is wet and cold and surround earth and oceans , the other formed of an element warmer and lighter than air and extends to the vault of heavens. In the highest are comets and milky way, the lower produce wind, storms, rain bows and meteors.
Earth is in the centre of the universe, farthest from the first mover, so containing smallest degree of divinity .So there are three kinds of being showing three stages of perfection,. first Absolute spirit unmoved mover and immaterial being,. second super terrestrial region of heavens, a being which is moved and which moves and though with matter is eternal and unchangeable and lastly those of earth ,changeful being, which is only passively moved. Organic world is the domain of final causes. What distinguishes art form nature is while artist's aim exist in mind as clear idea while in nature it exists as instinct. Monsters of nature is an error. Nature desire the best without always able to achieve it. Here inability is due to matter not to idea. There is teleology in nature. The end or purpose is the principle that makes nature act, and pre exists in the organisms produced by her. Nature is a constant and progressive transition of elementary to the vegetative and vegetative to animal world. Lowest step is the inanimate bodies which are simple products of elements mingling together and their entelechy only in determinate combination of elements and resting when they reach a fitting place in the world. But in living things it is not such an external entelechy., within them there is a motion as organizing principle by which they become actual, this is called soul which is the entelechy of organic body. In plants soul is as preserving and nourishing energy, in animals besides this soul is as sensitive and moving energy. the human soul is nutritive, sensitive and cognitive. So organisms differ from inorganic bodies in that they are driven by an inner principle, which employ multiple organs to realise it. Vegetable kingdom is not an end in itself, animals which lives on plant is it's end, .so the vegetable soul has only the function of assimilation and reproduction. The animal soul has also faculty of feeling, and in higher animals, capacity to retain sense impressions. The five senses meet in common senses which synthesize them and constitute rudimentary form of inner apperception. Soul of animal susceptible to pleasure and pain and they strive for what is agreeable and shun the opposite (active faculty or will). Man in addition also contain the faculty of knowledge or reason. So man is the most perfect organic being. He is the final goal to which nature strives and the failures are due to resistance of matter. So gradually after much attempts this final goal is reached. So organic world form an ascending scale.Animal kingdom is divided into two classes-one contain sanguineous animals; mammals, fishes ,amphibia; second insects, crustaceans, testaceans, mollusks. Relative perfection of animal depends on it's heat in the body as warmth is inseparable form life.
Psychology:
Essential feature of soul ,in virtue of it as form of body is, it make the body organic whole, having purpose as unit. Organisation confers substantiality Soul is the first grade of actuality (possess knowledge) of a natural body having life potential in it. Living natural bodies are substances in the sense of compound of matter and form. Soul is the substantial form of a living body so body is described as that which has life potentially. Soul moves the body and perceive things. It is characterized by self nutrition, sensation, thinking and motivity. Soul is the substance and essence of the body. The relation between soul and body is same as form and matter, potentiality ad actuality. capacity and function. Body is potentiality or capacity and soul it's energy or function. Soul is also potentiality or sum of capacities, capacities of perceiving ,willing, feeling of which perception, volition and sensations are action or energies. Hence soul is the entelechy or primary functions of the body and it's manifestations are the secondary functions or energies of the body. Body exist and lives for the soul which is it's aim or final purpose. But soul also is a realty only as far as it animates something, energy of an organism. without body soul may exist potentially, but not in actuality or reality. It is impossible to feel, will, desire without the corresponding corporeal organs. Constitutive functions of soul are inseparable from body. Since soul is the sum of th body's functions, it is evident that it's manifestations or soul itself determined by the nature and special organisation of the body it animates. So metempsychosis is not correct, human soul does not animate other animals.
The soul in one aspect is independent of the body as in thinking and in another aspect dependent or united with the body as in emotions. The soul has three elements one the matter ,the second form which gives it individuality and the third the union of form and matter, where matter is potentiality and form entelechy or actuality. There are three forms of soul, vegetable or plant soul, sensitive or animal soul and intelligent or Human soul. The nutrient soul when alone belongs to plants, when developed to include sense perception becomes animal soul and further developing intelligence human soul. So man contain all the three natures. So he believed man consist of matter, psyche and form or vegetative soul, animal soul and rational soul. Different matter is responsible for making people different. Soul has rational and irrational parts. Irrational two fold, vegetative soul found in plants and appetitive or animal soul found in animals. According to Aristotle this irrational soul is bound up with body and he ridicules Pythagorean theory of transmigration. Certain parts of soul, irrational part are inseparable from body. Intellective soul is independent of body.Like the division of matter and form he also divide intellect or reason into active and passive. Passive reason is the capacity to become all things and also the faculty of sense perception and imagination while active reason is the capacity of creating all things. Psyche or animal soul he identified with passive memory, which is personal and perish at death. As far as soul is sensation, imagination, memory and will it is perishable. Intellect has a mortal part and an immortal or divine part. Mortal part is the sum of ideas determined by bodily impressions. This passive intellect is mortal. There is only one universal form or rational soul for all humans, which survive death and is eternal and immortal. To the reasoning soul pictorial conception take the place of sense perception and when reason affirms or denies something to be good or bad, it desires or avoids it’s object. The active intellect, reason which conceive universal and divine is immortal. It alone cannot be a function of the body. It is essentially different and separable form the body while passive intellect cannot be separated form body. Active intellect is not a capacity, but an actual being. It is not a product of nature or development of soul like imagination, sensation, memory etc. It is not a product, effect or creature but an absolute principle that existed before the soul as well as the body and united with it mechanically. This active intellect is immaterial, impassive, imperishable and eternal, without it the passive and mortal intellect cannot think. it is substantial. The active reason is absolute and not influenced from out side. Rational part or Mind is higher than soul and less bound to body. Mind is independent and cannot be destroyed. It is capable of existence apart from other faculties and eternal. . Mind has higher function of thinking and no relation to body or senses. Life of rational soul is contemplation. Mind in another sense means two intellect, both active and passive separable from body .His passage about the separation and immortality of intellect is interpreted differently by others. Some interpret both active intellect (actual knowledge making all things) and passive intellect (potential knowledge becoming all things) are immortal while others only active intellect immortal.
Man as the end of all, contain all steps of development seen in nature ,as we have seen the soul of man contain nutritive faculty, sensitive faculty and moving faculty. In the developmental steps of human soul the antecedent forming first and soul is the union of these faculties of an organic body in one common end, as the entelechy of the organic body. The forth step thought or reason added to the others constitute the peculiarity of the human soul It forms an exception from this law because it is not the product of the lower faculties of soul and not related to them as a higher stage of development, not as soul to body, end to instrument, actuality to potentiality and form to matter. It is a pure intellectual activity, it completes itself without any bodily mediation, as it comes to body from without and so it is also separate from body and no connection with bodily function. About sense perception Aristotle says the first impulse comes from external but after perception the content becomes knowledge or one’s own. Human understanding not the creator but recipient of ideas. By nature it is devoid of any content and like a white page. Ideas exist in the mind not actually but potentially. So mind possess no ready made ideas but only the faculty of forming them .In perception, only the form is taken not the object or matter .His famous words ‘sense perception is the receiving of sensible forms without matter, as wax receives only the impress of the golden signet ring, not the gold itself, but merely it’s form. ’About thinking he says it is a state of receptivity and and it always refers to an object other than itself but make the object itself. His famous quotes ‘nihil est intellectu quod non fuerit in sensu-there is nothing in reason which is not first in the senses'. He further says ’Reason is like a book upon whose pages nothing is actually written (Tabula rasa). This may means soul contain everything only potentially but becomes actual only through experience. . Soul is an unwritten tablet ,this means knowledge belongs to soul potentially only, reason have in itself universal conceptions as it has the capacity to form them, but not actually and not in determined form, but this passivity presupposes activity, if in actuality it becomes knowledge ,then thought constitute itself that which it becomes ,so this passivity rests on active intelligence which exist as self actualizing possibility and pure actuality. This is independent of body and it’s entelechy not in body but in itself ,so survive the death of body and lives on as universal reason ,eternal and immortal.. So human spirit cannot enter the life of sense .
Ethics (Philosophy of Mind).
Aristotle discus ethics mainly in Nichomachean ethics, and also in Magna Moralia and Eudemean ethics and eight books of politics. Aristotle consider ethics as a branch of politics. Aristotle defines the principle of morality or the highest good as happiness. This happiness is an activity of soul .Happiness having been defined as an activity of soul in accordance with virtue
So Unlike Plato Aristotle thought that the aim of life is not goodness but happiness. The good is having it’s end in itself, is not desired for the sake of anything else but for it’s own sake. For happiness rational insight is necessary so sensuous desires or lack of freedom is not happiness. Knowledge is the perfect rational activity so it is divine happiness. When dealing with virtue Aristotle divide the soul into two parts ,rational and irrational side.-the irrational is only reason potentially and and this is the seat of feelings ,passions and affections. Rational side is the seat of understanding, wisdom, knowledge and discretion. Seeking knowledge is relevant to and for the sake of action. Virtue is the unity of the rational and irrational side. Involuntary acts are either by compulsion or due to ignorance so they are neither virtue nor vice. When desire and inclinations are related to reason and they carry out it’s orders this is called virtue. The incontinent man is distinguished from the virtuous man because he does not have his passions disciplined and under control. So virtue is the unity of knowledge and desire. Since the good activity of reason will be one kind of virtue, the good activity of the irrational part of the soul as it is brought under the persuasion of reason, another kind. Let us call these intellectual and moral virtues respectively. Intellectual virtue can be gotten from a teacher but moral virtue is the result of habituation. Active intellect make man intermediate between animal and God. In sensibility, perception, memory it resembles animal, in reason God. This dual aspect constitute it's originality as moral being. As morality is uniqueness the aim of human life is complete and harmonious expansion of our dual nature The appetitive or animal part is some degree rational, when the good it seeks are approved by reason. This is essential for virtue as reason alone as contemplative, without help of appetite does not lead to any practical activity. Two kind of virtues corresponding to two parts of soul, intellectual and moral. Intellectual virtue result from teaching, moral from habit. According to him intellectual virtues are ends while practical virtues are means. Highest good consists of happiness resulting from harmonious cooperation of intellect and animal nature. Such a state of equilibrium constitute virtue. Besides theoretical wisdom there is as well practical wisdom or prudence, the kind of knowledge had by one who possesses moral virtue which disposes him to judge correctly the contingent and particular circumstances and to act in conformity with that judgment. Harmony between active and passive intellect is called intellectual virtue, this is wisdom in theory and prudence or common sense in practice. Harmony between intellect and will is ethical virtue, and these are courage, temperance, liberality, magnificence, magnanimity, gentleness, sincerity, sociableness.The virtuous man is determinately disposed in his appetite with respect to the good of reason. That is why there is no impediment in his appetitive condition when it comes to judging his particular circumstances in the light of a rationally recognized norm. Well-disposed appetite is indispensable for the kind of knowledge which is efficacious for action, i.e., for practical wisdom or prudence. Lacking this disposition, that is, lacking virtue, the incontinent man does not apply the knowledge he has. He criticise Socrates because there virtue is knowledge alone but Aristotle says there must be an irrational impulse towards what is good, this inclination is the force that impels, but reason judges and determines the impulse. .Unlike Plato who connects morality with the idea of good Aristotle is concerned with what is good to man solely. He says that the idea of good does not give the knowledge of good for man which alone is attained in practical life. Aristotle considers good in it’s relation to natural condition of men and says it is the end towards which nature itself tends. Instead of viewing morality as purely intellectual he view it as the bloom of physical which becomes spiritualised and ethical. Instead of viewing virtue as knowledge he consider it as the normal perfection of natural instinct.. He says man is by nature a political animal. He criticizes the Socratic concept of virtue with knowing saying it is not reason but circumstances and natural bias of soul which are the first ground of virtue. There is an instinct in the soul which unconsciously strives after good then only subsequently sought with moral insight. Moral virtue first arises from what is natural. On this ground he also criticizes the learnability of virtue. It is not through knowledge but by exercise and habit we become familiar with good. virtue as habit,-moderation and middle way dictated by reason It is by practice of moral acts we become virtuous.. It is by three things, nature, habit and reason that man becomes good
Highest good-.Highest good is an end in itself and not an end as means. Happiness is the highest good. Sensual pleasure is the happiness of animals and not man. Human happiness express intelligent existence and since intelligence is activity, happiness of man is not passive but express completeness of human action. Happiness is a well being and also well doing which satisfies all conditions of nature and which finds highest well being in unrestrained energy. Happiness and activity is related and happiness is a perfect practical activity in perfect life. To Aristotle highest good or happiness is an end in itself and not a by product of virtue. Virtue is not the extreme opposite of vice as Plato says but is the mean, courage between timidity and fool heartednss and liberality between avarice and prodigality. Virtue is the right mean in action .The mean relative to ourselves, so the virtue of individuals differ. Virtue depends on circumstances, time and relation, so unlike Plato Aristotle cannot limit virtues to definite numbers. Only some fundamental virtues can be named. As there are some fixed and fundamental relations among man like pleasure and pain. In pain it is neither suffering nor courting but valor. In pleasure it is temperance which is between greed and indifference.. In social life golden mean is justice which is between doing and suffering wrong. So virtue is the mean between want and superfluous. He identified three type of happiness. The first and lowest form of happiness is by sensual pleasures. The second is as free and responsible citizens. The third and highest form of happiness he identified with actualisation of best potentialities in ones own nature and this is a life of reason and pursuit of truth. This he called intellectual virtue. This type of life is possible only by moral virtue and the road to moral virtue or moral happiness is by golden mean. According to him everything in moderation is good so excess itself is evil and error. According to him passions are in itself neither virtue nor vice but human nature, to be used in moderation and harmony About particular virtues Golden mean is the middle way between two extremes. As an illustration modesty is the golden mean between pride and humility and courage between cowardice and rashness, liberality between prodigality and avarice, proper pride between vanity and humility, ready wit between buffoonery and boorishness, modesty between bashfulness and shamelessness, .truthfulness between boastfulness and mock modesty, gentleness between passion and passive endurance and friend ship between egotism and self effacement
Perfect friendship is possible only between the good. Pleasure is distinct from happiness, though there can be no happiness without pleasure. According to him pleasure are good or bad according to connected with good or bad activities. There are things valued more than pleasure. Proper pleasure of man is connected with reason. Happiness lies in virtuous activity and contemplation is the best. Practical virtue gives only second kind of happiness. In contemplation man shares in divine life. Of all man philosopher is the most god like in activity so the happiest and best.It is the business of legislator to make citizens good by forming good habits. We become just by performing just acts ,similar are other virtues. By compelled to acquire good habits we shall in time find pleasure in good actions. Aristotle thinks justice is not equality but right proportion. Justice of master or father is different from citizens, son or slave is property so there is no injustice. Everybody should be loved in proportion to his worth. Inferiors should love the superiors more than superior love them. Wives, children, subjects have more love of husband, parent and monarch than the latter for them. The best individual is magnanimous man. He must be good in highest degree. Magnanimity crown of virtues.
Politics and State:.
Aristotle sees politics as the sum of practical philosophy and and the end or aim of state as general happiness. He consider man as a political animal having reason. Hence he alone has a knowledge of good and evil, of justice and injustice, and not the beast. And he says in such a state the best must rule. Like Plato Aristotle also of the view that highest moral virtue only attained through political life. State exists before the individual as whole is prior to parts. Individual cannot make or change the state, but state form individuals. Family, property, slavery are natural institutions. State is the highest kind of community and aims at the highest good. In order of time family comes first, several family village, several villages state. state though after than family and individual is prior to it by nature, for what each thing when fully developed we call it's nature and human society fully developed is a state, as the whole is prior to the part. Rationality and morality of state is prior to the individual.. Hence in best state moral and political virtue is one and the same thing, but unlike Plato here to the individual there is grater freedom and independence. Plato's utopia is criticized as it give too much unity to state and make it an individual. So he criticizes Plato's community of wives Unlike Plato he is against abolition of family, against communism. Natural way to get wealth is skillful man agent of house and land. Usury is the most unnatural way of getting wealth. Aristotle rationalise slavery. Aristotle does not believe in equality, .not only salves and women but other citizens are also politically not equal. Aristotle also believed woman is inferior to man. He thought woman as unfinished man. Woman he compared with receptive substance while man to form. Education only for children of citizen and not for slaves. They must be molded to the form of government. Children should learn what is useful to them, athletics in moderation, music etc. The purpose of education is virtue.
The end of state is good life. A government good when it aims at the good of whole community, bad when it cares only for itself. Safety of state depends in just apportionment of powers, and depends essentially on the strength of middle classes. Instead of saying which form of state is best absolutely he shows the relatively best under historical, natural, geographic, economic and intellectual conditions. Same form of government is not suitable for all nations and circumstances. Three kinds of good government; monarchy, aristocracy, constitutional government (polity). Three bad; tyranny, oligarchy, democracy. Monarchy the best form of government, second aristocracy, then constitutional government. But monarchy is best when power is in the hand of a good prince, then it is an image of the rule of universe by god. But it is most odious when it is tyranny. When there is corruption best becomes worst. So tyranny the worst than oligarchy, oligarchy worse than democracy. Three things needed to prevent revolution are government propaganda in education, respect for law even in small things, justice in law and administration, that is equality according to proportion. The aim of the State, in his view, is to produce cultured gentlemen-men who combine the aristocratic mentality with love of learning and the arts. Aristotle argues that there is a natural basis for slavery insofar as some men require to be ordered to the good of others
Analysis:
The criticism of Plato's ideas are unfair. As we explained spiritual world or ideal world is the cause of the material world. So Plato is correct in Pheadron saying idea is the cause of being and becoming. Aristotle’s view that both form and things inseparable is correct. They are two aspects of one reality. But the form exists not in things. As forms are immaterial we cannot attribute them physical quantities or qualities. As they are subtler than world we can rather say things exist in forms and not vice versa. Aristotle’s form is spiritual essences and matter is what we called passive nature or energy. As we told world is a combination of them and evolution of higher form is from the lower one. What Aristotle call entelechy is the nature of the spirits. Everything expresses its essential nature. The four causes of Aristotle also can be reduced to its spirits and passive nature. Material cause is passive nature. Formal, efficient and final cause depends on the nature of its spirit. They are all inherent in spiritual or essential nature. Like Plato Aristotle also makes duality of matter and form. As we have explained matter is not separate from mind but the objective or material aspect of mind. Another point is it is not correct to say matter is potential form and form is actualised matter. We have seen that idea and matter is mind itself and they are the subjective and objective aspect of mind. Mind it self which is actuality in spiritual existence becomes potential in worldly existence, and it is mind itself which becomes actual in world through self realisation. The concept of Absolute as unmoved mover, pure actuality, pure idea, is not the Absolute Subject of first state as unknowable essence but the Absolute Spirit of second state as internal reflective mind. This is also the realm of ideas in spiritual world and the motion is due to love or desire as we already explained.
Three part of man and three corresponding happiness is what we have been saying passionate, rational and spiritual nature. According to us there are no three separate souls. Human spirit is a unity with vegetative and animal essence as part of it. Active reason is human spirit and it is not universal but individual and human spirit survives death. Every individual spirit is unique and particular. The supreme happiness as life of reason and pursuit of truth is similar to the path of self realisation
iii- Post Aristotelian period
Chapter 14: Stoicism
The philosophy of Stoicism, Epicureanism and Scepticism are the counterparts of the philosophy of Cynics, Cyrenaics and Academy respectively ,but more perfect and developed into scientific thought. The subjectivity propounded by Sophists, this liberated subjectivity is here perfected and satisfied. Here the subject’s attention is directed towards itself in it’s own self consciousness. The result are either Stoicism, Epicureanism, Skepticism or Neo-Platonism. Stoicism and Epicureanism are called dogmatism. The relation of self consciousness to itself is the relation of of all three philosophies, Stoicism, Epicureanism and skepticism. Secondly that of wise man, this is because in these philosophies everything reduced to subjectivity.
Stoicism developed during Hellenistic age. The were less Greek than other systems. Early ones were Syrians later ones Romans. Socrates is the chief saint of stoics. Their philosophy is materialistic, monistic, deterministic in content. In Stoicism Abstract thought is the determining principle and which is the criterion of truth. They considered truth as existence for thought in the form of conception over sensations. Stoics have connected philosophy with practical life. It is to them practice of wisdom and virtue. Virtue and knowledge are one and they divided virtue into physics, ethics and logic. So their philosophy also can be broadly classified into Logic, Physics (philosophy of nature) and Ethics (philosophy of Mind).
Logic.
The Stoics divided logic into rhetoric and dialectic, mention is made also of a part which deals with definitions and a part which deals with the criterion of truth. In Criterion of Truth first their theory of representation (phantasia) and sensation (aisthesis), because the criterion by which the truth about things is known, is generically a representation, The representation is an impression made on the soul, and it is either comprehensive or noncomprehensive. Sensation is always true; representation is sometimes true, sometimes false.Truth and falsity consist in an assent with respect to representations, and the comprehensive representation is one whose falsity is unthinkable.The Stoic theory of knowledge is complicated by the admission of incorporeal entities, things which do not produce images in us, but of which we have representations. Such incorporeals are void, place and time, most important of all the lekton
The Stoics speak of four categories and also of a highest notion, that of being-categories not exclusive but higher determine lower.The four categories are substrate or subject, quality, state and relation.Dialectic is said to be concerned with signs and with things signified,the meaning or lekton.Like Aristotle they also regarded grammar and rhetoric as integral part of logic. Here they make a subjective criterion of truth. According to them true and rational or real is the unity of thought and being in which neither can exist without the other and the source of our knowledge of truth is conception formed after sensuous impression by thought. According to Zeno there are four degrees of knowledge. presentation, assent, comprehension, understanding. To illustrate the highest degree of knowledge, which philosopher alone attain according to Cicero’s account Zeno illustrated with the movement of his hand. When he showed the open palm he said that this was a sensuous perception, when he bent the fingers somewhat, this was a mental assent through which the conception is declared to be mine, when he pressed them quite together and formed a fist, this was comprehension, when he then brought the left hand into play and pressed together that fist firmly and forcibly ,he said that this was science or real knowledge, in which no one but the wise man participated.
Physics.
The physics and metaphysics of earlier stoics materialism but later ones adherents of Platonism, but their ethical doctrine constant throughout. Earlier stoics also rejected immortality. They believed in cosmic determinism and maintained that nothing happens by chance. According to them heat is the principle of life. . In theory of knowledge they relied on perception. The deception of senses is false judgment and can be avoided with care. According to them innate ideas can be made first premise for deductions. these principles are obvious and accepted by all men. Stoics reject platonic ideas. They have no objective existence, neither outside things as Plato says nor in things as Aristotle says. They are mere abstraction of thought and has no reality. Soul has no innate ideas, it is an empty tablet and all it's concepts come from without. Sensible impression according to Cleanthes is like impression made on material, like seal on wax. Chrysippus define it as modification of soul. Sensation is the common source of all our ideas. Ideas divided into four categories, substance, quality, mode of being and relation. An idea true when it is an exact reproduction of it's object. Criterion of the truth of idea is it's clarity and self evidence.
Stoic metaphysics realistic. It is concrete spiritualism. Mind and body two aspects of one and same reality. In real being mind is active element ,matter passive. No such thing as pure spirit. God has body, and world constitute the body. Universe a living being, God constitute the soul, governing intelligence, sovereign law, motive principle, animating warmth. God is identical with universe so universe is real being, a living God who has knowledge of things, who governs our destinies, who love us, and desires our good without however participating in human passions. As the world is the body of God it is perfect. God is not transcendent but immanent in the world. Existence of gods inferior to Jupiter in planets, stars or forces of nature. They are mortal and only supreme being immortal. They also believed in astrology and divination. According to them Reason or God is the basis of all natural forms. The stoics believed that it is essential to study nature to know it’s universal laws, which constitute universal reason, in order to know our duties, the law for man and to live conformable to universal laws of nature. Stoics consider nature in two aspects ,one is the divine reason, the form or active reason of Aristotle, natura naturans of Spinoza; the other passive matter, passive reason of Aristotle, natura naturata of Spinoza. They follow Heraclitus and held the materialistic view that everything essential is corporeal. They believed in pantheism and considered God and world as power and it’s manifestation and thus as one. Matter is the passive ground, God is the active and formative energy of matter dwelling within it and united with it. In a way world is the body of God and God is the soul of the world. So God and matter is one identical substance which on the passive and changeable capacity is matter, and on the side of active and change less energy, God. He is also the universal reason which rules the whole world and penetrates matter. He is wise and the ground of that natural law which commends good and forbids evil. He punishes and rewards. Their concept of God was in a material form as vital breath or original fire. or as ether. The stoics believed the ultimate principles as a rational active cause and passive unqualified matter. The action of active cause on passive nature produce pneuma, which is a mixture of fire and air. The active cause act on matter only through this intelligent pneuma. They make fire the active principle which transform into other elements. All thing arise from fire by transformation and at last everything will be dissolved into fire again. World arises by the self existent gods driving the universal material substance out of fire, through air, into water then earth. These are the primary elements. From the combination of these elements are produced plants, animals etc. According to stoics all matter break into fire, air, water and earth with qualities of hot, cold, wet and dry respectively. These four elements transform to other substances and back to them selves and ultimately absorbed into fire. Creation and dissolution as repeating in infinite cycles.The end of world in fiery conflagration of periodic one called great year, thus multiplicity leads back to unity. Pnuma permeate and inter penetrate the whole cosmos and it is the cause of differentiation between objects. Pnuma appear as Physi or life in plants, soul in animals and logos in humans.
The Stoics speak of seven parts of the soul, the five senses, the power of reproduction and the power of speech. According to them thinking soul is fiery nature and human souls ,animal soul and plant soul are parts of universal world soul which is identified with universal fire. This is the central point which rules everything. So they also identify God with this fire. They compare this reason or God with a seed. They say that ’The seed which sends forth something rational is itself rational. The world sends forth the seeds of the rational and is thus in itself rational’. They describe God as the ungenerated and imperishable maker of all this disposition of things, who after certain period of time absorbs all substance in himself ,and then reproduces it from himself. They believed everything as the manifestation of God. Man is to God like spark to flame, drop to ocean. Our body portion of universal matter our soul from world soul. Soul is also matter. Destruction body does not destruct soul. Soul of the sage definitely survive death, but soul is not absolutely immortal like God. At last without losing it's substance it returns from where it came.
The Ethics.
In Stoicism moral subject appear in the self sufficiency of the sage, to whom every external good and every objective work is indifferent and who finds good only in a moral activity. Like epicureans ,to stoics knowledge is for the sake of life. Truth so far as it is good and useful.For them philosophy is practical knowledge and its object is to lead to virtue and happiness.Search for first cause of being only in order to find the final goal of life. Wisdom is theoretical and practical virtue and it is the goal. Theoretical virtue is thinking correctly and having correct notion of nature of things. Theoretical virtue which is only a means aims at practical virtue which is right living and acting according to reason is the highest virtue. What ever that does not make us better and no influence on our impulses and action is indifferent or bad. Logic, metaphysics, sciences introduce us to ethics and so good only due to practical value. Evil is necessary and contribute to the realisation of good. In the struggle with injustice, cowardice, intemperance: justice, courage and moderation manifest. So evil adds to the universal harmony. Everything earthly has a purpose connected with human beings. Not only good things but also all bad things help us to realise our end.
Stoic's ethics is moral idealism .Virtue for virtues sake. Highest good practice virtue for it's own sake, do your duty because it is your duty. Everything else like health ,wealth, honor, pleasure are indifferent and even bad when they are sole object of strivings. Virtue alone make us happy if we purse it in disinterested manner. It is not in outward performance of good alone, but habitual disposition of soul. It is also one you cannot be virtuous in one and vicious in another. It is the common source of what we call virtues like wisdom, courage, justice, temperance. To have one cardinal virtue is to possess all. One is good in all or bad in all and there is no middle between virtue and vice. Theoretically there are only two classes of men, good and bad, but in reality there are all shades and combinations. Virtue consists in will which is in agreement with nature. The wicked also have to obey God's law which is is natural law ,but involuntarily. Cleanthes says' they are like a dog tied to a cart ,and compelled to go wherever it goes'. In life of man virtue is the sole .good. As virtue resides in will ,good or bad depends on himself. Man has perfect freedom if he emancipates from mundane desires. Not only bad passions but all feelings and emotions are condemned. Virtue not in order to do good, but do good in order to be virtuous. The self realised sage is happy, this self knowledge free him from guardianship of man, the times, social prejudice, and laws themself if they are products of human caprice and not of reason. He alone is truly free. He has overcome the world and their passions. Nothing can affect him, what ever happens he is resigned. Everything decreed by nature and fate, and this is reason, providence and good will itself. He observe in all things the supreme rule ,which is to follow nature as the law which nature enjoins on conscience, identical with laws governing the world.
God's ways are not our ways. If the world is governed by reason it is a reason a good deal more perfect than ours and if evil is permitted it is for the sake of the good. Virtue is acquired by resisting vice, and if vice did not exist, how would we know how to act? According to them action is determined, but advocate conscious and responsible action.According to Stoics happiness consist in refraining and freeing from emotions and feelings. This is the only way to attain peace of mind. They advocated renunciation by lowering the desires to the level of achievement and resignation by apathic acceptance of defeat. They advocated apathy and indifference to pleasure and pain and believed passion as misjudgment of good and evil. They believed in fate and thought everything happens through natural law and necessity. They were so determinists and advised to accept destiny. They distinguished appropriate action based on one’s nature, which is preferable, and right action based on moral worth and moral knowledge, which is real good. This moral knowledge is discerning something greater than nature. To act with this knowledge irrespective of success or failure is virtue and supreme good. According to stoics the first desire of the animal is for self preservation. This is innate in every animal so it repel what is injurious and accepts what is serviceable to it. So enjoyment or pleasure is not first object but is a by product which the animal receives that seek itself through itself ,receives into itself what is in conformity and harmony with itself. It is also similar in man. His desire, end or aim is also self preservation but with conscious end and considered according to reason. In plants nature operates without this voluntary inclination. In animals inclinations and impulses causes activities of self preservation. Rational man also make nature their end but this is living with reason. So According to stoics men must live according to nature which is same as with virtue or living rationally. According to them to live according to nature is to live according to that which experience teaches us of the laws both of universal nature and of our own nature, by doing nothing which universal law forbids, and that law is the right reason which pervades everything, being the same with Jupiter, the disposer of the existing system of things. The virtue of the happy man is when everything occurs according to the harmony of the genius of each individual with reference to the will of the disposer of all things. They divide good into good of the soul like virtues and their actions and secondly external good like noble country, virtuous friend and the third is nether that of soul or external alone and this is when the self same man is virtuous and happy.. So virtuous action is useful and also provide happiness. Virtue alone should be sought but with virtue happiness on it’s own account is found. But this internal happiness is indifferent to external enjoyment of things, so pleasure is to them neither good nor useful. So the wise man is independent of all external things and seek virtue, good and happiness in his rational nature alone. The highest law of human action is dependent on rational order and conformity to universal nature and highest good or end is a life conforming universal law or nature. Pleasure which is a personal end must be sacrificed for the universal end. Cleanthes says pleasure is not in conformity with nature ,and is no end of nature. If virtue is conformity with nature and it alone is good and lead to happiness external good is not the end of moral action. So even health and wealth are in themselves worthless. and indifferent. But there is a difference between indifferent things. While they are not moral good some are preferable to others as they contribute to a life conforming to nature. So the sage prefer health and wealth rather than sickness and poverty. So either a man is virtuous or good when reason is awakened in the life and holds mastery over him or he is non virtuous or bad when it is not awakened and he yield to his irrational impulses and there is no middle way. The character of sage they describe as-'The wise man is free even in chains, for he acts from himself unmoved by fear or desire, The wise man alone is king ,for he alone is not bound by laws and owes fealty to no one, he is the true rich man, the true priest, prophet and poet. He is exalted above every law and custom, even that is most despicable and base like deception, suicide, murder which he may commit at a proper time and in a virtuous character. They also maintained that by nature all men are equal and all have natural rights.
Zeno: The founder of Stoicism is Zeno, native of Cittium, a town in Cyprus.. Zeno lived in early part of third century B.C.Zeno's family were engaged in commerce. It is said that Zeno lost his fortune in a ship wreak.He studied under Cynic Crateas, then Megarian Stilpo and lastly in the Academy under Xenocrates and Polemo. He opened a school at Athens and taught there 58 years. He is praised for the temperance and austerity of his habits. Even king Antigonus of Macedonia often visited and dined with him. It is said that Athenians trusted to him the key of their fortress. He died at 98,260B.C. and it is said that he committed suicide either by strangulation or by starvation just because he had broken his toe. According to Zeno all theoretical studies are subordinate to ethics. Some of his famous saying are 'philosophy is like an orchard, in which logic is the walls, physics the trees, ethics the fruit or like an egg, logic shell, physics the white ,ethics yolk.' God pervade the material world as honey trough honeycomb'. 'God, mind, destiny, zeus are one and same thing'.
Cleanthes: He was the successor of Zeno. He was a native Troad. He also died voluntarily at 81 by abstaining from food. According to him all souls survive till the end of one cosmic cycle.
Chrysippus: He was a student of Cleanthes.. He was born 280 B.C. in Cilicia in Athens. Chrysippus is regarded as the chief proponent of stoicism and was respected widely. He is the author of 750 books. He made stoicism systematic and pedantic. He held that Zeus, the supreme fire only immortal, other gods ,sun and moon born and die. God has no share in evil, but good cannot exist without evil. Good ad evil antithecal, both must needs subsists in opposition. Unlike Cleanthes he taught only the soul of wise survive death. His logic and dialectics were very famous. He was the main constructor of Stoic’s logic. The hypothetical and disjunctive syllogism, Grammer,etc .He died in 209 B.C.
Panaetius :He was the teacher of Cicero. He abandoned materialism of earlier Stoics and introduced elements of Platonism. According to him soul perishes with the body.
Posidonius:- He was pupil of panaetus. Born in 135 and died 51 B.C. He was also teacher of Cicero. He also introduced Platonism. According to him soul continue in air till the end of cosmic cycle. There is no hell but the soul of wicked make the vapors muddy and remain near earth and incarnate as they cannot rise higher. Virtuous rise to the stellar sphere and live there ever.They can also help other souls.
Seneca: Born in 3 B.C. and died in 65 A.D. He was the teacher of emperor Nero. Ends life by suicide.
Epictetus: Born in 60 A.D. and died in100A.D.Orginaly a slave. Freeman of Nero, then minister. He was lame as result of punishment received as slave. His famous saying are'slaves are like other men, all are sons of god'. 'On earth we are prisoners in an earthly body'. 'Every man is an actor in a play, in which god has assigned the parts. it is our duty, whatever the part may be, to perform it worthly'.
Marcus Aurelius. Born in 121 and died in180.He was the adapted son of emperor Antoninus Pius and succeeded him as king in 161.He is the author of meditations. He believed that God give everyman a special daemon as his guide According to him the universe is one living being, one substance and one soul.Marcus distinguishes in man a body, soul and mind, with the latter in some sense transcending matter. It is mind or nous which is the spark of divinity (as Epictetus had said) in every man. Nevertheless, this nous will be consummated in the conflagration which ends the cosmos.
Analysis
The nature as one with two aspects of active reason and passive nature is what we called the two aspects of Absolute Spirit as internal reflective mind. These are the subjective aspect of mind as ideas and objective aspect as essence of matter. Everything has this two aspects or in better words everything as mind is both idea and matter, but matter is not a separate reality but only the form of mind. The pnuma of stoics are the spirits. Their natural law or necessity is the natural law of the spirits or spiritual nature. What stoics mean by moral knowledge beyond one’s nature is wisdom attained by self-realisation. As we have mentioned in chapter on Socrates virtue as wisdom is self realisation and this is the sole aim of life. As we mentioned self realisation gives rise to spontaneous action and in this sense wisdom consists of both theoretical and practical virtue.
The primary defect of stoicism according to Hegel is its individual subjectivity. What is right and rational and good is not determined objectively but determined by the subject. This abstract morality is unable to furnish concrete moral values like state laws. They cannot provide an answer to how to act in individual instances so the whole stand point is one of abstract subjectivity. But this criticism seems partly unfair as we have seen that the wise of stoics is self realised man and they always think and act not from limited particular individual view, but from cosmic, universal point of view.
Chapter:15: Epicurus:
Epicurus was the founder of Epicureanism. He was born in Athenian village of Gargettus in 342 B.C. His boy hood was passed in Samos. At 14 he started studying philosophy. In his youth he studied the philosophy of Democritus. In 311, At 18 he went to Athens, and was taught philosophy by Nausiphanes, a a follower of Democritus's school He also studied philosophy with Xenocrates, the Platonist and Theophrastus, a follower of Aristotle. In 342 B.C. at 36 he opened a philosophical school in Athens and taught there till his death in 271 B.C. at the age of 71..His students formed a close community of friendship. The life of his community was simple and maintained by voluntary contributions. The only eminent disciple of Epicurus was the poet Lucretius.(99-55 B.C). He is the author of the philosophical poem 'on the nature of things' which describe the philosophy of Epicurus. His life ended by committing suicide. The life of Epicurus was blame less and his character was estimable and amiable. He was the author of many books. He defined philosophy as an activity which by means of concepts ad arguments procures the happiness of life. The epicureans were materialists and followed the philosophy of Democritus. Like him they also believed in eternal atoms and void and considered soul as soul atoms. They believed the basis of knowledge is senses and error is due to wrong interpretation. The epicureans selected feeling as their guide. The greatest good is happiness as pleasure and greatest evil is pain. The aim of life or action is happiness. They advocated not to avoid pleasure but to select them. Greater, lasting and more intense pleasures to lesser ones. They preferred mental pleasures to physical ones. This doctrine of pleasure principle as goodness and aim of life is known as hedonism. But greatest happiness they identified with serenity of mind or ataraxia. He divides philosophy into Logic or Canonic , Metaphysics, Physics and Ethics. Logic is the doctrine of the criterion of truth and is only serve as an instrument and introduction to physics and physics exist only for ethics to free man from fear of nature which may hinder attainment of happiness.
Canonical Philosophy (Logic):
This deals with the criterion of truth, both in theory, which is sensations, conceptions and opinions and secondly in practice, as passions, impulses and affections. On the theoretic side the truth has three stages of knowledge, first sensuous perception which is external, secondly conception which is internal and thirdly opinion which is a union of the two. According to Epicurus all sensations ,even fancies and dreams are true. Thought cannot criticize sensuous perception because thought depends on sensation and it is the content of thought. What we perceive by our senses is the true and real. Every object of sense exists on its own account. These object of senses are the material and content of thought, because thought is continuously making use of the images of these things. Conception is a sort of comprehension, It is the recollection of the sensation. To them conception is what harmonises with sense perception. Opinion is the reference of conception to an object as sensation and passing of a judgment.. Opinion may be true or false, true when sensation is corroborated and not contradicted by the conception and false in opposite case. The criteria of truth in practical life, the internal perceptions are two kinds, either pleasant or unpleasant,-means their content is either satisfaction or pain. The first is positive and second is negative. These internal sensuous perceptions determine action. From them general conception regarding what causes pleasure and pain is formed and opinion is the reference of this conception to perception, according to which we pass judgment on objects, passions, desires affections etc.
Metaphysics:
According to Epicurus the manner of the entering of images into us in sensation is by passing of surface atoms from the object to us. So sensation is due to thin films detaching form things and contacting soul atoms According to Epicurus, like Democritus and Leucippus the essence of things are atoms and vacuum. Atoms are indivisible and not liable to change and have no properties except shape, weight and magnitude. All objects are arrangement of these atoms. The interruption of vacuum between atoms is the principle of motion. Movement of thought is also like vacuum and has interruptions. Thought in man is same as atom and vacuum in things as their inward essence. The atoms have different movement due to difference in weight and this is curvilinear movement. and due to this accumulations all things are made. Physical properties like taste and smell is also due to specific combinations. There is no relation between atoms and there is no internal purpose or teleology. Everything is due to accident and chance.
Physics:
According to Epicurus matter is not not non being and negative but positive and principle of everything, the universal substratum and soul, mind and thought are only accidents. Out side mater only void the condition of motion. Matter composed of innumerable, uncreated and indestructible atom in perpetual motion. So he was a materialist like Democritus but not a determinist. Here atoms are not controlled by natural laws. So he denies necessity. Atoms has weight and fall down wards. Atoms by chance deviate from downward path collide with other atoms, develop vortices. So the formation of bodies out of atoms is by chance, not deterministic like Democritus. Here difference is in subject of causality. He agree with Democritus in the eternity of world.
The principle of Epicurus as earlier described is forming conceptions from sensations and forming opinion by comparing this conception to objects which are partly unknowable. This is judging by evidence or analogy. According to Epicurus the soul consists of the finest and roundest atoms, which is different from fire, a fine spirit which is distributed through the whole body and partake of it’s warmth. The part of soul devoid of reason dispersed in the body as life and the self conscious part is in the breast. When the soul is taken away we dies. So soul is material atoms like atoms of breath and heat, distributed all over body. At death soul dispersed and so it's atoms not capable of sensations. So soul material shares the fate of body. What proves it matter is the condition of body like disease, age, fainting also affects the soul. According to him gods exist but they are not concerned with men and do not interfere with the destiny of man.
Ethics.
Unlike Cyrenaics Epicurus believed pleasure and happiness must be not mere sensual but conformable to reason. The keynote of the Epicurean ethics is to be found in ataraxy, the mental state of tranquility which differs from kinetic pleasures in being a state of repose and rest.In Epicureanism principle of individuality, feeling, sensuous perception and observation is the criterion of truth. Epicureanism, where the subject content with inner feeling of pleasure and the calm repose of satisfied heart, enjoying the present and past ,not fearing the future and sees the objective world only as a means to end. The ethics of Epicurus depends on the individuality of self consciousness and the aim is like stoics the tranquility of the soul. Epicurus like Democritus negate mind substance and teaches a philosophy of pleasure. Two greatest source of fear are religion and death. He thought our these fear of gods and hereafter is the obstacle to happiness of man and philosophy make us happy by freeing us through observation and reasoning. To him knowledge and theory not important in themselves but only as related to practice.
Death is not an evil neither for the dead, for they have no feeling ,nor for the living, for them death does not yet exist. As long as we are alive, death does not exist for us, and when death appears we no longer exists. So we should not be prevented by fear from attaining the goal of life, happiness. We should avoid excess in everything otherwise it gives rise to the opposite. Pleasure is the beginning and end of blessed life. Virtue is prudence in the pursuit of pleasure. There are two types of pleasures, active or dynamic and passive or static pleasures. Dynamic pleasure depends on existence of pain as a stimulus to desire, static pleasure a state of equilibrium without a pain stimulus. Epicurus preferred the dynamic as it is unalloyed. So it is not the presence of pleasure but absence of pain is the wise man's goal. The greatest good of all is prudence, It is more precious than philosophy. Virtue is what makes the wise do that contribute to welfare and avoid the contrary. Virtue is not highest god but the true and only means of realising it. The pleasure which Epicurus made as the criterion of good is the type of enjoyment resulting from philosophy. The happiness attained or attainable through reason. The difference from cyrenaics is they made pleasure as a particular thing their aim or end while to Epicurus it is only a means as he considered painlessness to be pleasure. Cyreniacs does not recognize pleasure in rest, Epicurus says of both pleasure of body and mind, pleasure in rest is that of mind as negative, absence of the unpleasant and inner contentment resulting in restful mind.. Cyrenaics consider pain of the body worse than sorrow of the soul, while for epicureans this is reversed. Epicurus says ’freedom from fear and desire and from pain and trouble are the passive pleasures, the setting of our affections on nothing which we may run the risk of losing; pleasure of the senses ,on the other hand ,like joy and mirth are pleasures of movement’ and to Epicurus passive pleasure are the truest and highest. Epicurus identifies happiness and especially pleasure as the highest good. He distinguishes this from the aim of Aristippus ,the Cyrenians in that this pleasure is not transient but pleasures which gives happiness for the whole life. The pleasures and pains of the mind is preferred over that of the transient body pleasures. The pleasures of the soul is untroubled tranquility. Pleasure and happiness is also connected with virtue. He advised to be satisfied with little and to practice sobriety and temperance. Unlike Cynics he advocates enjoyment of pleasure when needed and even seek the comforts to live in dignity and ease. Since the true pleasure of the sage is the calmness of the soul when deprived of necessities he is not unhappy. According to them freedom from pain itself is leisure.
The main teaching of Epicurus in morals is contained in a letter to Meneceus which says’ The youth must be neither slow to study philosophy ,nor the old man feel it a burden, for no one is either too young or too old to study health of the soul. So we must endeavor to find out wherein happy life consists, the following are its elements. First we must hold that God is living being ,incorruptible and happy, as the general belief supposes him to be, and that nothing is lacking to his incorruptibility nor to his happiness’. He further says ’That which is holy and incorruptible has itself no trouble nor causes it to others, there fore it is unstirred by either anger or show of favour, for it is only in weakness that such find a place. The gods may be known by reason’ So the gods of Epicurus is ideal of holy life, they are also real consisting of finest atoms They are pure souls, not mixed like humans with grosser atoms so exempt from toil, trouble and pain. They lead an existence of pure and passive enjoyment, not troubling themselves with the affairs of the world and man. Man must pay reverence to gods on account of their perfection of nature and their surpassing holiness, not in order to gain from them some special good ,or the sake of this or that advantage’. He further says they dwell in vacant space, in the intermediate space of the world where they are not exposed to the likes of wind, rain or snow etc. This intermediate world is the vacuum. About death he says ’Accustom yourself to the thought that death concerns us not, for all good and evil is a matter of sensation, but death is a depravation of sensation. Therefore the true reflection that death is no concern of ours, makes our mortal life one of enjoyment., since this thought does not add an endless length of days, but does away with the longing after immortality. For nothing in life has terror for him who has once truly recoganised the fact that not to live is not a matter of dread. Thus it is a vain thing to fear death, not because its presence but because the anticipation of it brings us pain. For how can the anticipation of a thing pain us when its reality does not?. There is there for in death nothing to trouble us. For when we are in life ,death is not there and when death is there ,we are not. Therefore death does not concern either the living or the death’. About impulses he says ’that among impulses some are natural, but others are vain, and of those that are natural some are necessary while others are natural only. Those that are necessary are either necessary for happiness, or tend to save the body from pain, or to self preservation in general. The perfect theory teaches how to choose that which promote health of body and steadfastness of soul, and how to reject what impairs them, this being the aim of holy life. This is the end of all our actions ,to have neither pain of body nor uneasiness of mind. If we but attain to this all turmoil of the soul is stilled, since the life no longer has to strive after something which it needs, and no longer has to seek anything outside of itself by which the welfare of soul and body is arrived at. But even on the supposition that pleasure is the first and inborn good ,we do not for that reason choose all pleasures, but many we renounce, when they are more than counterbalanced by their painful results; and many pain we prefer to pleasures, if there follows from them a pleasure that is greater. Contentment we hold to be a good ,not that we may aim at merely reducing our requirements to a minimum, as the cynics did, but that we may seek not to be discontented even when we have not very much, knowing that they most enjoy abundance who can do without it ,and that what is naturally desired is easy to procure, while what is mere idle fancy can be procured only with difficulty. Simple dishes afford just as much enjoyment as costly banquets, if they appease hunger. There fore when we make pleasure our aim, it is not the enjoyment of the gourmand, as is often falsely thought, but freedom from both pain of body and uneasiness of mind. We attain to this life of happiness by sober reason alone, which examines the grounds of all choice and rejection, and expels the thought by which the soul's rest is most disturbed. It is surely better to be unhappy and reasonable than to be happy and unreasonable., for it is better that in our actions we should judge correctly than that we should be favoured by luck. Meditate on this day and night ,and let yourself be shaken by naught from your peace of soul, that you may live as a god among man, For the man who lives among such imperishable treasures has nothing in common with moral man. Of all those the first and foremost is reasonableness which on this account is still more excellent than philosophy, from it springs all the other virtues. For they show that one cannot live happily ,unless he lives wisely and honorably and justly, nor can he live wisely and honorably and justly without living happily.
He urged his disciples to flee from every culture and abstinence from public life. Sexual love as dynamic pleasure is negative. Marriage and children is distraction from serious pursuits. Safest of social pleasure is friendship. The epicurean wise man differs from the stoic one in that they abide by the law of the country. According to Epicurus the gods are always happy, they have human form but no human body or human wants.
Analysis
Epicureans are not hedonists in the normal sense of the word but their ataraxia is identical with the lasting serenity of a sage or self realised man. This happiness of the Epicurean is the true happiness. Unlike cynics this is true renunciation or detachment, renouncing the desire, so the sage feel equally happy amid wealth and poverty. The negative point of this philosophy is there is no positive aim of life but just this passionless state of tranquility from absence of pain. Another point is what they as atoms is nothing but mind. Both stoicism and Epicureanism are one sided so dogmatism. They see only either the reality of mind or the reality of matter. It is true that soul also consists of atoms, but mind is not accidental to it as Epicurus says, but atoms are mind itself, or ideas and matter are two aspects, subjective and objective aspects of mind.
Chapter:16:Scepticism
Like Stoicism and Epicureanism Scepticism also attained freedom of self consciousness through thought but by abolishing all that is objective whether sensuous or conception for self consciousness. In scepticism the principle is negation of all criterion, all determinate principle, like sensory knowledge, reflection, conception and even rational thought. They assert only a subjective belief in truth and deny all objective truth. Here truth is only a subjective conviction of self consciousness and is called the probable. Scepticism, where the subject doubting and rejecting all objective truth and knowledge appear in the apathy of sceptic severed both theoretically and practically with the objective world. Sceptics denied any relation between subject and object and all objective truth. There are Old Scepticism,New Academy , Later Scepticism.
A:Old Scepticism:
Pyrrho of Elis is the founder of old skepticism. He lived in the time of Aristotle. Anaxarchus, a disciple of Democritus was one of his teacher. He was very much respected and his native town chose him as head priest and Athens gave him citizenship. It is told that he accompanied Alexander in his trip to Asia and he was instructed by magicians and Brahmins. It is said that Alexander put him to death in his 90th year in 275 B.C. He added moral and logical elements to sensationalistic scepticism. Anecdotes are numerous about his skeptical behaviour. It is said that while walking he would not go out of the way of object or go straight up against a wall, thus completely denying the reality of senses. After pyrrho ,Timon of philasis, the sillographist is a famous Sceptic. Pyrrho's disciple Timon (died 235 B.C.) advanced logical arguments against philosopher's conclusions by deduction from general principles, stating that in this method everything proved by something else, so all arguments form either a circle or infinite chain.
According to them the essence of things is incomprehensible. Sceptics avoid absolute negation as well as categorical affirmation, so differs from dogmatics who affirms knowledge and sophists who proves it's impossibility. According to old scepticism the dogmatics cannot prove their starting point, which is only hypothetical, it is impossible to have objective knowledge of things, we only know how they affect us, we shall never know what hey are apart from our intelligence and senses, so to become happy we refrain from barren speculations and obey the laws of nature. According to Scepticism judgments must be suspended. So true Sceptic refrain from making any absolute judgments and this perfect neutrality gives him repose and moral equilibrium of true happiness. Early skepticism negate immediate truth of senses and morality while late skepticism negate truth as thought. According to them philosophy must lead us to happiness, but to live happily we must know how things are (nature of things) and secondly our relation to them. According to them nature of the thing are unknowable. They are indifferent to truth and falsehood, uncertain and not subject to man’s judgment. Neither senses nor opinion can tell us the truth. This is why there are contradictory opinion among men and philosophers. As all objective knowledge is impossible the true relation of philosopher to thing is suspension of judgment and withholding positive assertion. By this suspension they thought they can attain the practical end, happiness. Suspension is followed by freedom from mental disturbance so the sceptic can live with tranquility and equable state of mind without agitation .According to the doctrine of skeptical apathy there is no difference between sickness and health, life and death etc. There is no rational ground for referring actions. So in practice one conform to the customs of the place.
B:New Academy
In new academy not objectivity but only subjective certainty is stressed.The main figures are the following.
Arcesilaus: .He was born at Pitane in Eolia in 318 B.C. and was contemporary of Epicurus and Zeno. He came to Athens and studied philosophy. He was considered as a noble man. He lived in Athens, held the chair in the Academy and was a successor to Plato. He died while in this post in 240 B.C., at the age of 72.
He claimed that his view of’ with holding of judgment is the essential teaching of Socrates and Plato. He was rigidly opposed to the dogmatism of stoicism which claimed itself as improved Platonism. His only dogma was we assume nothing unconditionally. He teaches his hearers how to think for themselves, to investigate, to separate truth from error. Even if certainty cannot be reached in metaphysics, it is possible in ethics. He taught that there is no criterion by which we can be certain of the truth of our knowledge. He taught that one cannot know anything, not even he does know nothing. In morality in choosing good and evil he suggested we follow that which is probable. His philosophy is directed against Stoicism. His principle was that the wise man must restrain his approbation and assent and this is called ‘epoch’. According to him content of conception of something and thought are two different things so we cannot claim it as truth. As the content united with consciousness is concrete so there is probability, but no truth. He also asserted against the stoics that everything is incomprehensible. According to him thought which is subjective give assent to an existence which is the determinate content of conception. A sensuous image is foreign to thought so as some thing different thought cannot accord with it. Thought can assent only with something like thought like axioms. Secondly conceptions can be true or false. About practical and ethical life he says that since there is only probability and not truth the wise man acts according to subjectively convincing conception so happiness is brought by discretion and who regards what is well founded will do rightly and be happy.
Carneades: He was a follower of Arcesilaus in the Academy and also lived in Athens. He was born in 217 B.C at Cyrene and died at 85 in 132 B.C. He brought out a philosophical theory of probabilities. While on a diplomatic mission to Rome in 156B.C. he gave two lectures, first favoring Plato and Aristotle's view of justice and second refuting it thus establishing every conclusions as unwarranted. He was an opponent of Stoics in ethics, religion, ontology and criticism. His philosophy is directed against the dogmatism of stoic and epicurean philosophy. Against stoics his argument is that there is no criterion of truth, neither thought, conception, nor feeling nor any other such thing. Secondly even if there is such objective truth, it could not be without the affection of consciousness, which proceeds from perception. This is because every criterion has two elements, one the objective, existent thing and the other subjective, the sensitive, conceiving or thinking subject. This means the consciousness always change the object, and does not allow the object in its immediacy. According to him as the God of stoics is material and has feeling it is mutable Further if god exists he is ether finite or infinite. If finite part of the whole so not perfect being and if infinite, eternal, immutable without modification so not a living and real being. God may be either virtuous or not virtuous. If virtuous he recognise the good as a law above his will, so not supreme being. If not virtuous he is inferior to man. In matters of justice, right, duty ,responsibility also there is validity for both opposing views. Like metaphysics there is also no certitude in morals. In the absence of evidence we must choose probability in theory and practice. So there is no criterion of truth, no knowledge of things in themselves.. Against Epicurus he argues that the sensation of Epicurus which remain unmoved and unchangeable is neither sensation nor does it comprehend anything. Now this passivity is affected by the activity of consciousness, so the criterion is really the conception formed by the action of sensation and consciousness. Now this conception is no criterion because it will never show the object as it is but as it is altered by subjective consciousness. So this also can be true or false. Lastly Thought is also not a criterion because thought arise from this conception which can be true or false. He also criticised divination, magic and astrology. Even if there is no certainty in theory in practical life probability preferable. For practical life he advocates convincing conception. Conception has two sides, one the object of conception and the other conceiving subject. If the conception harmonises always with the object of conception it is called convincing conception. So a convincing conception is what is obvious and appear as true and verifying itself through repetitions. Secondly as conception depend on another the second criterion is other related conceptions and circumstances does not contradict it. This is called fixed conception. Thirdly there is developed conception. This is perfect conviction, while in fixed conception whether circumstances agree with one another is verified, in developed conception each one of circumstances existing in harmony on its own account is verified. So one following this developed conception in practical and ethical life becomes happy
C: Later Scepticism:
They were Aenesidemus, who was of knossus in Crete, and lived in Cicero’s time in Alexandria, then poet Lucian (second century A.D.) Agrippa and sextus Empiricus. Aenesidemus criticise causality. There is no causality in material or spiritual world nor between mind and bodies. Cause of a body is neither another body nor mind. Material cannot produce immaterial and vice versa. Similar the case with motion and rest. Motion cannot produce motion or rest, rest cannot cause rest or motion. In causality the cause is either simultaneous or antecedent or consequent upon its effect. In first case effect may be the cause, cause the effect , in the second case there is no effect as long as the cause acts, .and there is no longer an acting cause as soon s the effect is produced. Third case is an absurd hypothesis. The idea of becoming involves contradiction. it is absurd to say clay becomes hard or wax becomes soft. It assumes wax and clay are hard and soft at the same time. This means what is not, is and what is, is not. Hence no becoming and.the impossibility of casualty means becoming is impossible.
Agrippa lived one century later than Aenesidemus. He emphasise the relative and subjective character of our conceptions, discord among philosophers, their reasoning in circle and the fact that syllogism cannot give knowledge as every major premise is conclusion of preceding syllogism and so on ad infinitum.
Sexus Empiricus was a physician and lived in Alexandria, Greece in first half of third century. His main books are Hypotyposes of Pyrrho in three books, which gives general presentation of scepticism and 'Against the Mathematicians' , treatise against scientific knowledge and mathematicians in nine books. In this he discusses how to advance against certainty of knowledge. He maintain the uncertainty of not only grammar, rhetoric, music, astronomy, philosophy but also arithmetic and geometry like the contradiction involved as line is both extended and in extended points. Empiricus differentiate skepticism from new academy saying that there are three philosophies,. one who seeks an object either find it or deny that it can be found or continue in the search. The first is dogmatics like Aristotle ,Stoics, Epicurus and others, the second who deny are New Academy and the seekers are Skeptics. He further says that they differ from new academy in that they speak of existence and not appearance, as an example good and evil, withholding assent is good ,the opposite bad. In skepticism through withholding of judgment and thus by disappearance of all that is objective self consciousness get immovability and rest. In practical life skeptics conduct their life according to reason and conformity to sensuous phenomena ,teaches to live conformable to customs and laws of the country and in agreement with recognized institutions and personal affections, but this had only significance of subjective certainty and conviction, and no value of an absolute truth. The method of skeptics is as Sexus Empiricus says 'a power of in some way or other setting what is felt, and what is thought, in opposition, whether it be the sensuous to the sensuous, and what is thought to what is thought, or what is sensuous to what is thought, or what is thought to what is sensuous' thus showing one has as much validity as the other hence equivalent as far as conviction and non conviction is concerned, form this there is suspension of judgment. So we select and posit nothing ,so complete freedom from all mental emotion is attained. On the problem of evil he says if we affirm God's existence and He control all, he is the author of evil and it is impiety. On the other hand if He control something or nothing, He is impotent and this is also impiety.
The determinate mode of opposition in everything by which judgment is withheld is called Tropes.10 of the tropes are from earlier skeptics and five from later skeptics.. The earlier is related to immediate sensuous existence and it’s refutation and the later 5 against reflection and categories of thought.
Earlier tropes:1-This is due to difference in the organisation of sensible beings and the resulting different or contradictory impression produced by same objects. This Based upon the distinction between individual living objects .Diversity in animal organization so different living beings experience different conceptions and sensations respecting the same object. All thing appear yellow to jaundiced man. Same object seen in different color and proportion by each particular animal.2-This depends upon the difference among man ,diversity of mankind in constitution and feelings, difference in organisation of human being. If all things perceived by us in the same way, we should have same impressions, same ideas, same emotions and desires.3-The difference in the different senses of the same individual. Same object produce contrary impressions upon different senses. This is due to the different functions of the organ of sense, the difference in the constitution of the organs of senses related to one another so different senses grasp the same thing in contradictory ways so this reveal the nullity of sensuous certainty. e.g .in a picture something appears raised to the eye but not to touch, a bird may please the sense of sight but disagreeable to hearing. Also every sensible object appear as combination of different elements. An apple is smooth, fragrant, sweet and red. There are two possibilities ,.one is the fruit is a simple object but occasions an impression in each senses depending on particular nature of sense organ and it is also possible the apple is more complex and have innumerable other elements, which we have no knowledge as we lack the corresponding senses.4-The circumstances in which subject is placed produce differences in his impressions in the appearance of things This is the circumstance under which objects appear. Here diversity of circumstances in the subject, in reference to its condition, the changes taking place in it which must prevent our making an assertion respecting any particular thing. There is difference in perception between waking state and sleep, in youth and old age, in health and disease, normal state and drunkenness.5-Uncertainity resulting from position, distance and general topical relations of object The relative positions, intervals, places. relates to different positions, distances and places, from different standpoint the object appears to be different. A ship seen at distance seems stationary, burning light in sunlight invisible, things look big near and small at a distance, neck of a pigeons change color according to observers point of vision. So experience never gives us certainty but only relative knowledge.6-No sensations is pure. Foreign elements coming from outside or from ourselves interfere with it. This is due to the circumstance under which objects appear, and related to the intermixture of objects-e.g. scents are stronger in sunshine than in cold air, sounds different depending on whether air is dense or rare, spices emit strong odor in warm air than open and cold air ,bodies lighter in water than in air. Our bodies and mind also add to sensation. An object that is green to another may look blue to me. There is also influence of our understanding, as it change the data by senses in order to convert it to ideas.7-Related to the quantities and modifications of the object we perceive. Qualities differ according to quantities. This is the relation of cohesion, size or quantity of things, through which they appear different. The whole horn of a goat is black, detached fragments white;. wine in small amount strengthens, in large weakens; certain poison alone is lethal, in mixture they cure.8-Relations,this arises from the relativity of things. We only know phenomena, only know things in relation to other things and ourselves. We cannot know what they are in relation to themselves.9-This is more or less frequency of thing’s occurrence. What happens seldom is more highly estimated than what comes frequently, the frequent or rare occurence.10-This is related to diverse and different ethics, manners, ways of life, the varieties of custom and laws, the mythical representations and dogmatic opinion of man. The influence of habit, education, society and religion. Different countries have different customs. What is true for one religion is false for other, what is prohibited for one allowed in another.
Later Tropes: They are related to thinking reflection.1-This is diversity in opinions ,.not only among man but also among philosophers.2-This is falling into infinite progression-e.g-reason for an assertion needs another reason thus to infinity.3-This is relationship, everything related to the judging subject and other objects and as in itself..4-This is pesupposition.5-This is reciprocity or proof in a circle, some thing grounded and which itself require others as ground.
About God Sextus Empiricus says’ Since we do not know the reality of God, we shall not be able to know and perceive His qualities’.
Analysis:
We have explained earlier that mind as the internal reflective mind or spiritual plane is the reality of the world. The self realised man's knowledge corresponds with reality and it is objective knowledge. It is true that rational knowledge and sensory knowledge as knowledge of soul world and subtle material world is not as real as spiritual knowledge, but they are not mere subjective fancy but participate in the reality according to the plane. As we have seen denying even the criterion of reason is against our philosophy according to which we have seen that knowable reality is nothing but mind in the form of matter.
Chapter:
17: Neo-Platonism:
A-Philo:
The philosophy of Philo is a precursor to Neo-Platonism and is closely related to it. Philo was a Jew in Alexandria and born in 20 B.C. and died after the death of Jesus. By applying philosophy to Jewish sacred books and giving esoteric meaning he established the text as containing a perfect system of divine wisdom. According to Philo the aim of life is the knowledge of God and He can be known only through the eye of the soul and this is called rapture, ecstasy. For this it is necessary to detach the soul from the body and give up its sensuous existence. Even with this we cannot know the nature or essence of God but can only know he exists. He says God’s essence is the primordial light. He further says ’The first is the space of the universe, encompassing and filling it; this existence is itself place, and is filled by itself. God is sufficient for himself ;all other things are paltry and meaning less; He fills all other things and gives them coherence, but he himself is surrounded by nothing, because he himself is One and all. Similarly ,God exists in primordial form of time'. Secondly there is logos which is ‘god’s image and reflection in thinking reason, the first born son,, who rules and regulates the world, this logos is the innermost meaning of all ideas; God himself as the One is only pure being. This logos is also called arch angel. This is also called heavenly man and also represented as wisdom as Adam Kadmon. This logos then separate into ideas which he name angels or messengers. This logos is the preservation and permanent archetype of the world while another logos, which give sound as speech is the creator of the world. So God created by the word of his mouth, interposing nothing. The logos is also the teacher of wisdom for man. Philo says the creator before the whole of the intelligible world made the incorporeal heavens, nonsensuous earth etc and the sensuous world is the antitype of this. Thirdly the material world opposed to this ideal world whose principle is matter which is nonbeing. He further says ’in the beginning the word of god created heavens, which consists of pure being and are the dwelling place of pure angels which do not appear and not perceptible to senses'.
B-Plotinus.
Plotinus was the student of Ammonius sachus who was a celebrated teacher and died in A.D.231.He is considered as the founder of Neo-Platonism. Plotinus works were published after his death by his student Porphyrius. Plotinus was born at Lycopolis of Egypt in A.D. 205.He came to Ammonius at the age of 28 and remained 11 years with him in Alexandria until 39. At the age of forty about 244 he came to Rome and remained there until his death at 66 in A.D.270..He practiced Pythagorean discipline like taking only vegetarian food, fasting frequently and wearing Pythagorean dress. As a public speaker he was very famous in Rome. The writings of Plotinus is known as Enneads. They are six in number, each containing nine separate treatises so totaling 54 books. Besides Porphyry who was his most noted disciple other noted Neo-Platonist were Jamblichus, student of Porphyry and Proclus.
The fundamental feature of neoplatonism is emanationistic pantheism. World as overflow or diffusion of human life, and final goal as reabsorption in God. Stages in overflow are spirituality, animality, corporeality and stages of reabsorption are sensible perception, reasoning, mysticl intuition.Common character of all Neo-Platonists is tendency to mysticism, theosophy and theurgy. They claimed they were subjects of divine inspiration and illumination, can divine the future and work miracles. Neo-Platonism is Monism which derive everything from one single reality by way of emanation. Plotinus says withdrawing the soul from all senses and conceptions and meditating on the pure essence it will have the realization of God and he calls this ecstacy. He believed manifestation and evolution as the emanation of one ultimate reality. Ecstasy is a subjective state. The absolute unrest of consciousness striving after absolute rest This longing after absolutely true find its historical expression in Neo-Platonism. Here the subject try to understand the Absolute, not by objective knowledge or dialectics but by immediate, mystical revelation. Plotinus says ’The knowledge of the true is not gained by proof nor by any mediation, it cannot be known when there is division of subject and object but only when the distinction between knower and known disappears’ Here reason beholds itself. Any one attained to this state will despise thought which distinguish between knower and known. This is a form of mystical absorption into the Absolute, resolving individual self into the One.He postulated three hypostasis or realities. These three Cosmic principles of Plotinus are One, .Nous and Soul corresponds to light, sun and moon. The whole reality is a process of emanation from these principles. There are the three stages in the hierarchy of beings.
God or One:
The first is the One, the ultimate, and the unknowable. The One is beyond being as it is beyond knowledge; it is unknowable and ineffable.He compared it with divine light. All manifestations are a span between two poles. At one end is this divine light at other end is matter which is absence of light hence darkness and evil. The one or divine light he identified with mystical awareness. Between this and matter is nous and soul. The first one is the primal essence and is called The First, The One, The Good ,that which stands above being. This one is above reason , above thought and will. It needs nothing and desire nothing It is above energy ,neither life, nor being nor essence belongs to it. It cannot be thought or expressed. The other cosmic principles emanate from this One. The one is the first, the basis. It is pure being, unchangeable and unknowable and the base and cause of everything. He call it Being or the Good. This is the state of Unity without any multiplicity. This is unknowable because at this stage it is devoid of any predicates.. There is this one supreme principle, form ,unity or God. Every being consists of matter and form. God active power and matter passive receptacle, but matter is not antithesis to God. Divine unity is not numerical unity but infinite and contain everything. It transcends our conception. It produce all but not produced, source of all beauty without being beautiful, source of all form without having any form itself, source of thought and intelligence without being a thinking and intelligent being. The principle, measure and end of all things without being a thing itself. It is the principle of good ,highest good without being good. It has neither goodness, beauty or intelligence but is goodness, beauty, thought itself. Self consciousness has value for us, none for God. He is also not unconscious like non living. He transcends both conscious and unconscious. He has no will in the human sense as he strive after or desire nothing. He transcends both free will and determinism. As every attribute limit him ,he is everything and nothing. Strictly speaking we cannot affirm even he exists as he transcends existence itself. As God is superior to ideas after we reach ideal world (nous) thought must abandon itself to meditation, contemplation and adoration. That awareness of this Principle comes neither by knowing nor by the Intellection that discovers the Intelligible Beings but by a presence overpassing all knowledge.As God transcends everything conceived and said the attempt to define God ether in thought or language is to lose him. So unlike Plato's God which is even though above being, is king of ideas so idea itself and accessible to reason, the God of neoplatonism is superior to idea so beyond thought. The universe emanate from god as light from sun, heat from fire, conclusions from axioms. There is a vague desire in all things that emanate from him to return to him. The return of being to divine source is made possible through thought, contemplation, intuition. To perceive, to see, to contemplate is the goal of all action, striving and motion. There are meditative and practical natures and the former as it reach supreme goal by direct means of thought is the superior.
The three stages of beings
Intelligence (Spirit, Nous). Nous is the image of the One. One in it's self quest has vision, and this seeing is Nous. It is the first divine emanation. Emanation or creation is a fall, progressive degeneration of the divine. In intelligence the absolute unity of God splits into intelligence proper (nous) and intelligible world,but when compared with material world intelligence is an absolute unity. Intelligible world and the reason contemplating it are not separated in time or space. They are in each other, .ideas are immanent in the intellect which conceive them. The how and the cause of this dyad from the divine unity or monad is unknowable and a mystery. Nous or mind is universal reason. Nous is being as One is beyond being. In nous knower and known one, thought and being identical. World exist as ideas in this mind of God. This is the stage of thought thinking itself and he compared it with intuitive knowledge. This is the stage of unity in diversity. This Nous or finite reason which originate from the One. The development of Nous is like light proceeding from the One. When the One sheds light round about himself , Nous flows from him. This is only an over flowing of the abundance of the one which remain unchanged. The object or thought of this nous is the intellectual world. About the relations of the many ideas of the ideal world he says they are like elements in a thing. So they are not mutually different ,but diverse yet one. The material world arise from this intellectual world. The nous thinks itself as changing and this is the material universe. So the world is the thought of the nous or intellectual world. So from the One emanate this nous or world spirit which is also eternal and is a reflection and image of the One. The One does not diminish by emanation but remain the same. After the One, world spirit(nous) is the most perfect. It contain the ideal world which is the true and changeless world. Here there is no past or future but an aiding present. It is incapable of division in space or change in time. World soul emanates from this world reason. There are two kind of ideas, one genera or general forms of all things like being, identity, rest, motion etc and the other specific type of individual beings. Everything existing in the world has it's corresponding idea or prototype in the intelligible world. Not only idea of man in general but also idea of every individual man. Each one realises a distinct idea, so it is not the human species but individual considered as eternal. A fixed and unchangeable number of ideas or types of individual exist in the intelligible world. The unity of intellect expands into plurality of ideas, which are distinct from one another, although perceived by the one and same intellectual intuition. Intellect contain ideas, not separated corporeally but as pluralities, matter is the principle of plurality. Nous has two powers, first that of grasping intellectively its own content, the second that of advancing and receiving whereby to know its transcendent, the One.
Soul: Intelligence is also creative and soul emanate from it. This is universal soul or world soul. The distinctive character of soul is not thought alone but ordering and governing. It is this which distinguishes soul from Nous. Human soul emanate from this soul. Soul he identifies with discursive thought and due to this thought in succession there is movement and time, space and matter is produced. Man in body discursive thinking, man in nous intuitive thinking.Reason passing from nous to soul give it the power of thought. Our soul is part of the universal soul and this is in part in nous which is eternal and flows from there. World soul is the copy of reason permeated by it and actualizing it in an outer world. World soul gives ideas externally to sensible matter and this is the last and lowest emanation. Individual soul like human soul are linked both to higher world reason and lower matter. They bound to the earth and share their destiny but again raise to their source which is reason. . Reason or intelligence finds it's idea in itself as it's immanent possession and substance, while soul search or ascend to them by reflection so attain not ideas themselves but their images or simple notions. It has no immediate or complete intuition but discursive thought or analysis. As there is one God ,one intelligible there is also one soul ,the world soul manifesting itself as different forms of individual souls. Like nous which has dual function of contemplating God and emanating soul, soul has the dual function of contemplating God and nous and emanating the body. Soul is the author of all living things, the whole visible world. It has double nature, an inner soul aims at nous, another which face external. World of sense and nature generated from this part. Soul is neither matter as stoics say nor form of body as Aristotle say, soul is the essence so it is immortal and eternal. Soul comes from intellectual world due to appetite. Soul contemplate the inward essence and wish to create some thing like it and the result is nature.
The body: Lastly there is nature and matter. According to him nature has consciousness so it also contemplate. But nature has no self consciousness so this contemplation is like a dream. As the body is also divine emanation it also has elements of divinity. Even though it is a copy of ideal and soul ,and when compared with them less beautiful in it's own domain as the sensual image of the divine it has perfect beauty. Intellect has ideas, soul it's notions, and the body has it's forms. Through these form they still belongs to the higher realms of being. The form of bodies represent what reality they have, their matter the lack of reality. Body's form their being, matter non being. Corporeal nature fluctuate between being and non being. It is eternal becoming and in perpetual change.
After world of bodies pure matter or non being. According to him matter which is the principle of material world and the origin of evil is the non existent which presents an image of the existent. Matter lacks predicates and properties. Matter is not body as body is composed of form and matter. Matter is the substratum, principle of body's inertia. It has neither form, or dimension or color or anything of body, as all these comes from the formal principle. It's only attribute is privation. Mater is impotence, negation of unity, cause of plurality, absolute absence of form, ugliness, absence of good, so evil itself. Matter and evil is not pure nonexistence but a reality. Matter influence not only body but also soul and reason. There is matter in mind also as notion of matter. It is also in all mind's thoughts, connected with it's conceptions. Plotinus places matter in the supra intelligible realm beyond reason or nous. Plotinus also regard this supra intelligent matter as infinite potentiality, unlimited productivity, creative power of God or sometimes as identical with God.
Ethics:.
Sin is a consequence of free will. About evil and it’s origin he says. 'Nous is the Good. It contain all things in itself, is all things. The soul ,externally revolving round the nous ,contemplating and gazing to it’s depths ,beholds God by means of it, and this is the life of gods, free from evil and filled with blessedness. If the soul remained there constantly there would be no evil. The soul by its very nature is divine, and evil must be looked upon as an accretion to the soul due to its commerce with the corporeal. Goodness is of the essence of the soul, evil is accidental and not constitutive Evil is the non existent and like an image of the existent and it is the sensuous universe. The cause of evil is when soul turns away from thought matter arises. The necessity of evil is the whole consists of the opposites. He says that this world is also part of divinity. He says ’He who loves anything loves also all thing related to the same, therefore also the children of the father whom he loves. Every soul is the daughter of this father , but soul in the heavenly spheres are more intelligible and better and more related to God than our souls. God is universally present and so also in this world, so the world participate in him'. About the parts of soul he says only the power of thought belongs to the part from nous which is perfect and happy. Its power of motion or life belongs to world soul and sensation has source in the soul of world of sensation. So the soul first descends from the nous to the world soul. This is above the sub lunar region an dwells in the fixed stars. This world soul has the power of origination. From it comes sensuous soul. The desire of the individual and particular soul separated from the whole gives it a body. This is in the higher region of heavens. With this body it gets fancy and memory and lastly it comes to the soul of sensible world from it it receives sensation, desires and vegetative life. He describe this in detail, is in Saturn the soul acquires the power of forming conclusions with regard to things, in Jupiter the power of effectiveness of the will, in Mars affections and impulses, in Sun sensation, imagination and opinion, in Venus sensuous desires aiming at the particular and in the Moon the power of production.
Soul which is between intellect and body, contain elements of both. There is logical necessity in intellectual sphere and physical necessity in world of bodies. Soul is the seat of free will. It is subject to temptation from both intellectual world and body. it may turn towards reason and live pure intellectual life or turns towards matter and lead low earthly life. As it is below intelligence desire strive soul towards it as intelligence strive towards God. it's goal is to become intelligent. There are three kind of souls. First souls which lives for reason and for God, divine souls; second souls which waver between mind and body, heaven and earth, demons or geniuses, partly good and partly evil; third soul which dwell in matter and inhabit base bodies. Heavenly souls like world soul is supremely happy. Their happiness consist in apathy, obedience to divine reason, and contemplation of ideas and absolute. Their bodies are of light and there is nothing terrestrial in them. Eternally perfect and always same, they have neither memory, nor prevision, neither hope nor regret. They have no self consciousness like human soul. Human souls were not always with base earthly bodies. First they were heavenly souls conscious of God alone and not of themselves. They separated their lives from universal life in order to become selfish individuals with base bodies which separate them from each other. Earthly bodies is a fall and punishment. it is a free act, as no other forced us, and also necessary act, as our own nature demand it. Every man is the author of his fate, also conversely his fate depends on his individual character. This fall is also a relative misfortune and blessing, as it descends in order to ascend as early as possible. Soul also profit with contact of body as it can recognise evil and exercise hidden powers. Though closely connected with the body soul is separate form it. Every soul has it's hour. It descends and enter suitable body. After death the soul enters another body if it is sinful.
So according to Plotinus reality is one whole emanated to diversity. The principles of opposites form a unity. This is the cause of both harmony and beauty and evil and ugliness in the world. The object of human life is ascension to the one. This is by restraining from body attraction and developing spiritual faculties. Individual soul first ascends to the universal soul. Contemplating the source we ascend higher and higher and at last the soul commune with the one. The soul’s original home is the ideal world. So our aim is to direct our senses and aspirations to the ideal world and by asceticism and tormenting the flesh to free our spirit from participation with body. Once it reach the ideal world it attain the final goal of all it’s longings and efforts and there is immediate union with God and lose of separate self consciousness and losing in and absorbed by God. The aim of human life is purification of soul and gradual assimilation with divinity. Three roads leads to God. Music (art), love and philosophy. Three paths ,or rather one with three stages. The artist seeks the idea in it's sensible manifestations, lover seek it in human soul, philosopher seek it in it's real home, in intelligible world and God. The man who tasted the delights of meditation and contemplation forgoes both art and love. To the philosopher beauty in art is a pale reflection of absolute beauty. He despises body and it's pleasures in order to concentrate on the absolute. The joy of philosopher is unspeakable. This makes him forget earth and his individuality. His rapture is a union of human soul with divine intellect, an ecstasy, a flight of the soul to it's heavenly home. As God as One is superior to ideas after we reach ideal world (nous) thought must abandon itself to meditation, contemplation and adoration. That awareness of this Principle comes neither by knowing nor by the Intellection that discovers the Intelligible Beings, but by a presence overpassing all knowledge. Love now becomes the guideline and the union which is its term cannot be communicated as a philosophical doctrine. In Plotinus this calls for an effort on man's part to go through philosophy to this recognition and then by means of love and ecstasy to go beyond philosophy to union with that primal principle of all things. When we are divinely possessed and inspired we see both nous and God. when contact with divine we cannot reason or express in words this vision, this possible only later when we return to normal state. When alive the philosopher enjoy vision of God only certain moments, but in the next life it will be the normal state of the soul. After death the soul continue its purification if it was purified during life by philosophy, until it is divested of individuality itself. Memory is concerned with life in time and after death as the soul grows more and more towards eternal life it remember less and less of earthly life and at last remember nothing and contemplate only the intellectual realm. There will be no memory of personality, the soul will become one with nous and the individual soul will be simultaneously two and one.
C-Proclus.
He was born in 412 at Constantinople, but spent on study most of his time with Plutarchus in Athens and died there in 485.He also thought philosophy in Athens. He was the author of many mathematical works. His more important works are commentaries on Plato's dialogues, The platonic theology and Theological elements.
With Proclus Neopatonic philosophy reached more systematic and developed form. Proclus also consider three forms of the absolute or trinity. Proclus base his system on triple triad of jumbilicus. He says them as three gods. These three spheres constitute the totality but each one is concrete and complete in itself. These three spheres are the One, Infinite and the Limitation. His first is One which is unity. This is inexpressible and unknowable. He shows the truth of the many and multiplicity are one or the unity and they all return and dissolve into this unity. The one produce the many due to superfluity of potentiality. The many partake of unity but the unity does not partake of multiplicity. The second is the many ones produced from the One. Each partake of the One only through single individual unity. He calls the One God and the many unities gods. Unlike unknowable one these gods can be known. The third is a whole unity of One and many and is the mingled. This is everything existent .The mingled also form triads. The first triad are Being, Life and Reason. They are the spiritual ones. According to him soul comes from reason..
He deduce from absolute and non communicable unity first; being: eg the infinite, the end or form and their unity the finite. second life ;eg: potentiality, existence and their unity intelligible life. third intelligence; eg: static thought, thought in motion or perception and their unity reflective thought. Each of these triads reveals to those initiated into philosophy one of the aspects of the first and supra intelligible cause. first his unspeakable unity, secondly his inexhaustible fertility, thirdly his infinite perfection. These are the emanations of the absolute. The absolute in itself is superior to being and even to thought, as the principle is superior to it's consequences and cause to its effect and forever unknowable. whatever is super natural in essence is revealed only by supernatural means. So theurgy alone reveal it to the initiated. Knowledge is confined to the intelligible sphere of ideas.
Analysis
Skepticism and dogmatism establish the opposite of subjectivity and objectivity but Neo-Platonism resolve this by showing the unity of subjectivity and objectivity. The first or One of neoplatonism is what we called the unknowable Absolute Subject. The world spirit or nous is the plane of Absolute Spirit and world soul is our Soul world. The neoplationic view of matter as containing in everything like nous and world soul except the One is correct. This is what causes the distinction and plurality. But matter is neither beyond nous and identifiable with God nor is it opposite to ideas and mind. As we explained many times mind is both ideas and matter. Ideas are the subjective aspect and matter is the objective aspect of mind.
Chapter:18:Ancient Philosophy: Some Concepts and their Antinomies
A: Absolute and relative, one and many, whole and parts,
We have explained in the first section also chapter on Plotinus that the first state of first plane as Absolute Subject is unknowable and we cannot attribute any predicates or qualities to It. In this sense predicates like absolute, one and many cannot be applied to it but rather it is absolute and relative, one and many, whole and parts at the same time or none of these. When we come to the second state of first plane as Absolute Spirit, which Plato calls the ideal word and Plotinus. Nous, there is only one subject or spirit or intellect which is the subject of all the essences or ideas and there is plurality only due to distinction and no division of individuals. secondly this plane is beyond time and space but the realm of concepts of time and space. So properly speaking this is the plane of absolute, whole or one. When we comes to the Absolute world such as soul world ,subtle world and material world they all are the realms of individualities and particularities and also spatio-temporal nature. So this is the realm of relative, many and parts. The difference between these world planes are only the proportion of quality and quantity. The gross material plane is the most relative and plane of souls least relative etc. So these are the planes of relative, many and parts. In the plane of manifestations the absolute become relative, one become many and the whole become parts. Now the absolute is the inner reality of the relative, one is the essence of many, and whole is in parts. In this sense both terms are two aspect of one and the same thing. The absolute itself express as relative, the one is many and the whole is parts. Similar is case with antimonies like ideal world and sensory world, form and matter, eternal and temporal, reality and appearance, actuality and potentiality, permanence and change, being and becoming, rest and motion, truth and opinion, identity and difference, universals and particulars, freedom and necessity, good and evil The plane of Absolute Spirit is the ideal world, world of form, eternal plane, plane of reality, plane of actuality, permanent plane, plane of being, plane of rest, plane of truth, plane of self identity, plane of universals, plane of freedom and plane good. This is the plane of the real and eternal spirits, the plane of being and rest as there is no motion hence becoming. The plane of world is correspondingly is sensible world, world of matter, temporal plane, plane of appearance, plane of potentiality, plane of change, plane of becoming, plane of motion, plane of opinion, plane of difference, plane of particulars, plane of necessity and plane of evil. The ideal world is permanent, real and eternal existence. While manifested are denoted by change, appearance and temporality. The ideal is the truth of Parmenides, logos of Heraclitus, ideas of Plato and form of Aristotle and nous of Plotinus. Manifestations are the opinion of Parmenides, fire of Heraclitus, sensible world of Plato and matter or potentiality of Aristotle. Parmenides and Plato gave prominence to ideal world while Heraclitus and Aristotle to manifested world. As we told earlier both are one reality. Manifested world is the expression of the inexpressible which are the Spirits. In this sense manifested world is appearance but not unreal. As we told earlier world is the revealed spirits and spirits are the concealed world. They are two aspects of one indivisible reality
B: Idealism and
materialism:
Idealism contrasting with materialism is the philosophy, which says some form of consciousness is the primary reality and matter is secondary. Materialism says matter is the primary reality and consciousness is a product of matter.
Democritus, Epicurus were materialists because even soul he reduced to atoms, which disperse at death. Heraclitus, Parmenides, Pythagorus, Anaxagorus, Plato, Aristotle, Stoics, Neoplatonists were idealists in a deeper sense because they postulated logos, truth, ideas and forms etc as primary realities. Generally speaking idealist gives primary importance to ideal world over sensory world, mind over matter, universals over particulars. Materialists like wise consider sensory world, matter and particulars are primary importance and others secondary or derivatives from these primary ones.
We have explained in the beginning that there is only mind as the knowable reality and ideas are the subjective aspect and matter is the objective aspect of mind. So matter is the from of mind or mind itself. Further matter is negative and non being when compared wth mind as ideas which is positive and being. As the forms in imagination or dream is mind itself and matter in the form of quarks, subatomic particles and atoms (subtle matter in subtle plane) so is te gross mater and bodies in the material plane are mind itself in the form of atoms, molecules, compounds, bodies etc..
C: Freedom and Necessity; Free will and Determinism.
In materialism Democritus believed that everything happens through natural and necessary laws and was a determinist while Epicurus believed that it is not necessity but random chance. Stoics also were determinists and they believed in an unalterable cosmic and natural laws which is behind everything and the world moves according to this necessary laws. Happiness and the aim of human life is to understand these laws and live conforming to it. Both Aristotle and Plotinus believed that matter and bodies obey natural laws and their actions are so determined while mind is not determined by nature but free. This gives human beings free will.
A deep analysis of this problem will reveal that the truth of necessity is freedom. We have seen that in the plane of Absolute Spirit, or ideal world as the origin of spirits every spirit is unique and determined. Not only plants and animals whose species and subspecies have unique characteristics, when we comes to human species every individual is unique and has a determined content. This unique human nature is the necessary and determined element and the aim of human life is to actualise fully in manifestation this potential content. Real freedom is attained only in self realisation when one becomes fully conscious of his spirit and it's potentialities and hence able to act spontaneously from this knowledge. So complete freedom and free will is possible only when one attain the plane of Absolute Spirit.
As freedom is concerned with the conscious knowledge of one's essential or spiritual nature in manifestation and man is the only synthesis of all the planes, and has the potentiality of revealing the plane of Absolute Spirit and has the possibility of actualisation of his potentiality and essential spiritual nature the problem of freedom and free will and choice only arises in relation to man. All other beings whether inorganic, organic, plants, animals and even heavens, angels and evil spirits are acting according to their necessitated nature and there is spontaneous expression of their essential nature without the question of choice or free will. So everything in nature and world except man spontaneously act according to their nature.
In reality human nature is also determined and is conforming to necessity but as human being contain both lower and higher natures, their higher spiritual nature itself contain the element of freedom and this makes them relatively free. This as we said the truth of necessity is freedom. Man is relatively free in another aspect also as we explained earlier even though all man are, as spiritual being conscious of their choice and freedom, this is not the same proportion in all, as every human nature is unique, those who have predominance of spiritual and rational nature are relatively more free than those who have predominance of passionate nature. So not only there is relative difference in the knowledge of freedom but also in the exercise of free will there is difference among different natures.
As we explained elsewhere human being constitute material body or gross body (mineral soul), subtle material body, subtle body (vegetable soul, animal soul, mental soul) and soul body or causal body (subjective or spiritual soul) besides manifesting the plane of Absolute Spirit or spiritual plane and plane of Absolute Subject. We have seen that freedom belongs to the spiritual plane of Absolute Spirit and in normal consciousness this first manifest as conscience and gradually becomes the content of reason. Except man who alone manifest the spiritual nature no other beings experience this conscience or rational knowledge which gives them free will to regulate their nature The necessity and nature of matter and material body is inertia. This natural tendency manifest through the mineral soul as laziness and apathy. What makes us regulate this laziness and apathy of material nature is this call of conscience and reason. Similarly the nature of vegetable soul nutrition and reproduction etc and there is nothing wrong in itself as it is nature. What makes man regulate his excess appetite, sex etc is his sense of freedom expressed by conscience and reason. Similarly nature of animal soul is sensory knowledge and pleasures. What makes man regulate his excess sensual pleasures and passions like anger, hate ,lust is this sense of freedom. Similarly the nature of mental soul is discursive knowledge of subject object duality which gives rise to proud, vanity, desire for fame, money power etc due to strong sense of limited particular individuality and limited ego consciousness. Here also his sense of freedom regulate the behaviour.
Division II: Medieval Philosophy
Chapter.1:introduction
Medieval philosophy covers a period of 1000 years. Here philosophy is in the Christian world as catholic philosophy. It is the period of the power of church. It brought philosophy closer to social and political circumstances. Medieval period extends from 400-1400.One of the main features of this philosophy is dualism of kingdom of God and world, spirit and flesh. Here intellectual world and material world is separated. According to catholic philosophy church represent city of God. The duty of philosopher is to defend faith and reasoning against unbelievers.
It is divided into 2 periods. First period is that of Church fathers. The main figures in this period are St Augustine and Boethius. During this period the influential Greek philosopher is Plato, the period of platonic realism and Catholicism. Here philosophy and theology, faith and reason are antagonistic to each other.
Second period is that of Aquinas and Aristotle. This is the period of scholasticism. This is also Christian philosophy. These philosophers are confined to orthodoxy. Here Aristotle not Plato the official philosopher. This is mainly dialectic and syllogistic reasoning. Scholasticism is not a fixed doctrine but the name which comprehends the philosophic endeavor of Christendom for thousand years. It is centered on the faith of the church. The name scholastics gave to those who propounded their theology scientifically and in a system. The scholastic philosophy is theology treated as philosophy. The one essential object of theology as the doctrine of God is the nature of God and and the science of God is also philosophy. The main debate are on faith and reason , on universals and particulars (Realism and Nominalism), relation of being, essence and existence and nature of Trinity. Here effort is to reconcile faith and reason. Faith of church is absolute but also rational. All their arguments based on claim that which was syllogically proved is in reality same as in logical thinking. Scholastics is also called schoolman. This is developed in monastic schools. They found school and instructed youths hence called scholastics. As the sole legatee of roman empire, church is the power of middle ages. Out side church no salvation or knowledge. The dogmas of church represent truth. Here philosophy is not pursuit of truth but to explain the dogma, deduce its consequences and demonstrate its truth. So philosophy is identical with positive theology. When it fails to be that ,it becomes heretical. Scotus Erigena is the founder, and St Anselm, Aquinas, Abelard, and Duns Scotus are it's chief representatives. Scholastic philosophy can be broadly divided into two periods. The first early period is mainly platonic and is through the mediation of St Augustine. This s the period of platonic realism and Catholicism. The later period begins in13 century. Here the philosopher is Aristotle and his peripatetic philosophy. This latter period can be subdivided into two periods, in the first period Aristotle philosophy considered as realistic and in the ,second nomnalistic. During this period there is agreement of reason and dogma, philosophy is to justify the faith. From 1200 this conviction shaken. There is a new life and vigour from Aristotle. Aristotle become familiar mainly by the commentaries of Avicenna in Persia and Averrous in Spain. and also through some Latin works. The church first condemned Aristotle(1209) later he becomes the official philosophr(1300).At this stage there is no more agreement with reason and faith but agreement with Aristotle. Here reason is disciplined and reduced to a fixed code. The distinguishing character of scholastic philosophy is it reconcile between philosophy and theology, faith and reason ,grace and nature. According to it there is no contradiction between revealed dogma and reason. Scholastic philosophy attaches mainly it self to the doctrines of the church. Building up of dogmas of Christian church on metaphysical basis. It's purpose is when doctrines seemed to contradict each other to reconcile them, to demonstrate the truth of dogma, and to prove Christianity is a rational religion.. The fall of scholasticism is due to rich commercial class, rise of strong national monarchy, renaissance and reformation.
Chapter:2: Saint Augustine..
Augustine was born at Thagaste, in Africa. His mother was Christian, father not Christian. He was first Manichean. He was teacher of rhetoric and went to Rome to teach. After one year went to Milan, here joined by mother. He was converted and become Catholic in 386 and was bapticed by Ambrose in Milan. He gave up teaching in 388 and returned to Africa. He become bishop of Hippo, near Carthage in 396 and died there in 430.His main books are 'Confessions', and 'City of God'. Augustine's own life is considered as an instance of grace over nature .A turning point in his life came in 373 when, at the age of nineteen, he read the Hortensius, a dialogue of Cicero, which exhorts to the love of immortal wisdom. He was influenced by Plato.
In Confessions he narrates his passionate inner impulse to truth and righteousness in youth and in later years his sense of sin. For Augustine as for Plato science means purer more exalted life ,life of thinker. About faith and reason he says in point of time, authority is first; but in the order of reality, reason is prior. What takes precedence in operation is one thing; what is more highly prized as an object of desire is something else. Consequently, although the authority of upright men seems to be the safer guide for the uninstructed multitude, yet reason is better adapted for the educated. And furthermore, since no one becomes learned except by ceasing to be unlearned, and since no unlearned person knows in what quality he ought to present himself to instructors or by what manner of life he may become docile, it happens that for those who seek to learn great and hidden truths, authority alone opens the door. According to him truth or God can be attained by reason or faith. Simple faithful are capable of attaining wisdom without them. He notes that "philosophy" means love of wisdom. "But if God is wisdom, through whom all things are made, as the divine authority and truth have shown, the true philosopher is one who loves God According to him reason is capable of knowing God, as God gave us reason to know all and also God. Reason is the eye of the soul. Wisdom is the highest truth to which we strive. To have wisdom means to have God. True philosophy is identical with true religion. God does not despise reason as reason is his first born son, so in a sense himself. He gave reason to human to make them more perfect than other beings. Real faith is only possible being endowed with reason. Chronologically faith precede reason as to understand something we must first believe it, but faith is inferior to knowledge and finally resolves in it.
He derive the existence of God from the following arguments. We are certain of our existence ,even to doubt means to exist. Also I am living and understand, so three level of beings. Man third level and more perfect than other two level. In man there are external senses, interior senses and reason. Sense is an instance of living thing. Inner sense more perfect that outer sense and reason more perfect than internal sense. If something more perfect than reason, eternal and unchangeable it is God. Secondly some sense objects like hearing and color can be experienced simultaneously and there are common truth for many man. If there is highest good common to all, truth or wisdom by which it discerned is common to all. If there is something more perfect than truth that is God or truth is God. As body and life are infinitely perfectible these come from God. When rational soul recognize truth as something more perfect than itself, it recognise God. About the nature of God our speech and knowledge of God are imperfect and impossible. Perfect knowledge is negation, we know what God is not than what he is. We understand God, if we can, to the degree that we can, as good without quality, great without quantity, creating without needing to, present but not located, containing all things without 'having' (habitu), wholly everywhere but not contained, sempiternal without time, making mutable things without himself changing, altered by nothing. The name God attributes to himself, being, indicates that in God there is no distinction between the divine nature and the various perfections we are constrained to affirm of God. The attributes Augustine stresses are the divine simplicity, immutability, omnipresence, eternity, and providence.According to Augustine with out God nothing exists. He is the beginning, middle and end of all things. Goodness, justice, wisdom are not accidental attributes, but essence itself. Omnipresence, omniscient, omnipotent are also not accidents but essence itself. He is good yet without quality, great without being quantity, present everywhere without bound by place. In speculating God reason involve in antinomies. It states what he is not, without arriving at any definite conclusions about his nature. It conceives him, in this sense he is capable of understanding him, but it cannot comprehend him in his perfection. The important thing is to distinguish between God and world.
He rejects pantheism and his doctrine is creation ex nihilo, creation out of nothing. If world is emanated form God, it will be divine essence and identical with God. Hence world is not divine emanation but created by an act of divine freedom. The immanence of the world in God is also contrary to divine majesty. As the Stoics say God is not the soul of world, and world is not body of God. He argues creation out of nothing. If God is omnipotent, he can create from nothing; if his creative action presupposes matter, God is not omnipotent. Eternity and time are rightly distinguished by this, that time does not exist without some movement and transition, while in eternity there is no change. The world was made, not in time, but simultaneously with time. He puts the notion of instantaneous and simultaneous creation together with the fact of the gradual appearance of things as a result of change and the coming into being of human souls which do not simply arise out of preexisting matter. God, in producing the world, has produced not only a certain number of things but things which are causes of other things to appear in the course of time; the things which will come to be only in time are present in their causes at the very outset and, thus, do not escape the creative causality of God. Just as there is invisibly present in the seed everything which will later appear fully developed in the tree, so the world at the beginning of time contained in seed everything which would one day appear, including what has not yet appeared. Man's body is formed from the slime of the earth, but his soul does not come into being in this way. It must be created in the same way as the primitive elements, out of nothing. This is true not only of the souls of the first parents but of every soul. Augustine is careful not to suggest, however, that all human souls are created at the outset and exist prior to their union with a body
He rejects the interpretation of Trinity in the tritheistic or polytheistic sense. The three hypostases, though distinct, constitute one and the same God. He criticise the Aryan concept of Trinity as son created the world at the command of the father. According to him Aryanism err in conceiving two beings, one commands and the other obeys. but the command by which God created the world out of nothing is the creative word itself. Corresponding to triune nature of God he finds in man these trinities: mind, knowledge, love; memory of self, understanding, will; memory of God, understanding, love. As the world is created by divine freedom it has a beginning. To the criticism that creation in time means inaction of the creator for a time, he argues that outside finite or creation there is no duration, time, space or creation. Time or duration is the measure of motion. time begins with motion or existence of finite things. World was created out of nothing, as God create substance. Time was created when world was created God is eternal and timeless. In time there is neither past or future only present is. Time only can be measured while passing. Past and future can only be thought as present. Present of things past is memory, present of things present sight, present of things future expectation. Time is subjective, so time before creation meaningless. God created world by an act of free will, yet creation is not a result of caprice but eternal and immutable decree. Divine freedom is the ultimate principle and supreme norm of things and there is no other final cause of creation.
According to him arts are two types, reasoning science and numbers. It is impossible to study philosophy without studying arts and the object of philosophy is to know the nature of soul and God. Augustine speaks of seven degrees of soul' s perfection. The soul, in the first degree, vivifies the body; in the second, it makes use of the senses; thirdly, the degree proper to man, the soul is possessed of arts and sciences; then, by purgation, purity, and conversion to God, the soul finally comes into possession of the Supreme Good. We speak to teach, teaching is reminding. A sign is which signify something and words are signs. Things are signifiabes, signs signify signs or signifiers. Cognition or knowledge of thing is better than signs. Understanding of sign presupposes knowledge of the signifiabe, so words can only remind. We learn not from signs but from within. When speech and sign are about sensible things we learn from these things, when about abstract sensible from memory ,when ideas they only remind us and we learn from the ideas already existing in mind. Platonic ideas as creative knowledge of God. It is the interior divine light which is cause of knowledge and not due to soul existing before birth. Only by knowing idea one becomes wise. They are contained in the divine intelligence. The ideas can be known only by the rational soul. it must be made holy and pure by charity for the vision. According to him one's ability to grasp the existence of the intelligible world was dependent on one's moral condition; a person given over to sensuality would not be able to come to knowledge of intelligible truth. Our knowledge of unchangeable things are not from senses but from mind. All knowledge comes with soul, learning is recall and remembering. He expressed regret that in earlier times like Plato and Neo-Platonists had spoken of learning as remembering and the soul's ascent after death as a returning which means pre existence of soul. Soul is immortal because it can contemplate eternal ideas without the aid of senses. Man can know God from the world, to know God man must retreat from world to himself. According to Augustine existence of soul is proved by thought, consciousness and memory. Even when we doubt our existence to doubt means to think, to exist. He criticise the concept of some philosophers about the nature of soul as fire, fine air or fifth element. If it is any of these we should know it by immediate perception which would be inseparable from our self consciousness. According to him soul is a substance differing form all this matter ,as it contain immaterial conceptions like point, line, length, breadth etc. Soul is not an emanation from God as some say but a creation and has a beginning. Some say God directly created only the soul of Adam and the soul of others produced from it, but this theory is materialistic assuming soul being communicated and divided. Others like Plato maintains that soul created before bodies and joined with it after the fall, object of their captivity being the expiation of the errors of previous life. But this is disproved by the fact that we have no recollection of such preexistence. There is a third conception were souls are created as soon as bodies are created. This is more plausible than other with spiritualistic principle but does not support the dogma of original sin like others. The immortality of soul necessarily follows from it's rational nature. Reason bring it communion with eternal truth. Soul and truth constitute one and the same substance. Thought, meditation and contemplation of divine things are independent of senses, body and matter. As he rejects pre existence he also rejects innate ideas. According to him when God formed the human soul he endowed it with eternal ideas, principles and norms of reason and will. He rejects pre existence because it implies an existence without beginning. The human soul is passive, receptive and contemplative. It receives sensory knowledge through senses, moral and religious knowledge through spirit. Conception of external world is trough the terrestrial light surrounding the body and celestial knowledge through the heavenly light of spirit. This interior light is God himself who is so within us, without being identical with us. It is through this we perceive the eternal ideas, the immutable essence of passing things. God himself is the form of all things, their origin, development and existence. Reason which is the organ of God and reveler of celestial things after the fall is obscured by sin.
He criticises the Stoic conception of fate as wrong,, because angel and men have free will. God has knowledge of our sins, but we do not sin due to that. He disagrees with stoics and says all passions are not bad. According to him reason has certain limits and religious knowledge is obtained only through scriptures. Sex in marriage is not wrong if intention is children. shame of lust proves it’s independence of will. Virtue is complete control of will over body. According to him virtue and not happiness is the highest good. He opposes eudemonism with ethical idealism. Moral law does not depend on any one ,but it is itself absolute. The divine will does not make goodness, beauty, and truth, but absolute goodness, absolute beauty and absolute truth constitute the will of God. Law is not good because God gave it, but God gave it because of it's good, a thing is not bad because God forbid it, God forbid it because it is bad. He criticises Pelagian controversy and concept of believe in free will, questioned original sin, and virtuous acts are by ones own effort and not but grace. His is the Doctrine of predestination and election. Natural man is the slave of evil and incapable of being saved by his own efforts and divine grace alone can make him free. Divine grace cannot be brought by man, it entirely depends on God's freedom. God saves man because he desires it, but he does not save all men, he chooses among them and this election is an eternal act prior to the creation of man. Those saved are predestined by God for salvation, but only saved after bapticed and become member of church.Augustine's interpretation of the airy spirits or daimons in religious Neoplatonism is these daimons occupy a middle region between the gods and men. Augustine interprets this teaching as a crude attempt to assign an intermediary between the human and the divine. A need for an intermediate is seen both from the point of view of man, who is so much less than the gods that he is sensible of his inability to approach the gods directly, and from the point of view of the gods, to whom it would seem unfitting that they should concern themselves directly with men. This shows the fundamental inadequacy of any human attempt to bridge the gap between man and God.Man is, indeed, in need of a mediator, but that mediator is Christ,
His city of God is written in response to the criticism and blasphemy of pagans against Christian religion as the cause of fall of Rome. It consist twenty-two books. The first five of them are a refutation of pagan position who maintain that the worship of many gods, according to the custom of paganism, is essential to the prosperity of human society, and that the prohibition of it is the source and origin of calamities such as the fall of Rome. The next five books are against those who, while allowing that such calamities are never wanting, and never will be wanting, to the page of mortal history, and are now great, now small, under varying conditions of place, time, and person, yet argue that polytheistic worship, and sacrifice to many gods, is profitable for the life that follows after death. Establishing Christian position is the object of the second part of this work, which comprises twelve books; four contain the origin of the two cities, the one of God, the other of this world. The next four contain the course of their history; the third and last four their several due ends. First part he says On the one hand, it is maintained that the worship of many gods is more profitable in this world; on the other, that it is more profitable for the next. Augustine says flight of Rome would have been worse if no Christian influence. An unconsenting suffering of rape is preferable to the great sin of suicide, since if consent is not given, true chastity is not destroyed. Augustine observes that in this life misfortune comes to both the just and the unjust and that even the true religion is no guarantee against external evils. The main point of these first five books is that good and bad fortune befall both the just and the unjust according to God's providence. Providence is not to be confused with fate, however. Augustine is interested to show that human freedom is not jeopardized by God's causality. God has foreknowledge of the evil men will do, but that does not diminish their responsibility for it, and the same must be said of the good men do. Some agree that good and bad fortune in this life come equally to pagan and Christian, but they maintain that we shall be better off in the next life if we worship the pagan gods. In this. Augustine's reply to them is twofold. First, he shows that the pagan theology can scarcely pass as a spiritual religion. Second, he turns to the philosophers who have attempted to transform the popular religion into something more exalted. The pagan religion has been shown to be no guarantee of good fortune in this life and wholly inadequate as a commencement of eternal life. Christianity cannot promise an absence of misfortune in this life, but by providing knowledge of the end that awaits us and the grace to achieve it, it enables us to assess both temporal goods and evils as of little moment when compared with permanent citizenship in the eternal city. The pagan religion has been shown to be no guarantee of good fortune in this life and wholly inadequate as a commencement of eternal life. Christianity cannot promise an absence of misfortune in this life, but by providing knowledge of the end that awaits us and the grace to achieve it, it enables us to assess both temporal goods and evils as of little moment when compared with permanent citizenship in the eternal city.
Augustine divides world into two cities, the eternal city of god, eternal city of devil. According to him Christianity is the causes of virtue. According to him City of God is society of elect and knowledge of God is obtained only through Christ. State can be part of city of God only if it is submissive to church in all religious matters. Men become citizens of the earthly city by preferring self to God; they become citizens of the eternal city of God by preferring God to themselves according to the true religion established by Christ, Its expression is the Church. Self love in contempt of God gives city of earth, love of God in contempt of self gives city of God. According to him in moral life men aim for happiness, happiness must be redefined in terms of the degree of harmony possible to man in an exceedingly imperfect situation. Happiness as peace is the final aim of man. The body's peace therefore is an orderly disposal of the parts thereof; the reasonable soul's, a true harmony between knowledge and performance; that of body and soul alike, a temperate and undiseased habit of nature in the whole creature. The peace of mortal man with immortal God is an orderly obedience unto his eternal law performed in faith. Peace of man and man is a mutual concord; peace of a family an orderly rule and subjection amongst the parts thereof; peace of a city an orderly command and obedience amongst the citizens; peace of God's city a most orderly coherence in God and fruition of God; the peace of all things is the tranquility of order. The citizens of the city of God are one people here below in a far more perfect fashion than men can be citizens of a nation or empire. What constitutes one people is their union in pursuit of a common object of love. This community can transcend national boundaries and differences in language. Hell and heaven are the respective terms of the earthly and heavenly cities; With the end of time, at the final judgment, man's ultimate choice is ratified by God. One who has chosen the earthly city has chosen hell; one who has chosen to serve God rather than self has chosen heaven.
Analysis:
Augustine's view of God's nature can be only described by negation and attributes like justice, wisdom are essence it self is when the Absolute is viewed from the first state of unknowable Absolute Subject. It is knowledge or mind which differentiate between subject and predicates and this mind is ultimately the essence of everything. and as we explained at the stage of Absolute Subject, mind it self is negative and non being. We have seen that the cause of creation is the the state of Absolute Spirit or world of ideas. Now this ideal world is the particular relations of he predicates in the plane of mind. But the predicates are essence itself and as eternal as essence itself. The ideal world is mental essence while Absolute Subject is unknowable essence. In this sense we cannot say creation is out of nothing. We have explained earlier that what we call the mineral soul, vegetable soul and animal soul part of soul is created with body bur rational part of soul or human soul exist before the body. About predestination and election we explained that in the ideal world every spirit is unique and we cannot change our essence but only can actualise one's potential
Chapter:3.Psedo Dionysius
Denis the Aerophagite is also known as Pseudo Dionysius. He is believed to be a convert of St Paul. Dionysius is fundumentally a theologian; the whole burden of his works might be described as the exposition of what man can know of God and how, knowing him, he can name God.
Dionysius says that to see and know God is to be accomplished through not seeing and not knowing him, for not to see God is truly to see him, not to know him is truly to know him,our ignorance of God is something which must be achieved, for we will best know what he is not by attempting to work up to him through the grades of being.First, there must be an affirmative theology (theologia kataphatika) in which we argue that God is a unique nature, that he is a Trinity of Persons. In the Divine Names Dionysius attempts to show what words can be applied to the divine nature, for example, Good, Light, Love, Being. Besides these names of intelligibles, we must discuss those words which are transferred from creatures to God in what may be called symbolic theology, that is, the many metaphorical names of God. Negative theology (theologia apophatika) begins on the level of symbolic theology and ascends upwards, denying as it goes, until it becomes clear that God is ineffable, uncomprehended by our names taken singly or together.God is named by means of "intelligibles," such as one, good, and so forth, he is indeed named from a created perfection, but there must be an accompanying denial understood: God is intelligent, and he is thereby named from what we know as intelligence as created and therefore limited intelligence, but the limitation must be denied of God. We end then with the assertion that God is superintelligent, that is, intelligent wholly above our ability to understand. He is superlife and supergood as well, and that in him these are but one perfection. The twofold theology thus implies a threefold procedure in naming God: affirmation, denial, and then the affirmation of a perfection which wholly exceeds our experience and ability to name. He is imperfectly named because he surpasses in perfection our ability to understand.
Dionysius describe a stratified world, with the Ideas emanating from God as primordial caused causes and other things from them.
Analysis:
The nature of God as superintelligible and superlife is what we call the plane of unknowable Absolute Subject which is beyond mind. The ideal world of Absolute Spirit as essences is the ultimate cause of the world.
Chapter:4:Boethius:
Boethius was born in 480 at Rome. His father was a council and he also become senator in 510.He was accused of conspiracy, Boethius protested his innocence, but he was cast into prison and executed without a trial in 524. His books are written while in prison awaiting execution. His works include philosophical and theological .He translated Aristotle's works. His main book is 'Consolations of philosophy'. It is composed of alternation of verse and prose. His philosophy is mainly Platonism.
About the relation between faith and reason in both in theological writings and consolations Boethius seems considering reason superior to faith. He uses reason and philosophy to justify doctrines of faith. According to him God's existence can be proved from philosophy and reason alone.
About the concept of Trinity he says it is a matter of Christian faith that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God but at the same time there are not three gods but one only. Unity of three Persons in the Trinity involves an absence of difference. Things differ generically, specifically, and numerically; similarly, things are generically, specifically, or numerically the same. Things are generically the same which share a common form which admits of further formal differentiation. For example, a man and a horse are generically the same with respect to animality. Things are specifically the same which share a common form which is not susceptible of further formal differentiation. For example, Cato and Cicero share the common form humanity. Things are numerically the same which differ only in name. For example, Tully and Cicero are but one person. Individuals of the same species differ because of their accidents. Divine things, objects of theology are free of motion and matter. Material things are compound of matter and form and their being is principally due to form. Which is not pure form is not identical with essence (a man is not humanity) but which is form alone is identical with it's essence. God being pure from is his own essence, so specific and generic difference does not apply to God. In things accident is due to matter or subject and not due to form. As God is pure from no accidents, as numerical difference due to accidents no such difference in God. Nevertheless, the Father is not the Son, nor the Son the Father, nor is either or both the Holy Spirit. Belief in the unity of the divine nature does not, therefore, exclude the difference of Persons, and where there is difference there is number.The category relation does not change the substance. If Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to the divine nature as predicates of relation, they will not introduce any difference into the divine nature itself, although they indicate a difference between the Persons in that nature. The category of substance preserves the unity of the divine nature and the category of relation differentiates the Persons without introducing difference into the divine nature as such. He defines person as naturae rationabilis individua substantia (an individual substance of a rational nature .None of the Aristotelian categories of substantial predicates like substance, quality quantity can mean the same way to God like creature. To God it is super substantial predicate or quality. So God is substance, just, great etc must be taken in a superior way than these applied to creature.
The central question to which the Consolation addresses itself is this: What rational explanation can be found for the fact that the innocent suffer while the wicked not only go unpunished but prosper. The world is the handiwork of God who has fashioned it and now directs and governs it so there is no chance but reason in everything. Whether good or bad, fortune is beyond man's control and comes to him from outside.Fortune is more profitable to man when she takes away what has been given, because then a man must ask what true happiness is. Happiness cannot be a matter of riches or honor or worldly power. Nor can carnal pleasure of whatever sort make a man happy. The true good, that in which human happiness lies, cannot be found in terrestrial things. Indeed, when we seek the marks of the good we find that they must all be found in one substance and that this substance must exist outside the material world. God is the sovereign good, and he is also true human happiness. All beings aspire to rejoin their source; since all things have the same source, God is the universal or common end of everything in the universe.If God is the benign governor of the universe, it would seem to follow that the good are never without reward and that the evil never go unpunished. To see that this is actually the case, we must acquire a perspective which will reveal the prosperity of the wicked as only apparent and the suffering of the virtuous as something less than unhappiness. Dame Philosophy urges Boethius to the heights where he may gain the proper perspective. Boethius is dubious but willing. Philosophy argues that it can be shown that if the virtuous are strong, the bad must be weak. He is strong who is able to attain the end he seeks, and the end sought by all men is nothing else than true happiness. But who can attain this good if not the virtuous, and who fail to attain it if not the vicious? Therefore, good men attain the object of their desires and evil men do not.The wicked want happiness yet are powerless to attain it since they are committed to pseudo-goods.
Dame Philosophy will try to show the compatibility of providence and free will by beginning with a discussion of chance events. Aristotle's definition of the chance event is accepted. Aristotle had taught that when a determined cause, called such because it is ordered to producing a determinate effect, brings about as well or instead an unintended result, that result is said merely to happen, to be a chance effect. If it is referred back to the cause, the cause is not a determinate explanation of it. If I dig for water and strike oil, the discovery of oil is the result of my digging for water, but it is unintended and accidental to my intention. Such accidental events may be unintended and unforeseen by me, but this does not prevent their being foreseen and intended by God. In somewhat the same way, Dame Philosophy suggests, we can find a compatibility between our undeniable certitude that we are free agents and the fact that our free acts come within the scope of divine providence.
He discuss the existence of God saying "this world could never have been compacted of so many divers and contrary parts unless there were one that does unite these so different things; and this disagreeing diversity of natures being united would separate and divide this concord unless there were one that holds together what he united. Neither would the course of nature continue so certain, nor would the different parts hold so well, ordered motions in due places, times, causality, spaces, and qualities unless there were one who, himself remaining quiet, disposes and orders this variety of motions. This, whatsoever it be, by which things created continue and are moved, I call God, a name which all men use."In the Consolation he says that God's existence can be known from reason alone.
Philosophy is the love, pursuit of, and, in a certain way, friendship with wisdom. Philosophy is a genus having two species, one which is called theoretical, the other practical, that is, speculative and active. Each of the species of philosophy is further subdivided into three parts. There are three parts of speculative philosophy, natural philosophy, mathematics and theology. Natural philosophy considers things in motion which are not abstract; it considers the forms of bodies together with their matter since such forms cannot be actually separated. These bodies are in motion (for example, earth is borne downward, fire upward) and a form conjoined to matter is in motion. Mathematics considers in abstract things without motion, for it speculates on the forms of bodies without the matter and therefore without motion. These forms, since they are in matter, cannot be separated from it. Theology is concerned with abstract things separable from motion since the substance of God lacks both matter and motion. He names these types of things intellectibles, intelligibles, and naturals. Intellectibles are defined as things which always subsist one and the same in their proper divinity and are grasped, not by the senses, but by intellect alone. Examples are God and the soul. Intelligibles are causes of sublunary things, and soul is mentioned here too because, due to its contact with body, it degenerates from the state of being an intellectible and becomes an intelligible. Beatitude will consist in turning toward intellectibles. A third branch of theoretical science is concerned with bodies and their properties and can be called physiology
About the problem of universals, as it is stated by Porphyry, comprises three questions: Are genera and species subsistent entities, and, if so, are they separate from the things of sense experience or is the universal somehow present in sensible singulars. Genera and species either subsist and exist, or they are products of understanding (intellectus) and thought (cogitatio) alone, means genera and species cannot exist and that they cannot be true notions. If genus, for example, is common, it cannot be one, and if it is one, it cannot be common. Whatever is common cannot be one. Boethius enumerates three modes of community: (1) If a single thing is common, it is common by parts and not as a whole. Thus, a common dish at the table is common to all,or it is common successively; for example, several men may share the same automobile at different times,or a thing can be simultaneously and totally common, as a film is common to everyone seated in the theatre. None of these ways in which something numerically one is common to many can explain the community of genus, for the latter must be wholly, simultaneously, and substantially common to individuals. Whatever is in a concept (intellectus) refers to a subject thing and either reflects the way the subject itself is constituted or the way in which it is not constituted. If genera and species are intellectus of the subject as it exists, they cannot be simply in the mind but are truly in things as well. In other words, they would exist, and we are thus led back to the previous consideration. The alternative, then, is to say that the intellectus of the genus is not taken from the thing as it exists, that it is a vain idea. This cannot be the solution, for it consists in understanding the thing otherwise than as it exists. Boethius concludes that not every idea which is not of a subject as it exists is false. Genera and species are gathered from the individuals in which they are, not by a mental composition, but by abstractions and divisions. Genera and species are in the individuals, that is, and become universal insofar as they are thought
Thus, genera and species subsist in individuals: what becomes universal when it is thought subsists only in sensibles. Substance, he notes, is a genus, and its species are corporeal and incorporeal. Since the genus is not identical with that which divides it into species, that is, the differences substance is neither corporeal nor incorporeal qua substance. "But some species are corporeal, others incorporeal. For if you place man under substance, you would introduce a corporeal species; if God, an incorporeal one."
Boethius speaking of divine foreknowledge and our free acts points out that we ourselves foresee things which do not come about by necessity. For example, we watch an artisan at work and know that soon he will do such and such, although he is not compelled to do so. "There you have facts known in advance the realization of which is free. For, if present knowledge does not impose any character of necessity on events, foreknowledge of the future does not render future facts necessary.He goes on to illustrate the different ways in which sense, imagination, reason, and intelligence know man: "The senses pronounce on the form constituted in a particular subject matter, whereas imagination judges the form without the matter. Reason goes beyond this and, by a universal examination, determines the species which is in the singulars. The eye of intelligence is at a yet higher level; it perceives, by the unique penetration of its proper activity, the simple form itself." Now in this cognitive hierarchy the upper stages comprise and go beyond the lower: "Reason, once it distinguishes the universal, no longer has need of sense or imagination to understand the objects of sense and imagination.
Boethius goes on to distinguish God, who is pure form, from all other beings which are not pure forms but images. Nevertheless, everything is because of its form. Other forms, those which are without matter, "cannot be subjected to or be in matter, for they would then be images not forms. From these forms outside of matter those forms come which are in matter and body. What the things of this world image, surely, are the divine Ideas. According to him happiness is the good. Blessedness and God, are both the chiefest good, therefore identical. Men made happy by obtaining divinity. But in nature there is only one God but many by participation.
Analysis.
Boethius describing God as beyond Aristotlean categories and as super substance is what we called the the first plane of unknowable Absolute Subject. All the aristotlean categories are applicaple only to the Absolute Spirit or ideal world as they are the plane of mind.
Chapter:5.Scotus Erigena.
John Scotus Eregena is the most profound philosopher of Christian middle ages. He is considered as the founder of scholasticism. He is a native of Ireland. He lived in ninth century, was born in 800 and died 877.He was employed by the king of France. He later lived in England as head of school at oxford. His works include translations and commentaries of Pseudo Diogenes and others and his main works 'on the division of nature' and 'on predestination'. He disputes divine providence and predestination. On the debate of predestination and free will , in his treatise named 'On divine predestination' he supported free will .His work was condemned but he escaped punishment due to king's favour. His philosophy mainly contain platonic and neoplatonic elements of idealism. His philosophy is not an innovation of Neo-Platonism, but like pseudo-Dionysius reproduces the emanation of neoplatonic system in Christian form. His philosophy contains also elements of pantheism.
About the relation between faith and reason according to him true authority cannot contradict true reason nor can true reason contradict true authority. But reason never proceeds from authority, for every authority which is not approved by reason is seen to be inferior. Therefore, authority proceeds from true reason. The knowledge of sensible things is ordered to the understanding of intelligible things. For just as one proceeds from sense to understanding, so by way of the creature one goes to God. But in the study of Scripture faith must precede reason. According to Eregena the object of philosophy is identical with religion. Philosophy is the science of faith, the understanding of dogma. Speculation and religion have the same divine content and differ in form only. Religion worships and adores, while philosophy studies, discusses and with the aid of reason explain the object which religion adores, such as God or uncreated and creative nature. Reason is above faith. Reason and revelation are source of truth ,when there is conflict reason is superior. True religion is true philosophy and true philosophy true religion.
His greatest work is 'on the division of nature' . By "division" Erigena means a separation or emanation which has as its counterpart a resolution or return. The characteristic Neoplationic doctrine that there is a One, a first principle, from which all things emanate in such a way that a hierarchical scale is created by the graded falling away from this first principle. At the term of emanation the route is retraced by the process of return. In this book he says nature is the totality of reality In the broadest sense nature include all beings, both uncreated and created. Nature is divided into four classes. First what creates and not created which is God. Second what creates and is created and these are platonic ideas subsisting in God, Logos. Third what is created but does not crate and these are things in space and time. Fourth what neither create not created and is God not as creator but as end and purpose of all things. These refer, respectively, to God as efficient cause, the divine Ideas, external creatures, and God as final cause. The first and fourth both contain the uncreated, and corresponds only to absolute being or God. The first class God as creative principle, the beginning or source of things, the fourth God as the end, the highest perfection of things. Everything emanate from God and strive to return so the end is same as beginning. Bridge between one and many logos. The second and third class form a single class of all created beings or universe in so far as it is distinct from God. The second, the ideas which are realised in individuals are productive created beings, while the third, individuals are non productive created things. The second class prime causes, or prototypes or platonic ideas and the total of these is the logos. These are eternal but created. Under influence of holy ghost these ideas gives rise to particular things whose materiality is illusiory. Logos is the principle that unite back many to one, man back to God. It is thus the saviour of the world. By union with God the part that effects union becomes divine. The second class called Which Is Created and Creates signifies what Erigena calls the primordial causes. These are the predestinations or patterns of external creation which are formed in the divine Word; as formed, they are created. As the patterns or ideas of external creatures, they can be called causes. Erigena locates these patterns or ideas in the Second Person of the Trinity. While the Son is coeternal with the Father, Erigena maintains, however, that the primordial causes or ideas are not quite coeternal. As creatures, they are theophanies, that is, manifestations or appearances of God. External creatures exist by way of participation; that in which they participate are the primordial causes. The primordial causes or Ideas are in the Word; while they are many, the Word is one. Creatures exist in a more perfect fashion in the primordial causes than in matter.The Ideas exist in man insofar as he is united to the Word. As a consequence of sin, man is unaware of the presence of the Ideas in himself, although they are innate to him. Furthermore, knowledge of the Ideas could not be derived from material things. The most important aspect of this teaching of Erigena's is the conviction that the substance of things, their real being, consists in their being known. This is preeminently the case with the primordial causes, which are the true essences ol things. With respect to external creation, the better being of things other than man is had in man's knowledge of them. Man is a microcosm and contains all the things created. Man is also a microcosm because all things have been created in man, it is through man that they will be returned to God until that final stage is reached when, in the words of the Apostle, God will be all in all
So there are really only two classes, God and universe, but these two categories or mode of existences are also identical. World is in God and God is it's essence, it's soul, it's life. God is immanent in the cosmos and the cosmos exist only so far as it participate in divine being. Creation out of noting means out of God himself as he transcends knowledge. Substance of finite is God. Creature is not a being distinct from God, creature subsists in God and God manifest himself in creature in an ineffable manner. God is unexplicited being, world is explicited, revealed manifested being. God and the universe are one and the same being, two different mode or forms of the only infinite being, rather world alone is mode of being or limitation of being, while God being without mode of being or any determination. We must either refrain from saying anything at all about God or speak of him with great caution in terms of the twofold division of theology made by Denis, affirmative and negative. Affirmative theology takes names from creatures and applies them to God on the assumption that what is found in the effect must also be found in some fashion in the cause. Affirmative theology will say of God that he is truth, goodness, being, light; they are transference and metaphor. If affirmative theology comes up with a vast number of terms which can be predicated of God, negative theology will deny the same predicates of God. It is considered nevertheless, as complementary to affirmative theology, for the negations serve to remind us that our terms cannot be applied to God in the same way that they are applied to things that exist. He is beyond our ken, incomprehensible, accessible only indirectly and imperfectly by way of his effects. Nothing can be coeternal with God, Erigena observes, for this would be prejudicial to the divine unity and absolute transcendence. What the terms of attributes signifies is found in God in a fashion which surpasses our understanding. Thus, an illustration of these stages would be: "God is truth," then "God is not truth," and, finally, "God is supereminent truth." Without such additions, Erigena says, such names are metaphorical; with them they are, as it were, proper names of God. When we read that God makes all things, says Erigena, we should take this to mean that God is in all things, that he is in fact the essence of all things. "He alone truly is in himself, and everything which is truly said to be in the things that are in him alone, since none of the things that are truly is in itself."Since God is the only being we cannot attribute sight and motion in the same way as applied to man. The motion proceeds from God in God and towards God, it is synonymous with absolute rest. Since God is superior to all differences and contrasts, he cannot be designated by any term implying an opposite, so it is not correct to call him good or God or truth or even being as all these terms have opposites. So god is indefinable and incomprehensible. He is higher than good ,truth, eternity, even more than being itself. None of the Aristotelian categories can comprehend him, so God cannot be comprehended. He is the absolute nothing and the eternal mystery. God alone has essential subsistence. It is the essence of everything. God’s essence is unknowable to men and angels, and even to God himself. In the being of things God’s being can be seen, in their order his wisdom, in their motion his life. His being is father, wisdom is son, and life holy ghost. As Dionysius says nothing can be ascertained to God, truth goodness or essence. Such affirmations are only symbolically true since they have opposite predicates and God have no opposites.
The innermost essence of human soul is as mysterious and impenetrable as God, since this essence is God himself. All we know is it is movement and life and this movement and this life has three degrees, sensation, intelligence and reason, human image of divine trinity. The body was created with the soul, but it has fallen from it's ideal beauty due to sin. This beauty which is latent in actual organism only manifest in it's beauty after this life. Man is an epitome of all celestial and terrestrial creations. He is the world in miniature and as such the lord of creation. He differs from angel only in sin and raises himself to the level of divine being by penitence.
Realms of non being are physical objects and sin. Evil has source in freedom. It’s cause is man turned towards himself instead to God. Evil has no ground in God, as it is non being and privation of good. Sin consists of misdirected will, falsely supposing something good which is not so. It’s punishment is natural. Punishment is not eternal, and even devils are saved at last. Scotus teaches universal predestination for salvation. He denies eternal punishment All fallen beings, angels and men eventually return to God. Punishments of hell are spiritual. The recompense for virtue is vision or immediate knowledge of God and. pain for sin is remorse. Punishments are the natural consequences of the acts condemned by divine law. Sin belongs to the corporeal nature of man. It is the necessary effect of preponderance of senses over intellect in process of development. The fall of man is not only the consequence but also the cause of corporeal existence. Since there is no being outside God fall, sin or separation from God is privation or negative reality. Evil has no substantial existence. Thing has real existence only so far as it is good and it's excellence is the measure of it's reality. Perfection and reality are synonymous. Since absolute imperfection is absolute nonreality ,existence of absolute evil being, personal devil are impossible. Women is man’s sensuous and fallen nature.Erigena insists that the individual soul does not lose its individuality when it has returned to God. The return of being to God through human nature is accomplished in five stages according to Erigena. First, at death there is a dissolution of the material body into the four elements. Second, at the resurrection the soul reclaims once more its body, gathering it from the elements so that, third, the body is changed to spirit. Fourth, there is a return of the spirit, and the whole of human nature which has become spirit, to the primal causes. Finally, there is the passage of the spiritualized nature, together with its causes, into God, quando nihil erit nisi solus deus (when there will be nothing save God alone). .
Unlike Neo-Platonism where emanation is necessity his insistence that God creates freely. Creation is an eternal act ,without beginning or end. God precedes the world in dignity ,not in time. God is absolutely eternal, world relatively eternal. It emanates from God as light from sun or heat from fire. In the case of God to think is to create and his creative activity like his thought is without beginning. Every creature is virtually eternal. God alone is actually eternal. He alone never existed as a single germ. The nothingness from which the world is created according to scripture is not equal to zero, it is the supraessential and supernatural essence of God inaccessible to thought and unknown even to angels. The genera, species and individuals evolved in succession from infinite being. Creation consists in this eternal analysis of the general. Being is the highest generality. From being which is common to all, life which is common to organised being is separated as a special principle. Reason springs from life and include a still limited case of beings (men and angels), finally from reason derived wisdom and science, which belongs to the smallest number. Creation is a harmonic sum of concentric circles
The aim of human science is to know how things comes from first causes and how they are divided and subdivided into species and genera. Science in this sense is called dialectics and divided into physics and ethics. True dialectics is not like that of sophists, a product of imagination and capricious reason but God has grounded it on the very nature of things. Through knowledge and wisdom human soul rises above nature and becomes identified with God. This return to god is effected for nature in general in man and for man in Christ and Christian and for Christian through the spirit of wisdom and knowledge. As everything comes from god everything is destined to return to God. In the controversy between realism and Nominalism Erigena is realist .According to him universals are real and prior to particulars.
Analysis:
God as the essence of creatures is in the theory of emanation ultimately there is only one essence which appear different due to difference of planes.
Chapter :6.Saint Anselm.
Saint Anselm was an Italian born at Aosta in 1033.He entered the monastery of Bec in Normandy in1060).He was the disciple of Lanfranc and succeeded Lanfranc as abbot in 1078 and arch bishop of Canterbury from1093 to 1109.His most important works are monologion, proslogion, de grammatico, de veritate, de casu diaboli, de fide trinitatis, cur deus homo,
He is a Platonist and believed in platonic ideas. He is often called the second Augustine. Like Augustine, and unlike Erigene he also maintains faith precedes reason and discussion concerning religious things. Reason is subordinate to faith and without belief it is impossible to understand. The relation of faith to reason is faith must be defended by reason against the unbelievers. They must be shown through reason how irrationally the oppose faith. But the Christian must come to reason through faith and not from reason to faith. But if he cannot attain this he must still have faith. In this way if he attain to knowledge he rejoice therein and if not he adores humbly. In his work Cur Deus Homo he states ,'it appears to great negligence if we are firm in the faith and do not seek to comprehend what we believe. The unbelievers because they do not believe like Christians cannot understand the dogma. In religion, faith is like experience in understanding things of this world. As the blind cannot see and the deaf mute cannot have idea of sound, similarly not to believe means not to perceive and not to perceive means not to understand. So we do not reflect in order to believe but we believe in order to understand. A Christian never doubt the belief of church but believe them, love them and try to understand them. Faith is not a starting point but, a Christians aim is not to depart from it, to remain in it as the fixed rule and goal of thought, the beginning, middle and end of all philosophy. Revelation and reason are in accord and as manifestation of one and same supreme intelligence they cannot contradict each other. Faith is the starting point. The believer is a creature endowed with reason, and it is fitting and natural that he should meditate on what he believes in an effort to grasp its meaning. Anselm wishes to surpass faith in some sense and to arrive at what he calls reason or understanding. Nevertheless, he seems to want this understanding to be supported by faith. We cannot understand the thing in terms of its essential properties. Thus, in attempting to know God we can never attain to what is proper to him but can only approach him by way of the similarities we find in other things. He seeks rational explanation of belief because those without the faith deride this belief, and many of the faithful wonder in their hearts about the grounds and reasonableness of it. Such arguments, then, will silence the infidel and reassure the faithful concerning the reasonableness of the objects of faith. Not only does faith happen to precede reason in the case of the Christian but faith must always precede reasoning about the highest matters. However, unless faith is conjoined with rectitude of life, the effort to understand what is believed will have disastrous consequences. But if reason is against faith we must accept faith.
Cosmological argument of existence of God: This is starting from contingent and reaching to the absolute. Everything exists has a cause. The cause may be one or many. If it is one it then is God. If it is many there are three possibilities, first the many depends on unity as the cause, second each thing composing manifold self caused, third each thing's cause is all other things. first case is identical with all comes form a single cause. in the second case we must assume that there is a force or power common to all particular causes, a power in which all participate and compromised. But it is same as the fist absolute unitary cause. The third conclusion is an absurdity as we cannot make the cause of a first cause depends on other causes of which it itself is cause and condition. so we are forced to believe in a being which is not caused and cause all and is the most perfect infinite being. As it does not depend on any other being for it's existence, it exists necessarily and is necessary being.
Ontological argument of existence of God: God as the idea of existence which unite all reality in itself also has the reality of existence within himself. This proof follows from the notion of God. it is one to say something in thought and another to perceive it exists. That beyond which nothing greater can be thought cannot be in the thought alone. If is in thought alone, we go on further to accept what is existent as greater than what is in thought alone. In this case what is, beyond nothing greater can be thought if in thought alone would be something, beyond which something grater can be thought. As it is impossible, without doubt there exists both in thought and in reality something beyond which nothing grater can be thought. The highest conception is not in thought alone it is essential that it should exist. We have an idea of an absolutely perfect being. Perfection implies existence so God exists. We define God as the greatest possible object of thought. if an object of thought does not exist, another exactly like it ,which exists is greater. There for greatest of all objects of thoughts exists. so God exist. According to the "modal proof" for the existence of God ,by the term "God" one means a being for whom it is impossible not to exist. In short, God is a necessary being. There are things, and by far the vast majority of things, of which we can say that it is possible for them to be or not to be. But God is not one of those things. He is a being such that it is impossible for him not to exist; he is a necessary being; he necessarily exists. About the ontological argument of the existence of God he begins by saying God is that being than which nothing greater can be conceived. According to him even the fool, hearing God described as that than which nothing greater can be conceived, understands what he hears, and what he understands is in his understanding, even if he does not understand God to exist. That than which nothing greater can be conceived cannot, Anselm maintains, exist only in the mind. This is Because if that than which nothing greater can be thought existed only in the mind, it would not be that than which nothing greater can be thought; for if it exists only in the mind, it can be conceived to exist in reality as well, which is more. "Consequently, if that than which nothing greater can be thought is in the mind alone, that than which nothing greater can be thought is something than which something greater can be thought. It is beyond doubt, consequently, that there exists something than which nothing greater can be thought, and it exists both in the mind and in reality. The term "God" means, to put it in a less indeterminately comparative way, the summation of all perfection. Surely then, our notion of God must include existence outside the mind, since not to exist outside the mind would be to lack a basic perfection. Say then that God is the greatest existent being. Is it not at the least odd to suggest that the greatest existent thing does not exist.To know that by the term "God" is meant the greatest possible existent is to know that it makes no sense to deny that such an entity exists.Aquinas criticise this ontological proof in summa theologia saying once it is granted that everyone would understand the term 'God' to mean what has been mentioned, namely, that than which nothing greater can be thought, it does not from that fact follow that everyone would understand that what is signified by the name exists in the external world [esse in rerum natura] rather than in the mind alone. It cannot be argued that it exists in reality unless it is granted that there is given in reality that than which nothing greater can be thought, something which would not be granted hy those who maintain that God does not exist.
The doctrine of trinity of persons in the unity of divine essence explained as follows. 'The word is the object of eternal thought. It is God in so far as as he thought, conceived or comprehended himself. The holy spirit is the love of God for the word, and of the word for God, the love which God bears himself'. Men who are unable to understand that many men are specifically one man cannot grasp how it is that in the exalted and hidden nature of God there are several Persons, each of whom is God, and yet that there is but one God. When it is said that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three things, If thing refers to Persons which are diverse relations, there is no difficulty in the phrase, but if it refers to the divine substance, to what the Persons possess in common, then the statement is heretical because three members of the same species are one. Substances are named or denominated from qualities which are not part of what they are, not part of their essence or nature What comes through clearly is the point that a denominative word signifies chiefly the denominating form and not anything which happens to possess that form. Such a term as "white" may be taken to mean "whatever possesses whiteness."
Like St Augustine, Anselm also says world is created ex nihilo (out of nothing). Before creation things do not exist themselves independently of God, so we say they derived form non being. But they existed eternally for God and in God as ideas. They existed before their creation, in the sense that creator foresaw them and predestined for them existence. About the nature and attributes of God he says ,God's perfections are like human perfections with the difference that they are essential to him, which is not the case with us. Man received a share of some perfections but there is no necessary correlation between him and these perfections. It is possible for us not to receive them or to exist without them, but as these are God's essential attributes, these attributes are identical with his essence. Justice as an attribute and God are not two separate things, so God is justice as such, goodness as such, wisdom as such, happiness as such, truth as such, being as such. All of god's attribute constitute a single attribute by the unity of his essence. God is simple being and also eternal and omnipresent without limited by space and time. As in God there is no change we cannot apply the term substance to him in the usual sense as it has accidents and God is called substance in a higher sense. No word can express the nature and essence of God, even the word wisdom, being etc are inadequate to express the essence. The incarnation, where God become man necessarily follows from the necessity of redemption. Sin is an offence against the majesty of God. God cannot pardon sin without compounding with honor and justice, but he cannot revenge on man for his offended honor as sin is an offence of infinite degree and needs infinite satisfaction. This means either he destroy humanity or inflict eternal punishment of hell. In either case the goal of creation, the happiness of his creatures is missed and the honor of creator compromised. There is only one way for God to avoid this dilemma without affecting his honor and that is to arrange for some kind of infinite satisfaction, as man is finite and cannot give infinite satisfaction God himself must make substitution ,hence the necessity of incarnation and God becomes man in Christ. Christ suffers and dies for our sake and acquires infinite merit and right to infinite recompense. Since world belongs to god and nothing can be added to it's treasures the recompense of Jesus falls to the human race to which he is incorporated and humanity paradoned, forgiven and saved.
In the controversy between realism and Nominalism Anselm is a realist.
Analysis:
Anslem's view that creation out of nothing means creation out of the the ideas is what we mentioned when dicscussing Augustine.
Chapter:7.Roscelin & Lombard
A: Roscelin.
Roscelin was born in 1050 and was pronounced guilty of hearsay in 1092.
In the controversy between Realism and Nominalism Roscelin is nominalist. According to him universals are mere names and notions of mind and have no objective reality and only individual are real. Implication of this is Church as a universal authority has no reality and only a collection of individual convictions and only these individual have reality. This also means God as the common essence is merely a name and no reality and the only real the three persons of trinity, father, son ,holy ghost.
The position of Roscelin concerning the doctrine of the Trinity is as follows. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost must be three things and not merely one; if this were not so, if they were but one thing, then we could not say that only the Son became man; rather the one thing which is the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost was united with human nature. Since our faith forbids us to accept this consequence, we must agree that the three Persons are not one thing, but three, and that if usage permitted it, we could say there are three Gods. The three Persons are three things in the same way as there may be three angels or three souls. Roscelin took it as warrant for claiming that the three Persons are three substances in exactly the same way as three men or three angels are three substances.
B: Peter of Lombard.
Peter of Lombard died in 1164.He is the author of four book of sentences. It forms a complete systems of dogmatics. He presents a methodical representation of the doctrinal systems of Church.. He set forth the whole system of scholastic theology which remained for many centuries the basis of the doctrines of Church. His treatises mainly deals with subtle criticisms and their answers, again counter questions and arguments.
Chapter:8. Peter Abelard:
Abelard was born in Palais near Nantes in 1079,studued at Paris under William of Champeaux. He was also a pupil of Roscelin. At 22nd year he opens his own school at Melun, then at Corbeil. Later he came back to Paris and become famous as a teacher. He was denounced as an heretic later by St Bernard of Clairvoux and condemned to imprisonment in 1140.But he was forgiven due to the support of abbey of Clugney and Peter the venerable. He died in 1142.His main books are ' yes and no','on dialectics'.
The Stoics, who subdivided philosophy into physics, ethics, and logic, held the view that logic is part of philosophy while The Peripatetics considered logic as the instrument. According to Abelard logic treats of the way to construct arguments and may be defined as the science of discourse. Its task is to establish the truth or falsity of discourse. Abelard accepts from Boethius the notion that logic comprises both the art of discovering arguments and the art of confirming them, of judging their truth or falsity according to certain rules. These are constitutive parts of logic and not subdivisions of it.An argument is true by two things: the disposition of terms and the nature of things. If the goal of logic is the construction of true or scientific discourse, it is possible to see the task of logic subdivide into a study of names, propositions, the discovery of arguments, and, finally, their confirmation.
In the controversy between realism and nominalism he took a middle position between nominalism and realism called conceptualism. About the problem of universals and particulars Abelard lists the three questions raised by Porphyry and adds three of his own: (1) What is the common cause of our imposing universal names? (2) How do we understand universal names in which no particular thing seems to be conceived? (3) Would the name rose continue to have a meaning if all roses were destroyed? Abelard says he will discuss the problem of universals only from the point of view of genus and species, leaving the other three predicables aside. A universal is that which is naturally apt to be predicated of many. The particular is that which is predicated only of one, not only words but things too are called universals. To the problem whether universal definition be applied to a thing, he sites different opinions. One opinion is that things which differ from one another in form nonetheless have essentially the same substance. This is the material essence of the individuals in which it is; but this means that same one thing which is affected by certain forms be another thing which is affected by other forms. For example, animal is a genus, a species of universal. Animal is essentially the same thing as it takes on the form of rationality and as it takes on the form of irrationality. Abelard refute this by saying this means the irrational animal is the rational animal. If we object to this by saying that irrational animal and rational animal can be identified to the extent that they are animal, but not insofar as they are rational and irrational, Abelard's reply is that if substance is said to be the same and different only because of different qualities, quality too is a genus, and this would seem to entail that all qualities are the same. Besides if difference is always something other than substance, how can we possibly talk about a plurality of substances?. The second opinion is that Individual things do not differ from one another because of forms; rather they are discrete personally in their essences. That which is in one is in no way to be found in another, whether it be matter or form. Even were all their forms removed, things would not subsist less discrete in their essences. Their personal differentness, that thanks to which this one is not that one, does not come from forms. It is the diversity itself of essence, just as the forms themselves are diverse one from another in themselves. To the problem whether things utterly different from one another can admit universals at all They replies that they do so by a distinction. , things are not essentially the same, but they can be said to be indifferently same. Thus, individual men, different from one another in themselves, as individuals, are the same in man, that is, they do not differ (are indifferent) with respect to humanity. The universal is grounded on this indifference. There is a subdivision of this second opinion. (a) Some hold that the universal is simply a collection of many individuals, for example, all men taken together are the species. (b) Others hold that the species is not only men brought together but the individuals also insofar as they are men. This means that there will be as many species and genera as there are individuals. Abelard questions the subdivision ( a) how the whole collection of men together can be called the species if the species is predicated of each of them? The species is not predicated partially of an individual; what it expresses must be wholly in each one of them. Besides why would not small groups of men constitute a species, with the result that the species, man, would contain a great number of species? And what happens to the species if one member of the collection is removed. To the (b), Abelard asks how we are to distinguish the universal from the particular in terms of "predicated of many" if Socrates like man can be said of many things?
From these Abelard concludes that things cannot be called universals, whether things be taken singly or collectively so the only alternative is to ascribe universality to words alone. By a universal word is meant one that can he predicated of many, particular words, a proper noun like "Socrates," are predicable only of one thing unless it be used equivocally. The thing about universal words is that they seem to stand for no one thing and to constitute no clear meaning of anything. Universal words signify different things by naming them. According to Abelard the common cause of the imposition of the universal word is even though individual men are discrete in essence as well as in accidents, they are united insofar as they are men, but this does not mean that they are united in man, since nothing is man except a discrete thing. He begins by distinguishing understanding and sense. The former does not make use of a corporeal organ, and it bears on the likeness of things constructed by the mind for itself, that universal words are common and confused images of many things. Universal words signify the common form which is present to the mind, although he notes that the most forceful explanation of universals is that they are caused by a common conception formed in accord with the nature of things. Answering Porphyry's questions first of all, that universal words name existent things, but only in the way explained above. They owe their universality to the operation of our mind. Some universal words may signify incorporeal substances, others corporeal substances. The universal concept or image does not exist in corporeal singulars, although it represents what is in them. Universals something thought and represented, but not a mere product of thought but objective reality in object themselves essentially otherwise we cannot abstract them. Things resemble each other and these give rise to universals. Resemblance between two thing is not itself a thing. Platonic ideas are God’s concepts. According to him the universal exists in the individual, outside the individual it exists only in the form of a concept. Though it exists in the individual as a reality it exists not as an essence but as an individual. If it existed essentially, if it exhausted the essence of the individual there would be no difference between two people like Peter and Paul.
About the relation between faith and reason, philosophy and theology Abelard says not only is study of philosophy useful in order that the believer may dispute well with those who attack the faith but logic also has a constructive role to play, insofar as the believer strives for an understanding of his faith. Against the view that faith can be explained solely in terms of a voluntary assent to what is not understood, Abelard defines faith first in terms of intellectual assent: . We must know the meaning of what we believe.The understanding referred to is contrasted with comprehension. Abelard distinguishes three modes of faith which can be expressed by three phrases: credere Deum, credere Deo, credere in Deum.The first (credere Deum) covers acceptance of the existence of God, and this as a kind of minimal assent. The second (credere Deo) involves trust in God's words and promises. The third (credere in Deum) involves loving and cherishing God. He also believes that revealed truth and rational truth are identical but unlike Anselm he does not think reason is below belief. According to him the teaching of Greek philosophers are superior to old testament. Apart from scriptures dialectics is the sole road to truth. He believes there is great similarity between Greek philosophy and Christian faith and those philosophers will have eternal happiness even though they do not know Christ. According to him if pagan philosophers possessed knowledge of the Trinity, this was because God had revealed it to them. Abelard seems to mean by revelation that God's nature and the Trinity of Persons can be known by reflecting on God's effects
Abelard's view of the inspiration of Scripture is that it consists of an indwelling of the Holy Ghost in the sacred writer, an indwelling which does not amount to the dictation of what is to be written. Rather, thanks to the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, the sacred writer expresses in his own words and in his own way what he has learned. He gave philosophic proof of trinity. He finds the Trinity concept in Greek philosophy as three person reduced to three attributes of God, wisdom, power and goodness. Taken separately these three, knowledge, will, power is nothing, but united they constitute the highest perfection. Trinity is the being who can do what he wills and who wills what he knows to be the best. He distinguishes between God and deity, between the person and supreme essence. By God's omnipresence he envelops and penetrates and fill them full of himself. All things even the most insignificant reveal God in his own way. Just like sunlight is different in different colored and dense objects God reveal himself in infinite variety of forms in creation.
In his Ethics, the subtitle of which is Know Thyself. His ethics is not like the divine free will of Latin fathers. Since God is the best and most perfect all his acts are necessary. If it be right to do a thing it is also wrong not to do it, so whoever fails to do what ever enjoins by reason is same as those who do what is prohibited. As God's conduct is determined by reason, our is determined by divine will. As God is the absolute cause, the being in whom we move, live and our being and who is so our source of power and will it follows that God is the author of our acts and he does what he makes us do Abelard insists on the priority of the interior in morals. It is our inner intention, our consent, that makes an external act good or bad and not vice versa. The emphasis is on the inner man. Purity of heart is what must be striven for, since, once it is had, perception of the true end is possible. Abelard will distinguish between vice and sin. Vice is a tendency to perform bad actions, but sin consists in consenting to the tendency and acting in accord with it. What this distinction enables Abelard to do is to separate himself from the position that sin resides in the will. He maintains that it is possible to sin while having a good will or disposition and not to sin while having a bad will. The nub of the matter lies in consent and intention.. Tendency to evil is not sin but the essential condition of virtue. Virtue is a struggle and presupposes opposition. Nor is the act sin as act is indifferent. Sin lies in the form of the act, the will which dictate it, the intention though stopped of satisfying an evil desire or indulging in passion. The intention deserve punishment as much as the act and one prevented from the act by some circumstances is as sinful as one performs it. God does not judge by appearance but by spirit. He distinguishes the desire, natural carving and the intention or will to follow it.
Analysis:
The analysis of Abelard's position between reason and faith ,between realism and Nominalism we will deal in a separate section. What Abelard says as the inspiration of Holy Ghost is wat we mentioned as Absolute Spirit expressing as one's own spirit in the plane of ideal world. We have seen that Absolute Spirit as one's own spirit is the ultimate cause of everything and in this sense it is true that God is the author of all our acts.
Chapter:9.Hugo & Bernard .
A: Hugo of St. Victor
He was born in 1096 and died in 1140.He came to the monastery of St. Victor in Paris in 1115 and was a monk of St Victor at Paris.His works include Didascalicon and mystical writings which include a work on contemplation and its kinds as well as a work on the vanity of this world.
About the difference between art and philosophy Hugh's explanation is art can be said to be anything which has a subject matter and is explicated by an operation, like architecture, whereas a discipline or science consists of speculation explicated through reason alone, like logic. For him the term "philosophy," the love of wisdom, has as its ultimate telos, Wisdom in the sense of the Second Person of the Trinity. Hugo was a mystic and preferred feeling over reflection. According to him orthodoxy is not only not essential but not even possible for salvation. we may be convinced of truth of dogmas without agreement on interpretation. Unity of faith does not not mean identity of opinion. It is impossible to have uniform notions of God as God transcends all human conceptions. Trinity is supreme power (father), supreme intelligence (son) and supreme goodness (holy ghost), but the infinite being is absolutely incomprehensible. God is not only supra intelligible we cannot even conceive him by analogy. As we cannot get an idea of mind by seeing a body and the difference between God and mind is greater than between mind and body. The most opposite of created beings differ less among themselves than the difference between creator and created. It is impossible to understand God who exists only for faith. To Abelard the dialectician an incomprehensible God is an impossible God, but to Hugo, the mystic He is the highest reality.
Body and soul are separate substances without being absolutely opposed to each other. This is because there is a double bond of union between them, imagination which is the body element of soul and sensibility which is the soul element of body. Soul posses three fundamental forces, natural force, vital force and animal force. natural force has it's seat in the liver where it prepares the blood and humours and distribute through veins all over the body. It is alternatively appetitive, retentive, expulsive and distributive and is common to all animals. Vital force resides in heart and manifest in respiration and also produce vital heat. The animal or psychic force is in brain and produce sensation, movement and thought. Each of these have different regions, sensation with anterior portion, movement with posterior portion and thought with middle. We have no two different soul, a sensitive soul principle of corporeal life and intelligent soul principle of thought. Soul and spirit are one and the same principle. Spirit when considered in itself independent of body and soul the same as animating the body.
B. Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard, one of the dominant figures of the twelfth century, was born in Burgundy in 1090. At the age of twenty-two he entered the monastery of Citeaux.Bernard of Clairvaux was a saint. He died in 1153 and was canonized in 1174.
According to him everything must be subjected to a single criterion if it is to be justified and considered important. Man is made to know and love God. The loving knowledge of God in contemplation, the experiential knowledge of God, is the central thing, not merely abstract arguments, not dialectical finesse, but loving union with the source of truth who is Truth, the source of knowledge who is Wisdom. About opinion, faith, and intelligence his view is that human knowledge bears on created things, the things of this world. The visible world is a book in which divine truth can be read, but the script is smudged, the knowledge thus gained imperfect. Beyond such knowledge or opinion is faith. Faith marks an advance because of its certitude. Bernard is so crticise Abelard's description of faith as existimatio ,but faith is a dark knowledge: the truth is hidden for it behind a veil. Beyond opinion and faith there is intelligence or understanding. Here not only is truth had, but knowledge that it is the truth. Here there is a similarity between knower and known. Understanding is because of the presence of the Word in the soul. Understanding is beyond images, a gift; it is the purity and perfection of love where one is concerned only with the good of the other. It is not the usual love as we first know it! There is, first in time, a carnal love, selfish love. The direction in which we must go is from self-love to love of God. The perfection of love is the perfection of knowledge because love unites us with Wisdom itself. The progression here is a progression in freedom as well. Bernard will distinguish between various kinds of freedom. There is a natural freedom, one that belongs to us essentially because we are men. But there are two kinds of freedom which are added to us, which are not ours because of our nature. These are the freedoms of grace and glory.
Analysis
The incomprehensible God of Hugo is what we called the first plane of unknowable Absolute Subject which is beyond mind. What Bernard speaks as intelligence or understanding beyond opinion and faith where there is similarity between knower and known is plane of ideal world or Absolute Spirit which is the plane of existential and experiential Knowledge
Chapter:10.Dominicus Gundissalinus
Gundissalinus was a member of the Toledo school of translators of Islamic and Judaic writings. He lived in second half of the twelfth century. Gundissalinus is thought to have been a convert from Judaism. He wrote books on the divisions of philosophy, on the creation of the world, the immortality of the soul, and unity.
In division of philosophy he deals with probes such as what wisdom is, what its parts are, and the usefulness of each part. The goods sought by the flesh are of three kinds. Some are necessary, for they sustain us, and they are either provided by nature such as food and drink or by art such as medicine. Others are such that they are pleasant,for example, fine clothes, well-prepared food, sex etc. Finally. some things are sought by flesh out of curiosity (curiositas), for example, superfluous possessions and riches. Those who seek such things are corrupt and abominable. The concerns of spirit are also threefold. Some are harmful, such as moral vice; others are vain, such as worldly honor and magic; finally, some are useful, such as virtues and worthwhile sciences. It is in the latter that human perfection consists, since human perfection cannot be had in virtue without knowledge or in knowledge without virtue. Sciences are of two kinds, human and divine. Divine science is that which is revealed to man by God. Human science is that which is attained by human discourse, for example, all the arts which are called liberal. Some human sciences pertain to eloquence, others to wisdom. Grammar, poetry, rhetoric, and law belong to eloquence, for they enable one to speak correctly and ornately. Those belong to wisdom which enlighten the soul with respect to the knowledge of truth or elevate it to the level of the good. Now all of these sciences belong to philosophy; there is no science which is not part of philosophy
Philosophy is divided into Theoretical and Practical Philosophy. Theoretical philosophy is in the intellect, consisting only in the mind's knowledge; practical philosophy is in doing (in effectu) and consists in the execution of a work. Philosophy is sought for the perfection of the soul, and this is achieved by science and operation. Operation pertains to the sensible part of the soul, speculation to the rational part. The rational part of the soul is divided by the concern with divine things not elements of our work and with human things. The end of the speculative is in knowledge, the end of the practical in knowledge of what ought to be done. Speculative philosophy is concerned with what is not separate from its matter either in existing or in the intellect, or with what is separated from matter in the intellect but not as it exists, or with what is separate from matter in existing and in the intellect. The science concerned with the first kind of things is called physics or natural science; the science concerned with the second, mathematics; that concerned with the third, first science or first philosophy or metaphysics. Practical philosophy is divided into three parts. One part of it is the science that has to do with intercourse with all men, something which requires knowledge of grammar, poetry, rhetoric, and secular law. These provide for that science of ruling states and of knowing the rights of citizens which is called political science. Second, there is a science concerned with the household and one's own family. By means of it knowledge is had of the relations of man with wife, children, and servants and of all domestic matters. This science, usually called economics Gundissalinus calls family government. A third science is that by which a man knows how to regulate himself. This is ethics or moral science. Since a man lives either alone or with others and, if with others, either with his family or with his co-citizens, the division of practical philosophy is seen to be adequate. And since philosophy has as its effect the perfection of the soul, it has been pointed out that the end of practical philosophy is the love of the good, that. of speculative philosophy the knowledge of the truth.
Truth is either known or unknown. Examples of known truths are that two is more than one and that the whole is greater than its part. Unknown truths, such as that the world began and that angels are composed of matter and form require demonstration. What is unknown comes to be known through something else previously known. Logic is the science which teaches how to bring about this transformation
Chapter;11.Grosseteste & Albert.
A:Robert Grosseteste.
Robert Grosseteste was born in 1175 and died in 1253. His major works are 'On Light and the Beginning of Forms' and 'De veritate pro positionis'.
According to him in the first book the first bodily form or corporeity is light. Matter's extension in three dimensions follows necessarily on corporeity, but matter itself is a simple substance lacking dimensions and form also is a simple substance lacking dimensions. The extension of matter is due to light. Whatever performs the task of introducing dimensions into the compound of form and matter must therefore be either light or something that does this just insofar as it participates in light. Corporeity, bodily extension, is either light or a participation in light: something which acts through the power of light. Light is also used to explain the constitution of the universe. Any given point of light has an intrinsic limitation on the extent of its diffusion. Cosmos begin with a single body which may be thought of as light and matter, a compound of form and matter: It's diffusion to the extent of its intrinsic power will produce a sphere which is finite and whose limit is the heaven. Then the outer limit of light reflecting on the center from which it radiated, Grosseteste speaks of the generation of the celestial bodies. The whole idea is geocentric. The degree or intensity of light provides Grosseteste with a scale on which he can compute the ontological status of entities, so that the universe for him is a hierarchy of lights or a hierarchy based on degrees of participation in light.
In discussing whether God is the single form of all things Grosseteste employs Augustine's reinterpretation of the Platonic Ideas and is careful to deny that God is the form of all things in the sense of their constitutive or inherent form. About the emanation of creatures from God he discuss with the need to distinguish the difference between the procession of the Son from the Father and the emanation of creatures from God. Only the Son is coeternal with the Father; angels and soul are measured by something other than time, which is the measure of the duration of corporeal things. The truth of things, Grosseteste maintains in De veritate pro positionis, consists in a conformity with the creative Idea of God. To know the truth, consequently, involves ultimately knowing that conformity. This means in the familiar Augustinian manner that truth resides in a conformity of thing and mind. Grosseteste wants no more than Augustine to hold that when we know the truth, we are attending both to things and to the divine pattern, the Word of God, and seeing the conformity between the two. Rather, he suggests that our mind is a participation in the light that is the Word and that as a participation in light our mind is capable of knowing the truth.
B:Albert the Great.
Albert was born in Lauingen, in Bavaria, in 1206 and died in Cologne in 1280.He began his university studies at Bologna and Padua.In 1223 he joined the Dominican Order.From 1228 to 1240 Albert taught theology in various Dominican convents in Germany. He became bishop of Ratisbon in 1260, remaining in the post for two years. After resigning his seat, Albert devoted the last eighteen years of his life to teaching, preaching, research, and writing treatise on God, summa on creatures, summa theologia, commentaries on Aristotle. Thomas Aquinas was a student of Albert
According to him theology is a science that considers whatever pertains to generating, nourishing, and strengthening faith. In metaphysics God is known in terms of being and its properties because he is the first being; theology considers God in terms of attributes known to be his through faith. Theology is more certain than metaphysics. On a natural basis we can have positive knowledge that God is, but we can know what God is only "infinitely," that is, in a manner that leaves undetermined what precisely God is. To know God privatively is to know that he is not a body and is not measured by any corporeal measures, that is, God is not measured by place and time and so forth. In this life all knowledge of God is through knowledge of something else, through some mean or medium, whether a natural mean or grace as the mean. The natural mean can be considered either from the side of the known or the knower. The natural means of knowing God is the Augustinian notions of vestige and image. As for knowledge of God through his image, we find that man or the human soul is treated as what gives us the best access to God. Vestige of God is found in all creatures, his image in some, and both these means of knowing God are distinguished from the way we know God through faith. In comparing the knowledge of God gained through natural means and that had through faith, Albert returns to the comparison of philosophical and theological knowledge in terms of certitude. Certitude is said to be of two kinds, absolute and relative. Knowledge of vision would seem to be God's unmediated presence to the blessed; the other two kinds of knowledge are through a medium, and faith is more certain than reasoned knowledge of God in that the former is explicitly based on the authority of the first truth.
Analysis:
What Grosseteste describe light as the first corporeality is the form of the first creation, universal spiritual soul which is supra light soul or photons (cosmic, gamma,X-ray). The truth as conformity with creative idea is what we have been saying as the ideal world or Absolute Spirit as the ultimate source and cause of everything.
Chapter:12.Roger Bacon.
Roger Bacon was born in England in 1214..He began his teaching career at Paris, in the faculty of arts. About the year 1247 Roger returned to England, where at Oxford he came under the influence of Robert Grosseteste. In approximately 1257 Bacon joined the Franciscan Order. His teachings were condemned by the minister general, and Bacon was put in prison by the Franciscans. He was out before 1292, when he wrote his last work, a Compendium of Theological Studies and he died in 1294.He had contact with Sufis and by many considered himself a mystic and sufi. Apart from the above mentioned last work his main works are opes majus, opes minus, and opes teritum.
He sites four causes of ignorance. Frail and unsuitable authority, influence of custom, opinion of unlearned crowd, and concealment of ignorance in apparent wisdom and from the fourth springs all evils. He points out that while Aristotle was undoubtedly one of the wisest of men, he is not without his defects. Thus, while deference to Aristotle may bring one to the truth, it may lead one into error. Rarely that authority, habit, and popular prejudice have positive effects in the search for truth
He was of the opinion that moral philosophy is the aim and goal of speculative philosophy. Bacon sees the search for truth as divided into three avenues: Scripture, canon law, and philosophy. All truth is contained in Scripture, but to elicit it we need canon law and philosophy. Wisdom, however, is one. Like Averrous he also believed Active intellect is only one and separate from soul essence. The active intellect is not a part of our nature, not a faculty of the human soul. Avicenna is right in this interpretation of Aristotle. The active intellect is outside us, something to whose influence we are susceptible, something divine. And since all human knowledge requires the influence of this separated active intellect, knowledge is something divine. The effective source of all knowledge in God indicates the ultimate goal of knowledge again, is God, God as final cause.
Bacon also of the opinion of Augustinian suggestion, also made by Abelard, that the giants of pagan philosophy were recipients of a revelation from God. Philosophy and theology are parts of one whole. The whole purpose and function of philosophy is to lead us to the threshold of divine truth; across that threshold would seem to be Scripture. The Christian must not simply borrow bits and pieces from the philosophers; he must engage in philosophy, in the ceaseless pursuit of truth, with a constant eye for its relevance to what God has revealed in Scripture
Bacon considers mathematics to be the key to all the other sciences. Knowledge of nature is needed if we are to unpack the message of Scripture. Distinguishing between the literal and spiritual meanings of Scripture, Bacon says that we need to grasp the former to get at the latter and that to grasp the literal meaning of Scripture mathematical knowledge is necessary. According to him the stars exercise an influence on the affairs of men, an influence that can be understood and thus can become a powerful force in human foresight and governing.
According to him experiment and experience ,rather than argument the source of knowledge. There are two ways of acquiring knowledge, reasoning and experience, he goes on to divide experience into sense experience (our own or that of trustworthy witnesses) and internal experience. Internal experience has as its object spiritual things and is aided by grace; a by-product of internal experience is often knowledge of earthly things. Bacon lists seven grades of spiritual experience. The task of moral philosophy is threefold, dealing with duties to God, duties to our neighbor, and duties to ourselves. His discussion of the moral virtues leans heavily on the fact that until our sensual desires are reined, the mind is not free for its pursuit of the truth.
Analysis:
What Bacon, Avicenna mean by active intellect is the ideal world or plane of Absolute Spirit. We have seen that the subject is one and it makes different relations with predicates and gives rise to different essences or spirits. Similarly ideal world is beyond soul and on the other hand ideal world gives rise to soul world and material world and is the ultimate cause of them
Chapter:13.Saint Bonaventure.
Bonaventure was born about 1217 near Viterbo.In 1243 he entered the Franciscan Order. He was master of the Franciscan school in Paris from 1253 to 1257,a master of the faculty of theology in the university until 1257, being admitted at the same time as Thomas Aquinas. Bonaventure became a cardinal in 1273 and died in Lyon in 1274.Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard and disputed questions on the knowledge of Christ, the Trinity, and evangelical perfection, together with the Breviloquium, the De reductione artium ad theologiam, and the Itinerarium mentis in deum are among his most important works
According to him division of knowledge is into four kinds. First knowledge may be purely speculative and founded on principles of reason: this is the science of human philosophy. Second, there is a knowledge which resides in the intellect insofar as it is inclined by appetite: when founded on principles of faith, such knowledge is the science of Sacred Scripture. Third there is a science or knowledge which resides in intellect inclined by appetite toward operation: such knowledge is founded on the principles of natural law. Finally, there is a kind of knowledge which is in the intellect considered both as inclined and inclining, that is, inclined by faith and inclining to good works. This knowledge is founded on principles of faith and finds its source in the gift of grace. Such knowledge is called a gift of the holy Ghost. In this context Bonaventure speaks of philosophical knowledge, theological knowledge, the knowledge which is the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the knowledge of the blessed in heaven. Philosophical knowledge is nothing other than certain knowledge of the truth as what can be investigated. Theological knowledge is loving knowledge of truth as credible. The gift of knowledge is holy knowledge of the truth as lovable . The knowledge of glory is sempiternal knowledge of truth as desirable
About the nature and relation of reason and faith ,philosophy and theology he says first philosophy is based on principles of reason, theology on principles of faith. Secondly the former sees things under an inborn light, something belonging to the nature of the rational creature; the latter is dependent on an infused light, the gift of faith. Thirdly the subject of theology is the credible; the subject of philosophy is the naturally knowable. Fourthly Philosophy begins with creatures and arrives at knowledge of God as its term; theology begins with God and considers everything else in the light of what God has revealed to us about himself. Not only are philosophy and theology distinct but philosophy is more certain than the faith on which theology is founded. Science means knowledge had in this life and is of two kinds: either it concerns things which are objects of faith or it concerns other knowable objects. If it is concerned with objects of faith, then absolutely speaking faith is more certain than knowledge. Hence, if some philosopher knows a given article of faith by reason, for example, that God is the creator or that God is the rewarder, he can in no wise know it more certainly through his science than the true believer through his faith. If however we are speaking of knowable objects other than those of faith, then in some ways faith is more certain than science and in other ways science is more certain than faith. For there is the certitude of seeing and the certitude of adherence . The first pertains to intellect, the second to the affections. He holds that knowledge and belief are simultaneously possible concerning the same object, although not in the same respect. The philosopher who proves that God is One knows that about God; what he does not know and cannot know in this life by natural reason is that the unity of God admits of a plurality of persons. It is that science attains precious little in the way of knowledge of divine things unless it is based on faith, because in one and the same thing what is most obvious to faith is most hidden to science. Theology is concerned with the credible, with the believed, to the degree that it can take on the note of understandability. In order for this to come about, philosophy is presupposed. Beyond philosophical science God gave us theological science, which is a pious knowledge of credible truth, because the eternal light which is God is a light inaccessible to us as long as we are mortals and have the eyes of owls. That a man who does not have grace and faith will inevitably make philosophical mistakes.
He makes threefold division of philosophy into rational, natural, and moral, since there are three kinds of truth; that of speech, that of things, and that of morals. Just as in God we can consider the note of efficient cause, of formal or exemplar cause, and of final cause, since he is the cause of subsisting, the means of understanding, and the order of living, so in philosophical illumination, since it illumines either for knowing the causes of being, and then it is physics, or for knowing the means of understanding, and then it is logic, or for knowing the order of living, and then it is moral or practical philosophy. Natural philosophy is divided into three parts. Physics, , considers the generation and corruption of things according to natural forces and seminal reasons; mathematics considers the intelligible notions of abstractable forms; metaphysics is knowledge of all beings, which it reduces to one first principle from which they come according to the Ideas, or it reduces them to God as principle, goal, and exemplar. Rational philosophy is divided into grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Moral philosophy is divided into monastics, economics, and politics.
From the basic image of God as a sun, father of lights from which flow rays of light Bonaventure distinguishes a variety of participated lights. He speaks of four: an external light, or the light of mechanical art; a lower light, or the light of sense knowledge; an inner light which is the light of philosophical knowledge; a higher light which is the light of grace and of Sacred Scripture. Given the threefold division of philosophy already mentioned, he arrives at six ways of looking at the light emanating from God: mechanical arts, sense knowledge, rational philosophy, natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and Sacred Scripture. These make way for a seventh, the light of glory. Since these six lights have their origin in one source, they are all ordered to knowledge of Sacred Scripture: they are contained in it, perfected by it, and through it ordered to eternal illumination. His idea is to show that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God and that he is the means and medium of every science. There are seven kinds of mean: of essence, of nature, of distance, of doctrine, of modesty, of justice, and of harmony. The consideration of the first falls to the metaphysician, of the second to the physicist, of the third to the mathematician, of the fourth to the logician, of the fifth to the moralist, of the sixth to the politician or lawyer, of the seventh to the theologian. Christ is the first mean in his eternal generation, the second in his Incarnation, the third in his Passion, the fourth in his Resurrection, the fifth in his Ascension, the sixth in the future judgment, the seventh in eternal reward and punishment. The defining role of metaphysics is concern with the eternal exemplars, or Ideas. Christ as the Word of God is the locus of the divine Ideas, and with him all things have their origin; hence, knowledge will achieve its perfection in Christ and metaphysics in its reduction of things to the Ideas.
Knowledge is of three kinds: sense knowledge, scientific knowledge, and sapiential knowledge. The human intellect at the moment of creation is a blank slate, a pure possibility as far as knowledge goes. Experience is the beginning of science. However the soul knows God and itself and the things in itself without any help from the external senses. He makes distinction between an active and passive intellect; this distinction permits us to speak of understanding both as an activity and as a kind of receiving of an impression. The active intellect is the innate light because of which we can attain knowledge of what things are. Intellectual knowledge of sensible things is abstractive. Intellectual knowledge is not simply a passive reception of objects: it is an activity and there is an active intellect which may be compared to a light and which is an indispensable element in the doctrine of abstraction-that intellection requires as well a kind of illumination which is independent of abstraction. Whatever is certainly known is known in the light of the eternal Ideas. For certain knowledge it is necessary that the intellect in some way grasps the eternal notion as normative and efficient cause, not by itself and in its own clarity, but along with the created proper notion and as known in a glass darkly. In order that our mind in its certain knowledge might in some wise attain those rules and changeless Ideas, there must necessarily be both nobility of knowledge and worthiness of the knower. Certain knowledge also requires worthiness (dignitas) on the part of the knower. The rational spirit has a superior and inferior part, and just as the inferior part has need of the superior for a full deliberative judgment as to what should be done, so too with respect to a complete judgment in speculative matters. The superior part of the soul is that owing to which it is an image of God; it adheres to the eternal rules, and it is through them that it defines and judges with certitude: this belongs to it insofar as it is an image of God. The creature can be compared to God as a vestige, image, or likeness. The creature is a vestige insofar as it is referred to God as to its principle, an image insofar as it is referred to God as to an object, a likeness insofar as it is referred to God as to an infused gift. Every creature since it is from God is a vestige; every creature which knows God is an image; only that creature is a likeness in whom God dwells. Because the soul is not an image in its entirety (but only owing to the ratio superior), it attains the eternal notions along with the similitude of things abstracted from phantasms, and these similitudes are proper and distinct means (rationes) of knowing. Without these concepts the light of eternal reason is insufficient for knowledge, at least in this life, unless perhaps through some special revelation this state is transcended. This happens in states of rapture and in revelations to the Prophets.What we must do is see the soul as occupying the middle ground between things and the divine Ideas. Owing to inferior reason (ratio inferior), the soul is referred to things in themselves by way of abstractive forms or concepts which are accordingly rationes creatae; because of superior reason (ratio superior), which makes it an image of God, the soul refers to the divine Ideas which are rationes increatae. True and certain knowledge is had by bringing the rationes aeternae to bear on the rationes creatae. We have then a blend of abstractive and illuminative knowledge: the former without the latter is mere contingency; the latter without the former is empty. Illumination, then, an intellectual participation in the divine Ideas, is the perfection and sine qua non of abstractive knowledge; scientific knowledge must be anchored in and guaranteed by sapiential knowledge.
Doctrine of illumination is such that God is involved in all certain knowledge, not as object, but as the regulating and motivating cause, but we cannot have direct and comprehensive knowledge of God in this life. The universe is a scale we must ascend in order to arrive at knowledge of God; therefore, the universe is that through which we know God. We must begin with God's vestige in the corporeal and temporal, so abstraction is a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition of intellectual knowledge. Our knowledge of God is not abstractive; no more is our knowledge of ourselves. Like Kant, he will say that while all knowledge begins with experience, not all knowledge is derived from experience. Our knowledge of sensible things may be the occasion for our self-awareness, but knowledge of self is not derived from what is sensed, an intuition of the self and God as opposed to abstractive knowledge, which pertains to the corporeal and temporal. So it is necessary to say that the soul knows God and itself and its own activities without any aid from the external senses. In our ascent to knowledge of God the sensible world has its role to play, not so much because one moves from corporeal things directly to their incorporeal cause, but rather because corporeal things, as vestiges of God, lead us within ourselves, to the image of God we are.
God exists cannot only not be doubted, its contradictory cannot even be thought by a mind which fully comprehends the meaning of the term 'God,' namely, a being than which nothing greater can be thought. When creatures lead to knowledge of God as shadows, vestiges, and images, the difference among these three, as their names suggest, is taken from mode of representing. For a shadow is that which represents in a remote and confused manner, a vestige in a remote but distinct manner, and an image more closely and distinctly. Creatures are called shadows with respect to properties which refer them to God in any genus of causality, but according to an indeterminate notion of the cause. The vestige is that whose property refers it to God under the aspect of a threefold cause: efficient, formal, and final, like one, true, and good. A creature is called an image because of conditions which refer to God not only as cause but as object -- properties like memory, understanding, and will. From creatures which are only shadows we can have only the most remote conception of what God is, whereas vestiges enable us to know attributes common to the three Persons of the Trinity, though these attributes of nature can be appropriated to one Person rather than another, for example, wisdom to the Son. The rational creature alone is an image of God and is an imago trinitatis.
The cause of creation is that the good is diffusive of itself , what might be called the principle of the generosity of the good. The procession of Persons is within the Godhead and is a necessary one and eternal, whereas the production of the world is without and is not necessary and not eternal. God has eternally within himself the patterns of creatures, but he creates them freely and in time. Creatures come to be in time and from nothing owing to the power and free will of God. Bonaventure held to a universal hylomorphism, claiming that every finite being has matter as a principle of its limitation. The human soul is immortal or incorruptible. The order of the universe involves both prime matter and an ultimate form. The rational soul is the ultimate form, and if prime matter is incorruptible, then, Bonaventure argues, the ultimate form too must be incorruptible.
Analysis:
We have seen that the ideal plane is the cause of world and it gives rise to soul world ,subtle material world and gross material world. Now the human essence of ideal world is what we call human spirit which is eternal and it is different from human soul which is temporal. Now this human spirits are the particular relations of the one Absolute Spirit so there is no individual and particular spirits but one and the same Absolute Spirit forming different relations of predicates as spirits. This human spirit of the plane of Absolute Subject is what plato calls ideal world and Aristotle, mediaeval and arab philosophers call active intellect. As we can see this is not individual but universal. Now this human spirit is actual knowledge of itself and all in it's own plane and this Absolute Spirit as human spirit is the creative principle of human being. Now the human being besides from the material body contain the subtle body (misnomer as vegetative soul, animal soul) and soul body (human soul). So human spirit or active intellect is not part of soul but the cause of it. While human spirit is actual knowledge of ideal world soul is potential knowledge. This human soul is also called passive intellect. We have seen that human soul contain all the elements like SMAP (spiritual, mental, astral, material). From this spiritual and mental part is what is called the superior part of rational soul and astral and material inferior reason. Now material, astral and even mental part are common to animals and knowledge of these are knowledge abstracted from senses. The spiritual soul contain the knowledge of ideal world in potential and these abstracted knowledge stimulate it and make it actual. Similarly the inferior part due to it's knowledge of senses always lean towards desires and passions while spiritual part from it's ideal aspect regulate these with higher knowledge and will.
Chapter:14.Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas was son of count Aquino and was born in Naples in 1225.For six years he was in Fredrick II's university of Naples, then become Dominican, went to Cologne to study under Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great). He returned to Italy in1259 spent most of rest of his life here and died in 1274.The Originality of Aristotle he adapted to Christian dogma. He was called Doctor Angelicus and Communis. He wrote commentaries on Aristotle and Petres Lambardus. His main works are Summa contra gentiles and summa theologiae. He is one of the greatest scholastic philosopher.
Aquinas exalt reason and understanding. Religious truth can be proved by reason and can also be known by faith. There are three ways of knowledge reason, revelation, intuition of things previously known by revelation. About the relation between reason and faith, philosophy and theology, first he points out the difference in the source of a doctrine: whether it is discovered by human reason or it is revealed by God. It was necessary for human salvation that there be a doctrine according to divine revelation in addition to the philosophical disciplines which are investigated by human reason. For man as man is meant for God, who is a goal surpassing reason's comprehension. But the goal must be foreknown by men, who are to direct their intentions and actions to it. That is why it was necessary for man's salvation that things which exceed human reason be made known to him by divine revelation. Nothing prevents that the same things be treated philosophically insofar as they are knowable in the light of natural reason and by another science insofar as they are known in the light of divine revelation. Thus, the theology which pertains to Sacred Scripture is generically different from the theology which is a part of philosophy. Faith is like knowledge and intuition in that it is certain and unwavering, but it is unlike both in that it does not involve the same sort of clarity. Faith is more certain than any intuition or knowledge, because the First Truth, which causes the assent of faith, is a stronger cause than the light of reason which causes the assent of intuition or knowledge. It [certitude] also implies evidence concerning that to which assent is given; in this sense, faith has no certitude, though intuition and knowledge do. Philosophy aims at knowledge which is discourse terminating in an assent prompted by the evidence of what the mind is attending to. The starting points of such discourse are truths knowable by everyone. Theology is the science of Sacred Scripture. He says that grace does not destroy nature but rather perfects it. It is impossible for the truths God has revealed to conflict with those known by the reason God has given us. There are three ways in which philosophy can be used in theology. It can be used for demonstrating those things which are preambles to faith, that is, to prove by natural reason that God exists, that he is one, and other things concerning God and man which can be proved in philosophy and which faith implicitly or explicitly holds. Second, it can be used to make known what is believed by appealing to philosophical doctrines, as Augustine finds many similitudes to the Trinity in philosophical doctrines. Third, philosophy is useful to the theologian to resist what is said against the faith by showing the attacks to be false or at least inconclusive. According to him philosophy should be submitted to the measure of faith.
His conception of what philosophy is and of how it is divided is basically Aristotelian. According to him wisdom is concerned with the end of the universe, it is the good of the intellect , the truth. This is the most sublime, perfect, profitable pursuits. Wisdom is the knowledge of all things in their ultimate causes, and philosophy, accordingly, is seen as a drive toward knowledge of the highest and best reality, that is, knowledge of the divine. The chief intention of the philosophers was that they might come to knowledge of the first causes by means of everything they considered in reality, and thus they placed the science of first causes last and assigned the consideration of it to the final period of life. Beginning with logic, which treats the mode of sciences, they proceeded to mathematics, something which even the young can grasp; they then went on to natural philosophy, which, because of experience, requires time; fourth came moral philosophy, since youth are not good students of it. Finally they came to divine science, which considers the first causes of beings. Thomas accepts from Aristotle a first division of philosophy into speculative and practical. Immateriality and unchangeability are essential characteristics of the speculable, the object of speculative philosophy. If separation or abstraction from matter and motion is essential to the objects of speculative thinking, insofar as there are different types or degrees of such abstraction we will have formal differences among speculative sciences; physics, mathematics, metaphysics or theology.
Logic:
An art seems necessary which is directive of the act of reason itself, through which art man might proceed in reasoning in an orderly fashion, easily and without error. This art is logic, or rational science. The logical order can be defined as the relations which obtain among things as they are known and named by us, our abstractive way of knowing. Parts of logic are, in a sense, the parts of rational discourse. There are three acts of reason of which the first two belong to reason insofar as it is intellect . For one act of intellect is the understanding of indivisible or incomplex things, insofar as it conceives what a thing is. To this operation of reason is ordered the doctrine Aristotle treats in the Categories. The second operation of intellect is composition or division, where the true or false first obtains. The doctrine Aristotle treats in On Interpretation serves this act of reason. The third act of reason is one proper to reason as such, namely, discourse from one thing to another so that from what is known knowledge is gained of what was unknown. The rest of the books of logic serve this act.
Natural Philosophy:
Some things can be, some things already are; the first are said to be in potency, the second in act. There are two kinds of actual being, substantial and accidental; it is one thing to be a man and another thing for a man to be white, and something can be in potency to either kind of being; what is in potency can in either case be called matter, though that which is in potency to substantial being might be called the matter out of which something comes actually to be, whereas that which is in potency to accidental being might be called the matter in which something comes to be. Which is in potency to substantial being is called prime matter, but that which is in potency to accidental being is called the subject, for the subject gives being or existence to the accident, since the accident has no being save in its subject; hence, it is said that accidents are in a subject, but substantial form is not said to be in a subject. Form gives being to matter, but the accident does not give being to the subject, but the subject to the accident. Whatever comes to be as the result of a change is a compound of matter and form. This is meant by the term "hylomorphism".
What distinguishes the living from the nonliving is precisely the former's possession of soul. The soul is that owing to which we live, move, sense, and understand, the soul as distinct from these capacities or faculties and as related to them as substance to accidents. Soul spoken of as a form. It is a kind of substantial form, and the living thing is thought of as a compound of soul and body. Hence, a further definition of soul as the first actuality of an organic body having life in potency. Substantial form and prime matter are not so much substances as they are principles or components of substance. Neither matter nor form is thought of as capable of existence apart from a compound. Thomas speaking of the vegetative soul, of the animal, or sensitive, soul, and of the rational soul. If a living man performs an activity which does not intrinsically and essentially involve his body like thinking, we would seem to have some basis for saying that the soul which is the subject of that activity is not dependent for its continued existence on the body. This also means "being" must be predicated of things which are not material. Nature is an hierarchy where each stage is the form of lower stage and matter of higher stage. The hierarchy of bodies is completed in the natural life of man, and this life becomes the foundation, the material for a higher life, the spiritual life which is developed in the shadows of the church, and nourished by it's word and sacraments as natural life is nourished by bread of earth. The relation of realm of nature to realm of grace is like natural man to Christian, philosophy to theology, matter to sacrament, state to the church, emperor to the pope. means are to the end, plan to execution, potential to actual.
Angels are all not equals. Angels have no bodies. About soul he says all intellectual substance are immaterial and incorruptible. The soul has the substantial form of things, like stone in itself.
, in man soul united with body. There are no three souls, but one. The hole soul present over all parts of body. The animal soul is mortal. Intellect is part of each soul, and it is not one universal intellect participating in all men as Averrous say. Soul is not transmitted with semen but created afresh with each man.
Metaphysics:
The subject of metaphysics is being as being. It is concerned with separate being, with whatever can be considered apart from all matter and has existence in separation from all matter. If there were no substance other than those which exist in nature with which physics is concerned, physics would be the first science. But if there is an immobile substance, this kind will be prior to natural substance, and the philosophy considering it will be First Philosophy. And because it is first, it will be universal and it will fall to it to consider being as being. The science of the first being and of common being is the same. According to him what is that, what has existence. God as simple substance, cannot be the subject of a science, so metaphysics cannot be a theology in the sense that God is its subject matter. Its subject matter is being as being, that is, conceptions which do not involve sensible matter and thus are inadequately informative of sensible things but which, because of this absence of matter, provide a less inadequate bridge to talk about God. The common notion of an analogous name, unlike the common notion of a univocal term does not apply equally to the things of which it is predicated. The analogy of "being," therefore, tells us of the way the term "being" is common to many things according to an ordered variety of meanings. The ways of signifying esse express, of course, various ways of being, modi essendi; the various meanings of "being" express various modes of existence. The real being is that which posits something in reality , so we might call it positive being. That owing to which it "posits" is its essence: only real being is said to have essence. Essence is that through which and in which a thing has being; we can see the connection between essence and the modes of being (modi essendi) expressed in the various meanings of real being. The essence or nature of a substance is that which makes it what it is and is the measure of its actuality or esse. Thomas holds that essence and esse must be really different. That the essence or nature of a physical substance is composed of matter and form; neither of these alone is the nature of the thing. For a thing of such a nature to exist is for there to be a conjunction of its essential components or principle. In an actually existing substance we cannot identify its essence or nature and the actuality or existence which is a consequence of the essence and measured by it. The essence of a thing relates to its esse as potency to act.He say that esse is the actuality of all other acts, even of forms. The form is act with respect to matter as potency, but for the act which is form actually to be in matter is an act other than the act the form is. This absolutely fundamental actuality is what Thomas means by esse, and it can be equated neither with form nor with essence in material substances.
According to Aquinas first philosophy has its object, being as such. There are two kind of beings, one real ,objective essential beings, other mere mental abstractions or negations like poverty, blindness and imperfection in general. The second kind exist, they are beings, but not essence. The first kind of proper being is divided into pure beings or essences which is God alone and other beings composed of form ad matter which is everything except God. Substance is analogs to the entelechy and material things consists of form and matter. Matter and form are both beings they differ each other in that form is actual while matter is potential. Matter can be everything that exists in possibility. As the possible thing is a substance or accident there is potential substantial being (human embryo to actual human) and potential accident (human intellect). Potential substance is what exists in itself as relatively independent subject, accident des not exist in itself. The form is what gives beings to a thing. Accordingly there are substantial form and accidental form. The union of form and matter is generation and there is substantial and accidental generation. All forms except God are united with matter and individualised by it constituting genera, species and individuals. Only God, the form of forms is immaterial and subject not to generation or decay. The more imperfect a form is the more it try to increase the number of individuals realising it and the more perfect a form the less it multiplies it's individuals. The form of forms is no longer a species composed of separate individuals ,but a single being within which all differences of persons are constantly merged in the unity of essence. Since God alone is pure form without matter so without imperfection (matter is that does not yet exist or lack of being) God alone is perfect and complete knowledge of things. He possess absolute truth because he is absolute truth as truth is the agreement of thought with its object. In man there is some agreement between thought and objects but never identical. God's ideas not only exactly reproduce things, they are the things themselves. In our case things first exist, then we thinks them. In God thought precede things, which exists because and as he thinks them. So there is no difference in him of thought and being and since this identity of thought and object constitute truth, God is truth itself. From the fact that he is truth it proves he exists. It is not possible to deny the existence of truth. one who deny it assume a reason for it thus maintain it's existence. About Aristotle's view that God thinks of himself and knows only himself Aquinas says that God understands, not something else, but rather himself insofar as what is understood is the perfection of the one understanding and of his act of understanding. It is quite clear that nothing else can be understood by God in this sense that it would be the perfection of his intellect. Nor does it follow that other things are unknown by him, since in understanding himself he understands all other things.
About the question of same term predicated both of God and creature, he says it cannot be the human way wisdom is signified when we say that God is wise, if only because in God, who is simple, there is no distinction between substance and accident. To be wise is an accidental attribute of Socrates, but if God is wise and wisdom is no accident in him, we might want to say that God is wisdom. In the case of physical substance esse is an actuality consequent upon the conjunction of its essential principles, matter and form. This mode of being cannot obtain in God, and his mode of existing is approached by denying of him the creaturely mode of existing. God is thus thought of as existing in an eminent way, to be existence. We call God being that it becomes "is esse." Creatures, on the other hand, have esse and in various ways; they partake of esse. Essence as we have discussed it emerges as a limitation on the actuality esse is, and esse is considered abstractly as actuality without qualification. The essence of a given thing is not a limitation of its esse, since it is precisely the measure of the kind of esse appropriate to it. The creature's esse is either esse substantiale or esse accidentale, substantial existence or accidental existence. esse substantiale is simply a general and abstract phrase which covers to be alive or to live, which, in turn, is generic with respect to the esse or ultimate actuality of man, beast, and plant.
According to Aquinas the most we can do is know what God is not; we cannot know what or who he is with clarity in this life .According to Aquinas "being" is the most appropriate, or least inappropriate, name of God. When we say of God that he is a being, as opposed to wise, merciful, and so forth, we seem to be saying the least possible about him. But to say the least possible means here that we are making no reference to determinate creaturely modes of existence, modes which restrict and limit esse considered abstractly as actuality or perfection. God is subsistent existence. When we say he is existence, we are saying that he is total perfection and actuality and no more -- that is, without the diminution and restriction which in creatures is read from their determinate natures or essences. Anything other than God has only as much actuality and perfection as its essence permits. In short, everything other than God partakes of esse, has from the point of view of total perfection only a partial perfection, its own limited one. That is how Thomas establishes the difference between essence and esse in simple substances other than God. God exists, eternal immutable and can be known only by negative attributes. God is his own essence otherwise he would be compound. So in his case essence and existence identical. He understands by his essence. God understand forms before creation. God’s intellect includes in his essence what is proper to each thing, likeness and unlikeness. plants are like God having life but unlike in knowledge. It is by negation a creature differs from God. God can know both universals and particulars. His will is his essence and it’s principle object is divine essence. There is free will in God, a reason can be assigned for his will but no cause. He created the world out of nothing. According to him we can see God in essence only in afterlife.
Nature of motion demands that what is in motion is moved by another. But the mover is either itself moved or it is not. If the latter, then we have an unmoved mover (which can be taken to be a description of God); if the former, either what moves the mover is moved by another or it is not. Now either we must posit an infinite series of moved movers or we arrive at an unmoved mover. But an infinite series of moved movers is impossible, so there must be an unmoved mover. If we know the essence of God existence is proved, as God’s essence and existence is same. As no creature can know the essence enough to prove existence, ontological proof is rejected. He derive the existence of God from the following. First as explained above the necessity of unmoved mover, second as first cause, third need of ultimate source of all necessity, fourth a perfect world need a perfect creator, fifth as teleological, even life less things serve purpose of others. Demonstration of the existence of God is the first and principle task of philosophy. philosophy could not doubt, cannot even make a conception of God, had not God first revealed himself in Christ. No philosophy is legitimate that does not take revelation as it's starting point and return to it as the final goal. The church of God is towards which all things strive.
Moral Philosophy:
The perfection of moral knowledge lies in its direction of voluntary acts, of choices. What perfects is a good. According to him that man is consciously directing himself to certain ends or goals and virtuous rational activity is the human good. Theoretical reason is process of reasoning itself, with its appropriate objects and perfection; there is also reasoning which bears on activities other than reasoning and seeks to perfect them. The latter is practical reasoning, and it is when man's appetite is responsive to such rational direction that we have the perfection of rational activity which is called moral virtue. A life lived according to reason, that is the human good and this covers a multitude of virtues: the human pursuit of sensual pleasure, a human avoidance of physical pain. That is, when instinctive processes become permeated with rationality, they are more fully human. A life lived for pleasure is not a human life because the objects of pursuit which cause physical pleasure are not peculiar to human appetition and because human appetition, in a broad sense, encompasses other and higher objects than these. The human good is not beyond action, but in action; it is the style or formality or quality of our choices. To be a man is to choose and decide and live, and to do these things well is man's goal or end, and it will be had, if it is had, in acting and choosing and deciding, not after these are done. Man's moral goal is fixed. Since man is a rational agent, his perfection can only be the perfection of rational activity. Rational activity can be either pure reason or practical reason, and it is the latter that is the concern of moral philosophy. The perfection of practical rational activity, again, is what is meant by moral virtue. Temperance is the name given to the rational control of the appetite for objects which cause physical pleasure. Fortitude, or bravery, is the name given the rational control of the impulse to avoid objects which cause physical pain. Justice and prudence are the other two cardinal virtues, and, without going into the nature of these, we can suggest that "Be temperate," "Be brave," "Be just," and "Be prudent" are precepts which always bind a man. A common percept is act virtuously .About the relation between between political and ethical prudence (practical wisdom) he says these are substantially, that is, generically, the same, in that both involve right reason with respect to what ought to be done concerning human goods and evils, but they differ specifically. What we are calling ethical prudence is the concern of a man with his own good, whereas political prudence is a concern with the goods and evils of the whole civic community. Besides these two kinds of prudence there is economic prudence, which is concerned with the good of more than one and of less than the whole civic community, that is, the good of the family. Prudence is not of reason alone, but depends on appetite. The universe which consist of two realms of nature and grace is the best possible world. To say God conceived perfection and created imperfect world presuppose opposition between knowledge and will, ideal principle and real principle of things which contradict thought and faith. So the divine will is not a will of indifference and the freedom of God is identical with necessity. The same is true of human will. Just as the intellect has a principle (reason) which it cannot discard without ceasing to be itself, the will has a principle of good from which it cannot deviate without ceasing to be free. The will necessarily tends to good, but sensuality tends to evil and paralysis the efforts of will. So sin has it's origin in sensuality, not in the freedom of choice or indifference. There is moral predestination but not arbitrary predestination, for the divine will itself is subordinated to reason. Evil is unintentional, not an essence, has an accidental cause which is good. All things try to be like God who is the end of all. Human happiness consists not in sensual or material pleasures, nor in moral virtue which is means ,but in contemplation of God. No man can be free from sin except by grace. Prayer is useful although providence is unchangeable. Divine law directs us to love God. He believes in predestination and says there is no reason why some elected and go to heaven and others not elected and go to hell. He forbid birth control as it is against nature.
In the controversy between realism amd nominalism he is a realist but says universal do not subsist out side the soul. Here moderate realism is Aquinas solution. According to him from a logical point of view, "predicability of many" is a logical relation consequent on our mode of knowing, from an epistemological point of view, that the concept of human nature, to which universality attaches, answers, with respect to its content, to a nature really found in various individuals, but that our concept prescinds from the marks of individuation and thus is not commensurate with individuals as individuals. Finally, from a metaphysical point of view the source of such a nature really found in many individuals would be sought in God, and reference would be made to the divine Ideas since the various natures in the created world are different expressions of God's awareness of his own imitability.
Analysis:
About predestination and preelection as we explained every human spirit is unique due to to it's nature and this nature depends on the predominance of spiritual (satwa), rational (rajo) or passionate (tamo) natures. All one is destined to do in life is actualise one's potential nature but one cannot change it.
Chapter:15.Duns Scotus.
He was born in Dunston in Scotland in 1270.He became Franciscan and was a monk of the order of st francis .He served as professor of philosophy and theology at oxford. It is said that he had thirty thousand disciples .He came to Paris in 1304 and cologne in 1308 as doctor in university. He spent his last years in Paris and died of apoplexy there and said to have buried alive in 1308.He helped the scholastic method of disputation to reach it's height. During his time philosophy becomes an independent science along with theology and then philosophy started opposing it.
According to Duns Scotus philosophers differ from theologians as whether man has any need of acquiring by supernatural means, knowledge which his reason cannot attain by natural means. He also criticise Aquinas and St Augustine for their belief in faith above reason. Like theologians he recognise the need of revelation and and declares that the bible and teachings of church are supreme norms of philosophic thought. But like philosopher he criticises St Augustine for assuming man can know nothing of God without revelation and he also believe in the doctrine of bible and church only because it conforms to reason. So to him reason is the highest authority, and sacred texts are derived, conditional and relative authority.
Unlike such terms as "substance," quantity, etc the term "being" is a transcendental term, which means what it expresses is not confined to one of the categories. Transcendent is not contained under some one genus, and all notions and the terms expressing them which are common to God and creature, or which are proper to God alone, are transcendental concepts. The categories of being enumerated by Aristotle are categories or divisions of finite being. God cannot be in a category. Any name which is proper to God, or is common to God and creature, cannot express something which is included under some one category, is confined to a single category. Transcendental is whatever rises above all genera and transcends all categories. For Scotus being is the first of the transcendentals. There are certain convertible or coextensive attributes of being which are also transcendentals, namely, one, true, and good. Furthermore, there are disjunctive attributes of being which are also transcendental as disjunctive. For example, finite and infinite and substance and accident. We can say that being is finite or infinite, substance or accident, and when we say this, we are thinking of being and saying something about it prior to its division into categories. Moreover pure perfections are also transcendental. Here he mean the divine attributes, concepts which are proper to God or common to God and creature, as wisdom etc. What can be predicated of God is a transcendental, that is, above the categories, precisely because God cannot be contained in the categories of finite being. This is true both of such attributes as omniscience (predicable of God alone) and of wisdom (predicable of God and of some creatures). Unlike Aquinas analogical ,Scotus maintain that "being" is predicated univocally of substance and accident and, indeed, of God and creature. A term is univocally common to many if it is predicated of them with exactly the same meaning. He maintain is that "being" has a meaning which is quite independent of substantial and accidental modes of being. Scotus wants "being" to be common to substance and accident in such a way that it has exactly the same meaning as predicated of both. This Aquinas emphatically denies
Duns Scotus exalt will and believed in free will. While Aquinas philosophy was intellectualism, who was a determinist and considered intellect over will, Duns Scotus's was voluntarism who preferred will over intelligence and in divine and human freedom. So according to him world is not a necessary product of God's essence, his intelligence or will. God created the world by an act of freedom. It would have been possible for him not to create. The existence of world far from being necessary is the free effect of the free will of God. The first cause of things, the divine will is also the supreme law of created spirits. Goodness, justice and moral law are absolute only as far as they are willed by God. If they are absolute and independent of divine will he would not be supreme being. Good is good because it is God's pleasure that it should be so. God can due to his liberty replace the moral law by a new law. It is because he is free to exempt us if he desires from carrying out any particular law of the moral code, the church in turn has the right to grant dispensations. Like God man is also free. The fall did not deprive him of free will. He has formal will, he may will or will not and he has material will, he can will A or B, freedom of choice or indifference. Though reason is common to all will is what characterises the individual.
According to him there are three kind of evidence, three kind of things known without proof, principles known by themselves, things known by experience, our own actions. He rejects innate ideas and says proof of the existence of God and immortality of soul is impossible from the standpoint of science. On the controversy between universals and particulars he inclines to nominalism and empiricism. According to him being no different from essence. As being is essence principle of individuation is due to forms. While to Aquinas principle of individuality is matter and non being to Scotus it is positive principle and name it hoecceitas. The individual is the sum of two equal, positive and real principles, quiddities (universals) and hoecceitus, principle of individuality. Quiddities have no reality apart form the hoecceitus and nor hoecceitus apart from quiddities. Reality is found in the union of ideal and real, in the individual.
Analysis:
Real freedom is not not opposed to necessity. As the real freedom of a citizen and one who is on the road lies in obeying the laws and traffic rules, man is free as determined within himself.
Chapter:16.William of Occam.
William of Occam was born in 1290 at Ockham in surrey in England and died in April 10, 1349.He was first pupil and later become rival of Scouts. He is known as Doctor Invisibilus. He is excommunicated 1328
Occam is famous for what is called Occam’s razor. "It is vain to do with more what can be done with fewer." 'Let us never introduce more than is required for an explanation'. This means entities are not be multiplied without necessity. That is to say, if everything in some science can be interpreted without assuming this or that hypothetical entity, there is no ground for assuming it.
Like his teacher Scotus, he says it is impossible to demonstrate the existence and unity of God. The ontological and cosmological arguments are equally weak and the necessity of the existence of a first cause is a hypothetical necessity. According to him sensitive soul and intellectual soul are distinct. According to him science belongs to God, faith to man. Church must avoid speculation and become interpreters of practical truth and propagators of faith.
In the controversy between realism and nominalism he is Nominalist. According to him concept is a natural sign, word conventional sign. Terms point at things are term of first intention, Terms points at terms are terms of second intention. Terms of science first intention, logic second intention. Metaphysical terms signify both terms of first intention and second intention. There are six metaphysical terms, being, thing, something, one, true, good. Understanding of things, not of forms produced by mind, these are not what is understood, but by that which things are understood. Universals, genus, species are concepts of many other terms, so second intention and so cannot mean things. Since one and being are convertible if a universal existed, it would be one and individual thing. a universal is a sign of many things. According to realists the universals exists in several things at once. The same thing cannot exist simultaneously in several different things. So the universal is not a thing or reality but a mere sign that serves to designate several similar things, a word. and there is nothing real except the individual.
According to Occam no common human nature really present in many individuals. The world is a world of individuals through and through; the nature is not something distinct, in reality, from its individuating characteristics. The natura absolute considerata of which Aquinas speaks, the nature regarded without reference to universality or particularity, such as human nature in itself, is nothing deserving of serious attention. Universality and individuation can be handled as purely logical problems; they attach to language and consequently to thought, and the problem of universals becomes the logical problem of the behavior of common and proper names. Occam speak of abstractive knowledge, which he contrasts with intuitive knowledge, intuitive cognition Ockham means a judgment whereby it is evident that the object exists or does not exist. Abstractive cognition would be that it is such that it provides no evident knowledge that its object exists or does not exist. Abstractive knowledge follow on intuitive cognition. Abstract knowledge expressed in judgments involving universal concepts makes no assertion with respect to factual existence; only when linked with a judgment of intuitive cognition is such a claim involved. To the problem why in abstractive cognition we form a concept of rose that is not tied down to a particular rose as known in intuitive cognition and which can be applied to many and indeed all roses, he replies that the concept fastens on to the similarity between actually existing individual roses. Now this similarity is real, and that was the fundamental motivation for the introduction of the so-called common nature, that is, the natura absolute considerata. Ockham will reply that he is not appealing to a common nature, but of course, as Aquinas' presents the solution of moderate realism, the nature is not actually common or universal in individuals; rather, the real similarity among individuals is the foundation in reality of the one nature expressed in the concept to which attaches the relation of predicability to many. Occam differ from universal realism because to him the meaning of the universal statement is the sum total of relevant judgments of individual fact. According to Occam the subject of metaphysics is being as being ,being as being is not some individual entity apart from other beings ,that being is univocal in such a way that it applies in a wholly undifferentiated way to whatever is and, of course, whatever is is an individual.
The meaning of "being" is all actual existents, and this is at the basis of his rejection of the distinction between essence and existence.
Chapter:17.Lully & Pompanaticus.
A:Raymand Lully.
He was a mystic. He was born in Majorca in 1234 and died in 1315.He is called Doctor Illuminatus. He is famous for art of thinking he invented called Ars Magna.
His art was enumeration and arrangement of various concepts which include all objects, pure categories according to which they can be determined. He constructed a diagram in circles, on which marked triangles through which circles pass. In these circles he arranged various concepts and try to give a complete catalogue of them. Some circles fixed, other movable. They were six in number, two of them indicating subjects, three predicates, while the outermost represent possible questions. For each class he had nine qualities, to indicate he chose nine letters, B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,K. Thus he wrote around the diagram nine predicates, goodness, greatness, duration, power, wisdom, volition, virtue, truth, splendour ;then nine relative predicates, diversity, unanimity, opposition, beginning, middle, end, the quality of being greater, equal, less. In the third place he set out the questions whether, what, whence, why, how great, of what nature, when, where how and wherewith, the ninth of which contain two determinations. In the forth place he put nine substances, God, angel, heaven, man, imaginativum, sensitivum, vegetativum, elementativum, instumenlativum. In the fifth place nine accidents, natural relation such as quantity, quality, relation, activity, passivity, possession, position, time, place. Sixthly nine moral relations, the virtues such as justice, prudence, courage, temperance, faith, hope, love, patience, piety and vices such as envy, wrath, inconstancy, covetousness, falsehood, gluttony, riotousness, pride, sluggishness. These circle has to be placed in certain way to give proper combinations. By turning them round according to certain rules, by which all substance receive absolute and relative predicates proper to them, it was supposed that there would be obtained in every possible combination universal science, truth, and the knowledge of concrete objects in general.
B:Petrus Pomponaticus
Petrus Pomponaticus was born at Mandua in 1462.He was professor at Padua. He is the leader of liberal peripatetic school. He died in 1525.
According to him all men cannot achieve intellectual perfection. Moral perfection does not consist in an ideal that cannot be realised on earth, but in the conscientious performance of duties imposed upon each individual by his special task. The farmer, merchant, artisan realise each according to his means the relative perfection of their nature. Absolute perfection belongs only to absolute being.
About the controversy on the immortality of soul he argues that immortality of soul is not Aristotle's philosophy. If as Aristotle teaches soul is the function o the body there can be no soul without a body. Vegetative and sensitive soul are mortal, it is only through thought and reason man partakes of immortality. The main argument for immortality is necessity of an eternal reward or punishment. But this is based on false conception of virtue and vice, reward and punishment. Virtue exercised for a reward other than itself is not virtue. An act is more meritous when it is done disinterestedly and without any hope of material benefit. There is essential reward of virtue and accidental remuneration of virtue. The essential recompense is virtue itself and the inseparable joy connected with it. Vice also carries with it's own punishment even if it is not followed by external and accidental pains. Man usually practice righteousness for reward beyond grave and abstain from sin on account of fear of hell. This only proves their moral ideas are rudimentary..
In his treatise on magic he states his disbelieve in miracles as it is suspension of natural order of things. In his treatise on fate he says if God ordains everything in advance, foresees everything then men is not free and if men is free then God does not foresee his acts and his knowledge is dependent on the creatures. According to him if there is not so much evil in world there will be no so much good.
Analysis:
We have seen that every nature is different due to predominance of spiritual, rational and passionate natures. In this sense Pomponaticus is right in saying all cannot achieve intellectual perfection.
Chapter:18.Scholestic controversial concepts.
A: Realism and Nominalism:
Realism contrasting with nominalism is the philosophy, which believes in the reality of the ideal or spiritual world. Nominalism says there are no innate ideas and ideal world has no real existence. They are mere concepts and denote the nominal relations of manifestations. Opinion differs whether Aristotle was a realist or nominalist. His remarks in metaphysics about the persistence of forms after decomposing of substance and his belief in God as unmoved mover and immortality of Active reason make it dubious his stand.. Nominalists are materialists in the sense that they do not believe in the reality of the ideal world. According to Realism the primary realities are ideas or concepts in the ideal or spiritual or intellectual world. They are the universals of which particulars are a faint copy, they are the eternal and permanent essences which give rise to temporal and changeable aspect of world. They are the reality and truth of manifestations which is only appearance and opinion. They are the passive state of being and at rest which give rise to the active state of world which is a becoming and movement. According to nomialists all there exists is the particulars and universals are only mental abstractions made from these particulars and they have no real existence.
The problem of realism and nominalism or universals and partculars first arise during the time of Plato and Aristotle. Plato believed that universals in and as the ideal world is the most real and they have real existence of their own while particulars or sense objects are less real and faint copies of the universals and have only derived existence as they participate in the ideal world. Aristotle on the other hand who consider even soul as the substantial form of body ,thinks there is no matter without form and no form without matter and both without the other is merely an abstraction.So according to Aristotle is the real is the particular things and universals are only mere concepts in the mind abstracted from the particulars.
When we come to catholic and scholastic philosophy there are two groups, Boethius, Erigena, Anslem and Aquinas are proponents of various forms of realism while Roscelin, Abelard, Scotus and Occam supported nominalism. According to Erigena universals are prior to particulars. To Roscelin universal mere names. Abelard' conceptulism also says universal mere words. According to Aquinas moderate realism while admitting universals are concept of mind from particulars nevertheless have existence in divine mind. Now this controversy has relevance which has consequences on the relevence of church. According to realism and universals catholic or universal church is not a sum of particular believers and communities but regard as a superior power, as a reality distinct and independent of the individuals in it's fold. So catholism is identical with realism. only universal is real. all individuals are fundamentally same and differs only in accidental modifications of common essence. But according to Nominalism ad particularity church has no reality ,only individuals of it, catholicism only a collection of individual convictions, original sin a mere phrase and individual and personal sin only real, God as the common essence is only a name and the only real is the three persons, father, son, and holy ghost. If the father, son and holy ghost have the same essence and if this common essence have an objective reality it means father himself became man in Christ. but this is contradicted by scripture and church so they are different essences.
Analysis:
We have seen that the plane of Absolute Spirit or universals or ideal world is the plane of one subject or one intellectual and the plurality is due to distinction of idea and the subject distinguishing himself from himself and not due to plurality of individuals or subjects. The objective aspect of this plane is energy or passive energy with maximal frequency. Now this plane gives rise to the world, as soul world, subtle world and material world which is different from ideal world by having different individualities and having temporality. Now the subject of both ideal world and different manifested world is one and the same and the the difference is due to the difference in planes and states. All these planes are real, but ideal world is the most real as it is the cause of manifested world and soul world more real than material world.. but as the ideal world is a world of non existence, devoid of individualities and separation it depends on manifestation for it's external existence. So each depends on other. The ideas depends on world for their existence and the world depends on ideas for their reality. Even though the subject is one they are distinct realities due to the distinction in the state and stage of consciousness. As the subject is one and the difference is due to the plane they are not separated by temporality but all the planes exist in the same individual. As the higher realms are more real than lower ones it is a misconception to consider higher realms contained in the lower or material body contain soul and spirit, but the truth is the higher contain the lower or spirit contain soul and soul contain body. Now as the ideal plane or spiritual plane's objective aspect is essence of energy and as it is the plane of ideas or concepts it is beyond spatio temporal dimension so space and time comes within it. Objective aspect of soul world is supra light waves (cosmic, gamma,X-ray), light waves (ultraviolet, visible, infrared), and infra light waves (TV,Micro,Radio rays), sub quarks (sub quark1,subquark2,subquark3).Here there is spatial dimension with wave lengths so the soul world comes within spiritual world.. Similarly as the objective aspect of subtle world is quarks, subatoms and atoms, and according to modern physics the spatial dimension of soul particles are vaster than these, subtle world comes within soul world. Similarly as the objective aspect of material world is molecules, compounds and bodies and the subtle particle's spatial dimension vaster than visible particles material comes within subtle world. What this mean is the common conception of spirit, soul and subtle body within the physical body is wrong and truth is the reverse of it and also the conception of ideal world ,soul world ,subtle world or the corresponding bodies existing in some other place ,spatially separated from this world or material body is also incorrect.
We can now see the difference between universals and particulars. Take the attribute life. The most real existence of life is in the ideal world of Absolute Subject as cosmic living spirit. The less real aspect is the individual and particular cosmic living being of the subtle material plane whose reality comes from the ideal plane. In the material plane in plants, animals and men this same cosmic living being constitute part of the essence of them. Here we an see that the universal is most real in ideal world ,less real in subtle world and least real in material plane where they form only part of the essence of the subject. When we look at universals like plant, animal, man we can see that genus and species are not real but only subspecies and individuals have reality in the ideal world. In the ideal world Absolute Spirit know itself as the spirits of subspecies of animals and as spirits of each and every individual man. If we take for example monkey there is neither the geunus animal nor the species monkey in ideal world but only subspecies like, Gorilla, Chimpanzee etc. The individual and particular gorillas and chimpanzees of the material world are less real and derive their reality by participating in the universal subspecies gorilla and chimpanzee existing in the ideal plane. In the case of man every individual man has reality in the ideal plane and even subspecies and groups have no reality. This means universals like monkey, man is only the conception made by the human mind and no corresponding actual reality in the ideal world.
B: Faith and Reason
Another controversy throughout medieval philosophy is the relation between faith and reason and theology and philosophy. Medieval philosophy is the period of coexistence of faith and reason. Faith give answers to many questions which reason cannot find. As a whole ancient philosophers considered their philosophy as better replacement of faith and popular religion. Christian philosopher generally do not believe their religious faith need of firm rational foundation. It is faith over reason and reason must be explained and justified within faith.
Some pre Augustine Christian thinkers believed Ancient wisdom, pagan philosophy, should be regarded as struggling toward the truth which has been revealed whole and entire, once and for all, by Christ. Christianity is the true philosophy, the telos toward which antiquity tended. According to them with the aid of philosophy the truths of faith can be approached in an effort to understand them. When they find sympathetic doctrines in pagan thinkers, they are inclined to treat these as borrowings from the Old Testament. Finally, the utility of philosophy as an instrument for interpreting the Scriptures and clarifying the nature of belief is stressed. In the medieval period there is a continuous attempt to make philosophy independent and autonomous which reaches its full clarity in Aquinas.
According to Augustine, Boethius, Erigena, Abelard, Bacon, Aquinas and Scotus reason is as valid as faith and to some in rational matters even superior to faith. They also maintain that in spiritual matters faith is above reason and true philosophy and true religion are identical. According to Anslem, Mystics Hugo &Bernard, Albert the Great, Bonaventure on the other hand maintain that faith is superior to reason.
Analysis:
When we analysis faith and reason we can see they are ultimately related to each other. They are two forms of faith. First is blind belief in authority without personal conviction. Second form of faith is due to personal conviction. This conviction is due to intuitional knowledge from the ideal world. Similarly there are two forms of reason. First is due to discursive reason which is due to part of universal mental soul (M) which analyse the truth of a thing from sense objects and this is it's objectivity and criterion of truth and falsehood. This discursive reason is above first kind of faith but inferior to second form of faith. The second form of reason is speculative or spiritual reason whose knowledge comes from not from sense objects but from the ideal world and it's criteria of certainty is existential experience. This reason is same as the second form of faith in certitude but has more clarity while the second form of faith is less clear and vague.
C: Trinity.
Christian doctrine of Trinity maintain the triune nature of God, the unity of father, son, holy ghost as three person in one godhead as one identical being and substance. Among the medievel philosophers there is difference of opinion about the nature of trinity. Augustine, Boethius and Anslem maintained that the three persons in the trinity are really one being and one substance and there is no essential difference in the nature of father, son, holy ghost. According to Boethius the difference of three person is due to relation and relation does not change the substance. On the other hand Roscelin and Abelard maintained that the three persons are three different substances. According to Abelard consider three person as the three principal attributes of God like wisdom. power etc and says there is substantial difference between the the three persons and supreme essence.
Concepts similar to trinity can be seen in Plato and Neo-Platonism.In Sufism the same idea is seen in the three eternal planes of Ahadiyath, Wahdath (also called Reality of Muhammed) and Wahidiyath.
Analysis:
Now what Plato call the idea of Good, Plotinus One and in Christianity Father is the unknowable Absolute Subject. As this plane is unknowable we cannot say it is the same substance as the other states. The Son is the Absolute Spirit of the second plane considered as the spirit of every essences. This is the One Intellectual of the Nous or ideal world in Neo Platonism. Now this state can be viewed in two different ways. One the Absolute Spirit as a separate Spirit containing all the spirits of the ideal plane, but this is not real but an abstraction. Second is Absolute Spirit as the Spirit of the most perfect essences. We have mentioned earlier that human spirits are the most perfect as it contain all the predicates. We have also seen that human spirits are also in an hierarchy where the most perfect is in whom there is maximum revelation of the Absolute and so maximum spiritual knowledge of God. In knowledge this human spirit can be compared with universal spiritual soul or first intellect which is also the first creation and all the rest emanate from this as we explained elsewhere. So the reality of Son is Absolute Spirit as this Human Spirit. Holy Ghost is Absolute Spirit as the Spirit of each and every human beings and other beings. From the above we can see that the nature of Father is different from Son and Holy Ghost and the nature of Son and Holy Ghost is one and the difference here is due to knowledge
D: Being: Existence: Essence.
Being is the main concern in ontology. Existence and essence are the constituents of being. According to Aristotle being is the underlying substance of everything which exist in itself. According to Thomas Aquinas being is not substance as substance may be real or not. According to him existence is different from essence. Essence may be real or not real and so existence is not inherent in essence. What makes essence real or being is existence. Existence is the principle (source) of being. According to him as the analogous possession of existence is that which makes substance or essence being ,being is an analogous predication. As analogous, being has not the same meaning but different meaning in different things. As being can be predicated of all things he called it transcendental. Essence is through which one has being. The relation between essence and being is potentiality to actuality. According to Scotus and Occam also being is transendental but unlike Aquinas here being and essence is same.When we come to Hegel here being is mind but implicit. According to Hegel the real nature of mind is as subject and predicates are lower form of the subject. Being as isness is the first category or predicate and here mind as subject is only implicit. Hegel also speaks of two forms of being, being in itself which is the being of all things except man and being for it self which is the being of self conscious man. Following Hegel a similar distinction is made also by Sartre. When we comes to Heidegger he speaks of two type of being. One is the Being of all beings. This is not another being like other beings but the being of beings. Here beings are beings of Being. About man Heidegger calls' being in the world' as world is his ontological structure.
So Being is defined differently by philosophers. As we explained earlier Being is used in the sense of subject with predicates. Here substance or entity itself meant by being. So here Being is Subject. This is what Parmenides, Plato, Neo-Platonists & Heidegger mean by Absolute as Being. This is also the Al Wujud (The Being) of Ibn Arabi and Mulla Sadra. Here they use the term Being for the Absolute Subject. Secondly Being is used as an attribute of the subject. This is principal predicate of the Subject. Here being is the Isness or to be of the subject and this is existence. So unlike other predicates which are unessential the idea of subject always involve it's existence. This being is existence and this being is essential to the subject and we cannot conceive the subject without existence. So whether we look at the Unknowable Subject of first plane as Being or It's Isness or existence as being both involve the idea of unknowable Subject. As in all other plane essence of subject is mind here being in the sense of subject is mind itself and being in the sense of Isness is the existence of these beings in various planes. So unlike other predicates being is as a predicate is essential to the concept of subject in all the planes. Thirdly being is used as opposed to mind or thought. Here the objective aspect of mind as manifested energy with frequency or matter or body is meant. Now when being is considered as the essence of matter and opposed to thought and consciousness it is extension. Sartre use Being in this sense opposite Consciousness in 'Being and Nothingness'. Both Descartes and Spinoza use the term extension in this sense. When used in this sense being is synonymous with material or physical and is opposite to thought. Ibn Arabi also uses being in this sense as light. Here it is the external being like Absolute World (soul, subtle and material beings). Kant also uses Being in this sense. In his Ontological proof with the illustration of the difference of 300 sovereigns in mind and in pocket he argues the difference between Thought and Being. To Kant Being is something visible and material and having external existence and it is the opposite of Thought. Now when being is used in this third sense of external existence whether soul, subtle or material existence this existence is not essential to the subject as we have seen earlier this existence in the form of manifested energy is a body of the essence or spirit in spiritual existence as Absolute Spirit. This is what Ibn Arabi means when he says 'The permanent essences have not smelt the smell of existence'.
Now we may look at the nature of being. We have seen that Being as Absolute Subject and as isness of this Subject is unknowable Essence. This is what Mulla Sadra calls Necessary Being. When we come to all other beings of the world the nature is mind ,mind as subject. This is what is called contingent being. As the essence of all these beings are mind which is non being and negativity when compared with Subject this beings are also called illusionary beings. When we look at being as opposed to mind we can see this being is nothing but knowledge or mind itself. As we explained this is the form of mind either as essence of energy or energy or matter. In all cases here being is the form of mind and is the existential or experiential aspect as either energy or matter. Now we can see unlike popular belief mind is not opposed to being. So there is no mind without being and no being without mind. Here being is the form of mind either as energy or as matter.
Existence is also defined in various ways. It is difficult to differentiate between being and existence and both are most of the times used in the same meaning. Existence is the reality of being. To exist mean to be real. Here real is not real only in the material plane but in any plane. So this is the isness of beings. We have seen that in the plane of Absolute Subject existence is essential to the Subject.So this isness is not a predicate but being itself as contrasted with non being. So what is existent is being itself. In one sense The Being is synonymous with Absolute Subject. So here The Existent is same as the The Being of first sense. Ibn Arabi, Mulla Sadra and most of the philosophers use Being and Existence as synonymous. When we comes to the second state of Absolute Spirit or spiritual plane the spirits of this plane have no individual existence as they are only specific relations and limitations of One Subject. Ibn Arabi says of this plane that 'these essences have not smelt the smell of existence'. What he mean is on the one hand here in this plane the spirits have no independent individual existence and on the other hand this plane is beyond external existence like soul, mental or material existence. So this is the plane of Spiritual Existence. The second plane is the plane of external individual existence. These are external existences like soul existence of photons and sub quarks, subtle existence of quarks, sub atoms, atoms and material existence of molecules, compounds and bodies.
Hegel Define Existence as the reflected being. So here existence becomes one of the contents of essence or predicate of the subject like being. Like being philosophers consider existence also only in the external or material sense as external existence. Ibn Arabi compare this existence with light. Now the root of this existence is the form of mind as essence of energy which becomes electro magnetic waves, sub atoms, quarks, atoms, molecules, bodies etc in the Absolute world. When we look into the nature of existence the most real existence is the unknowable essence itself. Similarly spiritual existence and existence of world is mind itself. If we look at existence only in a limited sense of some thing externally tangible and real this is matter which is the form of mind so mind itself.
Existentialists especially Heidegger use the term existence in a totally different meaning. According to Heidegger only man has existence or Dasein is Existence. Here Existence mean Man's special privilege of opening to Being. This is due to man's ontological priority as he is the only only one who can comprehend Being. This is as we explained earlier is man's spiritual plane as Absolute Spirit. According to Heidegger all other beings like plants, animals, gods is but only man exists. . Secondly according to Heidegger while in all other beings essence precede existence while in man existence precede essence. Here what Heidegger mean is prior to his essence what makes him human is his existence-his special relation to Being as opening to Being and belonging together of Being and Dasein. This is what we explained as man's capability of enlightenment or self realisation To Sartre also Existence is very important because like Heidegger he also says that man is the only being who is conscious of his own existence. Here man's nature of self consciousness where he can transcend all beings and can be conscious of his own being and others being is implied by this statement. According to Sartre also Existence precede essence but not in Heideggerian sense. According to Sartre in all other beings like plants, animals, etc essence precede existence but in man existence precede essence. This is because according to Sartre consciousness is nothingness so without any definite content so essence is not fixed and man is absolutely free to make his essence out of his existence. We have seen that this is a false notion because as spirit every man has a fixed determination and a unique essence and life is nothing but actualisation of this potentiality.
Now we comes to the third term, The Essence. Essence is the permanent predicates or attributes of a subject by which the subject is what it is. Unlike transient predicates or accidents, lose of which does not lose in identity lose of these permanent predicates result in lose of identity of essence. We have seen that essence and existence are the constituents of being. In the definition of essence also there is wide variation between philosophers. The Essence is used to denote the Unknowable Subject of first plane so in this sense it is synonymous with Absolute Subject. Ibn Arabi uses The Essence (Al Dhat) in this sense. Ibn Arabi also uses the term permanent essences (Ayan al tabitah) for the spirits in the second eternal spiritual plane. Plato use form contrasted with matter as essences. This is the famous platonic ideas or archetypes which are the same essences of the spiritual plane. According to Hegel Essence is reflected Being or Mediated Being. So in the stage of essence there is an internal and an external aspect. Here being is the shadow of the essence. Most of the philosophers use the term essence for the specific contents of a being irrespective of it's existence. So we can conceive essence in two ways. one is the essence of being in itself and the second is when the same essence of a being is reflected by another or as concepts. In the first sense essence always include being or existence as one of its contents this is because essence is nothing but the totality of the predicates and being or existence is the isness and principle predicate of the subject or subject itself. But when making concepts the essence does not include existence or being in itself but only has the imaginary or mental existence provided by the concept making subject.
There is a long history of principality of essence and existence. Some maintain that existence precede essence and others essence precede existence. According to Thomas Aquinas Existence is the principle that gives reality to an essence. Essences have no being or existence in their nature and when the predicate existence added to it essence becomes real. According to Averroes (Ibn Rushd) existence precede essence and anything that can exist in the world really have existence and existence is not a predicate added to the essence. To Sufis and Masha'is ( muslim peripatetic) existence is primary and essence (mahiyat) is secondary or accidental to it. According to this view existence have external reality and essence is mental abstraction made from being. Mulla Sadra's philosophy is principality, unity and gradation of being. According to him being is the reality of all planes with only difference in grades and intensity. Various beings of the world are limitations of one Being. Essences are not real but mental abstractions of this limitations of being. Another philosophy which advocate the precedence of existence over essence is Existentialism. As we already explained Heidegger gives a totally different meaning to existence than the usual traditionally accepted meaning. According to him only man exists while all other beings like plants, animals and even gods are only 'is'. Here existence means transcending all other beings and the ability to comprehend their being and the capacity to question the meaning of being. This is due to man's unique ontological structure of openness to Being and belonging together of man and Being. This as we explained is the spiritual nature of man as Absolute Spirit which makes him capable of realisation or enlightenment. Sartre also says existence precede essence but here the meaning is entirely different. According to Sartre in all other beings essence precede existence but in man existence precede essence. All other beings comes into existence with their essence like plants and animals but man makes his essential nature after existence. According to Sartre consciousness is nothingness so there is no permanent essence in man and he makes his own essence by taking responsibility for his life and avoiding bad faith. We have explained that this is a false notion as every individual is unique and has his own essence and life is nothing but making of this potential state into actuality..
According to Avicenna (Ibn Sina) essence precede existence. As we can conceive any essence without it having reality existence is secondary to essence. According to him essence from it's potential state to actual existence is made by God who is the necessarily existent. Suhravardi also says existence have no external reality and it is only a mental abstraction made from objects which are essences. According him existence is neither substance nor accident so it has no reality.
Analysis:
We have seen that essence and existence are constituents of being. We have explained that being or existence in the first and second sense is subject itself and not a predicate of the subject. Essence is totality of the predicates which gives being it's specific nature of being so it is a plane of being itself and this means essence always include existence. We have seen that the Absolute Sprit in the second eternal state as permanent essences also involves the idea of spiritual existence. But as we have explained earlier they have neither individual being or existence nor external existence in the world.. Like this the essences of soul plane, subtle plane and material plane are also beings and include the corresponding existence. Now when we human beings make imagination or concepts of material or spiritual objects these essences have objective beings or existence only if our thoughts corresponds with the cosmic mind or imagination. So in unrealised man these concepts or essences have no objective existence but only the particular mental existence of the individual.
We have seen that there is a controversy among philosophers About the primacy of Being and Essence. The peripatetic (mashshayyah) argued that Being is primary (Asalat al Wujud) and essence or quiddity is only a mental abstraction or accident. They also maintained that the beings of everything is different in essence from the beings of others so there are difference in beings.. According to them there are different beings. Mulla Sadra also of the view of primacy of being but differs from them in maintaining that there is only one Being. Against this view illuminationists (ishraqiya) maintain the primacy of Essence (Asalat al Mahiyyah) and being or existence as an accident.
This controversy can be resolved from the philosophy of Ibn Arabi when we see as explained above essence as a grade of being. Now what Mulla Sadra and Ibn Arabi calls Al Wujud (The Being) is the Absolute Subject itself. We have seen that at the first plane this is Absolute Subject. Now all the succeeding planes are the descends of this Subject or Being in Knowledge so all the planes are this Being Himself. So there is only one Being or Subject which only differs in its intensity in various planes of this being like spiritual being, soul being, mental being ,imaginal being or material being. This is what Mulla Sadra mean by gradation of being (Tashkik al Wujud). When we comes to the second spiritual state of first plane-that of Absolute Spirit ,from the primacy of Being view this is the same Absolute Subject of the first plane with less intensification of being as permanent essences. This is the state where mind as subject so the essence or nature of this subject or being is mind and the form of this mind is as essence of energy. Here both mind and it's form are in most abstract We have explained that at this spiritual plane these essences are the specific and particular relations of the subject with his predicates. So at this plane there is differences in essences but the Being or Spirit is one in all. So these essences are also a grade of Being. Now all the succeeding stages in the second plane (soul, mental, imaginal, material) the essences are the same as the second state spiritual essences but the differences is only due to the gradation or intensity of Subject or Being in different planes having the least intensity of subject or being in material plane. So in Soul world the mind is more concrete than spiritual plane and the form energy with less frequency and sub quarks -in subtle world the mind even more concrete and the form as quarks, sub atom and atoms and in material world mind most concrete and the form gross with elements and visible matter. So the essences are different because each spirit or divine name is unique in the spiritual plane but there is only one Being or Spirit or Subject which only differs in in intensity in each plane. Those who argue about the primacy of Being consider the entities in all these planes as Being so it is the same as their essences in these planes. If we view the Absolute spirit of eternal spiritual plane as multiple essences or spirits which have no existence in the sense of individual beings or external existence this is the view held by those of primacy of Essences. Here by existence they do not mean spiritual existence but external existence. But when human beings make conceptions of them it is apparent that these neither correspond to their essences in those planes nor to their being. So these essences as conceptions have no objective being and here being or existence is a subjective conception.
Chapter:1.Introduction.
There are many differences in the culture of medieval and modern period. The mental out look of modern period differ from medieval in many ways but the two of the most important are diminished authority of church and increased authority of science. Emancipation from the authority of church gave rise to individualism. The main feature of modern philosophy is it's individualistic and subjective character. First there is Italian renaissance which broke scholastic system. . Struggle against scholasticism mainly aroused from the conviction opposed to the principle of scholasticism There prevailed the idea that what might be true dogmatically may be false or in the eye of reason and this increase gradually. As a result a struggle for grater independence of philosophic investigations prevailed. Secondly this was the period of revival of letters. The revival of classic literature contributed prominently to the change in the spirit of the age. By Greek scholars and due to discovery of printing classics were widely circulated. It replaced partially Aristotle and placed Plato as the philosopher. Thirdly there was German reformation which is thinking spirit's break with authority and return of mind from self estrangement to itself. From without mind come back to within, to subjective conviction. Then beginning with 16th century there was starting up of natural sciences and inductive method in science. The scientific discoveries of men born in 16th century like Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo enhanced the modern movement.
Chapter:2.Niccola Machiavelli.
Machiavelli was born in Florentine, Italy in1467.His father was lawyer. He was in government service from 1498-1512.His main works are prince written in 1513 and discourses. He died in 1527.Machiavelli is influenced and is the product of renaissance. The moral and political anarchy of fifteenth century gave rise to his doctrine. He bases his doctrine on scientific and empirical grounds. He is an important name in political philosophy
Machiavelli consider liberty as something precious. Political liberty is in need of kind of personal virtue in citizens. He consider power as legitimate on biblical grounds but it is only for those who are skilled to seize it in free competition. His preference for popular government is not from the idea of rights but according to him they are less cruel, unscrupulous and inconstant than tyrannies. In political goods three are most important, national independence, security, well ordered constitution. The best constitution is where princes, nobles and people have proportionate legal power according to their real power. According to him princes ,nobles and people each must have a part in constitution so these reciprocally keep each other in check. In this case revolutions are difficult and stability is possible. Giving more power to people is best for stability.
According to Machiavelli if the end is good we must pursue any means. Means can also be considered and applied scientifically without viewing good or bad end. Success means achievement of our purpose. If there is a science of success it can be used for both good and bad ends. To achieve political end power of some kind is necessary. This fact is only concealed by slogans such as 'right will prevail' and the 'triumph of evil is short lived'. If right prevails it is due to superior power. Power usually depends on opinion, and opinion on propaganda. It is advantageous in propaganda to be virtuous in people's view so sometimes victory goes to those whom people consider virtuous. According to him religion must have a prominent place in society not because he believes in it's inherent good or truth but for social stability. He says ruler will perish if he is always good. He must be as cunning as fox and as fierce as lion. A prince must be faithful only when it pays other wise he can be faith less. Prince must pretend to be religious to convince the citizens.. Civilized men are unscrupulous egoists. Politician behave better when the people are virtuous than when they are indifferent to morals. They also behave better in the society where their deeds are exposed than where they are censored. A certain favorable position can be achieved by hypocrisy but they are diminished by suitable institutions. In his ethics he place eminent man in an ethical hierarchy. The best and at the top are founders of religions, next comes founders of monarchies and republic, then literary man. These are are the good ones. Bad are destroyer of religions, subverters of nations and enemies of virtues and letters. According to him tyrants are the wicked.
Analysis:
The defect of Machiavelli's political philosophy is here nation and government are not seen as a stage in the development of Absolute Spirit as National Spirit but viewed from the particular interest of the individuals without any concern for the universal end. When the end is universal there is no conflict between means and ends.
Chapter:3.Erasmus
Erasmus was born at Rotterdam in 1466 and died in 1536..His father was a priest and parents died in his childhood. Erasmus and Thomas More were close friends. both despised scholastic philosophy. He made vast collection of Latin and Greek proverb. He wrote a book 'colloquies' to teach people how to talk Latin in everyday matters. His main work is 'the praise of folly'.
The book is a speech of folly with herself. She says with out her the human race cannot exist as marriage itself is folly. Marriage is the antidote to wisdom.. One cannot be happy without flattery or self love, but that kind of happiness is also folly. The happiest men are those who are nearest the brutes and divest themselves of reason. The best happiness is that which is based on delusion, since it costs least. It is easier to imagine oneself a king than to make oneself a king in reality. Erasmus proceeds to make fun of national pride and of professional conceit. Almost all professors of the arts and sciences are egregiously conceited, and derive their happiness from their conceit.
Erasmus also criticise ecclesiastical practices like pardons and indulgences ,worship of saints, disputes of theologians about trinity, incarnation, doctrine of transubstantiation etc. He also attacks scholastic sects, popes, cardinal, bishops etc. He attack monastic orders as brainsick fools who have little religion, but only love themselves and admires of their own happiness. Popes are also criticised because they are not imitating their master Jesus in humility and poverty.
Chapter:4.Sir Thomas More.
More was born in 1478-1535).He was humanist but also deeply religious. His father was lawyer. He was convicted of treason and beheaded in 1535. His main work is Utopia.(1518).
Utopia is an island in southern hemisphere. Here everything done in the best possible way. This island is accidentally visited by a sailor named Raphael Hythloday, who spent five years there and return to Europe and describe it. In utopia like Plato's republic the there is only communal social life, and according to More, with private property public good cannot flourish and without communism there can be no equality.
There are in Utopia fifty-four towns, all on the same plan, except that one which is the capital. All the streets are twenty feet broad, and all the private houses are exactly alike, with one door onto the street and one onto the garden. There are no locks on the doors, and every one may enter any house. The roofs are flat. Every tenth year people change houses, apparently to prevent any feeling of ownership. In the country, there are farms, each containing not fewer than forty persons, including two bondmen. Each farm is under the rule of a master and mistress, who are old and wise. All are dressed alike, except that there is a difference between the dress of men and women, and of married and unmarried. The fashions never change, and no difference is made between summer and winter clothing. At work, leather or skins are worn; a suit will last seven years. When they stop work, they throw a woolen cloak over their working clothes. All these cloaks are alike, and are the natural colour of wool. Each family makes its own clothes. Everybody, men and women alike works six hours a day, three before dinner and three after. All go to bed at eight, and sleep eight hours. In the early morning there are lectures, to which multitudes go, although they are not compulsory. After supper an hour is devoted to play. Six hours' work is enough, because there are no idlers and there is no useless work; with the world out side, it is said, women, priests, rich people, servants, and beggars, mostly do nothing useful, and owing to the existence of the rich much labour is spent in producing unnecessary luxuries; all this is avoided in Utopia. Sometimes, it is found that there is a surplus, and the magistrates proclaim a shorter working day for a time. Some men are elected to become men of learning, and are exempted from other work while they are found satisfactory. All who are concerned with government are chosen from the learned. The government is a representative democracy, with a system of indirect election; at the head is a prince who is elected for life, but can be deposed for tyranny.
Family life is patriarchal; married sons live in their father's house, and are governed by him, unless he is in his dotage. If any family grows too large, the surplus children are moved into another family. If a town grows too large, some of the inhabitants are moved into another town. If all the towns are too large, a new town is built on waste land. All killing of beasts for food is done by bondmen, lest free citizens should learn cruelty. There are hospitals for the sick, which are so excellent that people who are ill prefer them. Eating at home is permitted, but most people eat in common halls. Here the "vile service" is done by bondmen, but the cooking is done by women and the waiting by the older children. Men sit at one bench, women at another; nursing mothers, with children underfive, are in a separate parlour. All women nurse their own children. Children over five, if too young to be waiters, "stand by with marvelous silence," while their elders eat; they have noseparate dinner, but must be content with such scraps as are given them from the table. As for marriage, both men and women are sharply punished if not virgin when they marry; and the householder of any house in which misconduct has occurred is liable to incur infamy for carelessness. Before marriage, bride and groom see each other naked; no one would buy a horse without first taking off the saddle and bridle, and similar considerations should apply in marriage. There is divorce for adultery or "intolerable waywardness" of either party, but the guilty party cannot remarry. Sometimes divorce is granted solely because both parties desire it. Breakers of wedlock are punished by bondage
There is foreign trade, chiefly for the purpose of getting iron, of which there is none in the island. Trade is used also for purposes connected with war. The Utopians think nothing of martial glory, though all learn how to fight, women as well as men. They resort to war for three purposes: to defend their own territory when invaded; to deliver the territory of an ally from invaders; and to free an oppressed nation from tyranny. But whenever they can, they get mercenaries to fight their wars for them. They aim at getting other nations into their debt, and letting them work off the debt by supplying mercenaries. For war purposes also they find a store of gold and silver useful, since-they can use it to pay foreign mercenaries. For themselves, they have no money, and they teach contempt for gold by using it for chamber pots and the chains of bondmen. Pearls and diamonds are used as ornaments for infants, but never for adults. When they are at war, they offer large rewards to any one who will kill the prince of the enemy country, and still larger rewards to anyone who will bring him alive, or to himself if he yields himself up. They pity the common people among their enemies, "knowing that they be driven and enforced to war against their wills by the furious madness of their princes and heads." Women fight as well as men, but no one is compelled to fight. "Engines for war they devise and invent wondrous wittily." It will be seen that their attitude to war is more sensible than heroic, though they display great courage when necessary.
As for ethics, they are too much inclined to think that felicity consists in pleasure. This view, however, has no bad consequences, because they think that in the next life the good are rewarded and the wicked punished. They are not ascetic, and consider fasting silly. There are many religions among them, all of which are tolerated. Almost all believe in God and immortality; the few who do not are not accounted citizens, and have no part in political life, but are otherwise unmolested. Some holy men eschew meat and matrimony; they are thought holy, but not wise. Women can be priests, if they are old and widowed. The priests are few; they have honour, but no power. Bondmen are people condemned for heinous offenses, or foreigners who have been condemned to death in their own countries, but whom the Utopians have agreed to take as bondmen. In the case of a painful incurable disease, the patient is advised to commit suicide, but is carefully tended if he refuses to do so. Raphael Hythloday relates that he preached Christianity to the Utopians, and that many were converted when they learnt that Christ was opposed to private property. The importance of communism is constantly stressed;
Analysis:
It is true that if the utopia is realised on earth it will be a perfect state. We have earlier mentioned that every human being is unique and the hierarchy of human beings are depending on knowledge. One in whom knowledge is greater the divine principle is more apparent than another even though the same divine essence is in all beings. The equality of all beings are due to the equality of divine essence in all and the difference of humans from other beings are due to his synthetic nature of containing all the predicates and the hierarchy of men are due to hierarchy of knowledge. So intrinsically every one is not equal but all are equal before the law and all are subjected to the same law without any distinction. We have seen that civic society and nations are the self actualisation of the Absolute Spirit in different stages. In individual in the society this self actualisation is concerned with the actualisation of his potentialities and capacities. self realisation is synonymous with absolute freedom. Not only the end but the means also must have freedom. self actualisation is cannot be brought about by coercion but comes out of one's own free will. Restrictions like abolition of private property will diminish the chances of self actualisation which is the ultimate aim of human life. The alternative to public property is in a democracy strict measures can be implemented to make unequal distribution and amassing of wealth difficult.
Chapter:5.Giordano Bruno.
Bruno was born at Nola near Naples in 1548.At a young age he joined Dominican order. While returning back form a long journey to Italy he was arrested at Venice by order of the Inquisition, imprisoned for two years, and then burnt at the stake in Rome in1600.
Bruno was the first philosopher of 16th century to accept the heliocentric system. According to him Aristotle's spheres and division of world are only imagination. Space has no limits and there is no barrier separating our world from extra mundane world of angels and supreme being. The fixed stars are so many suns, surrounded by planets, which, in turn, are accompanied by satellites. The earth is a mere planet, and does not occupy a central and privileged place in the heavens. The same may be said of our sun, for the universe is a system of solar systems. Bruno's philosophy is poetic pantheism. According to Bruno one living Being, one World-Soul is the life of all. Like stoic he believed world is a living being and a world soul penetrates it all. the reason is the inner artist who shapes the matter and manifests himself in the form of the universe. Everything is arranged, adjusted and perfected within. So the universe is thus an infinite animal, in which all things live and move and have their being in most diverse modes and forms.
If the universe is infinite there cannot be two infinites so the world and God is one and the same being. Bruno distinguishes between the universe and world. God, the infinite Being, or the Universe, is the principle or the eternal cause of the world: natura naturata; the world is the totality of his effects or phenomena: natura naturata. It would, he thinks, be atheism to identify God with the world, for the world is merely the sum of individual beings, and a sum is not a being, but a mere phrase. But to identify God with the universe is not to deny him; on the contrary, it is to magnify him; it is to extend the idea of the supreme Being far beyond the limits assigned to him by those who conceive him as a being by the side of other beings, i.e., as a finite being. The universe, unbegotten Nature, is everything which it can be in reality and at one time, because it includes in itself the whole of matter, as well as the eternal, unchangeable form of its changing forms. But in its developments from moment to moment, as manifested nature, its particular parts, qualities, individual existences, in its externality as a whole, it is no more what it is and may be; but a part such as this is only a shadow of the image of the first principle. In the universe the body is not distinguished from the point, nor the centre from the circumference, nor the finite from the infinite, nor the maximum from the minimum. There is nothing but centre point; or the centre point is everywhere and in everything.
God of Bruno is not the creator but soul of world, not the transcendent but immanent cause, the inner and permanent cause of things; he is both the material and formal principle which produces, organizes, and governs them from within outwardly: in a word, their eternal substance. The beings which Bruno distinguishes by the words "universe" and "world," natura naturans and natura naturata, really constitute but one and the same thing, considered sometimes from the realistic standpoint (in the medićval sense), sometimes from the nominalistic standpoint. The universe, which contains and produces all things, has neither beginning nor end; the world (that is, the beings which it contains and produces) has a beginning and an end. The conception of nature and of necessary production takes the place of the notion of a creator and free creation. Freedom and necessity are synonymous; being, power, and will constitute in God but one and the same indivisible act.The creation of the world does not in any way modify the God-universe, the eternally-identical, immutable, incommensurable, and incomparable Being. By unfolding himself, the infinite Being produces a countless number of genera, species, and individuals, and an infinite variety of cosmical laws and relations (which constitute the life of the universe and the phenomenal world), without himself becoming a genus, species, individual, or substance, or subjecting himself to any law, or entering into any relations. He is an absolute and indivisible unity, having nothing in common with numerical unity; he is in all things, and all things are in him. In him every existing thing lives, moves, and has its being. He is present in the blade of grass, in the grain of sand, in the atom that floats in the sunbeam, as well as in the boundless All, - that is, he is omnipresent, because he is indivisible. The substantial and natural omnipresence of the infinite Being both explains and destroys the dogma of his supernatural presence in the consecrated host, which the ex-Dominican regards as the corner-stone of Christianity. Because of this real all-presence of the infinite One, everything in nature is alive; nothing can be destroyed; death itself is but a transformation of life. The merit of the Stoics consists in their having recognized the world as a living being. Bruno sometimes calls the Infinite, the Universe, or God, matter. It is inextended, i. e., immaterial in its essence, and does not receive its being from a positive principle outside of itself (the form); it is, on the contrary, the real source of all forms; it contains them all in germ, and produces them in succession, here something that is changed into all things, and yet remains substantially the same. Hence, matter alone seems to be stable and eternal, and deserves to be called a principle. Being absolute, it includes all forms and all dimensions, and evolves out of itself the infinite variety of forms in which it appears. When we say a thing dies, we mean that a new thing has been produced; the dissolution of a combination means the formation of a new one. Relation of reason to matter is as form and matter, actuality and potentiality, neither is without the other. the form is the inner impelling might of matter and matter as unimoited possibility as capability of infinite diversity of forms is the mother of all forms. Bruno distinguishes form and matter in substance not as two separate things but two aspect of one and same thing, and this substance as the activity of the Idea, is the unity of form and matter; thus matter has life in itself. The permanent element in the endless changes of existence is the first and absolute matter; although without form, it is nevertheless the mother of all forms, and receptive of all forms. Because matter is not without the first universal form, it is itself principle or in itself final cause. Form is immanent in matter; the one simply cannot exist without the other; thus matter itself brings about these changes of form, and the same matter runs through them all. Matter is to be regarded as potentiality.
First there is the pure truth itself, the absolute light, Absolute Being itself, which alone is the One and First. This Being is beyond man. Man rests only under the shadow of the Idea, whose purity is the light, but which at the same time partakes of the darkness. The light of substance emanates from this pure First Light, the light of accident emanates from the light of substance. This absolute principle in its unity is for Bruno the first matter, and the first act of this principle he names the original light. But substances and accidents, which are many, cannot receive the full light, they are therefore only included in the shadow of the light; in like manner the ideas also are only shadows thereof. The development of Nature goes on from moment to moment; created things are only a shadow of the first principle, not the first principle itself. From this super-essential, the First, advance is made to the essences, from the essences to that which is, from that which is to their traces, images and shadows. Things withdraw themselves from the First Light towards the darkness. But since all things in the universe are in close connection, the lower with the middle, and those with the upper, the compound with the simple, the simple with those which are more simple, the material with the spiritual, in order that there may be one universe, one order and government of the same, one principle and aim, one first and last; so the lower can be led back step by step to the higher, as fire was condensed and transformed into air, air into water, water into earth. Thus One Being is in all. The diversity of shadows is no real opposition. In the same conception the opposites are known, the beautiful and the ugly, the appropriate and the inappropriate, the perfect and the imperfect, the good and the evil. Imperfection, evil, ugliness, do not rest upon special ideas of their own; they become known in another conception, not in one peculiar to themselves, which is nothing. The first understanding is the original light; it streams its light out of the innermost to the outermost, and draws it again from the outermost to itself. Every Being can, according to its capacity, appropriate somewhat of this light. The real element in things is just that which is intelligible, not that which is perceived or felt, or what peculiar to the individual; whatever else is termed real, the sensuous, is non-Being. The pure light of things is nothing but this knowableness, which proceeds from the first understanding and is directed towards it. What is here contrast and diversity, is in the first understanding harmony and unity. Through the idea which is in the understanding a better conception of anything will be formed than by means of the form of the natural thing in itself, because this last is more material: but that conception is reached in a supreme degree through the idea of the object as it exists in the divine understanding. The differences which are here given, are therefore no differences at all . but all is harmony.
The main endeavor of Bruno was to represent the All and One as a system of classes of regular determinations. He specifies the three spheres: First, the original form as the originator of all forms; secondly, the physical world, which impresses the traces of the Ideas on the surface of matter, and multiplies the original picture in countless mirrors set face to face; thirdly, the form of the rational world, which individualizes numerically for the senses the shadows of the Ideas, brings them into one, and raises them to general conceptions for the understanding.
The human soul is the highest evolution of cosmical life. It springs from the substance of all things through the action of the same force that produces an ear from a grain of wheat. All beings whatsoever are both body and soul: all are living monads, reproducing, in a particular form, the Monad of monads, or the God-universe. Corporeality is the effect of an outward movement or the expansive force of the monad; in thought the movement of the monad returns upon itself. This double movement of expansion and concentration constitutes the life of the monad. The latter lasts as long as the backward and forward motion producing it, and dies as soon as this ceases; but it disappears only to arise again, in a new form, soon after. The evolution of the living being may be described as the expansion of vital centre; life, as the duration of the sphere; death, as the contraction of the sphere and its return to the vital centre whence it sprang. Bruno considers thinking as a subjective art and activity of the soul, representing inwardly and in accordance with the ordinary conception, as it were through an inward writing, what Nature represents externally, as it were, through an outward writing. Thinking, is the capability both of receiving into one’s self this external writing of nature and of imagining and substantiating the inward writing in the outward. This art of thinking inwardly and organizing outwardly in accordance with the same, and the capacity to reverse the process, an art possessed by the soul of man Bruno places in the closest connection with the art of the nature of the universe, with the energy of the absolute World-principle, by means of which all is formed and fashioned .It is one form which develops; it is the same world-principle which causes form in metals, plants and animals, and which in man thinks and organizes outside himself, only that it expresses itself in its operations in an endlessly varied manner throughout the entire world. Inwardly and outwardly there is consequently one and the same development of one and the same principle.
As the synthesis of monism and atomism, idealism and materialism, speculation and observation, it is the common source of modern ontological doctrines.
Analysis:
The division of reality into universe and world is what we called the ideal world of Absolute Spirit and manifested Absolute World. The plane of Absolute World is eternal and gives rise to the temporal world. The Absolute Spirit is the subject of all beings. About matter and form as two aspect of one and the same as we explained there is only mind and ideas are the subjective aspect and essence of energy or matter is the objective aspect of mind.
Chapter:6.Jacob Boehme
He was born in old Seidenburg, Lusatia, in Germany in 1575. His parents were poor peasants. At an early age he becomes apprentice to a cobbler. Settled in1594 himself as Cobbler. He had no formal instruction. From youth onwards he was accustomed to receive illuminations and revelations and was given knowledge of reality thorough these visions. He died in 1624..
The philosophy of Boehme is theosophic mysticism. His main work is Aurora. According to him If we desire to be a philosopher and to fathom the nature of God and the nature of things, first pray to God for the Holy Ghost, who is in God and in nature. Aided by the Holy Spirit, we can penetrate even into the body of God, who is nature and into the essence of the holy Trinity: for the Divine Spirit dwells in the whole of nature as the human spirit dwells in the body of man.
In the Aurora, the “Root or Mother of Philosophy, Astrology and Theology,” he gives a method of division in which he places these sciences in proximity. In Philosophy divine power is treated of, what God is, and how in the Being of God, nature, stars, and Elementa are constituted; whence all things have their origin, what is the nature of heaven and earth, as also of angels, men and devils, heaven and hell and all that is creaturely, likewise what the two qualities in nature are, and this is dealt with out of a right ground in the knowledge of spirit, by the impulse and motion of God. In astrology the powers of nature, of the stars and elements, are treated of, and how all creatures proceed from them, how evil and good are through them effected in men and animals. In theology the kingdom of Christ is dealt with, as also its nature, and how it is set in opposition to hell, and how in nature it wars with the kingdom of darkness.
The first principle is God the Father; this first is at once divided in itself and there is unity of both its parts .He is the Darkness and the Light, Love and Anger, Fire and Light, but He calls Himself God only as to the light of His love. He speaks of this God being simple essence. This simple essence he calls the hidden; and he therefore names it the Temperamentum, this unity of what is different, in which all is tempered. He also call it great salitter which is the unrevealed existence, just as the Neo-Platonic unity is without knowledge of itself and likewise unrecognized.
This first substance contains all powers or qualities as not yet separated. He is an All-mighty, All-wise, All-knowing, All-seeing, All-hearing, All-smelling, All-tasting God, who in Himself is meek, friendly, gracious, merciful, and full of joy, yea Joy itself. He calls the Father all power, he distinguishes these as the seven first originating spirits,the seven planets signify the seven spirits of God or the princes of the angels. But they are in the Father as one unity,
The virtues of the stars are nature itself. Everything in this world proceeds from the stars. If the whole circumference of the stars is considered, we soon find that this is the mother of all things, or the nature from which all things have arisen and in which all things stand and live, and through which all things move. And all things are formed from these same powers and remain eternally therein
The distinguishing of self from the non self is the essential determination of spirit, so God so far as God to be apprehended as spirit. God is living spirit only at the time and degree in which he conceives the distinction within himself from himself and is in this distinction object and consciousness. The great expansion without end need limitation and contraction and a compass in which it may manifest itself. It cannot be said that the whole God is one in will and essence, there is a distinction. nothing becomes manifest to itself without resistance Neither knowledge nor consciousness is possible without distinction, opposition or duplication. A thing becomes an object of consciousness only through something else, only through it's own opposition identical with it's own being. So there is this second principle as the Word, the Separator, Revelation. God as the simple absolute existence is not God absolutely; in Him nothing can be known What we know is something different, but this “different” is itself contained in God as the perception and knowledge of God. Boehme says that a separation must have taken place in this temperament. “No thing can become manifest to itself without opposition; for if it has nothing to withstand it, it always goes forward on its own account and does not go back within itself. But if it does not go back into itself as into that from which it originally arose, it knows nothing of its original state. Had the hidden God who is one solitary existence and will not of His own will brought Himself out of Himself, out of the eternal knowledge in the Temperamento, into divisibility of will, and introduced this same element of divisibility into an inclusiveness. The commencement of all Beings is the Word as the breath of God, and God has become the eternal One of eternity and likewise remains so in eternity. The Word is the eternal beginning and remains so eternally, for it is the revelation of the eternal One through and by which the divine power is brought into one knowledge of somewhat. By the Word we understand the revealed will of God: by the Word we mean God the hidden God, from whom the Word eternally springs forth. The Word is the efflux of the divine One, and yet God Himself as His revelation. The son is generated from all the powers of father eternally. For if the Son did not shine in the Father, the Father would be a dark valley; for the Father's power would not rise from eternity to eternity, and so the divine Being would not subsist. This separator is constituted the steward of nature, by whom the eternal will rules, makes, forms and constitutes all things. This Separator deduces qualities from itself, from which the infinite manifold arises, and through which the eternal One makes itself perceptible. In Yes and No all things consist, whether divine, devilish, earthy. The one as Yes is simple energy and love, and is the truth of God and God himself. but this is inconceivable and there is no delight no importance nor sensibility without No. There is nothing in the one or Yes which is an occasion for willing until the one becomes duplicated or No and so there can be no sensation in unity ,only in duality. The One as the Yes is pure power and life, and it is the truth of God or God Himself. He would be unknowable in Himself, and in Him there would be no joy nor elevation, nor feeling, life, without the No. The No is a counter-stroke of the Yes, or of the truth” (this negativity is the principle of all knowledge, comprehension), “that the truth may be manifest and be a something wherein there is a contrarium in which there is the eternal love, moving, feeling, and willing, and demanding to be loved. And yet we cannot say that the Yes is separated from the No, and that they are two things in proximity; for they are only one thing, but they separate themselves into two beginnings and make two centra, where each works and wills in itself. Without those two, which are continually in strife, all things would be a nothing, and would stand still without movement. If the eternal will did not itself flow from itself and introduce itself into receptibility, there would be no form nor distinction, for all powers would” then “be one power. From this eternal operation of the sensation the visible world sprang; the world is the Word which has flowed forth and has disposed itself into qualities, since in qualities the particular will has arisen. The world is none other than the essence of God made creaturely
At the source of thing is duality which he call gentleness and sternness, sweetness and bitterness ,evil and good. Every living things contain these contraries, only dead things are indifferent, like neither good or evil. This conflict between two contraries reconciled in death in all beings without exception, man angels and even God. God is the essence of all beings. God without the son is a will that desire nothing, because it is everything and has everything, a will without motive, love without object, a powerless power, a blind essence without intelligence or life, light without brightness, sun without rays, a nothingness. God the father and the son is the living God, the concrete spirit, the perfect being. The son is the self centered infinity, the heart of the father, the torch that illuminates the boundlessness of divine being. the body of god is the totality of forms in heaven and earth. this mysterious nature which lives ,feels, dies and again is revived in us The opposition which constitute the essence of God and all beings is not the primordial being. It comes from unity. the son which comes from the father is a secondary being. First nature then mind. First will without object or self consciousness, then conscious will.
The third principle in these threefold forms is the unity of the light, of the separator and power: this is the spirit, The Light of the Son is in the Deep of the Father a living, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-hearing, all-seeing, all-smelling, all-tasting, all-feeling Spirit, wherein is all power, splendour, and wisdom, as in the Father and the Son. There is no place, either in heaven or in this world, where the divine birth is not. The birth of the divine Trinity likewise takes place in your own heart; all three persons are generated in your heart, God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. In the divine power everywhere we find the fountain spring of the divine birth; and there already are all the seven qualifying or fountain spirits of God. In every spirit all are contained. To Boehme this trinity is the complete universal life in each individual. All things in this world are according to the similitude of this ternary. According to him everything in nature contain the likeness of holy ternary in God. The fundamental idea in Boehme is the effort to comprise everything in an absolute unity, for he desires to demonstrate the absolute divine unity and the union of all opposites in God. He perceive the holy Trinity in everything. and recognizing everything as its revelation and manifestation, so that it is the universal principle in which and through which everything exists; in such a way that all things have this divine Trinity in themselves, not as a Trinity pertaining to the ordinary conception, but as the real Trinity of the absolute Idea. Everything that exists is this three-fold alone, and this three-fold is everything. To him the universe is thus one divine life and revelation of God in all things. He says to observe in our heart, in our veins, and in our brain, we have our spirit; and all the powers which move in our heart, in our veins, and in our brain, wherein our life consists, signify God the Father. From that power springs up our light, so that we sees, understands, and knows in the same power what we art to do; for that light glimmers in our whole body; and the whole body moves in the power and knowledge of the light; this is the Son which is born in you. This light, this seeing and understanding, is the second principle; it is the relationship to itself. “Out of your light goes forth into the same power, reason, understanding, skill, and wisdom, to govern the whole body, and to distinguish all whatsoever is externally without the body. And both these are but one in the government of your mind, viz. your spirit, which signifies God the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost from God rules in this spirit in you, if you are a child of light and not of darkness. In either wood, stone, or herbs there are three things contained, neither can anything be generated or grow, if but one of the three should be left out. First, there is the power, from which a body comes to be, whether wood, stone, or herbs; after that there is in that” thing “a sap which is the heart of the thing. And thirdly there is in it a springing, flowing power, smell, or taste, which is the spirit of the thing whereby it grows and increases. Now if any of these three fail, the thing cannot subsist. Thus Boehme regards everything as this ternary.
The creature. has three kinds of powers or Spirit in different Centis, but in one body. The first and external spirit is the coarse sulphur, salt and mercury, which is a substance of four elements (fire, water, earth, air) “or of the stars. It forms the visible body according to the constellation of the stars or property of the planets and now enkindled elements. The second spirit is found in the oil of sulphur, the fifth essence, viz. a root of the four elements. That is the softening and joy of the coarse, painful spirit of sulphur and salt; the real cause of growing life, a joy of nature as is the sun in the element, the direct principle of life. Third is the tincture, a spiritual fire and light; the highest reason for which the first separation of qualities takes place in the existence of this world. Fiat is the Word of each thing and belongs according to its peculiar quality to eternity. Its origin is the holy power of God. Smell is the sensation of this tincture. The elements are only a mansion and counterstroke of the inward power, a cause of the movement of the tincture
If nature is the first efflux of the Separator, two kinds of life must yet be understood as in the counterstroke of the divine essence; The first is, beyond that temporal one there is an eternal, to which the divine understanding is given. It stands at the basis of the eternal, spiritual world, in the Mysterium Magnum of the divine personality, a mansion of divine will through which it reveals itself and is revealed to no peculiarity of personal will. In this centrum man has both lives in himself, he belongs to time and eternity. He is universal in the “eternal understanding of the one good will which is a temperament; Second, the original will of nature, viz. the comprehensibility of the Centra, where each centrum in the divisibility shuts itself in one place to egotism and self-will as a personal Mysterium or mind.
Analysis:
As we explained else where Father is the unknowable Absolute Subject, Son is the Absolute Spirit as the One Spirit of all beings and Holy ghost is the the same Absolute Spirit viewed as the spirits of each and every beings. The three kind of spirits of body is what we described as soul body (causal), subtle material (astral) and material body. The two kind of life as eternal and temporal is the ideal world of Absolute Spirit and material world of Absolute World.
Chapter:7. Francis bacon:
Bacon was born in London in1561.He was son of Sir Nicholas Bacon. He entered parliament at 23.in1618, become lord chancellor. He was prosecuted for bribery from litigants and died in 1626..main works novam organanm scientiarm and.De augmentis scientiarum (advancement of learning). He is the founder of modern inductive method and logical systematisation of scientific procedure. Bacon is the founder of experimental philosophy, the father of modern positivistic philosophy, he was the first to affirm that true philosophy and science have common interests, and that a separate metaphysics is futile.
He is considered as the originator of saying 'Knowledge is Power'. Francis bacon identified objective knowledge with empirical knowledge. This is by observation through the senses and by experiment. He believed reason is only an aid to observation and not a substitute for it. His philosophic aim was to give man mastery over nature by science and its discoveries. Baconian philosophy Is founded on the observation of the external or spiritual nature of man in his inclinations, desires, rational and judicial qualities. From these conclusions are drawn, and general conceptions, laws pertaining to this domain, are thus discovered. Bacon has entirely set aside and rejected the scholastic method of reasoning from remote abstractions and being blind to what lies before one’s eyes. He takes as his standpoint the sensuous manifestation as it appears to the cultured man, as he reflects upon it. He is the one who directed knowledge to its true source, to experience. Bacon treated sciences methodically and introduced method of investigation. He set forth the general principles of procedure in an empirical philosophy. The spirit of the philosophy of Bacon is to take experience as the true and only source of knowledge, and then to regulate the thought concerning it. According to him philosophy should be kept separate from theology. He accepted orthodox religion. Reason can prove existence of God ,other matters of religion is in need revelation. Philosophy depends only on reason. He s the advocate of double truth ,reason and revelation. He rejected Copernican theory.
In his work De augmentis scientiarum he makes a systematic encyclopedia of the sciences. This encyclopedia gives a general classification of the sciences; the principles of the classification are regulated in accordance with the differences in the intellectual capacities. He distinguishes between primary philosophy and metaphysics. Primary philosophy treats of the notions and general propositions common to the special sciences. According to Bacon's strange division, this is derived from the three different faculties of the soul, "memory, imagination, and reason. For he distinguishes what pertains to memory; to imagination; to reason. Under memory he considered history; under imagination, poetry, and art; and finally, under reason, philosophy - history, which includes civil history and natural history; poesy; and philosophy, which he divides into natural theology, natural philosophy, and human philosophy. Metaphysics is the speculative part of natural philosophy; it deals with forms (in the scholastic sense) and final causes, whereas the practical part of natural philosophy, or physics proper, deals only with efficient causes and substances .According to him the objects of philosophic inquiry is the prolongation of life; the restitution of youth in some degree; the retardation of old age, and the altering of statures; the altering of features; versions of bodies into other bodies; making of new species; impression of the air and raising tempests; greater pleasures of the senses,etc. Natural philosophy is divided into two parts, the first consists in the investigation of causes; the second in the production of effects; the causes to be investigated are either final or formal causes, or else material or efficient causes. The former constitutes metaphysics; the latter physics. According to him true knowledge is knowledge by causes and they are into four kind: the material, the formal, the efficient, and the final. According to him inquiry into final cause is useless, as they corrupt rather than advance the sciences. Most important is study of efficient causes and formal causes. Everything must be explained following necessarily from efficient causes. But he also of the opinion that the efficient and the material are but slight and superficial, and contribute little, if anything, to true and active science. For though in nature nothing really exists beside individual bodies, performing pure individual acts according to a fixed law, yet in philosophy this very law, and the investigation, discovery and explanation of it, is the foundation as well of knowledge as of operation. And it is this law, with its clauses, Bacon means by formal causes. So he point out the necessity of ascertaining the formal causes and logical rules of sciences.
Bacon stress the need of conditioning knowledge of nature upon removal of all prejudices and preconceived opinion. Philosophy wasted centuries to bring any work or experiment of actual benefit to human life because they have broken form their root in nature and experience. The causes of these are prejudices against natural science as inferior, blind religious zeal, blind reverence given to te authorities of certain philosophers .He identified five types of errors in the way of learning and acquiring knowledge. They are preconceptions, prejudices and false assumptions. He called them idols. Idols bad habits of mind that make error. The first idols of tribe. This is common to all humans and inherent in human nature.. This is because man’s sense is considered to be the standard of all things. The second is idols of den or cave. This is the idol formed due to individual nature and is the personal prejudices of particular investigator.. The third is idols of market place. This is the idol due to society, tyranny of word and influence over our minds. The fourth is idols of theatre. This is the idol due to philosophies and religions and is the received systems of thought. Fifth is the idols of school and is the blind rules like syllogism replacing judgment in investigation. According to Bacon these idols prevent objective knowledge and distort reality. According to bacon learning must be based on concepts arrived through methods of generalisations or induction. In this sense learning is a rational interpretation of facts of experience.
In his Organon, he try to establish a new method in learning. What chiefly distinguishes his system is his polemical attitude towards scholastic methods is towards it's syllogistic forms. He calls these methods anticipationes naturć; in them men begin with pre-suppositions, definitions, accepted ideas, with a scholastic abstraction, and reason further from these without regarding that which is present in actuality. The syllogism is rejected by Bacon. As against these anticipations of nature he called attention to the explanation, the interpretation of nature. Bacon declaimed, urging that the content of experience should be made the basis, and the method of induction pursued. He demanded that observations on nature and experiments should be made fundamental, From this there then resulted the establishment of conclusions through induction and analogy. There must be new basis of knowledge and new principles of science. This radical reformation of science depends on two conditions ,objectively upon referring of science to experience and philosophy of nature and subjectively upon purifying senses and intellect from abstract theories and traditional prejudices. This furnish the correct method of natural science, which is nothing other than the method of induction. Philosophy's only hope in the chaos of opinions and a priori systems is to break entirely with Greek and scholastic traditions, and to accept the inductive method. He empasised induction over deduction. He introduced better method than induction by simple enumeration What traditional philosophy calls induction proceeds by simple enumeration, leads to uncertain conclusions, and is exposed to danger from one contradictory instance, deciding generally from too small a number of facts. Genuine induction, the method of modern science, does not hurry on rapidly from a few isolated and uncertain phenomena to the most general axioms, but patiently and carefully studies the facts, and ascends to the laws continually and gradually. In forming our general law "we must examine and try whether it be only fitted and calculated for the particular instances from which it is deduced or whether it be more extensive and general. If the latter, we must observe whether it confirm its own extent and generality by giving surety, as it were, in pointing out new particulars, so that we may neither stop at actual discoveries, nor with careless grasp catch at shadows and abstract forms. So this inductive method is by orderly arrangement of data making right hypothesis.
Analysis:
Idols of bacon are the fallacies of passionate and rational nature. We have seen that all knowledge begins with experience but does not constitute real knowledge. Real knowledge is knowledge of the ideal world. The formation of concept is only aided by experience.
Chapter:8.Thomas Hobbes.
Thomas Hobbes the son of a clergyman, born at Malmesbury, in Wiltshire in 1588. He went to oxford at 15,was the tutor of Lord Cavendish, and, due to the latter's influence, a loyal friend of the Stuarts. Returning to his country after an absence of thirteen years in France, he devoted himself elusively to literary labors. Hobbes's fame as a political writer and moralist has somewhat obscured his merit as an ontologist and psychologist. He is the forerunner of materialism, criticism, and modern positivism. He died in 1679.
His main works are, Leviathan, De Cive, The Elements of Philosophy.In “The Elements of Philosophy.” In the first section of this work, De corpore, he first of all treats of Logic and secondly of prime philosophy; this last is an ontology and metaphysic. The next subdivision “On the relation between motion and magnitude,” is a system of mechanism, a quite popular system of physics; and a study of the human organs. The second section treat of the nature of man (De homine), and the third of the state (De cive).
Philosophy is defined by Hobbes as the reasoned knowledge of effects from causes, and causes from effects. To philosophize means to think correctly; now, to think is "to compound and resolve conceptions," to add or subtract, to compute, or to reckon; hence, to think correctly means to combine what ought to be combined, and to separate what ought to be separated. So it follows that philosophy can have no other object than composable and decomposable things, or bodies. Pure spirits, angels, ghosts, and God, cannot be thought. They are objects of faith, and belong to theology, not objects of science falling within the scope of philosophy. Corresponding to the division of bodies into natural and artificial, moral and social bodies, we have: philosophia naturalis (logic, ontology, mathematics, physics) and philosophia civilis (morals and politics). Physics and moral philosophy are both empirical sciences, having bodies as their objects, and outer and inner sense as their respective organs. Outside of the science of observation, there is no real knowledge.
From these premises follows a wholly materialistic theory of perception. Inner perception, the primary condition and basis of intellectual life, is merely our feeling of brain action. To think, therefore, is to feel. Knowledge consists in the addition of sensations. Sensations are caused by the pressure of objects; colours, sounds, etc. are not in the objects. The qualities in objects that correspond our sensations are motions. Imaginations and sensation are motions. The religions of gentiles are not from distinguishing dream from waking life. Dreams as prophetic is delusion. Succession of thought is not arbitrary but depends on association and purposes. Sensation is but a modification, a movement taking place in the sensible body. Memory, the indispensable auxiliary of thought, is simply the duration of sensation: to remember is to feel what one has felt. Sensations cannot be explained, in the manner suggested by some of the ancients, as effluences emanating from bodies, and similar to them. These simulacra rerum, or, in the terminology of the Schoolmen, sensible and intelligible species, are, according to Hobbes, as bad as the occult qualities and other hypotheses of the Middle Ages. Instead, we must say: The simple motion which the objects produce in surrounding matter is communicated to the brain by the mediation of the nerves. This is proved by the fact that light is perceived when the eye receives a more or less powerful blow; the sensation is merely the effect of the excitement produced in the optic nerve. And what holds for light in general may be said of each particular color, which is but a modification of light. The senses therefore deceive us in so far as they make us believe that sound, light, and colors exist outside of us. The objectivity of the phenomenon is an illusion. The qualities, of things are accidents of our own being, and there is nothing objective except the motion of bodies, which arouses these accidents in us. the reality of matter is, in his opinion, an unimpeachable dogma
Soul or spirit he defines sometimes as brain action, sometimes as nervous substance. According to him spirit is a physical body refined enough to escape the observation of the senses. An incorporeal spirit does not exist. The Bible itself make no mention of such a being. Animals and man differ in degree only; both being corporeal beings. We possess no real advantage over brutes except speech. We are no more endowed with free-will than the lower beings. Like them, we are governed by irresistible appetites. He was a Nominalist and says universal are mere names, without words we cannot conceive general ideas, without speech no truth or falsehood. Reasoning is the nature of reckoning and start from definitions. It is necessary to avoid self contradictory notions in definitions like incorporeal substance. Unlike Plato reason is not innate but developed by industry. Reason without passion, moral principles without a material attraction, exert no influence on the human will; it is impelled by the expectations of the imagination, the passions, and the emotions: love, hatred, fear, and hope. "A voluntary action is that which proceeds from the will;" but the volition itself is not voluntary; it is not our deed; we are not the masters of it. Every act has its sufficient reason. According to the indeterminists, a free or voluntary act is one which, though there be a sufficient reason for its performance, is not necessary. The absurdity of this definition is obvious. If an occurrence or an act does not happen, it is because there is no sufficient reason for its happening. Sufficient reason is synonymous with necessity. Man, like all creatures, is subject to the law of necessity, to fate, or, if we choose, to the will of God. Passion defined as small beginning of motion ,if towards something it is desire, if away aversion. Love and hate same as desire and aversion. We call a thing good when it is an object of desire and bad if aversion. Will is the strongest and last desire or aversion in a conflict. So good and evil are relative ideas. The former is identical with the agreeable; the latter, with the disagreeable. Interest is the supreme judge in morals as in everything else. Absolute good, absolute evil, absolute justice, absolute morality, are so many chimeras, gratuitous inventions of the theological mind and metaphysics
Hobbes's system of politics is consistent with these ontological premises. Liberty he considers as impossible in politics as in metaphysics and ethics. In the State as well as in nature might makes right. The natural state of man consists in the bellum omnium contra omnes(war of all aganst all). The State is the indispensable means of putting an end to this conflict. It protects the life and property of individuals at the cost of a passive and absolute obedience on their part. What it commands is good; what it prohibits is bad. Its will is the supreme law
Hobbes maintained that “the origin of all society is to be found in the mutual fear of all its members;” “Each association is thus formed in its own interest or for its own renown, that is, from selfish motives.” All such matters as security of life, property, and enjoyment, are not to be found outside it. “But men have in all dissimilarity of strength a natural similarity as well.” . that “each individual can make away with the other,” each is the ultimate power over the others. “Each can be supreme.” Thus their similarity is not derived from the greatest strength; it is not, as in modern times, founded on the freedom of the spirit, or on an equality of merit and independence, but on the equal weakness of mankind; each man is weak as regards others. the position that this natural condition is of such a nature that all possess the desire to rule over one another. “All in their natural condition are possessed of the will to injure others,” to tyrannize over other men; each has thus to fear the other. The natural condition is consequently a condition of mistrust on the part of all toward all; it is a war of all against all (bellum omnium in omnes),” and the endeavor of one to overreach another. In natural state all men are equal. Here one try to maintain one's own liberty and try to to dominate others, both impelled by desire for self preservation. In war there is no justice. Force and fraud are the two cardinal virtues of war. These are prevented by people forming communities and choosing a central authority by social contract. This limiting one's personal freedom is for the self preservation from universal war resulting from love of our own liberty and dominion over others. This condition of law is the subjection of the natural, particular will of the individual to the universal will, which, however, is not that of all individuals, but is the will of the ruler; this is consequently not responsible to individuals, but is directed against this private will, and to it all must be obedient. Man cannot cooperate like bee ad other animals so a covenant is needed. It is giving power to one man over the people. Here all their rights and political power ends and this is decided by the government. A multitude thus united under a covenant of one authority. The power of state is absolute and. Hobbes call common wealth or leviathan and is a mortal God. Society, the state, is absolutely preeminent, it is the determining power without appeal as regards law and positive religion and their external relations and because he placed these in subjection to the state. Here there is the passive obedience of subjects and the divine authority of rulers, whose will is absolute law, and is itself elevated above all other law.
Hobbes prefer monarchy. Supreme power whether in one man or assembly is called sovereign. The power of sovereign unlimited. Law of property subject to sovereign and also he also had right of censorship. According to him even despotism is better than anarchy. Rebellion is wrong , because either it fails or set a wrong example. The succession of sovereign is determined by sovereign himself. Liberty is absence of external obstacles to motion. So liberty is consistent with necessity. A man is free to do what he wills, but necessitated by what God wills. All volitions have causes so they are necessary. Liberty of subjects is where there is no interference of law. Subject have no right against sovereign except what he concedes and law could interfere if sovereign decided. He condemns internal resistance to sovereign. As self preservation is absolute resistance to sovereign is only allowed in self defense. Also a man has no duty to a sovereign who has no power to protect him.. There will be no political groups or trade union in the state and teachers are under sovereign and teach what he think useful. Rights of private property valid only against other subjects, not against sovereign. Sovereign has the right to regulate foreign trade. He is above civic law. He can punish any one ,not from concept of justice but because he retains the right of natural man.
The reasons (other than foreign conquest) for the dissolution of commonwealths are: giving too little power to the sovereign; allowing private judgment in subjects; the theory that everything that is against conscience is sin; the belief in inspiration; the doctrine that the sovereign is subject to civil laws; the recognition of absolute private property; division of the sovereign power; imitation of the Greeks and Romans; separation of temporal and spiritual powers; refusing the power of taxation to the sovereign; the popularity of potent subjects; and the liberty of disputing with the sovereign. There is in the state teaching people the rights sovereign. There should be specific days for teaching duty of submission .This depends on right teaching in universities so must be supervised. There must be uniformity of worship, religion is that ordained by sovereign. There is no universal church, church depends on civil government. In each nation king is the head of church. Here pope have no absolute power. Hobbes is also against the theory of spiritual power over temporal.
The two important respects Hobbes differs from Bacon is first, Hobbes teaches a system of metaphysics, the materialistic metaphysics; secondly, his definition of philosophy places a higher value on the syllogism than Bacon sets upon it. Bacon in proclaiming induction as the universal method, overlooked the part deduction plays in mathematics, and the part played by the mathematical element and a priori speculation in the discoveries of the fifteenth century. Hence Hobbes occupies a position between pure empiricism and Cartesian rationalism.
Analysis:
It is true that in a state the particular will is subjected to the universal will and this universal will is represented by one or a collection of man. But this will is not subjected to individual caprice and subjective ends but for universal ends. Tyranny and despotism cannot be checked without fear of rebellion. submissive stand of people is taken advantage by rulers in the political sphere, where governments will try, if they can, to make themselves personally irremovable; it is true in the economic sphere, where they will try to enrich themselves and their friends at the public expense; it is true in the intellectual sphere, where they will suppress every new discovery or doctrine that seems to menace their power.
Chapter:9: Rationalists
Rationalists are those who believe reason as the primary source of knowledge. Descartes, Leibniz, and Spinoza were known as rationalists.
René Descartes was born in 1596 at La Haye in Touraine. His father was councilor of parliament of Brittany. He was educated by the Jesuits of La Flčche. He spent the greater part of his life abroad. In Germany he fought as a lieutenant in the imperial army. In Holland he published Philosophical Essays, comprising the
Discourse on method(1637), the Meditations (1641), the Principia philosophiae (1644).He was never married but had a daughter who died at age five. His admirer Queen Christina invited him to Sweden, where he fell ill and died 1650.He was a catholic.
He is considered as the beginner and founder of modern rationalistic philosophy. Descartes was not only a philosopher but also a mathematician ,a geometrician and scientist. He was the inventor of analytic geometry. His out look was influenced by physics and astronomy. It was his ambition to apply the geometric method to universal science, to make it the method of metaphysics. Cartesian method consists in generalised mathematical deduction. He was called the inventor of inner observation or the psychological method. He needed first principles from which to proceed in his deductions, and self-observation furnished him with such principles. So observation is one of the phases and the preparatory stage in the Cartesian method and deductive reasoning constitutes the soul of the Cartesianism of Descartes. He not only uses inner observation and as a learned anatomist and physiologist appreciates the great value of experience. The leading thought in Cartesianism is the application of the geometrical method to metaphysics for the purpose of making it an exact science: The geometer starts out from a small number of axioms and definitions, and, by means of deduction, reaches wonderful results. Descartes follows this method. He needs, first, axioms and definitions. Inner observation, aided by reasoning, supplies them. From these definitions he then deduces a series of consequences. Observation and reasoning form the basis of the Cartesian system. A priori deduction completes the structure
Descartes started his theory from absolute doubt. It was a stand point of universal doubt. First he set aside all former presuppositions and preconceived ideas. If science have anything fixed and abiding it must begin with primal ground of things. Every presuppositions doubted and abandoned. Not only sensory knowledge but mathetimacal axioms also doubted. Observing that all he knows or thinks he knows he has received through the senses and from tradition, and that the senses often deceive us, Descartes resolves to doubt everything. So his first doubt is of senses. This is because sometimes we dream what is not actual. Senses may deceive us as in dreams we perceive similar things and the dreamer has no sign to distinguish sleep from waking. According to him sensory knowledge sometimes goes wrong so they cannot be relied. Arithmetic an geometry are more certain than physics and astronomy but .here also doubt is possible as God may make us commit mistakes.
But his very doubts reveal it to him. I doubt, that is absolutely certain. Now, to doubt is to think. Hence it is certain that I think. To think is to exist. Hence it is certain that I exist. Cogito, ergo sum. This argument is derived from St. Augustine. Here we have a certain basis, on which to construct a system of no less certainty than its fundamental principle; for it is evident that all the propositions following necessarily from an axiom must be as true as the axiom itself. We cannot doubt the doubting ,thinking I.. So I think therefore I am (cogito ergo sum) the truth that the one who doubt or think exist. “cogito ergo sum” “I think, there for I am” means the existence of the thinking I is real. This is certain knowledge and he identified the thinking I with mind. He believed abstract ideas or universals exist in mind as thought independent of sensory knowledge. This is known as innate ideas. So mind must know itself before it knows other things. From I think there fore I am mind is seen more important than matter and my mind more certain than other minds. Matter only knowable through knowledge of mind. The real nature of object is not perceived by senses but by mind . Knowledge of external thing is by mind not by senses. So from thought being is deduced.
Now It is evident that I think and that I exist, but it is not evident that the object of my thought exists outside of me. So the further development is as follows. Ideas are three kinds, innate ideas, those that comes from external things, those invented within. Our thoughts are partly innate, partly acquired and partly self originated. we have an innate idea of God. This idea comes to us form an actual perfect existing god and the faculty to perceive him also given by God. The idea of perfect attributes and infinite substance cannot come from the finite I. The conception of infinite is antecedent to the finite. We find among our innate ideas one whose foreign origin is self-evident, the idea of God or of the infinite and perfect Being. This idea cannot be the product of my thought, for my thought is finite, limited, and imperfect, and it is self-evident that a finite cause cannot produce an infinite effect. We cannot say that the idea of the infinite is purely negative because it is the most positive idea of all, the one which precedes all the others, and without which the idea of the finite would not be possible. we cannot think that the human ego, though actually imperfect, may be potentially infinite, because it strives for perfection, and can therefore produce the idea of God because the idea of God is not the idea of a potentially perfect being, it is the idea of the actually-infinite being. We do not attribute to God an acquired perfection. Our knowledge increases and grows more perfect little by little, perhaps indefinitely; but nothing can be added to God, the eternally-absolute and perfect being. This idea cannot be separated from a real perfect being. As we are not perfect the cause of this idea must be God. So God exists. Hence, if the idea of God cannot come from us, it must necessarily come from God, and God necessarily exists. Moreover, the existence of God follows from the very idea of the perfect being, for existence is an essential element of perfection; without it, God would be the most imperfect of beings. In the conception of God existence is not possible or accidental like other conception of external objects but as essential and eternal. The idea of a perfect God include existence. The similar argument, advanced by St. Anselmus, makes the existence of God depend on our idea of the perfect being but Descartes's meaning is not God exists because my mind conceives him; but, My reason conceives God, because God exists. The true foundation of our faith in God is not our own conception of him, that would be a subjective and weak basis, but God himself, who reveals himself to us in the innate idea of infinity. Similarly, from the fact that I cannot conceive God except as existent, it follows that the idea of God implies the existence of the perfect Being. So the cause for the being God is first of all we have an innate idea of God, secondly since we are imperfect there must be a perfect being form whom we receive our perfection and thirdly I have an idea of perfect being with necessary existence. From the idea of highest being existence cannot be separated without contradiction. so existence belongs to his essential nature.
The certainty of God's existence is greatest importance; on it depends all truth, all certitude, all positive knowledge. Without it I could not advance beyond my own certainty. The certainty of God's existence teaches me that the corporeal world exists. As long as I leave out of account the idea of God, I may suppose that the sensible world is an illusion caused by some evil demon, or by the nature of my own mind. But the existence of God as the author of all things being proved, it becomes evident that my instinctive belief in the existence of the world is well founded; for I receive it from a perfect being, that is, from a being incapable of deceiving me. Henceforth, doubt is impossible. So this rule of certainty we apply to our thoughts to know what is objectively true. Since God is good and given strong inclination to believe in external things so external things exist.God given reason when ascertain about the truth of objects it also true. From the being of God we derive every certainty. As God is truth and cannot deceive the knowledge he give us ,if we perceive clearly and distinctly corresponds to objects. Now the evidence of everything rests upon our perceiving it as clearly and vividly as that certainty of our existence itself. So all things we conceive very clearly and very distinctly as ourself are true. From this also follows a universal rule of all certainty. Everything is true which I know clearly and determinately as I know myself. So as God gave us senses and it reports the existence of an external world. So world is also real. So starting from the existential truth he was convinced about both God and world.
God is the infinite uncreated thinking substance, on which everything depends and which itself depends on nothing; the soul is a substance that thinks; the body is an extended substance. By "substance" we can understand nothing else than a thing which so exists that it needs no other thing in order to exist. If substance is a thing which needs no other thing in order to exist, it follows that God alone is a substance in the real sense of the term. So substance is that which has independent existence and.in this sense God is the only substance. Created substances depends on God for their existence. So creatures are not substances in the proper sense. Some are substances as compared with others; they are not substances as compared with God, for they depend on him. The substance of finite being are relative and finite substance which needs nothing but God in order to exist; by mode, he mean that which cannot exist or be conceived without something else which is its substance; by attribute, the essential quality of the substance, from which we cannot abstract without at the same time destroying the substance itself.
So Descartes believed in two l substances or realities. One homogenous substance underlying all forms of mind. This is unexpended and indivisible and he called it thinking substance. Second homogenous substance underlying all form of matter. This is extended and divisible .Minds and bodies are (relative) substances. Each substance has a principle attribute which is it's essence and nature and on which other attributes depends. The attribute of mind is thought and matter is extension. since thought and extension are distinct from each other ,mind and body distinct and nothing in common. So thought constitutes the attribute, i.e., the essence of mind ; extension, the attribute, the essence of body. Other qualities like feeling, will etc in the case of mind and size, color etc in the case of body are secondary qualities.
As the attributes of body like extension etc cannot apply to thinking, thought is my substance. I am a thinking being and only thought or mind belongs to my nature. Thought is independent of body. Mind can be apprehended without referring to body. Since thought is the essence of mind, it always think even in sleep. From the fact that extension constitutes the essence of body, it follows there can be no extension in the universe without body, no empty space; nor bodies without extensions, i.e., atoms. So there is neither vacuum nor atoms and all interaction is that of nature of impact. Everything can be reduced to mechanics.; and secondly that the corporeal world is illimitable, since extension cannot be conceived as having limits and thirdly that body has, strictly speaking, no center, that its form is naturally eccentric and its motion centrifugal; for the center is a mathematical point, and the mathematical point, inextended. The properties of extension are divisibility, figurability, and mobility. But divisibility is merely a movement of separation and of union. Hence, the properties of extension, and consequently of matter, consist in motion. All changes in matter is due to motion. There is no other motion than motion in extension, local motion or change of place. Motion cannot originate in the bodies themselves: for bodies are extended, even in their smallest parts, and absolutely devoid of the inner principle, the center of action and impulsion which we call soul or ego. They are entirely passive; they do not move themselves at all, but are moved by external causes. The material world knows no other law than the law of necessity. The particles of matter, to which the Creator originally imparted rectilinear motion, are distributed in vortices (tourbillons), forming stars, then planets, which are extinguished stars, and finally other heavenly bodies. The science of the world is a problem of mechanics. The material world is a machine, an indefinite - not infinite - chain of movements, the origin of which is in God
Minds are diametrically opposed to bodies: i.e., they are essentially active and free; and just as there is nothing inextended in body, mind contains nothing that is not thought, inextended, and immaterial. Body is everything that mind is not; mind is the absolute negation of everything that body is. The two substances entirely exclude each other, they are entirely opposed to each other: body is absolutely soulless; the soul, absolutely immaterial (dualism of substances, dualistic spiritualism). About the unity of soul and body Descartes says as the soul belongs to thought, the body to extension and both are independent substance., and hence soul and body are independent of one another and can exercise no direct influence upon one another. So the union of soul and body can be only a mechanical one. Body is an artistic machine made by God. Soul dwells within body without any internal connection. As each is distinct and opposed and independent the union is a forced one and by divine assistance and will. God is the mediator which effect the changes between body and soul. Soul can only make some motion in body as they cannot interpenetrate each other. The seat of soul is pineal gland where our thoughts are formed.
According to Descartes there are no three souls as Aristotle says ,but only rational soul in man. Like soul and body, the science of soul and the science of body have nothing in common. Physics should confine itself wholly to mechanical interpretation, while the soul should be explained only in terms of itself. Although sensation seems to be an action of the body upon the soul and voluntary motion, an action of the soul upon the body, this is not actually the case; for there can be no reciprocal action between substances whose attributes exclude each other. Man is a composite being, a combination of soul and body. The soul derives its sensible ideas from its own nature on occasion of the corresponding excitations; the body, on the other hand, is an automaton, whose movements are occasioned by the volitions of the soul. Body and mind like two cloaks, when one indicate thirsty other indicate sorrow. The body and the soul lead separate lives; the body is subject to necessity, the soul endowed with free-will; being independent of the body, it survives its destruction. The two parts composing the human being are so exclusive as to make a real union between soul and body absolutely impossible. According to him the perception of the external world is by impressions of the objects on the mind. Mind is not only different from body but it can think and exist independently of body. According to him all non mental bodies act mathematically and mechanically. He regarded bodies of men and animals as machines. Animals governed by laws of physics without having feeling or consciousness. Descartes regarded animals and other organisms as machines moved by another, and not possessing mind attributes like thought and feeling within them Man due to soul coming into contact with vital spirits, and through this contact there is interaction between soul and body. Total quantity of motion in the universe is constant so soul cannot affect it It can by volition alter the direction of motion of animal spirits and so indirectly other parts of body. Descartes at the same time also speaks of the reciprocal action between soul and body, as though this action were real and direct. Descartes holds that the soul is united to all parts of the body; that it exercises its functions more especially in the pineal gland; that the soul and the body act upon each other through the medium of this gland and the animal spirits. He points out the distinction which he draws between them: the body walks, eats, and breathes; the soul enjoys, suffers, desires, hungers and thirsts, loves, hopes, fears; perceives the ideas of sound, light, smell, taste, and resistance; wakes, dreams, and faints. But all these phenomena are consequences - consequences and not effects - of movements caused in the pores of the brain, the seat of the soul, by the entrance and the exit of the animal spirits. Without the body, and particularly without the brain, all these phenomena, as well as the memory in which they are retained, would disappear, and nothing would be left to the soul except the conception of pure ideas of substance, thought, space, and infinity, - ideas which are wholly independent of sensation. Moreover, the ideas which need the cooperation of the senses, and consequently of the brain, are entirely different from the objects which we suppose them to represent. The idea is immaterial; the object, material; the idea is therefore the opposite of the object, even though it be its faithful image. Our ideas of material qualities no more resemble the objects than pain resembles the needle causing it. or the tickling resembles the feather which occasions it.
According to Descartes man is free due to the thinking soul. Descartes is the precursor of Locke, Hume, and Kant, in that he makes a clear and absolute distinction between our ideas of material qualities and their external causes. The principal feature of Descartes philosophy is the mind body dualism and determinism.
Analysis:
The positive feature of Descartes philosophy is he brought out the principle of self consciousness. He stressed on the importance of subjectivity in perception of reality and the dependence of our knowledge of objects on mind. The defect of the system is considering the dual nature of thought and matter as two substances. As we explained Mind is the only substance and thought and matter are the subjective and objective aspect or form of mind.
Chapter:10: Geulinex & Malebranche.
The problem dealt by these two was firstly the relation between soul and body ,mind and matter which also concerns s with origin of ideas and certainty of knowledge. The other was the moral problem of relation between soul and God, connected with relation of human liberty and divine omnipotence. In order to solve the former, reasoning and experience must be reconciled. If we consult the facts only, sensation is evidently the body's action upon the soul, the action of matter on mind. And evidently, voluntary movement is the action of the mind on the body. We are acted upon by matter, and react upon it.
A:Arnoldi Geulinex
Geulinex was born in 1625 and died in1669. The "apparent" action between soul and body can be explained only by the supernatural concourse of God.neither the body nor the soul directly act on each other. God alone unite the outer with the inner and the inner with the outer. who makes the outer phenomena inner representations or notions of mind and the inner determination of will outward into deed. we are only an occasional cause. It is like two clocks which strikes at the same time. God intervenes on occasion of every volition, in order to excite in our bodies the movement which the soul cannot communicate to it of itself, and on occasion of each corporeal excitation, in order to produce the corresponding perception in the soul. Our volitions are the occasional causes, God the efficient cause of our movements; the sense-objects are the occasional causes, God the efficient cause of our perceptions. This is called occasionalism If God is the efficient author of all my perceptions and movements, I am nothing but a nominal, apparent, and fictitious subject, and God is the real subject of my actions.: it is he who acts in me;and this consequence of occasionalism (God acts in me) was drawn by Geulinex, . According to Geulinex, we are not, strictly speaking, minds, but modes of mind. Take away the mode, and God alone remains.
B:Nicholas Malebranche.
Malbranche was born at paris in 1638 and died in 1715.His idea of the origin of our knowledge is as follows. Mind can neither gain knowledge from it self as it is opposed to physical world so cannot idealise nor it can get the ideas from things as they are opposed to mind. As all things are idealised in God we live in God and united with him and get ideas in God. We know and see all things in God. God Himself is the connection between us and things, and thus the unity between the thing and thought. “God has in Him the ideas of all things because He has created all; Because things and God are intellectual and we too are intellectual, we perceive them in God as they are, so to speak, intellectual in Him. According to Malebranche, God is the abode of spirits, as space is the abode of bodies. He is to the soul what light is to the eye. Just as this organ dwells in the light, so the mind is in God, thinks in God, sees in God. We do not perceive the material things themselves, but the idea-types of the things, their ideal substance as it exists in God. As God is the real subject of my thoughts and it is he who thinks in me here also the consequence is I am nothing and a nominal subject.
Malebranche also makes the universal, , the essential, by placing it before the particular. “The soul has the Notion of the infinite and universal: It knows nothing excepting through the Idea which it has of the infinite; this Idea must hence come first. The universal is not a mere confusion of individual ideas, it is not a union of individual things.”
Chapter:11.Rationalists:
Spinoza:
Baruch Spinoza was born at Amsterdam, in November 24 ,1632, of Portuguese Jewish parents. First he studied theology, but soon showed a decided preference for free philosophical speculation. After being excommunicated by the synagogue, he went to Rhynsburg, then to Voorburg, and finally to The Hague, where he died, a poor and persecuted man, in feb 21 in 1677.His love of independence led him to decline the Heidelberg professorship of philosophy offered him by Karl Ludwig, the Elector Palatine. Abstemious in his habits, satisfied with little, master of his passions, gentle and benevolent he illustrated in his life his philosophy. He wrote his principal works at The Hague between the years 1660 and 1677. His chief work was Ethics.
Other important works are Tractatus Theologico-Politicus and the Tractatus Politicus which deals in political theory.They are mainly derived from Hobbes. In a natural state there is no right and wrong as wrong is disobeying the law. According to him king can do no wrong and church should be subordinate to the state. He is opposed to all kind of rebellion. According to him democracy is the most natural form of government. Subjects should have certain rights in state and according to him freedom of opinion important. In this work he also discusses and gives rationalistic solutions of such problems as inspiration, prophecy, miracles, and free investigation.
Ethics begins with metaphysics then discuss the psychology of passion and will and ends with an ethics based on the metaphysics and psychology. It consists of five parts; the first deals with God . General metaphysical ideas are contained in it, which include the knowledge of God and nature. The second part deals with the nature and origin of mind. The third book of the Ethics deals with the origin and nature of the passions ; the fourth with the powers of the same, or human slavery ; the fifth, lastly, with the power of the understanding, with thought, or with human liberty. He develops his doctrine from geometric method of definitions besides deductive reasoning. From a certain number of definitions he deduces a system whose parts are logically connected with each other .Just as the conclusions of geometry inevitably follow from their axioms, so the moral and physical facts which the philosopher considers follow with absolute necessity from the nature of things, expressed by their definitions;
There are three concepts from which all else derived with mathematical necessity. These fundamental ideas of Spinoza's system are substance, attribute, and mode. He define substance as that which exists in itself, and is conceived by itself, that which does not need the conception of any other thing in order to be conceived. By attribute that which the intellect perceives as constituting the essence of the substance. By mode the modifications of the substance, that which exists, in and is conceived by something other than itself
Substance: Substance is causa sui-cause of itself. From the definition of substance he deduce first that substance is self caused otherwise it has to be produced by something else. secondly it is infinite otherwise limited by other substance. thirdly there is only one substance otherwise two will limit each other and becomes dependent. Hence there can be only one substance, which depends on nothing, and on which everything depends. The term must be reserved for the being which exists in itself and is conceived by itself, i.e., for God. God alone is substance, and substance is God. So one substance is God. Being independent substance is absolutely free. This freedom is synonymous with necessity which means determined by oneself and this is not constraint which is determined by external cause. This necessity means substance modify itself and this is it's modes. Substance is eternal and necessary; its essence implies existence. It cannot be an individual or a person, like the God of religions; for, in that case, it would be a determined being, and all determination is relative negation. It is the common source of all personal existences, without being limited by any of them. He denies that understanding and will can be predicated of God. He also denies world is a product of divine willing or God worked with an end. Substance has neither intellect nor will: for both presuppose personality. Not being intelligent, it does not act with an end in view; it is the efficient cause of things. As Substance is that which exists by itself. and by itself alone neither bodies nor minds can be called substances; for both exist by virtue of the divine activity. God alone exists by himself and by himself alone: hence there is but one absolutely infinite substance. So unlike Descartes Spinoza believed in a single ultimate reality, which he called Substance or God. So he was a monist. According to Spinoza God is a Being absolutely infinite, i.e. a substance consisting of infinite attributes, each of which expresses an eternal and infinite essence and there cannot be two substances. It is infinite and it is indivisible. God is the absolute free cause, who is determined by nothing outside of Himself, for He exists solely by the necessity of His nature. God is the immanent cause of all things, not the transient ,” i.e., external cause. God acts in accordance with no final causes. Though Spinoza calls God the cause of the universe, he is not its transcendent and transient cause, but the immanent cause; not a cause acting from without and creating it once for all, but the permanent substratum of things, the innermost substance of the universe.; he is the universe itself, considered SUB SPECIE ĆTERNITATATIS, the eternal universe. The words God and universe designate one and the same thing: Nature, which is both the source of all beings (natura naturans ) and the totality of these beings considered as its effects (natura naturata). Spinoza is pantheist in the strict sense of the word; that is to say, his cosmos is God himself, and his God the cosmical substance.“Natura naturans is God regarded as free cause, in so far as He is in Himself and is conceived by Himself: or such attributes of substance as express the eternal and infinite essence. By natura naturata, all that follows from the necessity of the divine nature, or from any of the attributes of God, all modes of the divine attributes, in so far as they are regarded as things which are in God, and which without God can neither exist nor be conceived. So he also divided reality in to an eternal order and a temporal order. The eternal order is world of law and structure and the world revealed by thought. This is natura naturans or active nature. The temporal order is the world of things and incidents, which is perceived by senses, and this is nature naturata (begotten) or passive nature. According to him nature exist by itself and is the cause of itself. God and nature one and the same. God is one nature many and nature is the face of God. He also believed world is in the mind of God and he was a pantheist in the sense he considered world as an aspect of God himself.
Attributes: Attribute is that which mind perceive as the essence of substance. Substance consists of infinite attributes, each of which expresses in its way the essence of God. The attributes conceived independent of the substance. The human intellect knows two of these: extension and thought. So this substance or God has two relatively infinite attributes: extension and thought .Thought and extension are attributes of God, He has an infinite number of other attributes as he is infinite but they are unknown to us. According to him finite human mind can understand only two attributes or aspects of this substance. One is thinking substance or mind the other is extended substance or matter. So mind and matter are two attributes of one substance.. The cosmic substance is an extended and thinking thing; it forms both the substance of all bodies, or matter, and the substance of all minds. Matter and mind are not two opposite substances, as in Cartesianism; they are two different ways of conceiving one and the same substance, two different names for one and the same thing. Each of the attributes of the substance is relatively infinite while the substance is absolutely infinite. Extension is infinite as such, and thought is infinite as such; but neither extension nor thought is absolutely infinite, for alongside of extension there is thought, and alongside of thought there is extension. The attributes are opposite and there is no reciprocal influence or interaction between them. A body can only comes from body and idea from idea. Neither the body can work on soul nor the soul on body. There is a perfect harmony and parallelism between these attributes. It is one and the same substance which is conceived by these two attributes, connection of ideas and things is same. Body and soul are one and the same thing only viewed under different attributes. Mind is nothing but idea of body, it is same thing as body, only that it is viewed under the attribute of thought. This identity of substance, unrecognized by Descartes, explains the agreement between the movements of the body and the "movements" of the soul in man and in animals. Since one and the same substance and, what is still more important, one and the same being manifests itself in the physical order and in the intellectual order, this substance, this being, manifests itself in both spheres according to the same laws, and the two realms are parallel. Extension is modified, and forms bodies; thought is infinitely diversified, and forms minds. The universe is one. It contains two elements that are eternally distinct and cannot be explained in terms of each other: matter and thought; but these two elements, although distinct, are inseparable because they are not substances, but attributes of one and the same substance. Every movement, or, in other words, every modification of infinite extension, has an idea, i.e., a modification of infinite thought, corresponding to it; and vice versa: every idea has as its necessary accompaniment a corresponding fact in the physiological order.
The object of the idea which constitutes the human mind is body-there can happen nothing in the body which is not perceived by the mind. What constitutes the real (actuale) existence of the human mind is nothing else than the idea of a particular” (individual) “thing, that actually exist. Thought is not without matter, nor matter without thought. The relation between thought and extension is like different name for the one and same thing. So mind and body are not two entities but mental and physical law describes the same event in two different and independent ways. So they are two aspects of one reality.
Modes: Individual particular things he called modes. Ideas are thinking modes and objects are extended modes. In every attribute there are two modes; in extension, these are rest and motion, in thought they are understanding and will. The modifications of extension are motion and rest; the modifications of thought are intellect and will. These modes are infinite, like the attributes which they modify. Movement, intellect, and will, the physical universe and the intellectual universe, have neither beginning nor end. Each one of the infinite modes constitutes an infinite series of finite modes. Movement, i.e., infinitely-modified extension, produces the infinitude of finite modes which we call bodies; intellect and will, becoming infinitely diversified, produce particular and finite minds, intellects, and wills. Individual beings considered under attribute of thought are ideas and under extension are bodies are accidents or modes. The modes are essentially nothing and without being. The finite has no existence as finite, only the the infinite substance has actual existence. The finite is not self subsistent. By distinguishing between infinite modes and finite modes, Spinoza means to say that motion is eternal, while the corporeal forms which it constitutes originate and decay, - that intellects and wills have existed for eternities, but that each particular intellect has a limited duration. Bodies or limited extensions are to infinite extension, particular intellects to the infinite intellect, and the particular wills to the eternal will, what our thoughts are to our soul. Just as these exist only for the soul, of which they are temporary modifications, so too this soul, like the body, exists only for the substance, of which it is a momentary modification. Compared with God, souls and bodies are no more substances than our ideas are beings apart from ourselves.
The human soul, like all intellectual modes, is a modification of infinite thought, the human body a modification of infinite extension. Since the intellectual or ideal order and the real or corporeal order are parallel, every soul corresponds to a body, and every body corresponds to an idea. The mind is therefore the conscious image of the body But the body is the object of thought or of soul, and there can be no thought, apperception, or soul, without a body. Sensation is a bodily phenomenon; it is a prerogative of animal and human bodies, and results from the superior organization of these bodies. Perception, on the other hand, is a mental fact: simultaneously as the body is affected by an excitation the mind creates an image or idea of this excitation. The simultaneity of these two states is explained, as we have said, by the identity of the mental and bodily substance. The mind is always what the body is, and a well-formed soul necessarily corresponds to a well organized brain. By the same law (the identity of the ideal and the real orders), intellectual development runs parallel with physical development. Bodily sensations are at first confused and uncertain; to these confused modifications of the imperfect organism correspond confused and inadequate ideas of the imagination, the source of prejudice, illusion, and error: The existence of finite and individual things are due to deceptive knowledge. Two chief ways of knowledge are, intuitive reason and imagination. To imagination belongs the knowledge of experience, to reason collection of all fitting ideas. Imagination isolates and individualise what reason see together in it's unity. So only when considered through imagination (experience or opinion) modes are finite things, reason sees them as necessary and eternal. It is characteristic of reason to conceive adequate and perfect ideas, that is to say, such as embrace both the object and its causes. The criterion of truth is truth itself and the evidence peculiar to it. He who has a true idea, at the same time knows that he has a true idea, and cannot doubt it. The imagination represents things as they are in relation to us; reason conceives them from the standpoint of the whole in which they are produce and in their relation to the universe. The imagination makes man the center of the world, and what is human the measure of all things: reason rises beyond the self; it contemplates the universal and eternal, and refers all things to God. All ideas are true in so far as they are referred to God, that is, whose objects are conceived as modes of the infinite Being. It is also characteristic of reason that it rejects the notion of contingency, and conceives the concatenation of things as necessary. The idea of contingency, like so many other inadequate ideas, is a product of the imagination, and is entertained by such as are ignorant of the real causes and the necessary connection of facts. Necessity is the first postulate of reason, the watchword of true science. The imagination loses itself in the details of phenomena; reason grasps their unity; unity and consubstantiality, - that is the second postulate of reason. Finally, it rejects, as products of the imagination, final causes and universals considered as realities.
The human mind has an adequate knowledge of the eternal and infinite essence of God. but the passions distract and obscure the intellectual vision of whole. Self seeking and self preservation govern all human behaviour. A wise one will choose the goal of his self seeking God. . Self preservation is the fundamental motive of passions but idea of self preservation changes when we realise what is real and positive in us is what unites us to the whole. we are in bondage in proportion as what happens to us is determined by external causes, we are free in proportion as we self determined. All wrong action is due to intellectual error. The man who adequately understands his circumstances act wisely and will be happy. Emotions are called passions when they comes from inadequate ideas. Time is unreal. When mind conceive a thing under reason, it is affected equally whether the idea be of a thing past present or future. An emotion which is passion ceases to be passion as soon as we form a clear and distinct idea of it. Understanding that all things are necessary help the mind to get mastery over emotions. Wisdom consists in intellectual love of God. It is a union of thought and emotion. Every increase in understanding what happens to us consists in referring events to the idea of God as in truth everything is part of God. This understanding is love of God. Although personal survival is an illusion there is in God an idea expressing the essence of human body under the form of eternity and this idea is the eternal part of mind. The intellectual love of God experienced by individual contained in this eternal part of mind.
According to Spinoza will is not a separate thing. Like intellect, which is, a set of ideas will is a set of volition, which produce action. Will is a form of desire and desire is nothing but conscious instinct. According to him will is the essence of man and it is due to a cause and motive. According to him we do not will or desire because it gives us pleasure or avoid pain but something gives us pleasure or pain due to our desires. So they are the result of our desire not cause of it. According to him passions are natural and they can be only regulated by reason. The will is not essentially different from the understanding. It is the tendency of reason to retain ideas agreeable to it, and to reject such as are distasteful. A volition is an idea that affirms or negates itself. Will and intellect being identical in their essence, it follows that the development of the one runs parallel with that of the other. Corresponding to the imagination, which represents things according to our impressions, we have, in the practical sphere, passion, or the instinctive movement which impels us towards an object or makes us shrink from it. When what the imagination shows us, is of such a nature as to give our physical and moral life a greater intensity; or, in other words, when a thing is agreeable and we strive for it, this wholly elementary form of willing is called desire, love, joy, or pleasure. In the opposite case, it is called aversion, hatred, fear, or grief. To the higher understanding corresponds, in the practical sphere, the will proper, that is, the will enlightened by reason, and determined, not by what is agreeable, but by what is true. Not until it reaches this stage can the will, which is quite passive in the state of instinct, be called an active faculty. We act, in the philosophical sense, when anything happens either within us or outside of us, of which we are the adequate cause , that is, when anything follows from our nature within us or outside of us, which can be clearly and distinctly understood through our nature alone. On the other hand, we are passive when something happens within us or follows from our nature, of which we are but the partial cause. To be passive or to be acted upon does not, therefore, mean not to act at all, but to be limited in one's activity. We are passive in so far as we are a part of the universe, or modes of the divine being. God or the universe, by the very fact that he is unlimited, cannot be passive. He is pure action, absolute activity. However active man may seem in his passions, he is really passive because he is limited, impotent, or the slave of things. He can be made free and become active only through the understanding. To understand the universe is to be delivered from it. To understand everything is to be absolutely free. Passion ceases to be a passion as soon as we form a clear idea of it. Hence, freedom is found in thought and in thought alone. Thought, too, is relatively passive in so far as it is limited by the imagination, but it can free itself from this yoke by sustained application and persistent effort. Since freedom is found only in thought, our knowledge of things is the measure of our morality. That is morally good which is conducive to the understanding; that is bad which hinders and diminishes it. The only universal that really exists and is at the same time the highest object of reason, is God, or the infinite and necessary substance of which ever thing else is but an accident. According to Spinoza, reason can form an adequate idea of God, but not the imagination. Everything is ruled by logical necessity. There is no freewill in mental sphere or chance in physical world. Everything happens is a manifestation of God's inscrutable nature. There is no such thing as free will. We are free in the sense of actions being self-determined and mastery of passions through a life of reason. Reason regulates desires and passion and it is the total response to the whole stimulus. So freedom is possible only as behaviour based on necessity or freedom is recognised necessity. Even in this sense only a sage can be free. Since man is a mode and depends on conditioning causes there is no free will. The will is determined by something other than itself. Men regards free because they are conscious of their actions and not of the determining causes.
What is positive in action of sin is good , negative bad. Sin and negative is relative and exists only from the point of view of finite creatures. As God is full reality there is no negation in him. The evil in sin does not exist when they are viewed as part of the whole. The idea of good and evil is also an error. Evil is something relative depending on our conceptions as nothing happens against God's will. The real is good. It is what is useful to us and bring us to a greater reality and preserve and exalt our being. As our true being is knowledge, useful are which aid us un knowledge. The highest good is the knowledge of God. The highest virtue is to know and love god. From the knowledge of God we gain highest happiness and blessedness. Blessedness is not the reward of virtue but virtue itself. The wise man sees the world from God's perspective-sub specia aternitatis. With the vision like God we see everything as part of the whole and as necessary to the goodness of whole. So knowledge of evil is an inadequate knowledge. When man is the efficient cause of all things they are necessarily good, evil happens through external causes. Mind's highest good is the knowledge of God and mind's highest virtue is to know God. Virtue is the power of the understanding; it is man's nature in so far as this has the power of producing certain effects which can be explained by the laws of that nature alone. To be virtuous is to be strong, or to act; to be vicious is to be weak, or passive. From this point of view, not only hatred, anger, and envy, but also fear, hope, and even pity and repentance, must be reckoned among the vices. Hope is accompanied by a feeling of fear, pity and sympathy, by a feeling of pain, that is to say, by a diminution of our being, by a weakening of our energy. Repentance is doubly bad; for he who regrets is weak and is conscious of his weakness. The man who orders his life according to the dictates of reason will therefore labor with all his might to rise above pity and vain regrets. He will help his neighbor as well as improve himself, but he will do it in the name of reason. Thus will he be truly active, truly brave, and truly virtuous. He will be brave, for he will not let himself be conquered either by human miseries or his own mistakes, and he will not let himself be vanquished, because he knows that all things follow from the necessity of God's nature. Virtue he identified with intellectual life and more perfection and preservation of one’s being hence having more power. Spinoza identified highest knowledge with direct perception and immediate deduction. This intuitive knowledge is better than reason and sensory knowledge. It is perception of things in their eternal aspect which he called 'sub specie aeternitatis' means seeing everything from the perspective of eternity. According to him greatest good is also this knowledge of the union, which the mind has with the whole nature.
Spinoza also was a determinist. He thought everything is explicable. According to him nature. and man are acting by invariable law and necessity. Nature is the inner controller of everything.
For the philosopher, who is convinced of the necessity of human actions, nothing merits hatred, derision, contempt, or pity. From his absolute standpoint of reason, even the crimes of a Nero are neither good nor bad, but simply necessary acts. Determinism makes the philosopher optimistic, and raises him, by gradual stages of perfection, to that disinterested love of nature which gives everything its value in the whole of things, to that philosophical love of nature, which is the summit of virtue. This sentiment differs essentially from the love of God of positive religions. The latter has for its object a fictitious being, and corresponds to the elementary stage of understanding called opinion or imagination. Since the God of the imagination is an individual, a person like ourselves, and like every living and real person, possesses feelings of love, anger, and jealousy, our love for him is a particularistic feeling, a mixture of love and fear, of happiness and restless jealousy; and the happiness which it procures for us is still far removed from the perfect blessedness to which we aspire. The philosophical love of God, on the other hand, is an absolutely disinterested feeling; its object is not an individual who acts arbitrarily and from whom we expect favors, but a being superior to love and to hate. This God does not love like men; for to love is to feel pleasure, and to feel pleasure is to pass from less to greater perfection; now the infinitely perfect being cannot be augmented. Hatred likewise is foreign to him, since to hate is to be passive, and to be passive is to be diminished in one's being, which cannot be the case with God. Conversely, the hatred which some men entertain towards God, and their complaints against him, are possible only from the standpoint of the imagination, which conceives God as a person acting arbitrarily. We hate persons only; we cannot therefore really hate God, conceived as the necessary order of things, as the eternal and involuntary cause of everything that exists. The philosopher cannot help loving God; at least, he cannot but feel perfectly contented, peaceful, and resigned in contemplating him. This complete acquiescence of the thinker in the supreme law, this reconciliation of the soul with the necessities of life, this entire devotion to the nature of things, - is what Spinoza, by accommodation, without doubt, calls the intellectual love of God, the source of eternal happiness. In this peculiar feeling, the difference between God and the soul, or substance and mode, is obliterated; the loved object becomes the loving subject, and conversely. The intellectual love of man towards God is identical with the love of God towards himself. Owing to this "transformation of natures," the human soul, which is perishable in so far as its functions are connected with the life of the body is immortal in its divine part, the intellect. By the immortality of the soul we mean, not so much the infinite duration of the person, as the consciousness that its substance is eternal. The certainty that the substance of our personality is imperishable, because it is God, banishes from the soul of the philosopher all fear of death, and fills him with an unmixed joy.
Analysis:
The Substance of Spinoza is what we described as Mind. Consciousness and energy or thought and extension are the subjective and objective aspect of mind and so one and the same thing,mind. Subspecia aeternitatis is the self realised state.
Chapter:12. Leibniz:
Leibniz was born at Leipzig, Germany in 1646.His father was professor of moral philosophy. At university he studied law as his profession.1n 1667 he entered the service of archbishop of mainz. In 1672 he we went to Paris. He was connected with the house of Hanover from 1673 till his death. He died on the 14th of November, 1716, as Librarian and Court Counsellor of the Duke of Hanover, Privy Counsellor, Imperial Baron, etc., etc. He invented infinitesimal calculus. He was a pioneer in mathematical logic. He was in friendly terms with Spinoza but later discredited him His main works were Monadology, Principles of nature and of grace and Theodieca
Leibniz is famous for his doctrine of monads. Leibniz opposes to the dualism of extended or unconscious substance and inextended or conscious substance by his theory of monads or inextended and more or less conscious substances. On the one hand he expresses in the many monads the absolute nature of things distinguished and of individuality; on the other hand, in contrast to this and apart from it, he expresses the ideality of Spinoza and the non-absolute nature of all difference. According to Leibniz both the physical and mental realms contain a series of phenomena which do not depend exclusively either on thought or on extension. If the mind is conscious thought and nothing else, how shall we explain the countless minute perceptions which baffle all analysis, those vague and confused feelings which cannot be classified, everything in the soul of which we are not conscious? The soul has states during which its perceptions are not distinct, as in a profound, dreamless sleep, or in a swoon. During these states the soul either does not exist at all, or it exists in a manner analogous to the body, that is, without consciousness of self. Hence there is in the soul something other than conscious thought: it contains an unconscious element, which forms a connecting link between the soul and the physical world. Similarly what are attraction, repulsion, heat, and light, if matter is inert extension.? Cartesianism can neither deny nor explain these facts. Consistency demands that it boldly deny, on the one hand, the existence of order and life in the corporeal world, on the other, the presence in the soul of all ideas, sensations, and volitions which temporarily sink below the threshold of consciousness and attention, and reappear at the slightest inner or outer solicitation. It must unhesitatingly affirm that there is nothing inextended in the material world, and nothing unconscious in the spiritual world.
Extension, as the Cartesians conceive it, cannot of itself explain sensible phenomena. It is synonymous with passivity, inertia, and death, while everything in nature is action, movement, and life. Hence, unless we propose to explain life by death, and being by non-being, we must of necessity suppose that the essence of body consists of something different from extension. And does not the state of extension, which constitutes the nature of body, presuppose an effort or force that extends itself, a power both of resistance and expansion? Matter is essentially resistance, and resistance means activity. Behind the (extended) state there is the act which constantly produces it, renews it (extension). A large body moves with more difficulty than a small body; this is because the larger body has greater power of resistance. What seems to be inertia, or a lack of power is in reality more intense action, a more considerable effort. Hence, the essence of corporeality is not extension, but the force of extension, or active force. The principles of mechanics, the first laws of motion, have a higher origin than that of pure mathematics. This higher notion is the idea of Force. It is this power of resistance that constitutes the essence of matter. As to extension, it is nothing but an abstraction; it presupposes something that is extended, expanded, and continued. Extension is the diffusion of this "something.; the diamond, an extension or diffusion of hardness; body in general, the extension of materiality. So it is plain that there is something in the body anterior to extension (the force of extension). Only the effects of force are perceptible; in itself it is an insensible and immaterial thing. Now force constitutes the essence of matter; hence matter is in reality immaterial in its essence. This overcomes the dualism of the physical and mental worlds. Though force forms the essence of that which is extended, it is itself inextended; it is therefore indivisible and simple; it is original; for composite things alone are derived and have become what they are; finally, it is indestructible, for a simple substance cannot be decomposed. Where there is action there is active force; now there is action in all things; each constitutes a separate center of activity; hence there are as many simple, indivisible, and original forces as there are things. So the Leibnizian system contained a precious gem: the conception of active force which had superseded the dualism of thought and extension.
Substance is a thing that is capable of activity; it is compound or simple, the compound cannot exist without the simple. So substance is living activity and active energy. The monads are simple substances. Monads are single and multiple monads, multiplicity of individual monads. Like atoms they are units, without any external influence and indestructible from out side. Space as it appear is not real but is due to the arrangement of monads in a three dimensional order. There is no vacuum. Every space is filled by one actual monad. Every monad is unique and different from others. So Leibniz instead of one or two substances believed in an infinite number of eternal substances. So he was a pluralist. Each substance is single and without parts and he called them monads. Every thing consists of groups of monads. The monads are simple substances ,with out parts and form compounds. Each monad can be called entelechy because there is self sufficiency and perfection in them. They have no extension or form and they are the elements of every thing. It cannot come into being naturally and it cannot be destroyed naturally. It came into being by creation and end by annihilation. Monads have no windows, so neither substance can enter it nor accident can go out of it. So the quality of monad cannot be altered by anything out side it.Each monad is equal in quantity but differs in quality so every monad is different. Each monad is subject to change by its nature. there is an internal principle of change called perception and particular series of change called appetition. So there is multiplicity in every monad. Each monad is wound up from the beginning of its existence and contains potentially everything up to its end. Each monad is a complete concept. So from one of its state we can predict other states of it. Each monad act to its natural end, which he called appetition. Each monad express the whole others but they are independent and there is no interaction between them. Mind monads and body monads work by pre established harmony between them. So from the state of one monad we can infer the state of other monads. In his own words “These monads are not material or extended, nor do they originate or decay in the natural fashion, for they can begin only by a creative act of God, and they can end only by annihilation. On account of their simplicity the monads are not susceptible of alteration by another monad in their inner essence; there is no causal connection between them.” Each of them is something indifferent and independent as regards the rest, otherwise it would not be an entelechy. Each of them is so much for itself that all its determinations and modifications go on in itself alone, and no determination from without takes place.
Monads are metaphysical points, inextended and indivisible. Monad is representative being. In each monad all other is reflected. Each monad is a mirror of the whole universe. This is not passive mirroring of images but active spontaneous production in itself. These original forces or monads may be compared to physical points or to mathematical points; but they differ from the former in that they have no extension, and from the latter, in that they are objective realities. Leibniz calls them metaphysical points or points of substance. (they are both exact, like mathematical points, and real, like physical points), formal points, formal atoms, substantial forms (in scholastic language), to indicate that each constitutes an individual, independent of all the other monads, acting of itself and depending only on itself in form, character, and entire mode of life. Whatever happens in the monad comes from it alone; no external cause can produce modifications in it. Since it is endowed with spontaneous activity, and receives no influence from without, it differs from all other monads, and differs from them forever. It cannot be identified with anything; it eternally remains what it is . It has no windows by which anything can enter or pass out. Since each monad differs from and excludes all the rest, it is "like a separate world, self-sufficient, independent of every other creature, embracing the infinite, expressing the universe." It follows that two individual things cannot be perfectly alike in the world.
Leibniz attributes the synthetic principle in the analogy of monads and in the notion of pre-established harmony. Though each monad differs from all the rest, there is an analogy and a family resemblance, so to speak, between them. They resemble each other in that all are endowed with perception and desire or appetition. Those on the lower stages in the scale of things, as well as the highest and most perfect monads, are forces, entelechies, and souls. Souls alone exist, and that which we call extension or body is nothing but a confused perception, a phenomenon, a sensible manifestation of effort, that is to say, of the immaterial. ; thought (perception) and tendency (appetition) are positive attributes, permanent modes of being, not only of the higher monads but of all without exception. Leibniz maintains that perception is universal, and the difference between conscious, living and inorganic monads due to infinite degrees of perception, and perception is not necessarily sensation.. The perceptions of lower beings are infinitely minute, confused, and unconscious; those of man are clear and conscious: that is the entire difference between soul and mind, perception and apperception. Monads are immaterial and mind consists of conscious immaterial monads and matter is unconscious immaterial monads. Material monads have only perception while souls are monads with memory.
The monad is therefore simply shut up in itself, and cannot be determined by another; this other cannot be set into it. It can neither get outside itself, nor can others get inside it. These monads must at the same time have certain qualities or determinations in themselves, inner actions, through which they are distinguished from others. There cannot be two things alike, for otherwise they would not be two, they would not be different but one and the same. Determinateness and variation such as this, which remains and goes on in the existence itself, is a perception;” and therefore Leibniz says all monads perceive or represent. These determinations contained in the monads exist in them in ideal fashion; this ideality in the monad is in itself a whole, so that these differences are only representations and ideas. As thus representing, the monad, says Leibniz, possesses activity; for activity is to be different, and yet to be one, and this is the only true difference. The monad not only represents, it also changes; but in doing so, it yet remains in itself absolutely what it is. This variation is based on activity. “The activity of the inner principle, by means of which it passes from one perception to another, is desire. These representations and ideas are not necessarily conscious representations and ideas, any more than all monads as forming representations are conscious. It is true that consciousness is itself perception, but a higher grade of the same; perceptions of consciousness Leibniz calls apperceptions. The difference between the merely representing and the self-conscious monads Leibniz makes one of degrees of clearness. The influence of one monad on another is ideal and through the mediation of God. Each monad has relations which express all. All monads to each and each to all. So each monad represent the whole universe. They are limited not regards to their object but the different ways in which they have knowledge of their object. They are limited and differentiated through the degree of their distinct perceptions. A monad with matter constitute a body. A body and entelechy (monad) constitute living being. Living being and soul called animal. In human beings souls are raised to reason (mind). The souls follows its own laws which are the laws of final causes through appetitions, ends and means. Bodies follows its own laws of efficient causes or motions. They agree with each other in virtue of the pre established harmony between all substances. So both souls and body act as if independent and act as if each is influenced by the other. There is also pre established harmony between physical realm of nature and moral realm of grace. So things leads to grace by the ways of nature. Animal souls are the images of the whole universe, but human souls (mind) is the image of both God and world. So mind enter in to a type of fellowship with God. Our true happiness consists in making the aim of our will's object attachment to God.
Each monad is representative being and also different from each other, difference depends on difference of representation. Different degrees of representation, classified according to distinction of confused and clear knowledge. Monad of lowest rank which simply represents and stands as confused knowledge. This is the stage of inorganic nature. Higher monads representation is active. as a formative vital force without consciousness, stage of vegetable world. Still higher rank when monads attain sensation and memory, animal world. Lower monads sleep, brutes dream. When monad rise to thought and reflection it is called mind or spirit. The perceptions of the monad as already mentioned do not extend beyond itself. Having no "windows by which anything can enter or depart," it can only perceive itself. We ourselves, the higher monads, do not perceive anything except our own being, and that alone we know immediately. The real world is wholly inaccessible to us, and the so-called world is merely the involuntary projection of what takes place within ourselves. If we have an (indirect) perception of the external world, it is because we are like all monads, representatives of the universe, and because, consequently, that which takes place in us is the reproduction in miniature of that which takes place on the large scale in the macrocosm. Since the monad directly perceives itself alone and its own contents, it follows that the more adequate an image it is itself, the more complete will its perception of the universe be. The better a monad represents the universe, the better it represents itself. If the human soul has a clear and distinct idea of the world, it is because it is a more exact and more faithful image (idea) of the universe than the soul of the animal and the soul of the plant. All monads represent and perceive, or, in a word, reproduce the universe, but they reproduce it in different degrees, and each in its own way. There is a gradation in the perfection of the monads. In the hierarchy thus formed, the most perfect monads rule, the less perfect ones obey. Thus according to Leibniz every monad has or is the representation of the entire universe, which is the same as saying that it is really representation in general; but at the same time it is a determinate representation, by means of which it comes to be this particular monad, therefore it is representation according to its particular situation and circumstances. Matter is nothing else than their passive capability. This passive capability it is which constitutes the obscurity of the representations, or a confusion which never arrives at distinction, or desire, or activity. The conscious monad distinguishes itself from the naked (material) monads by the distinctness of the representation Leibniz more particularly defined the distinction of man as that “he is capable of the knowledge of necessary and eternal truths,"
In his theory of knowledge he believed in innate ideas. Innate ideas are not explicitly and consciously contained in the mind but posses them potentially and virtually though with the capacity to produce them out of itself. All thoughts are innate, they do not come to mind from outside but produce from itself. Mind need nothing external for even it's sensations. In these innate ideas three main principles of all knowledge are principle of contradiction, principle of sufficient reason, nothing happens without reason and, and principle of identity of indiscernible, two monads are not exactly alike, the principle that in nature there are no two things alike. The maxim of the reason is that everything has its reason, the particular has the universal as its essential reality. Necessary truth must have its reason in itself in such a manner that it is found by analysis, i.e. through that very maxim of identity. For analysis is the very favorite plan of resolving into simple ideas and principles. The two logical premises ,law of contradiction and law of sufficient reason, they both depends upon the notion of analytic proportion in which the predicate is contained in the subject. The law of contradiction states all analytic proportion are true and the law of sufficient reason states all true proportions are analytic. The notion of an individual substance is so completed that form it can be deduced all the predicates of the subject ,whether necessary or contingent, or past, present or future. So every soul is independent of everything else except God and immortal. Individual notion of each person involves once for all everything that will ever happen to him. In view of his principle "that the monad has no windows," Leibniz cannot grant that our knowledge has any other source than the soul itself. Nothing can enter it; hence, strictly speaking, the direct observation of external facts or experience is impossible. Experience through the medium of the senses is an illusion; it is, in reality, nothing but confused thought. He repeatedly declares that the soul, and the soul alone, is both the subject and the object of sensation. We never perceive and experience anything but ourselves. Everything in the mind is spontaneous production, thought, or speculation. Whether we shall regard our thought as the result of an impression from without, or as the product of the mind itself, will depend on its degree of clearness or confusion. Thought, however, though autonomous, is not arbitrary and free from law. It obeys the sovereign laws of contradiction and sufficient reason. But it does not depend on anything external to the thinking monad, around which the principium distinctionis rises like an impassable wall. Leibniz also declares, in answer to Locke's denial of innate ideas, that nothing is inborn in the understanding except the understanding itself, and, consequently, the germ of all our ideas.
Bodies as bodies are aggregates of monads. Such bodies as have no inner unity, whose elements are connected merely by space, or externally, are inorganic; they have not an entelechy or one monad which rules over the rest. A higher degree of Being is found in bodies with life and soul, in which one monad has dominion over the rest. The body which is bound up with the monad, of which the one monad is the entelechy or soul, is with this soul named a living creature, an animal. One such entelechy rules over the rest, yet not really, but formally: the limbs of this animal, however, are again themselves such living things, each of which has in its turn its ruling entelechy within it.World is a sum of all monads. All composite things is aggregate of monads. Body is a multiple of monads. Accordingly, we must distinguish between physical individuals, such as nature offers, and the metaphysical individuals or monads composing them. A plant or an animal is not a monad and individual in the metaphysical sense, but a combination of monads, of which one rules and the others obey. The central monad is what is called the soul of the plant, animal, or man; the subordinate monads grouped around it form what we call body. The physical individual is not an isolated monad, but a central monad surrounded by other monads, and it is the latter, or this group of subordinate souls, which, strictly speaking, constitute the body of the individual. So human body composed of many monads, Each is a soul but there is a dominant monad which is called soul of man. This monad is dominant not only having clear perception than other monads which form the body, but all the purpose of human body also serve the soul monad or mind. This is the truth of control of will over movement. Now, the monads have no windows; within one and the same monad, the ruling monad, for example, there may and must be a causal relation between its successive states; such a relation, however, is impossible between two different monads. Leibniz says living being has a ruling entelechy, which is the soul in the animal, but the members of this living body are full of other living beings, - plants, animals, - each of which has also its entelechy or governing soul." "Each monad," "is a mirror of the universe, from its point of view, and accompanied by a multitude of other monads composing its organic body of which it is the ruling monad." But by virtue of the autonomy of the monads, this dominating influence of the central monad is purely ideal; the latter does not really act upon the governed monads. The obedience of the governed monads is, quite spontaneous. They do not subordinate themselves to the ruling monad because this forces them to do so, but because their own nature counsels then to do it. In the formation of organisms, the lower monads group themselves around the more perfect monads, which, in turn, spontaneously group themselves around the central monad. An inorganic body, a rock, or a liquid mass is likewise an aggregation of monads, but without a ruling monad. Such bodies are not inanimate; for each of the monads composing them is both soul and body; but they seem inanimate because their constitutive monads, being of like nature, do not obey a governing monad, but hold themselves in equilibrium. A real and direct action of the dominant monad upon the subordinate monad, or of soul upon body, is as impossible in Leibniz's system as in that of Descartes. This action is merely apparent. In sensation the soul seems to suffer the influence of the body, and the parts of the, body, in turn, move as though their movements were determined by the volitions of the soul. As a matter of fact, neither one nor the other is affected by something external to it. No soul state, no volition, for example, can "penetrate" the monads constituting the body; hence the soul does not act directly upon the body; our arms are not moved by an act of will. Nothing in the body can "penetrate" the dominant monad: hence, no impressions enter the soul through the senses, but all our ideas are innate. Body and soul seem to act on each other; the former moves when the latter wills it, the latter perceives and conceives when the former receives a physical impression, and this is due to a pre-established harmony, owing to which the monads constituting the body and the ruling monad necessarily agree, just as two perfectly regulated clocks always show the same time. According to Leibniz, the harmony between the movements of the body and the states of the soul is the effect of the Creator's perfect work, as the perpetual agreement between two well-constructed watches results from the skill of the mechanic who has constructed them. In his own words 'According to my system, bodies act as if there were no souls, and souls act as if there were no bodies, and both act as if each influenced the other'. We have seen that monads reflect the universe in different degrees; that some monads reflect it better than others. This pre-supposes the existence of a lowest monad, which reproduces the universe in the most elementary manner possible, and a highest monad, which expresses it in a perfect manner: a positive and a superlative. Between these two extremes we have an infinite chain of intermediate monads. Each intermediate monad forms a different point, and, consequently, a different point of view, on the line connecting the extremes; each, as such, differs from all the rest. But the monads are infinite in number. Hence we have on the ideal line between the lowest and the highest monad, i.e., on a line that is limited on all sides and is not infinite, an infinity of different points of view. From this it follows that the distances separating these points of view are infinitely small, that the difference between two adjacent monads is imperceptible. This principle of continuity removes the gaps which are supposed to exist between the mineral and vegetable kingdoms, and the vegetable and animal kingdoms.) There are no gaps, no absolute oppositions in nature; rest is an infinitely minute movement; darkness, infinitely little light; perception in the plant, an infinitely confused thought. Animals are merely imperfect men, plants imperfect animals. Leibniz does not, regard man as a product of evolution. Each monad remains eternally what it is, and the soul of the plant cannot therefore be transformed into an animal soul, nor an animal soul into a human soul. But his doctrine of the pre-existence of monads, and his teaching that they develop indefinitely, logically culminate in the theory of transformation. He says, "I believe that the souls of men have pre-existed, not as reasonable souls but as merely sensitive souls, which did not reach the superior stage of reason until the man whom the soul was to animate was conceived. It even seems as though Leibniz's "souls" pre-exist in the inorganic world, like so many germs. In its state of pre-existence, he says, in substance, the monad which is to become a soul is absolutely naked, or without a body; that is to say, it is not surrounded by that group of subordinate monads which will form its organs, and, consequently, exists in a kind of unconscious state. Hence, the monads destined to become either animal or human souls wholly resemble inanimate bodies, from the beginning of the world until they are incorporated. The passage of the monads into bodies (incarnation) cannot be conceived as a metempsychosis or a metasomatosis, if we mean by these two terms the introduction of the soul into a body formed without its assistance.
Relation of soul and body explained with pre established harmony. While soul and body is independent of one another god has established a harmony of two activities, a parellism of two functions so there is perfect unity of body and soul. It is like two watch which is set in perfect accord from the start by the watch maker. Soul is immortal. What we call death is soul losing part of monads which compose the mechanism of body. By virtue of the law of pre-established harmony, the development of the soul runs parallel with that of the body, and although there is no real and immediate communion between the central monad and the subordinate monads constituting its body, there is an ideal correlation between the latter and the soul. Each soul has its body. But though there is no metempsychosis, there is metamorphosis, and perpetual metamorphosis. The soul changes its body only gradually and by degrees. Owing to the principle of continuity, nature never makes leaps, but there are insensible transitions everywhere and in everything. Future life cannot be incorporeal. Human souls and all other souls are never without bodies; God alone, being pure action, is wholly without body. Since the central monad is "primitive" like all monads, it cannot be created ex nihilo upon its entrance into actual life, nor annihilated at its departure. "What we call generation is development or increase; what we call death is envelopment and diminution. Strictly speaking, there is neither generation nor death, and it may be said, that not only is the soul indestructible, but also the animal itself, although its machine is often partially destroyed." As regards rational souls, it may be assumed that they will pass "to a grander scene of action" at the close of their present life. Moreover, their immortality is not the result of a particular divine favor or a privilege of human nature, but a metaphysical necessity, a universal phenomenon embracing all the realms of nature. Just as each monad is as old as the world, so, too, each one "is as durable, as stable, and as absolute as the universe of creatures itself." The plant and the grub are no less eternal than man, the angels, and the archangels. Death is but a turning-point in the eternal life, a stage in the never-ending development of the monad.In spite of its absolute identity, the monad develops continually. The soul, like the body, is in a state of change, tendency, and appetition. This perpetual change is called life. Each of these states composing it is the logical consequence of the preceding state and the source of the following state. "As every present state of a simple substance is naturally a consequence of its preceding state, so its present is big with the future
According to Leibniz, each monad is free in the sense as it is not determined by any power outside of itself. But though not determined from without, it is not on that account independent of its own nature, free in reference to itself. This determinism comes from the law of causality and the principle of sufficient reason to both the physical and moral realms. This is autonomous determinism: nothing determines the acts of the soul except the soul itself and its preceding acts. between the one substantial monad and the many monads for which independence is claimed, because their essence consists in their standing in no relation to one another. Yet at the same time, in order to show the harmony that exists in the world, Leibniz understands the relation of monads to monads more generally as the unity of contrasted existences, namely of soul and body. This unity he represents as a relation without difference, and notionless, i.e. as a pre-established harmony. Leibniz uses here the illustration of two clocks, which are set to the same hour, and keep the same time; in the same way the movement of the kingdom of thought goes on, determined in accordance with ends, and the movement onward of the corporeal kingdom which corresponds with it, proceeds according to a general casual connection. Since now every monad, as shut up within itself, has no influence upon the body and its movements, and yet the infinite multitude of their atoms correspond with one another, Leibniz places this harmony in God; a better definition of the relation and the activity of the Monad of monads is therefore that it is what pre-establishes harmony in the changes of the monads. God is the sufficient reason, the cause of this correspondence; He has so arranged the multitude of atoms that the original changes which are developed within one monad correspond with the changes of the others.
Each monad contain the whole universe, the whole infinity within itself and is like god .The only difference god knows everything with perfect distinctness while monad represent it confusedly though some better than others. Every monad mirrors the whole and same universe. So the changes of collected monad runs parallel to each other. This is pre established harmony by god and he called it pre established harmony.. The harmony which governs the universe is a harmony pre-established by God: because the monad is not itself the absolute. The monads, which "are the true atoms of nature and the elements of things," are none the less created. They are indestructible, but a miracle can destroy them. They are neither absolutely primitive and eternal, nor the absolute; but they depend on a divinity, "the primitive unity or the original simple substance, of which all monads, created or derived, are the products, and are born, so to speak, from moment to moment, by continual fulgurations of the Divinity." So we have created monads on the one hand, and an uncreated monad, the Monad of monads, on the other; the former are finite and relative; the latter is infinite and absolute.
That universal is God, as the cause of the world, to the consciousness of whom the above principle of sufficient reason certainly forms the transition. The existence of God is only an inference from eternal truths; for these must as the laws of nature have a universal sufficient reason which determines itself as none other than God. Eternal truth is therefore the consciousness of the universal and absolute in and for itself; and this universal and absolute is God, who, as one with Himself, the monad of monads, is the absolute Monad. He is the fountain of eternal truths and Notions, and without Him no potentiality would have actuality; He has the prerogative of existing immediately in His potentiality. God is here also the unity of potentiality and actuality
Even though everything is hypothetically necessary due to determined monads they are logically not necessary. So according to him man has free will. There are two type of truths Necessary (eternal truths) truths and Contingent (fact) truths. Necessary truths arrived by primary principles and contingent truth by efficient cause. Efficient cause also leads to final cause. So final resides in a necessary substance and this absolutely perfect and sufficient substance is God. So both the essence and existence of created being is derived from God. In God essence involves existence. In God there is power, knowledge and will. Power forms the ground or basis of monad, knowledge perception and will appetition.
This Monad of monads is a real God, a God distinct from the universe. God is the sufficient cause of all monads. He is also the absolute final cause. God is simple primitive substance. God is pure immaterial actuality while to monads belongs matter so restrained actuality, striving monad.. His metaphysical proof of God's existence are mainly four :ontological argument, cosmological argument, arguments from eternal truths and physio theological or design or preestabished harmony argument. Usual ontological argument is God's essence implies existence because a being who contain all supreme perfection is better if he exists , because if he does not he is not the best possible being. Leibniz begins by defining God as the most perfect being, subject of all perfections. Perfection is a quality which is positive and absolute and no two perfections can be incompatible. When we conceive a most perfect being he also exists because existence is one of the perfections. The cosmological argument is from first cause. Every finite thing has a cause and this series goes on and end in uncaused cause or unmoved mover. Leibniz proves that every particular are contingent so there must be a sufficient reason out side universe for the world's existence and this is God. Leibniz proves his existence by the principle of sufficient reason. "This sufficient reason for the existence of the universe cannot be found in the succession of contingent things, that is, of bodies and their representations in souls; because matter being indifferent in itself to motion and to rest, and to this or that motion, we cannot find the reason of motion in it, and still less of a particular motion. And although the present motion which is in matter comes from the preceding motion, and this, in turn, from one preceding it, we do not advance one step though we go ever so far; for the same question always remains. Thus, it is necessary that the sufficient reason, which has no further need of another reason, be outside of this series of contingent things, and be found in a substance which is their cause, or which is a necessary being, having the reason of its existence in itself, otherwise we should still have no sufficient reason at which to stop. And this ultimate reason of things is called God. This simple primitive substance must contain in itself eminently the perfections contained in the derivative substances which are its effects; hence it will have perfect power, knowledge, and will, that is, it will have omnipotence, omniscience, and supreme goodness." Argument from eternal truths is as follows. All statements of the essence is either true or false like mathematical truths of 2 and 2 four is always true and 2 and 3 four is always false. But statement of existence like man is running can be some times true or some some times false .Those that are always true are called eternal truths. Ultimate reason for contingent truth must be n necessary truths. As truths are part of contends of mind. eternal truths must be content of eternal mind. A reason for what exists must itself exist so eternal truth must exist and exists as thoughts in the mind of god. Arguments from pre established harmony is as all monads are windowless and there is pre established harmony there must be a single outside cause which establish them in the first place. Arguments from design says that from the observation of well organised being in the world one can conclude that it cannot be the result of chance and blind natural forces but evidence of a designer God.
Though the idea of God is confused and contradictory for our intelligence, it is not so in itself. The fact that we are confronted with insoluble difficulties in contemplating the absolute, simply proves that the human soul is not the Monad of monads. It follow from the very nature of things that we can have only a confused notion of the Supreme Being. Just as the plant has a confused perception of the animal, and the animal a confused perception of man, so, too, man has only an indistinct perception and a faint inkling of higher beings and the Supreme Being. In order to have an adequate notion of God, one would have to be God, and the fact that we have no such notion finds its natural explanation in the transcendency of the Supreme Being. God is supernatural or transcendent in relation to man, as man is a supernatural being with respect to animals, the animal a supernatural being with respect to plants, and so on. If we mean by reason the human understanding, God is also supra-rational in so far as he surpasses human nature (or is supernatural); that is, he transcends human intelligence as much as his perfection surpasses ours.
Leibniz makes an alliance between philosophy and faith. To him there is absolute agreement between the dogmas of the Church and human reason.By virtue of the law of universal analogy, there must be an analogy, an agreement, a harmony, between divine reason and human reason; and a radical opposition between the Creator and the creature is not conceivable. Owing to this agreement, man naturally possesses faith in God and in the immortality of the soul, these two central doctrines of all religion; and revelation simply helps to bring out the truths which have been implanted in the human mind by the Creator.
Leibniz subordinates the will of God to the divine reason and its eternal laws. God is free in his action but they are always under reason. This is a characteristic trait of Leibnizian rationalism, He says "It must not be imagined, that the eternal truths which are dependent on God are arbitrary and depend on his will, . . . Nothing could be more unreasonable. . . . For if the establishment of justice (for example) happened arbitrarily and without reason, if God hit upon it haphazard, as we draw lots, then his goodness and wisdom are not revealed in it, and it does not bind him. And if he established or made what we call justice and goodness by a purely arbitrary decree and without reason, he can unmake them and change their nature, so that we have no reason to suppose that he will observe them always. .'.The supreme power is not the will of God taken by itself, but his will governed by the eternal laws of his intelligence, laws which determine his conduct without constraining him, since they constitute the very essence of his nature.
The Theodicy deals with the question of physical, metaphysical, and moral evil, and aims to refute those who regard the existence of evil as an argument against Providence. Since a world had to be brought into existence, God chose out of infinitely many possible worlds the best possible, the most perfect, so far as it could be perfect, considering the finite element which it was to contain. In creating things, God was determined by his infinite reason, and necessarily created the best possible world. According to him god from an infinite number of possible world created the best. so this is the best of the world. This is the doctrine of many possible worlds. There are infinite number of possible worlds all of which God contemplated before creating the actual world. Being good God created the best of possible worlds one where there is greatest excess of good over evil. Evil exists only in the details, and serves to enhance the glory of the good: the whole is supremely perfect. "God does not will what is evil; evil comes only indirectly into the results” (blind), “because oftentimes the greater good could not be achieved if evils were not present. Therefore they are means to a good end .Evil is in God only the object of a permissive will , but everything that is wrong would be such. “God has therefore among the objects of His will the best possible as the ultimate object, but the good as a matter of choice , also as subordinate; and things indifferent and evils often as means. Evil is, however, an object of His will only as the condition of something otherwise necessary which without it could not exist. In the existence of evil he distinguishes three kinds of evil-metaphysical, physical and moral. Metaphysical evil, finiteness and incompleteness is necessary because inseparable from finite existences and is thus independent of the will of god. Physical evil (pain etc) though not independent of the will of god is often a good conditionally as a punishment or means of improvement. Moral will or wickedness is not due to will of god. Sometime he says wickedness permitted by god as a condition because without wickedness there is no freedom and without freedom no virtue or he reduces moral evil to metaphysical and make it a want of perfection, a negation, a limitation. He distinguishes material and moral elements in wicked act. The material or the power to act is from god, but the formal elements, the wickedness of the act belongs to man is the result of his limitation or his eternal predestination.
Analysis:
Leibniz multiple monads are eternal spirits in spiritual existence.. Leibniz’s immaterial conscious monads are sentient or animate spirits and unconscious monads are inanimate or insentient spirits. All the rationalist were determinists in the sense that everything is expressing their own nature. This nature is its internal reality or spirit. Everything can become only what is its internal nature or essential nature.
Empiricism is the doctrine that sensory experience is the primary source of knowledge. The well known empiricists are Locke, Berkeley and David Hume.
a. John Locke:
Locke was the father of modern empiricism and materialism .He was an Englishman born at wrinton in 1632.His main work is Essays concerning human understanding. He died in 1704 at the age of 72.
According to him If truth is native to the mind, it is useless to search for it outside by observation and experimentation. Then we may, by means of a priori speculation, meditation, and reasoning, evolve it from our own inner consciousness. Locke's aim is: (1) to discover what is the origin of our ideas; (2) to show what is the certainty, the evidence, and the extent of our knowledge; (3) to compel philosophy to abandon what surpasses human comprehension by clearly marking the limits of its capacity.
Locke's philosophy is his theory of knowledge which depends on two ideas. First there is no innate ideas, second all our knowledge comes from experience. The advocates of innate ideas are obliged to assume that the mind can have ideas without being conscious of them. But to say, a notion is imprinted on the mind, and at the same time to maintain that the mind is ignorant of it, is to make this impression nothing According to him there is no universally valid theoretical or practical proposition. Soul is a tabula rasa-blank and void like a white paper on which nothing is written. Mind possess ideas through experience. There are two types of experience. One perception of external objects by sense,called sensation, Second perception of activities of our own mind called inner sense or reflection. Locke believed that there is nothing in the mind, which is not first in the senses, and the mind is blank at birth. Experience is the primary source of knowledge. Simple ideas are produced by sensations and complex ideas by reflections. Reflections are thought produced by the mind using sensations. Locke identified two types of qualities in things. Primary qualities are physical or quantitative properties like weight, height, size etc. The ideas of primary qualities resemble their cause so they belong to the object. The secondary qualities like sensory qualities of colour, taste, smell etc. are the effect of the object on our senses. They do not resemble their cause. There can be difference concerning secondary qualities because they are subjective and do not belongs to the object.
Locke divides ideas into simple and compound ideas. Simple ideas those impressed from outside upon mind while mind is passive. Simple ideas are partly those that comes through individual senses like color from eye,or sound through ear,party through combination of senses like space and motion due to sense of touch and sight, partly received through reflection like thought and will, partly through combination of reflection and sensation like power and unity. These simple ideas are like letters of language to the mind. As language form by combination of letters complex ideas are formed by different combination of simple ideas. There are three classes of complex ideas, ideas of mode, substance and relation.Ideas of mode include modification of space (as distance, measurement, immensity, surface, figure etc) modification of time (succession, duration, eternity) of thought (perception,memory,abstraction) According to Locke the origin of conception of substance is we find in sensation and reflection certain simple ideas connected together. we have the impression that these simple ideas have not produced through themselves and we always furnish them with a ground in an existing substratum and this is called substance. Substance is something unknown and is conceived as possessing those qualities which are necessary to furnish us with simple ideas. But even though substance is the product of our subjective thinking it possess objective reality unlike other complex ideas which has no corresponding reality external to mind. We don't know the archetype of substance but only know it's attributes. Relation arises when mind connects two things each other so as to pass from one to other. Mind can make everything relative to each other like identity and difference ,cause and effect. The idea of cause and effect arises when our mind perceives that anything whether substance or quality begins to exist through activity of another. Combination of ideas gives rise to conception of knowledge. So knowledge does not pass beyond our ideas and is bounded by experience.
According to him it is possible and even probable that mind is a material essence. There is no moral innate principles because these vary from nation to nation and religion to religion. Conscience is our own opinion of our own action so varies with persons. This does not mean there are only positive laws ,but there is natural laws which we are ignorant and become aware later. Truth which is proposition cannot be innate as the ideas consisting it is not innate. Even the idea of god is not innate.
b.
c. David Hume:
Like Berkeley David Hume also believed that we cannot have objective knowledge of an external world from our sense experience. We experience sense impression, which he called primary impressions. We form ideas derived from this sense impressions and memories. In this way simple and complex ideas are formed. These he called secondary ideas. We can have only these primary impressions and secondary ideas. From sensory experience we cannot derive cause and effect. By association of ideas we make law of cause and effect and then project it into the external world.
Not only we have no knowledge of substance or matter but only sense impressions there is also no experience of a perceiving self or mind. As matter is only external perception so mind is also only a set of ideas and internal perception. So there is neither substance nor mind. So events are without cause, effect and necessity.
According to Hume moral value has no objectivity. It is not a result of reason but feelings. Feelings are really behind all moral judgments.
Analysis:
Both primary and secondary qualities really belong to the object. All qualities are inherent in the essential nature of the object. The only difference is some qualities are derived from mental essences while others from astral essences. The primary qualities or those derived from mental essences are not entirely depends on the senses so they can be judged independent of senses. Secondary qualities are derived from astral essences so they entirely depend on the senses. As human essence contain all the essences but differs in the degree or quantity of the essences so the secondary qualities differs due to the difference in the senses of the subject. In this sense mental essence are more objective than astral essence because they are rational knowledge. Still astral essences are also objective in the sense that sweet never becomes sour or red becomes blue. Only the intensity varies from person to person.
Locke was also unable to explain the existence of substance. Sensation never informs us about substance. The thing in which quality subsists and which is independent of our senses.
There are two causes. One is the primary cause, which is inherent in the essential nature of the thing itself. The secondary cause is other beings, which are responsible for initiation of change in the primary being. But this secondary cause is relevant only if the essential nature of the primary being yield to its influence. In this sense the real cause is the being itself. Hume is right that we cannot predict cause from sense impression. This is mainly because cause and effect are mental essences or primary qualities. As human spirit contain all essences cause has also an a priori element independent of sense impressions.
d. Rousseau:
Rousseau advocated deism and immortality of soul. According to deism God is impersonal and the prime cause of the world. But after existence the world is operating on its own natural law. He was also a dualist.
He believed sensations are the only source of knowledge but considered moral idea as innate.
Rousseau believed instincts and feelings are more trustworthy than reason. He advocated training of heart and feeling instead of improving intellect. He believed thinking man is a depraved animal. According to him the savage is noble because only he has real virtue. Civilisation and culture is bad and spoil man while primitive nature is good. He advocated returning to natural condition where there is no war but all are equal, friends and in harmony.
Analysis:
We have seen that it is not environment but one’s own nature, which is primary in making one good or bad. It is a myth that savage life is a life of equality and harmony. Savage life was one of cannibalism and all type of exploitation started from savage life. The so called civilisation was made by the savage himself.
Feelings are in between rational and passionate nature and reason always arises from rational nature. Feelings are always coloured by sensory experience hence more subjective than reason. Reason depends on concepts and essences so more objective than feelings. So in most cases reason is higher and more reliable than feelings.
e. Rationalism and
empiricism:
Rationalists says reason is the primary source of know ledge or general and necessary character of knowledge cannot derive from experience because they are only present in the mind as innate ideas. According to others concept exist as predisposition of the mind and experience stimulate this knowledge.
According to empiricists sensation and experience is the primary source of knowledge. Universal and necessary character of knowledge is derived from experience.
We told earlier that human spirit contains all the essences means spiritual, mental, astral and material essences.
Spiritual essence manifest as spirit or mind, which is active thought directed towards the human essence as a separate individual being. This mind contains mental essence as faculty of thought, astral essence as faculty of imagination and desire and material essence as essences of all material beings. Now these essences are in a potential or dormant state. Only sensory experience will revive or recollect this essential knowledge. Ideas and concepts are the faculty of thought and imagination acting on the material essences stimulated by sense experience. So the cause of knowledge is sense experience but the source and content of knowledge is the mind, which contain the essences. True knowledge is always the contemplation of essences. Mind is not empty or “tabula rasa” as Locke believes but contain all the essences.
Chapter
16: Immanuel Kant
Kant believed that all our knowledge comes from or begins with experience but they arise not out of experience. This is because some components of knowledge are not from experience but from reason, which contribute factors producing perception and conception. According to him mind is an active organ co-ordinating sensations into perceptions and perceptions into conceptions.
He identified two sources of knowledge. One he called apriori knowledge, which is knowledge through understanding, knowledge independent of experience and senses and inherent in the mind as innate ideas. The second is aposteriori knowledge which is the knowledge derived from experience and senses.
Kant called his philosophy transcendental philosophy, as it is a study of the structure of mind and laws of thought, which transcend sense experience.
In transcendental aesthetic dealing with sensations and feelings he argued that space and time are not sensory experience or components of objective reality but forms or modes of perception, which organise the sensations. Space and time are apriori and their laws are also apriori, which means the concept of space, and time is inherent in the mind before sense experience.
In transcendental analytic which deals with knowledge of forms of thought he contended that categories and causes are modes or forms of conception and so they are also apriori knowledge. In transcendental deduction he argued that sense experience couldn’t be taken as primary data because such knowledge itself assumes apriori knowledge of objective world. Our inner experience is possible only on the assumption of an outer experience or in other words conscious of self existence assumes existence of an external world. According to Kant the law of thought and the law of things are same because things can be only known by thought.
In transcendental dialectic he contended that the real object or the thing in itself. (Dingansich) is unknowable. It is called noumenon as an object inferred by reason and phenomena as it appear to us through sensory knowledge.
Kant also believed that moral sense is a sense of duty because they are apriori knowledge. As apriori they are categorical imperative means authoritative and can be applied to all situations.
Our body follows natural and causal law but our mind has free will. Apriori moral sense and action according to moral choice means we have free will.
Analysis
As we told earlier human mind contain space, time, cause and categories as essences. This is what Kant mean by apriori knowledge. But according to us not only these but the essences of all material beings exist in the human mind. But as we told earlier the revival of this apriori knowledge is only after stimulated by experience. This means the idea of space, time, cause and categories only possible if we experience similar corresponding things in the objective world. As we told earlier even though the source of knowledge is innate ideas the cause is experience. The concept of space is possible because spatial property is present in the world and inherent in objects. What we call space is present as extension, roominess or dimension in beings. In other words besides apriori space is also an objective reality. Time is also present in things as duration. Without the reality of time change and motion in nonliving things and life and growth and death in conscious being are in conceivable. So time is also an objective reality. As we told earlier causation is inherent in the essential nature of the being itself. One of the capacities of mind is the ability to make concepts and naming things. This is due to the faculty of thought and imaginations. Categories are made by grouping the attributes of objects and naming them. So categories are also the property of beings so is an objective reality. So time, space, cause and categories are not only apriori knowledge or mere forms of conception but also objective realities.
What Kant means by moral sense, as apriori is real moral sense is from rational and spiritual nature. When moral sense is from rational nature it manifest as rational morality. Even though this is not depending on sense experience and have objectivity this only produce partial will due to egoistic considerations. But moral sense out of spiritual nature act independent of personal consideration hence produces absolute or free will.
The ''Dingansich'' are the multiple spirits in ideal or spiritual existence, noumenon are man’s rational knowledge about those spirits and phenomenon is sensory experience of these spirits.
It is true that one can only know his own spirit absolutely but other spirits always remain unknowable as itself.
Chapter
17: Schopenhauer and Nietzsche
a. Schopenhauer:
Schopenhauer like Kant also believed in two aspects of reality. The reality as it appears phenomenally as an object of perception and reality as it is in itself. ''Dingansich'' he identified with absolute will. He believed the whole world as the objectification of one absolute, indivisible, blind, irrational will. This is known as objective voluntarism.
According to him space and time are principle of individuation, which divide one will into distinct organism and separate beings. In reality there is only species, life and will. Individual is only phenomena not the thing in itself. According to him the individual or partial will is not free. It is determined by the whole free will. Real knowledge is to see in constant change of matter the fixed and permanent form.
According to Schopenhauer what we call force and cause is really will itself. This will is also the reality of man. Reason and consciousness are subordinate to will and character lies in will not in reason. He believed form of will and form of matter are two aspects of one reality or in other words the act of will objectified is the act of body.
According to him the absolute will is a will to live and its nature is want. This will never feel fulfilled. According to him there will be no victory over ill of life until will is subordinate to reason. Reason is born of will but can master the will. Genius is those who dominate the will with reason.
Schopenhauer also believed in eternal recurrence of nature.
b. Nietzsche:
Nietzsche believed that the basic drive behind all activity is the will to power. Even reason and truth have no value in itself. Life affirming things or which gives more power and freedom is rational and truth. He believed that best thing in man is will, power and passion. This is known as subjective voluntarism. He equated virtue with power and the real test of superiority that of capacity and power.
His concept of super man was man with more intellect, will and power. This is not brute physical force but moral strength. He thought men are unequal naturally and preferred individual freedom over society. Will and power as criteria he divided society into three types, producers, officers and rulers. Superman should be rulers.
Like Schopenhauer Nietzsche also believed in eternal recurrence of nature.
Analysis:
Schopenhauer’s absolute will as causation and underlying reality as thing in themself is what we mean by III logos or consious being as the underlying reality of each and every spirits in spiritual or ideal existence. But this is not blind will but creative urge due to love of perfection.
Man’s essence is not will or power alone. They are the attributes or aspects of his spirit. It is true that up to animals or even in raw or unevolved unpolished man will predominate in the essence. But man’s essential nature as a self conscious being is a unity of knowledge,will and power and in activity knowledge regulating will and power. As Schopenhauer himself says genius is wisdom over will. But this is only possible if wisdom can regulate will in man’s essential nature. Otherwise it is impossible to alter one’s essential nature. We have told earlier that when by contemplation self consciousness increases even those with predominance of will or power means rational or passionate nature are able to regulate their reason and passion from the aspect of the whole spiritual nature.
Nietzsche’s identification of virtue and super man with will to power is what we told about rational nature, which due to strong ego consciousness will to fame and power. But in perfect man who is the real super man will is replaced by love of the whole creation.
It is true that there is no equality in nature. In manifestation there is a hierarchy depending on the capacity and function of each being. In human also every spirit is different depending on the degree of self revelation and predominance of nature but behind all this in reality there is only one single essence and single being. As there is unity in this diversity in this sense every one is equal and must get equal opportunity.
Nietzsche’s division of producers, officers and rulers are based on predominance of passionate, rational and spiritual nature
c. Voluntarism:
Objective and subjective
Objective voluntarism is a form of objective idealism. Schopenhauer was an objective voluntarist. According to him the ultimate reality is absolute and blind will.
Subjective voluntarism is a form of subjective idealism. Nietzsche was a subjective voluntarist. According to him the individual’s will to power is more important than truth. Truth and rational is what gives more power and freedom to the individual.
We have seen that as first logos the Absolute is unknowable and indefinable. As second logos the Absolute is self consciousness. Only as III logos the Absolute manifest as three attributes wisdom, love and power.We have seen that consious being is a unity of knowledge,will and power. Here also it is conscious love not blind will behind manifestations. And this love manifest as will only up to animal species. In humans even though there is predominance of rational nature or will in one group due to spiritual essence hence self consciousness all are able to regulate their will. At self realisation a man is able to regulate his nature from the whole spiritual perspective so will is not the ultimate essence but one attribute of the essence and manifest as the essence only in lower forms of life.
As we told earlier Nietzsche’s will to power arise from rational nature. Increased self consciousness replaces this with love of full self expression and love of the whole creation.
Chapter
18: German idealism
Apart from Kant and Schopenhauer Fichte, Schelling and Hegel are the main German idealists.
a. Fichte:
He believed the world spirit as an ego with boundless activity that created the world. Nature or world is due to the higher unconscious imagination of this ego. So objective world is a construction of the ego as non ego from appearance. He stated individual ego alone exists and all manifestation is a reflection of this ego. This is known as subjective idealism. As only individual and his consciousness alone exists the world and other people are in the mind of the individual or the world exists as the content of consciousness. This doctrine is known as solipsism.
b. Schelling:
Schelling believed both mind and body or spirit and matter as expression of one absolute spirit or world spirit. He was an objective idealist. He considered nature as an organism in gradual transition to ego. According to him nature is visible and sleeping spirit and spirit is invisible and wakened nature. According to him knowledge of objects are really knowledge of consciousness. Knowledge of the objective world is a limiting condition by which the mind becomes aware of itself.
c. Hegel
Hegel believed that to conceive an idea there must exist some relations. An idea without any relation is empty hence pure being and nothing is same.
Hegel believed in the identity of being and thinking. This means world is the manifestation of one absolute spirit. Like Spinoza he was also a monist.
Hegel believed the world as the gradual manifestation of absolute idea by a dialectical movement of triad. According to him reality is a developing whole through contradictions.
The dialectical movement of triad first starts as a thing or thought, which he called thesis. This leads to its opposite which he called antithesis or negation. Later these two unite to form a higher whole by negation of negation, which he called synthesis or sublation. This synthesis forms the thesis for the next dialectical triad. This dialectical progression is from unity through diversity to diversity in unity. In man for the first time this absolute rises to self consciousness or the world spirit become conscious of itself and becomes the absolute idea. This means thought realise itself as part of the absolute.
According to Hegel world is the alienation of absolute spirit from itself through nature and then its gradual return to itself through man. This initial illusion, which he called alienation or estrangement and gradual overcoming of it through man, is by a dialectical triad called logic, nature and mind.
Logic
This is the stage of being. Hegel called it reason in itself or ‘ansich’. This deals with the science of thought. This is the stage at which idea is developed within the world spirit. This is the stage of pure or abstract thought, which becomes concrete patterns in nature and mind. This is again subdivided and forms a dialectical triad of being, essence and notion.
Being is the state of pure thought without distinction of subject or object. This again divided to form a dialectical triad called quality, quantity and measure. Here due to measure quantity is transformed to quality. This is how a new state appears by leap in logical category.
The essence is the state of objective thought where world spirit identify as substance. The notion is the subjective thought where substance itself realised as subject.
As we told earlier state of logic is abstract thought and these ideas reveal in logical categories. These are grown out of one another and related each other.
Philosophy of nature: This is the development of the idea in the form of other being. Hegel called this nature reason for itself or ‘fur sich’. This stage is only the external manifestation of self developing logical categories so there is no development of nature but only unfolding of logic, which is its spiritual essence.
Philosophy of mind: Mind is reason reflected back into itself (an und fur sich). It is world spirit becoming conscious of itself. This is the development of the absolute idea in thought and history means in man and society. This also forms a dialectical triad and divided into subjective mind, objective mind and absolute mind. Subjective mind manifest in abstract individual, objective mind in social man or society and absolute mind in art, religion and philosophy. The highest manifestation of absolute spirit is in philosophy, which is the recognition that subjective, and objective is one and the same reality. According to Hegel it is not the individual but the world spirit, which is finding and returning to itself through this process.
According to Hegel Truth as Absolute Idea is Eternal but as Absolute Mind is Progression or development of this world spirit or absolute idea through history.So as Absolute Mind there is no eternal truth. Reason is dynamic and progressive. . So truth as Absolute Mind depends on the historical period.This development is first as Subjective Mind(Soul.Consiousness,Mind) then as objective Mind(Law,Morality of conscience,Moral life or Social Ethics) and lastly as Absolute Mind(Art,Religion,Philosophy). But Hegel also believed that in his own time and in his own philosophy the development of the world and knowledge had run its course to completion.
The ethics of Hegel also form a dialectical triad. According to him first there was abstract right of stoics, which is thesis. This is rational right and no reference to individual conscience. So it is pure objectivity. The antithesis is Rousseau’s morality. This is but pure subjectivity without any rationality or universality. The synthesis or sublation is the social ethics. This is not abstract like stoic ethics but at the same time universal.
Analysis:
Fichte’s and Schelling’s view is what we were saying about the world as the active imagination of the spirits.
Hegel’s pure being is first logos, which is without any relation and unknowable. His absolute spirit or idea is third logos as consious being.
Logical categories are third logos or consious being as absolute subject with multiple predicates or attributes.. Philosophy of nature and mind is manifestation. The absolute spirit manifest not abstractly in art, religion or philosophy but in artists, religious founder or philosopher. And most of the times its highest manifestation in mystics remain unknown to the world. Like the master Lao-tse’s saying “one who really knows does not talk”.
All truths are not relative. There are absolute truth and relative truth. The first logos, II logos and III logos are eternal and absolute truths. Temporal world is transient and perishable. This truth also is relative and depends on historical time. So social values and rational views changes with history because they are temporal and relative truth.
d. Idealism; subjective,
objective and transcendental
Objective idealism
One of the proponent of objective idealism is Schelling . Their doctrine is that the world is the active imagination or idea of one world mind or absolute spirit. According to them the world is in the mind of God.
Subjective idealism and
solipsism
Subjective idealism says the objective world is an idea of the observing mind, which is the individual mind. According to it there is no object without subject. There exist only individual ego and his mind. This is also known as solipsism.
Main exponents of this doctrine are Berkeley, Hume, Fichte and Husserl. The phenomenology of Husserl is based on the internationality of mind. According to him there is no distinction between what is perceived and the perception of it. In other words objects of knowledge does not exist outside the mind of the subject focused on it.
Transcendental idealism.
Immanuel Kant’s idealism is known as transcendental or critical idealism. According to Kant also objects of experience are only appearances or phenomena and they depend on apriori type of consciousness. But he also believed in the independent existence of objects as “Things in them self”
Analysis
Now the reality is somewhere between objective and subjective idealism. The world is the active imagination of the consious being as multiple essences or spirits. Now this imagination is through the spirit itself. As objectivists say the creative or consious being is not an outsider or abstract thing outside the world and producing a cosmic imagination in its mind. Consious being imagine as the being of essences and through the essences itself. The world is not the product of the imagination of one individual ego as subjectivists say but the creative being imaging through each and every spirits as multiple beings.
d. Idealism and realism
Idealism contrasting with realism is the belief that there is no external objective reality independent of the observing mind. In short reality is mental.
Realism is the doctrine that there is an external objective reality independent of the observing mind.
It is true that our experience is mind dependent. All our sense experience is about the appearances. So it is true that the knowledge of the objective world depends on the observing mind. But this does not mean they have no independent existence. In fact our reason affirms that what gave these experiences are substances or essences. Without independent existence of these essences this experience is impossible. Idealists are confusing experience with existence.
Chapter19: The evolutionists
a. Herbert spencer
Spencer believed that the ultimate nature or essences of things are unknowable. So the ultimate reality is unknowable. He believed the dynamic principle of reality is continuous cycles of evolution and dissolution. He conceived evolution as a process from indefinite and incoherent homogeneity to definite and coherent heterogeneity. This is by collection of similar parts into a larger whole and separation of these into more varied forms.
According to him instincts are produced by our forms of perception and there is no basic difference between instincts and reason. Both are adjustments of inner nature to outer relations. The only difference is instincts are stereotyped while reason is more complex.
He believed that instincts and morals are acquired. They are natural to the individual only due to habits formed by the society.
According to Spencer the highest conduct is which leads to completeness of life.
Analysis
Spencer’s unknowable is the first logos, which is undefinable. The evolutionary theory of Spencer is more mechanical than an organic one. In reality every stage is organic where the creative being is expressing itself.
Reason is not mere adjustments of inner nature to outer relations but also try to make adjustments and modifications in outer relation to conform to internal nature.
Moral sense is innate and arises from rational and spiritual nature.
b. Charles Robert Darwin
and Lamarck
According to
According to Lamarck acquired character of the individual is formed by the accumulated effort of the organism during its lifetime. This is transmitted to the offspring and by this hereditary transmission species are evolved.
Analysis
It is true that accumulated effort produce changes in character. But repeated effort means some form of awareness. Only knowledge produce repeated conscious effort.
We told earlier that evolution is the self expression of the consious or creative being as essences or spirits. We have seen that in the process of evolution the essences evolve out of the preceding ones. It is creative being's awareness of innumerable attributes, which evolve as spirits. It is consious being as the preceding spirit which aware of new attributes. So this knowledge is responsible for repeated effort. We have seen that when a new spirit evolve it manifest externally as coming out of the preceding being like animals coming out of plants. So a new species evolve out of already existing, well established species. So natural selection and survival is implied in evolution itself. Now essential nature and repeated conscious effort will produce not only acquired character but also slight changes in the organism’s genetic constitution. So this genetic mutation is not a blind or accidental one but purposeful gradual one. And by this hereditary transmission slowly new species are evolved.
c. Henri Bergson
According to Bergson reality is pure duration. This is the basis and origin of all things. Duration in time is which gives things its reality. Matter, time and motion are various ways we conceive this duration. Characters of this pure duration is becoming and change.
Bergson believed there is an internal design in things itself. This is an inward purposefulness of the parts by function and purpose of the whole. This internal nature he called 'Élan vital' and identified it with God. According to him evolution is not due to natural selection but due to creative urge of this 'Élan vital' and he called it creative evolution. Everything of the being is determined from within its own nature of 'Élan vital'.
He considered intuition as the higher stage of reason. Reason work from without and distort reality while intuition work from within and is direct and nonconceptual perception. According to him reason retain the function of dealing with spatial and material world and serial time, while intuition with direct experience of life and mind. Intuition cannot be reduced to sensation or reason but is a direct and immediate experience by simple and steady looking on a thing. By this intuition we can experience reality or pure duration.
Analysis:
Bergson’s reality as pure duration is only one aspect of reality. This is the becoming aspect as spiritual existence. As we told earlier in spiritual existence time is present as an eternal now where past abide in the present and future is an open possibility. The other aspect is being and eternal, which is represented by three logos.
Intuition is also this spiritual consciousness before discursive thought and which produce an experience of wholesome and eternal now. This is moment to moment existence.
Bergson’s Élan vital is the essential nature of beings. Creative urge and creative evolution is the self expression of consious or creative being as multiple essences or spirits.
Chapter
20 A: Marxism
Historical materialism says the basis of society or infrastructure is material, economic and social relations. Religion and morality are super structure of this base so only a reflection of the infrastructure and never the basis of society.
These social relations mainly depends on natural condition of production or resources, means of production which are the raw materials, tools and equipments and on production relations depending on who owns the means of production. So economic relations determine all other relations. In the usual course the worker get alienated from his work due to the exploitations of the owner.
The whole history is a class struggle for the ownership of the means of economic production. This class struggle forms a dialectical triad with the dictatorship of capitalists followed by the dictatorship of proletariats forming thesis and antithesis respectively. The synthesis is a classless society, which is communism. In this communist classless society each one contribute what he could but take only what he wanted or to his need.
Analysis
In the history of the world there are so many instances were great mind has changed the course of history. It is true that like evolution of the world evolution of society also proceeds by dialectical movement. The more a society is evolved the more economic relation itself is determined by moral consciousness of the society in general and great individual in particular. Economic relation forms a thesis in the sense that it acts as an incentive to the moral consciousness of individuals and society. This is because prior to mental or spiritual state it is the material state of the society, which attract the moral consciousness of individuals, and society. In a highly evolved society and individual the moral sense act from an absolute perspective for the whole evolution. So the more evolved a society the more consciousness and knowledge becomes the basis for change and material condition become the super structure.
b. Materialism:
Materialism is the doctrine that says what exist is matter or depends on matter for its existence. Materialism is broadly divided into mechanistic materialism and dialectical materialism.
The main adherents of mechanistic materialism are democritus, Epicurus and Thomas Hobbes. According to them all that exist is matter or some form of matter. It reduces mind into matter and life and thought into motion of atoms. In mechanistic materialism matter is considered as static and on which change and development is imposed from outside - This is also called vulgar materialism. The dialectical materialism was developed by Marx and Engels. Here the basic process is same as Hegel’s dialectics.
According to this materialism matter is conceived as dynamic and containing contradictions in its nature. The evolution of consciousness from matter is by dialectical movement. Dialectical triad transforms quantity to quality. First quantity forms the thesis. An optimum measure forms the antithesis. This state contains contradictions so at this stage there is denial of the law of contradictions. At this state there is law of interpenetration of opposites. Reconciliation of this contradiction is by transformation to quality, which is negation of negation or synthesis. According to the theory of reflection mind is a form of reflection; reflection in the sense of reproduction. Consciousness manifest as material reflection in nonliving things and as life and thought in living things. So consciousness is inherent in matter itself. According to Marxism the imprint on the surface of an object produced by an external impact is the form of material reflection. This is a property of the reflected object to reproduce the trace after the impact. And this reflection is present as irritability in lower forms of living things. Human mind is the highest product of matter. But mind is qualitatively different from matter and cannot be reduced to matter. What dialectical materialism asserts is matter is primary and consciousness is ultimately derived from matter. According to this sense mind is a reflection of the external world and not vice versa. So the world is real and an object of knowledge.
According to modern theory of evolution the evolution of life from matter is as follows. In primal soup the various chemical substances present combined to form a macromolecule by cosmic radiations. This is similar to DNA molecules. This is the beginning of primitive forms of plants. Due to the formation of oxygen by the photosynthesis of plants ozone layer is formed. This prevented cosmic radiation and enhanced evolution. Due to the presence of oxygen animal life is evolved. This started from water as fish, then amphibian, then reptiles, then birds, then vertebrates, then mammals.
Analysis
As we told earlier the first logos is beyond mind or matter or indefinable. Now this pure being in its immediacy can be taken as essence of matter .The second logos is essential being. III logos is consious being or creative being. We have seen that manifestations are active imagination of essences. Material things are consciousness manifesting its passive nature and life and thought are consciousness manifesting its active spirit. So it is not true to say mind is inherent in matter. Rather mind and matter two aspects or two different view of one and the same thing. We would rather say matter is in mind or things are in forms. What idealists say panpsychism. It is also true that material reflection is a form of consciousness. But mere imprint on the surface after an impact is not material reflection. It is only an automatic and mechanical effect. What we mean by material reflection is the response to mechanical or electrical stimulus in metals. It is proved that the tetanus contraction is similar in metals and animals. Fatigue produced by metals due to excessive stimulation is also a sign of material reflection. Chemical combination and separation of elements, minerals and compounds due to attraction and repulsion is also a sign of material reflection. It is present in lower forms of life as irritability, which is a crude form of response to tactile (touch) sensations.
Chapter
21: Croce, Whitehead and James
a. Benedetto Croce
Croce was an objective idealist. He believed mind as the primary reality and world as the form it takes in thought and sensations.
He identified two forms of knowledge. One logical knowledge through reason, which contains concepts and is universal in nature. Second intuitional knowledge, which is through imagination and contain images and is particular or individualistic in nature.
Analysis
This logical and intuitional division is similar to ideal world and sensible world.
b. Alfred north Whitehead
The Philosophy of Whitehead is also called Process philosophy or philosophy of organism. According to Whitehead the fundamental reality is not things or objects but processes or actual occasions of experience or energy events. Concrete things are only succession of these occasions. Every thing is characterized by experience. occasions of experience is collected into groups and human beings are only such groups of occasions.
God encompasses all the other occasions of experience but also transcends them; The Absolute as the first Whitehead calls Creativity. According to whitehead "Creativity is without a character of its own. It is that ultimate notion of the highest generality at the base of actuality". This is the ultimate process. It has no properties of its own. Creativity is the ultimate presupposition which govern the advance of everything. Creativity' is the principle of novelty. It is the universal of universals characterizing ultimate matter of fact. It is that ultimate principle by which the many, which are the universe disjunctively, become the one actual occasion, which is the universe conjunctively. It lies in the nature of things that the many enter into complex unity. The many become one and are increased by one. According to Whitehead in all philosophic theory there is an ultimate which is capable of characterization only through its accidental embodiments, and apart from these accidents is devoid of actuality. In the philosophy of organism this ultimate is termed 'Creativity'; and God is its primordial, non-temporal accident".
According to Whitehead God has two aspects or natures.Primordial nature and consequent nature.The first is The primordial aspect of God.This is the Realm of Eternal Objects.This ranks logically prior to actual entities or actual occasions. Actual occasions choose their forms from it. . All that endures is form or the eternal object; This comes from the primordial nature of God, whose mind may change, so eternal objects may change from one cosmic epoch to next ,though it never contradicts itself.
The second is the consequent nature of God.This is the realm of actual occasions or actual entities.Actual occasions get the form from the eternal objects.Elements,things,animals,human societys are all actual occasions but highly developed complex combinations and groups of actual occasions.Each actual entity has a physical pole and a mental pole.Physical pole is the aspect which repeat past occasions but mental pole is one of subjectivity and creativity.Every actual occasion persists only a split of a second and is followed by its successors.Every actal occasion is the product of all preceding occasions and the creativity of the present occasions. Each actual occasion is decided by all preceding actual occasions and creativity and subjectivity.The influence of preceding occasions is prehension..Every actual occasion or actual entity is formed by prehension and concreance.Every occasion is related to past occasions. All experiences are influenced by prior experiences, and will influence all future experiences.Positive prehension include last moments data and negative prehension eliminate incompatible data from present occasions. So all elements of the universe -- from the light waves of a distant star to human being are interrelated. So everything in the world is interrelated.Each occasion is a process which perishes as soon as it has asserted itself. Once dead, it forms the base, and sets the limits, for its successors .The actual entities have subjective aim, which manifest as presentational immediacy or awareness and causal efficacy or material causation
Analysis
The eternal objects and actual entities are also similar to our world of spirits and world of manifestations.
c. William James
William James argued that mind is neither a separate entity as rationalists say nor a series of thought due to internal perception like Hume says but a stream of consciousness. Nature of thought is not serial but a stream or process of continuous thought. So there is continuity of feeling and perception and ideas are like passing waves in it. Each thought joins next and merges into it and this produce personal consciousness. He believed human self contain three parts. One the material self, second social self and third spiritual self. According to him behind these there is a pure ego, which is the inner principle of personal unity.
In his radical empiricism. James defined reality as the immediate experience prior to division by thought in to subject and object. According to him God is not being but becoming a God in making or process God.
In neutral monism James Contended that mind and body are two different entities of the same fundamental kind of neutral material.
In his pragmatism he maintained that idea must have cash value or practical utility. Ideas are true and right only if they are practical and productive.
Analysis
The cause of personal consciousness is not the stream but the base or bed of the stream. This is the human spirit, which is real and produces personal consciousness due to spiritual existence. This human essence is what James says pure ego or inner principle of unity. Material, social and spiritual selves are identical with passionate, rational and spiritual nature.
Radical empiricism of James is spiritual consciousness where there is the experience of wholeness prior to discursive thought. Pragmatism is a type of practical utility and subjective utility theory. Truth of an idea cannot be reduced to personal utility. Truth has a pure speculative aspect and also a practical aspect. As we told earlier there are absolute and relative truth. The practical aspect is not only personal and subjective alone but also universal and permanent.
Chapter
22: Heidegger and Existentialism
a: Martin Heidegger and Dasein
Heidegger was mainly concerned with ontology or the study and meaning of being. In Being and Time, he attempted to know being by means of phenomenological analysis of human existence in respect to its temporal and historical character. In his later works Heidegger had stressed the nihilism of modern technological society, and attempted to turn western philosophical tradition back to the question of being.
In Being and Time , Heidegger was concerned with what he considered the essential philosophical question: What is it, to be? This led to the question of what kind of “being” human beings have. They are, he said, thrown into a world that they have not made but that consists of potentially useful things, including cultural as well as natural objects. Because these objects and artifacts come to humanity from the past and are used in the present for the sake of future goals, Heidegger posited a fundamental relation between the mode of being of objects and of humanity and the structure of time. The individual is, however, always in danger of being submerged in the world of objects, everyday routine, and the conventional, shallow behavior of the crowd. The feeling of dread (Angst) brings the individual to a confrontation with death and the ultimate meaninglessness of life, but only in this confrontation can an authentic sense of Being and of freedom be attained.
In Being and Time, Heidegger develops and deploys a method called "phenomenological testimony" in order to interpret our ordinary everyday experience of phenomena such as guilt and anxiety in terms of what they reveal about the structural characteristics definitive of human existence. According to Heidegger, although we seem to understand being, its meaning is still veiled in darkness. Therefore, we need to restate the question of the meaning of being. Being is always the being of a being. The "ontological difference," the distinction between Being and beings , is fundamental for Heidegger. Heidegger felt that phemenology was the only method by which to do ontology, the study of Being. So Heidegger according to phenomenological method instead of being in general try to answer the question of being of the particular kind of entity which is the human being called Dasein. According to him to understand Being, one must first understand the human kind of being, Dasein ("Being-there"), the kind of Being who asks the question of Being. So to Heidegger the starting point of philosophy is Dasein (human being) in its being..Dasein is different from all other beings because it makes issue of its being and it stands out to being.Temporality is the primordial meaning of Dasein.This temporality is derived from three structures. Existence,Thrownness,Fallenness. Existence means that Dasein is potentiality-for-being ; it projects its being upon various possibilities.so it represents future. Throwness means Dasein finds already in a certain spiritual and material, historically conditioned environment so with limited possibilities.This represent past. Fallenness means Dasein exists in the midst of beings which are both Dasein and not Dasein. This represent present. Falling, explains Heidegger, is a turning-away or fleeing of Dasein into its "they-self." This turning-away is grounded in anxiety. Anxiety is what makes fear possible. Yet, unlike fear, in which that which threatens is other than Dasein, anxiety is characterized by the fact that what threatens is nowhere and nothing. In anxiety, Dasein is not threatened by a particular thing or a collection of objects present-at-hand. Being-in-the-world itself is that in the face of which anxiety is anxious.
So Dasein is not temporal for the mere reason that it exists "in time," but because its very being is rooted in temporality: the original unity of the future, the past and the present.This is authentic temporality.According to Heidegger our feelings of anxiety testify to the "groundlessness" of human existence, revealing an ineradicable insecurity which is due to the fact that our life-projects, roles, and identities that define who we are have "always already" been shaped by a past that we can never get behind and head off into a future in which these self-defining projects will always be incomplete, cut short by a death we can neither avoid nor control. In Heidegger's famous phrase we exist as a "thrown project": thrown out of a past we cannot get behind, we project ourselves into a future we can never get beyond. "Existence" is this standing-out into time, a temporal suspension between natality and mortality.
Heidegger divides this temporal suspension into its three "existential structures" (or "existentials" for short): affectivity, telling and understanding. These existentials are three in number because they characterize phenomenologically the way in which the past, present, and future allow things to show themselves to us. Thus the past filters the way things matter to us through our moods (which are public, shared, and transmissible); In the present, things are made manifest through our use of language to articulate the meaning of our situation . Finally, the horizon of the future shapes the way things show up for us in that the projects that define us extend into the indefinite future, thus running ultimately up against death, the final horizon which our projects can neither occupy nor secure.
The "who" of "everyday" Dasein is that which is closest to Dasein. . This "who" of "everyday" Dasein is the "they" which is characterized by distantiality, averageness and levelling down and constitutes "publicness." The "they-self" is the non authentic of Dasein which is to be distinguished from authentic Dasein. Dasein as being- in- the- world is not at home.Dasein has fallen into the they- self in average everydayness.This way Dasein's authentic self has been covered. But authentic self follows Dasein via the call of conscience through the attunement of anxiety in which Dasein's 'world' is revealed . "Being-not-at-home" is the basic kind of Being of Dasein, but in an everyday way Dasein flees from this understanding by falling into they-self.In the state-of-mind of anxiety, Dasein's care structure is uncovered from its concealment in which Dasein, as lost in the "they" in its everyday engagement with things, understands itself in terms of the world as a thing present-to-hand. Dasein's flight into the "they" as fallenness is due to the the tranquility which disburdens Dasein from having to face its ownmost potentiality-for-Being. In its inauthentic tranquility, Dasein drifts along towards an alienation in which its ownmost potentiality-for-Being is hidden from it. Dasein engages in a downward plunge in which it becomes closed off from its authenticity and possibility.
Conscience is the call from Dasein's innermost self to its "they-self" which recalls Dasein from its lostness back to its ownmost, authentic self.Conscience calls us to appropriate ourselves as the kind of Being that we are.
Heidegger claims that human being as Da-sein can be understood as the site, "Da" which being requires in order to disclose itself. The human being is the unique being whose being has the character of openness toward being. But men and women can also turn away from being, forget their true selves, and thus deprive themselves of their humanity. This is, in Heidegger's view, the situation of contemporary humans who have replaced authentic questioning concerning their existence by ready-made answers served by ideologies, mass media, and overwhelming technology
Dasein is 'being there'-man exists through his choices-only man exist in the full sense because he is aware of his own existence.-man was thrown into the world and so he does not have his being ,with his own responsibility for free desicions,except in the world.World is a meaningful system.Man can realise his possibility only by manipulation of material tools.-his world is a social world ,with material interdependence.being means being with-he is his own past and present and project his own future. Future fill us with anxiety.By anxiety we are held between authentic and inauthentic existence.-we must break this suspense.-anxiety make existence authentic.Fear of death make man take responsibility and take charge of destiny
Once we have used "phenomenological testimony" to become aware of the ontological structures conditioning our "existence," an "authentic" life lived in ontic-ontological accord becomes possible. Heidegger claims that in decisive instants of resolution, we can envision ways of integrating our new-found existential knowledge into the projects which constitute our lives, thereby appropriating "existence" so as to make it our own. Such "authenticity" thus characterizes an existence in which an individual's life projects are brought into harmony with the existential structures which condition them, transforming that individual's guilty and anxious repression of their essential finitude and groundlessness into a reverence for the possible.
In his later works he deals with the issue of dehumanization in modern society, what Heidegger called the "darkening of the world.What Heidegger called "the essence of technology" infiltrates human existence more intimately than anything humans could create. The danger of technology lies in the transformation of the human being, by which human actions and aspirations are fundamentally distorted. Not that machines can run amok, or even that we might misunderstand ourselves through a faulty comparison with machines. Instead, technology enters the inmost recesses of human existence, transforming the way we know and think and will. Technology is, in essence, a mode of human existence, and we could not appreciate its mental infiltrations until the computer became a major cultural phenomenon.
Heidegger's later works replaces the 'meaning of being' by the question of the openness, i.e. of the truth, of being. As the openness of being refers to a situation within history, it is the the 'history of being.Modern philosophy had forgotten the question of Being because it has become concerned with beings, and, thus, covers over that which makes such an understanding of beings possible: the "isness" (Being) of beings such that beings can presence. According to him the beginning of this story, is the end, the completion of philosophy by its dissolution into particular sciences and nihilism - questionlessness of being.According to him this is mainly due to not distinguishing between Being and beings.Being was reduced to a being: to idea in Plato, substantia and actualitas in Medieval philosophy, objectivity in modern philosophy, and will to power in Nietzsche and contemporary thought. According to later Heidegger, "western philosophy" in which there occurs forgetfulness of being is synonymous with "metaphysics." Metaphysics inquires about beings with respect to being, but in it the question of being as such is disregarded and being itself is obliterated. The Heideggerian "history of being" can thus be seen as the history of metaphysics which is the history of being's oblivion.The modern sciences and technology may try to conceal or deny their metaphysical origin, but they cannot dispense with it. In the wider sense of this term, metaphysics is thus, for him, any discipline which whether explicitly or not, provides an answer to the question of the being of beings.Modern technology by which the contemporary human being establishes himself in the world "by working on it in the manifold modes of making and shaping." In modern technology there speaks the today's claim of being. It masters and dominates beings in various ways.According to Heidegger, today's metaphysics, in the form of technology and calculative thinking related to it, becomes so pervasive that there is no realm of life that is not subjected to its dominance. It imposes on man its technological-scientific-industrial character and makes it the sole criterion of his sojourn on the earth.
Metaphysics can neither be rejected, canceled or denied, but it can be overcome by the way of demonstration that it is nihilism. . What remains unquestioned and forgotten in metaphysics is being; and hence, it is nihilistic.Heidegger try to overcome metaphysics by his conception of history, whose central theme is the repetition of the possibilities for existence. It consists in thinking back being to the primordial beginning of the west - the early Greek experience of what is present in presencing - and in repeating this beginning, so that the western world can begin anew.
According to Heidegger the being of beings is the presencing of what is present . Being as presencing means enduring in unconcealment, disclosing.According to Heidegger, the experience of what is present in presencing signifies the true, unmediated experience of "the things themselves".The unmediated experience of beings in their phenomenality can be variously described: what is present in presencing, the unconcealment of what is present, the original disclosure of beings.The truth of being can be defined as the openness, the free region which always out of sight provides the space of play for the different determinations of being and human epochs established in them. It is that which is before actual things and grants them a possibility of manifestation as what is present, ens creatum, and objects.
We find ourselves thrown in a historically conditioned environment, in an epoch in which the decision concerning the prevailing interpretation of the being of being is already made for us. Yet, by asking the question of being, we can at least attempt to free ourselves from our historical conditioning
b: Existentialism
Existentialism is broadly divided into religious existentialism and atheistic existentialism. The main exponents of religious existentialism are Kierkegaard, Jaspers and Marcel and that of atheistic existentialism are Heidegger, Sartre and Camus.
According to existentialists the concern of science must be with existing, which are all the objective realities while the concern of philosophy must be human being. The only meaning ful thing is one’s own being or existence. They were the people of individualism so according to them truth is subjective.
According to them human existence differs from other forms of existence in the sense that he is the only being that is conscious of its own existence.
Existentialists believe that rational thought divide reality to subject and object and consider reality as an object. The being is comprehended not indirectly by rational thinking but directly through his own being means his personal existence. It is the existent that makes the unity between subject and object.
According to them during some life threatening situations which they coined “border line situation” one may suddenly aware of his own existence. This existential awareness makes him free. In other words man is condemned to be free. This freedom is the essence of man’s behaviour. Freedom means not influenced by nature or society. It also means he can make choices and he alone is responsible for his life and actions. This existential awareness also makes him realise that this existence is preceded by nothingness and also terminate in nothingness. This awareness and freedom of choice also give rise to feeling of alienation and angst. These are senses of nausea, despair, dread and absurdity. This is an existential situation and some people run away from this in real life by bad faith. Bad faith means deception of one’s own self by denying freedom and free choice and blaming the circumstances or society for his situation and taking shelter in some organised group or religions.
According to religious existentialists through this existential situation one can comprehend God.
According to Sartre and some others this free choice is moral choice. This is an attempt to transcend a particular situation and is a feature of authentic existence. But Camus and some others deny this authentic existence and consider morality as illusion.
Kierkegaard identified three type of existence, which he called aesthetic, ethical and spiritual existence.
Aesthetic stage of existence is characterised by indulgence in sensory pleasures. At this stage some may feel alienation and angst. These feelings are really productive and mean he is in an existential situation. If he can make a choice within and proceed he comes to the ethical stage.
Ethical stage is a life of morality and seriousness. This is a rational stage. If he can make a choice within and proceed again he comes to the last and highest stage called spiritual or religious stage. This is the stage of faith. Faith means rejection of logical thought. This is a life in the realm of paradoxes, which is absurd from human reason and ethics.
Sartre believed that being is transphenomenal, means they are not fully realised in manifestation but over flows them. But he rejected Kant’s Ding-an-Sich.
Sartre divided beings into beings in itself, which are all beings except man and beings for itself, means human being. Man is the only being that is conscious of its own existence.
According to Sartre primary consciousness is prereflective consciousness. This state cannot be contemplated but can only be lived. According to Sartre the nature of consciousness is such that to be and to know itself are one and the same thing. So self conscious means conscious of something. According to Sartre individual and self consciousness does not mean personal consciousness. Both the world and ego are transcendent means outside consciousness. There is not an ego consciousness but only consciousness of the ego. From this Sartre concluded that consciousness is nothingness. So there is an antithesis between being and consciousness. In being in itself essence precedes existence while in being for itself or man existence precedes essence. Here what he mean by existence is being and what mean by essence is the internal nature of the being. So even though self consciousness is always consciousness of the ego or world both are transcendental or outside consciousness. So consciousness is nothingness. This means consciousness is blank and without any content so there is no inherent or innate nature. The content of consciousness is provided by the ego and world. So we can create our own nature and the essence and nature of each man is made by his own free choice. Man is condemned to be free and condemned to be responsible for his choice and his life.
Analysis
Man is the only being conscious of its own existence is due to the expression of spiritual essence as self consciousness. Rational nature and consciousness fragment reality due to discursive thought. What existentialists say existential awareness is increased spiritual or self consciousness.
Kierkegaad’s three type of existence is similar to passionate, rational and spiritual nature.
c. Existence and Essence
What we mean by existence is being or subsistence or an entity. Existentialists mean by existence only human existence.
What we mean by essence is nature of a being. Horse and donkey have different essences. According to our theory every being is the expression of its essence or spirit and man is no exception. So human essence precede human existence.
What Sartre says as consciousness a nothingness is the state of third logos or pure self existence or self consciousness as consious being in spiritual existence. At this third logos there is neither subject object distinction nor other spirits. So there is neither seperate ego nor world consciousness. Now reflecting on this plane is not same as experiencing this plane. Existentialists and Sartre is right in saying that reflection of this nothingness produce Angst and Despair and nausea. But mystics living or experiencing of this state is an entirely different experience.
What Sartre says as prereflective consciousness, which can only be lived, and which is always conscious of something, either ego or world is the spiritual existence as spirits. As we told earlier spiritual existence is the state of multiple spirits or essences.
Now consious being in the third plane is as pure self and in the spiritual existence is as multiple essences of ego and world. So ego and world are not outside consciousness but these are different plane of consciousness. Consciousness as a living experience with nothingness is consious being as third logos and consciousness of ego or world as a living experience is consious being as spirits in spiritual existence. It is only during mental existence of the III logos or consious being consciousness split into ego and non ego or a discursive reflecting and internal self and a reflected outside world. Normal humans are those with predominant rational consciousness and consider this internal ego and external world as fixed and permanent entities. But predominant self or spiritual consciousness produces moment to moment rational knowledge of ego and world. So there is renewal of ego and world every moment and full expression. So all these are means third logos, spiritual existence and mental existence are different or higher and lower planes of the same consciousness. Every individual is unique and different due to his essential nature. One cannot change his essential nature or build his own nature. Creative freedom lies not in making one’s own nature or altering it but complete expression of one’s essential nature. Transforming potential in to actual. Increased self or spiritual consciousness produce dynamic expression of the ego and world while in ordinary humans there is static expression of the ego and world.
Chapter:23 :Positivism and Logical
Positivism.
a: Positivism
Positivism derives its principles from Empiricism which states all knowledge is based on experience.Positivism is mainly developed by Auguste Comte. According to positivism all knowledge is contained in science;systematic study of phenomenon and explication of its laws.So philosophy cannot by any means attain knowledge not available to science.So posotivists apply the scientific method to all aspects of human life and rejects cognitive value of philosophic study.
There are three stages in the development of positivism.First stage is the theory of knowledge (above mentioned) and Social theory of Comte,Spencer etc.According to positive sociology systematic study of human nature and society produce a scientific basis for the reorganization of society."From science prediction,from prediction action".The second stage is that of empirio-criticism.They even denied formal recognisation of objective real objects.They are the proponents of psychologism.Third stage is neopositivism which reconcile logic of science with mathematics.According to neopositivism objective reality is only possible through science and philosophy must be limited only to direct experience or as analysis of language.
b:Logical Positivism
Logical positivism is a variety of neopositivism.According to logical positivism, there are only two sources of knowledge: logical reasoning which is analytic a priori and empirical experience which is synthetic a posteriori. So the the fundamental thesis of Logical positivism consists in denying the possibility of synthetic a priori knowledge.Logical knowledge includes mathematics, which is reducible to formal logic. Empirical knowledge includes physics, biology, psychology, etc. Experience is the only judge of scientific theories;
According to logical positivism the meaning of a proposition consists in the method of its verification.This is called verifiability principle.So any propositions which cannot be verified is neither true nor false but meaningless.A genuinely scientific philosophy is possible only as a logical analysis of the language of science.The function of this analysis is on the one hand to get rid of philosophy (metaphysics) and on the other hand to investigate the logical structure of scientific knowledge in order to determine the empirically verifiable content of scientific concepts.The aim of logical positivism is the reorganization of all scientific knowledge within a system called 'the unity of science'.
The concept about the structure of scientific theory in Logical Positivism is that a scientific theory is an axiomatic system that obtains an empirical interpretation through appropriate statements called rules of correspondence, which establish a correlation between real objects (or real processes) and the abstract concepts of the theory. The language of a theory includes two kinds of terms: observational and theoretical. The statements of a theory are divided in two groups: analytic and synthetic. Observational terms denote objects or properties that can be directly observed or measured, while theoretical terms denote objects or properties we cannot observe or measure but we can only infer from direct observations. Analytic statements are a priori and their truth is based on the rules of the language; on the contrary, synthetic statements depend on experience, and their truth can be acknowledged only by means of the experience.The distinction between observational and theoretical terms depends on the verifiability principle. A statement is meaningful only if it is verifiable.According to the verifiability principle, an alleged synthetic a priori statement does not have a meaning; thus there are only two kinds of assertions: synthetic a posteriori and analytic a priori.
According to logical positivism, a theory is a deductive system. So there is not any method of discovering , and therefore a scientist can propose every hypothesis he prefers; only logical relationships between the hypothesis and the given empirical evidence are relevant.
In ethics logical positivism attempts to investigate moral judgments by means of formal logic and by the methodology of neopositivists in natural sciences.As moral concepts and judgments cannot be perceived by sense organs or cannot be verified by observation and experiments they deprived any sense for morality and described them as meaningless.So statements about ethical principles are neither true nor false; they are expressions of feeling (noncognitivism). Therefore a theory of ethics is impossible.
Chapter:24 Phenomenology
Phenomenology is a form of subjective idealism .Husserl is the founder of phenomenology. Phenomenology solely describe the structure of experience as they present to consciousness. It depends for knowledge only on awareness of one's own consciousness. This means only depending on insights and introspection. According to Husserl it is of the essence of objects to be correlative to states of mind.No distinction can be made between what is perceived and the perception of it.Experience is not limited to senses but include everything which is an object of thought .Phenomenological reduction is the suspension of all natural attitudes and study things only as they appear to consiousness and this method of complete phenomenological reduction is called transcendental idealism.
Phenomenology study the phenomena, or appearances, of human experience while ignoring all consideration of their objective reality or subjective association. The phenomena studied are those experienced in various acts of consciousness, mainly cognitive or perceptual acts, but also in such acts as valuation and aesthetic appreciation.
According to Husserl phenomenology, is the idea of a presuppositionless science.It rejects all antecedent commitments to theories of knowledge, both those formally developed as philosophical systems and those which pervade our ordinary thinking ("the natural attitude"). He intended by this suspension, or bracketing, of extraneous commitments to go beyond the usual choices of Idealism and Realism to"the things themselves".
By "phenomenology" Husserl always meant the science of consciousness and its objects;The procedure of bracketing is essential to Husserl's "phenomenological reduction" - the methodological procedure by which we are led from "the natural attitude," in which we are involved in the actual world and its affairs, to "the phenomenological attitude," in which the analysis and detached description of the content of consciousness is possible. The phenomenological reduction helps us to free ourselves from prejudices and secure the purity of our detachment as observers, so that we can encounter "things as they are in themselves" independently of any presuppositions."letting what shows itself to be seen from itself, just as it shows from itself." Husserl applies the term "phenomenology
According to Husserl study of the essences of certain special conscious structures are the proper object of phenomenology. phenomenology is the study of the structures of consciousness that enable consciousness to refer to objects outside itself. This need reflection on the content of the mind excluding everything outside it. Husserl called it the phenomenological reduction. As the mind can be directed toward nonexistent as well as real objects, Husserl argued phenomenological reflection does not presuppose that anything exists, but rather amounts to a “bracketing of existence,” that is, setting aside the question of the real existence of the contemplated object.In this reduction, not only extraneous opinions, but also all beliefs about the external existence of the objects of consciousness, were bracketed. This suspension of all reference to the reality of the thing experienced left the philosopher with nothing but the experiencing itself, which Husserl divided into the "noesis" (act of consciousness) and the "noema" (object of consciousness). When one contemplates the content of one's mind there are such acts as remembering, desiring, and perceiving and the abstract content of these acts, is called meanings. These meanings, enabled an act to be directed toward an object under a certain aspect; and such directedness, called intentionality, is the essence of consciousness. So the central concept of Phenomenology is intentionality of consciousness (being directed towards the object).The object of cognition does not exist out side the consciousness of the subject focused upon it or in other words there is no object without a subject.
Transcendental phenomenology, is the study of the basic components of the meanings that make intentionality possible. Genetic phenomenology, is study of how these meanings are built up in the course of experience.
According to Heidegger, phenomenology should manifest what is hidden in ordinary, everyday experience. According to him, one is what one does in the world, so a phenomenological reduction to one's own private experience is impossible; as human action consists of a direct grasp of objects, it is not necessary to posit a special mental entity called a meaning to account for intentionality.
Chapter: 25: Structuralism, Post
Structuralism and Cultural Anthropology
a: Structuralism
Structuralism reveals the structure of objects. Structure is the inner organization of a system constituting a unity between its elements.It study that underlying structures of signification.The structure of a system is more stable than its individual properties.So structuralism values deep structures over surface phenomena. From the point of view of structuralism all texts, all meaningful events and all signifying practices can be analyzed for their underlying structures. Such an analysis would reveal the patterns that characterize the system that makes such texts and practices possible. .In social philosophy Structuralism is the view that key to understanding of things and society lies in underlying structures and systems of social organuisation.According to structuralists the individual is shaped by sociological, psychological and linguistic structures over which he has no control, but which could be uncovered by using Structuralism.
According to structuralism our thinking about all kinds of thing is permeated by structures and patterns that we find repeated in lots of different situations. The signified, that is, the meaning, of anything seems to come out of a pre-existing system the makes it possible and governs it. Structural analysis try to uncover the systems of thought that govern the ways we construct our world and interpret our experience. Structural analysis, claimed to do this while remaining unaffected by social and/or cultural systems themselves. So this is a purely scientific perspective that would not be governed or controlled by underlying structures
The method of structuralism is to analyzes large-scale systems by examining the relations and functions of the smallest constituent elements of such system.Structuralism first describe the actual state of the objects under observation to reveal their intrinsic timeless properties,and to establish relation between facts or elements of the system.Departing from the initial facts it proceed to reveal the inner structure of the object(hierarchy,interrelations of elements at each level) and attempt to create a theoretic model of the object.
In structural anthropology Levi-Strauss specified four procedures basic to structuralism. First, structural analysis examines unconscious infrastructures of cultural phenomena; second, it regards the elements of infrastructures as "relational," not as independent entities; third, it attends single mindedly to system; and fourth, it propounds general laws accounting for the underlying organizing patterns of phenomena.
According to structural linguistics language is best described in terms of its irreducible structural units in morphology,phonology,etc.The meaning was to be found within the structure of a whole language rather than in the analysis of individual words.Semiotics is a new discipline under structuralism or sometimes used synonymous with it.It designate a field of study that analyzes sign systems, codes, and conventions of all kinds, from human to animal and sign languages.According to structural linguistics, sign is the basic element of language. Meaning is explained in terms of the relationship between signs and their referents. Sign has two aspects. One is the visible thing and this is signifier and the second is 'signified' which is the intended meaning of the signifier. signified means different things to different people so it needs interpretation.
b:Post Structuralism.
According to post structuralism it is true language and society were shaped by rule governed systems, but they deny that there were definite underlying structures that could explain the human condition and in post structuralism it is impossible to step outside of discourse and survey the situation objectively. According to Foucault the search for knowledge does not simply find it but also actively shapes and creates them.The 'discursive practices' of knowledge are not independent of the objects that are studied, and must be understood in their social and political context. Foucault analyse 'discursive practices' or serious speech acts not in terms of their truth, but analyses them in terms of their history or genesis(Genealogy of knowledge ) .He showed how the development of knowledge was intertwined with the mechanisms of (political) power. He had no belief in a deep underlying truth or structure: there was no objective view point from which one could analyse discourse or society.
According to Derrida all text has ambiguity and because of this the possibility of a final and complete interpretation is impossible. He developed deconstruction as a technique for uncovering the multiple interpretation of texts. Derrida thought that all text contained a legacy of some assumptions, and as a result of this, these texts could be re-interpreted with an awareness of the hierarchies implicit in language. Derrida does not think that we can reach an end point of interpretation, a truth. For Derrida all texts exhibit 'differance': they allow multiple interpretations. Meaning is diffuse, not settled. Textuality always gives us a surplus of possibilities, yet we cannot stand outside of textuality in an attempt to find objectivity. This means certainty in textual analyses becomes impossible. There may be competing interpretations, but there is no uninterrupted way one could assess the validity or truth of these competing interpretations
c: Cultural Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology Studies the full spectrum of the ways in which humans live. It focuses on cultural beliefs (known as world views) and practices. It seeks to describe all human culture in a systematic manner.
Cultural Anthropology defines culture as "a set of learned rules, standards or manners shared within a human group that describes a range of behaviors and beliefs that are proper, acceptable and valid, and are in place to promote the survival of the group". These rules govern all aspects of behavior within the human group and in most instances provide for repercussions when the rules are violated. These rules also govern relationships to other human groups and the environment. Culture is not inherited but learned by each individual.The process of learning the rules of a culture as you grow up is called enculturation. The process of enculturation is an internal one. After enculturation an individual uses those rules to govern everything.. If a person change from that culture to another society, the person still follows the rules they internalized during enculturation. This produces culture shock, that feeling that a person is out of place. Because culture is learned, however, a person can begin learning the rules of a new culture. While cultural rules are internalized, people within a culture share the rules and use them to interact. The members of a human group generally accept their culture. Every human culture believes their culture is the best in the world. Culture is true, right and just for the people of that culture. Culture is integrated and cultural rules are tightly woven together and interrelated. They form a web of behavior, each rule shaping and being shaped by other rules.Culture is not static,but dynamic.. The rules of a culture change with each generation and within a single generation. What is considered acceptable at one point in time, may become obsolete at another point in time.
Cultural rules are grouped into components.Every component interact, influence and being influenced by other components .These components affect every aspect of life.The main components of culture are Adaptation ,Food ,Technology ,Language, Community,Enculturation,Religion,Legend,Sex &Marriege,Aesthetics,Family&Kinship,Wealth and Politics.
Human survival through the ages is by using environmental resources.These are collectively called subsistence strategies. These are shaped by, and in turn shape, every culture in the world.There are four major categories of subsistence strategies.In order of complexity they are Foraging,Pastoralism,Horticulture and Agriculture.
Foraging is the oldest human subsistence strategy. Foraging society is called foragers( hunter-gathers). Foragers rely on their environment to provide all of their needs by gathering wild plants and hunting wild animals.There are three type of foragers; pedestrian, equestrian and aquatic. Pedestrain foragers travel by foot so their home ranges are smaller. Equestrian travel by horse so their home ranges are larger than pedestrian. Aquatic foragers settle near oceans ,lakes etc.
Foragers usually lead a nomadic life. The highest social organization is Band. It compose several families and no central leadership.
Pastoralism depends on animal husbandry. There are two type of Pastoralism, Nomadism and Transhumance. Pastoral nomads follow the irregular migratory pattern of their herd. They live in portable shelters like tents. Transhumant pastoralists follow the regular migratory pattern of their herd and have permanent settlements in each area.
Pastoralists settles in plains that are ideal for grazing. Family is the primary group and they are patriarchal.
Horticulture is small-scale farming in which people use simple tools to raise domesticated plants in a garden and tend to small domesticated animals, such as pigs or chickens used for both food and prestige. They are found in tropical areas. Like foragers and Pastoralists Horticulturists arrange their social organization around kinship ties.
Agriculture involves a small number of full time farming specialists producing high yields of crops using irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides as well as large beasts of burden and eventually mechanized equipment. There are two types of societies which use agricultural techniques: Non-industrialized and Industrialized society. Both use irrigation, fertilizers, and herbicides and pesticides. Non industrialized agriculture use animals for to carry out heavy labor while Industrialized agriculture use machinery .Industrialized agriculture also takes place on a larger scale, supplies more food to larger populations, and uses more resources than non-industrialized agriculture. Agriculture produce permanent settlements and urban centers.
Chapter: 26:Systems Theory and Autopoiesis
a: Systems Theory
Systems Theory states that however complex or diverse the world that we experience, we will always find different types of organization in it, and such organization can be described by concepts and principles which are independent from these specific domains.. So if we can uncover those general laws, we would be able to analyse and solve problems in any domain, pertaining to any type of system.The systems approach emphasize the interactions and connectedness of the different components of a system.Although the systems approach in principle considers all types of systems, it in practices focuses on the more complex, adaptive, self-regulating systems which we might call "cybernetic" .Cybernetic is the science of communication and control in the animal and the machine and extending now in society and in individual human beings
Systems theory study organization independent of the substrate .It study the structure of systems and their models.The systems approach integrates the analytic and the synthetic method, encompassing both holism and reductionism. According to systems theory all systems studied by physicists are closed so they do not interact with the outside world.But organisms are open systems: they cannot survive without continuously exchanging matter and energy with their environment. Open systems interact with other systems outside of themselves. This interaction has two components: input, that what enters the system from the outside, and output, that what leaves the system for the environment. System and environment are separated by a boundary. In living systems the skin is the boundary. The output is in general quite different from the input: the system is not just a passive tube, but an active processor. For example, the food, drink and oxygen we take in, leave our body as urine, excrements and carbon dioxide. The transformation of input into output by the system is called throughput. This are the basic components of a system in systems theory .So the real systems are open to, and interact with, their environments, and they can acquire qualitatively new properties through emergence, resulting in continual evolution
As environment contain other systems(eg:other persons).the collection of these system again form a system(eg:family,city).The small systems are parts or subsystem and the large systems are whole or supersystem.We can study the total input and out put of the supersystems in isolation without knowing the input out put of the subsystem.This is called "black box", something that takes in input, and produces output, without us being able to see what happens in between.For example we can know the total consumption of fuel(input) pollution generated(output) in a city without looking the input output of individuals(subsystems).If on the other hand we can see the system's internal processes it is called a "white box".
These complementary views, "black" and "white", of the same system illustrate a general principle: systems are structured hierarchically. They consist of different levels. At the higher level, you get a more abstract, emcompassing view of the whole, without attention to the details of the components or parts. At the lower level, you see a multitude of interacting parts but without understanding how they are organized to form a whole.In a super system not only subsystem determine the behavior of the whole which is called "upward causation"(reductionism)but the laws governing the supersystem also constrain or "cause" the behavior of the subsystem(downward causation).
Although each subsystem in a hierarchy has its own laws, these laws are often similar. The same type of organization can be found in systems belonging to different levels. All open systems necessarily have a boundary, an input, an output and a throughput function.So there is similar structures and functions for different systems, independent of the particular domain in which the system exists. General Systems Theory is based on the assumption that there are universal principles of organization, which hold for all systems, be they physical, chemical, biological, mental or social.
b:Autopoiesis
Autopoietic theory provides a theoretical basis for addressing individual and society. The founders of Autopoiesis are Maturana and Varela.In autopoietic theory, cognition is a consequence of circularity and complexity in the form of any system whose behavior includes maintenance of that selfsame form.This is discernment of those features of an organism's form which determine its engagement with its milieu.Maturana and Varela coined the term autopoiesis to characterize those systems which maintain their defining organization throughout a history of environmental disturbance and structural change and regenerate their components in the course of their operation.These systems are called 'Autopoietic systems'. Autopoietic systems realized in the physical space are living systems. Systems which maintain only their organization, but do not necessarily regenerate their own components is called Autonomous systems..
The principles and definitions of the Systematic description of organisms as self-producing units in the physical space is called autopoietic theory's formal aspects.From this formal aspects we can derive the operational characteristics (e.g., self-regulation; self-reference) of the organism. The principles and definitions making up this systemic description of cognition and descriptive phenomenology is called autopoietic theory's phenomenological aspects.
'Domain' is the'realm' or 'sphere' circumscribing the relations among observed systems and the unities (medium) with which they can be observed to engage (e.g., phenomenological domain) or the phenomenological domain and all potential states of relation and/or activity among the given unities (e.g., domain of interactions).Autopoietic theory's foundation is the manner in which living systems address and engage the domain(s) in which they operate.A cognizing system can engage the world only in terms of the perturbations in its operationally closed (its transformation occur only within)nervous system.To the extent that the nervous system recursively interconnects its components , the organism is capable of generating, maintaining and re-engaging its own states. Such states are 'second-order' in the sense that they are derivative from, rather than literal recordings of, experience. These states are called 'descriptions' in autopoietic theory, and an organism operating within the realm of its descriptions is an 'observer'.
Systems are not defined by enumerating or tracing the layout of their constituent elements. The definition of a systemic entity include the set of inter-component relationships which outline its form at any given moment and serve as the core 'identity' which is maintained in spite of dynamic changes over time. In autopoietic theory, this set of defining relationships is termed a system's organization.A system's organization specifies a category, within which there may be many specifically-realized instantiations. Specific systemic entities exhibit more than just the general pattern of their organization -- they consist of particular components and relations among them. The 'particulars' of a given system's individual realization make up its 'structure'.The actual course of change in a systemic entity is controlled by its structure rather than direct influence of its environment.This is called 'Structural determination'.Structural coupling is the engagement between systems, resulting in structural changes in each. Structural coupling describes ongoing mutual co-adaptation without allusion to a transfer of some ephemeral force or information across the boundaries of the engaged systems.
'languaging' is the form of linguistic interaction in which interactors mutually orient themselves to each other and to a subject
Chapter 27: Chaos and Complexity Theory
Complexity Theory and Chaos Theory, which is a part of Complexity Theory is
a new science looking at our world in a wholistic way. The usual method of
science is reductionism.This means breaking the whole into parts for
examination. living things and organic things can't be investigated in this way.Here we look at the whole without interfering in it to study
it .Chaos Theory looks at how very simple things can generate very complex
outcomes that could not be guessed by just looking at the parts by
themsleves.The Swiriling patterns of bird flying is made by each bird
maintaining the distance between it and its neighbours and flying in the
average direction of its neighbours. This shows Simple rules can generate
complex behaviour.
Complexity Theory looks at how complex systems can generate simple
outcomes. Consider the billions of cells that make up a person and yet they all
manage to work together in such a way that the body works as a single unit. Something happens when large
numbers of individual units come together and interact intensely with each
other. New levels of operating just emerge through what is called self
organisation .A city has the same large number of intensely interacting units.
This time human beings form the units. It is an emergent property, so that a
city takes on a life or a personailty of its own, which has self organised out
of the interactions of all the people who live in the city.
Fractal are patterns that are self-similar, that is patterns within
patterns within patterns. It repeats the same basic shape at smallers levels
within the same structure. for example sub branches have the same basic shape
as the whole fern and the sub branches of the sub branches also have the same
basic shape. They are every where ,in nature, in our cities, in ourselves and
in our social structures. The fractals in nature are not perfect fractals
created mathematically .Iin nature, we generally find up to about 7 levels
before the detail becomes too small to form.A fractal structure allows the
greatest number of small agents linked in such a way as to allow the greatest
movement of energy or information. Fractals are very complex structures which
have simple rules creating them.So instead of having to retain the infromation
about all the structure, it only needs to retain the basic pattern and the
level of magnification between levels. Nature uses fractals so much because
they create very efficient structures which help improve the chances of
survival in a highly competitive world. Mandelbrot investigated the
mathematical properties of fractal and discovered the central fractal form now
named after him as the Mandelbrot Set.This is z iterates to z2+c. The 'c' is a complex number, meaning it is a multiple
of the number "i", which is the square root of -1. Linked to fractals are Power Law Distributions .In any area where
earthquakes are felt, there will be a very large number of small earthquakes,
most of which actually go unnoticed. Next, there is a smaller number of medium
sized earthquakes and very few very large earthquakes. This relationship
between the different sizes of earthquakes is not just a a rough tendency, but
a pattern that fits mathematical patterns called Power Law Distributions.If we
make a graph of the pattern of earthquake sizes with the number of earthquakes
on the horizontal axis and the number of earthquakes of a given size on the
vertical axis, we find the graph forms a nearly straight line. So, we can know
that the next earthquake will fit within the mathematics of the Power Law
Distribution.The graphs are usually drawn as a log-log graph, where the
logarithm of the numbers are used rather than the numbers themselves, because
of the huge range of numbers used. It just makes the graphs much easier to see,
without actually changing the mathematical patterns themselves.The number of
species and how abundant each is in a given area of land also fits a power law.
So, there will be a few species that are very abundant, a medium sized number
of medium abundance and many species that are not very abundant.A rule of thumb
often used in business is that 80% of customer generate 20% of the business and
20% of the customers generate 80% of the business. This is another example of
Power Law Distributions.
The frequency of earthquakes, The shape of trees,sand falling down a sand pile,
the frequency that words are used in texts,the money in people's bank accounts,
the number of people dying in wars, traffic jams, brain cells ,and a host of
other seemingly unrelated patterns in nature all fit the same mathematical
patterns and proportions. This is power law distributions.There is a link
between the Power Law Distributions and fractal. If we look at a fractal tree structure,
we find a very small number of very thick branches coming out from the one
trunk. Those branches divide to a larger number of smaller branches and a very
large number of twigs. An ideal mathematical fractal reduces by the same
proportion at each new level of magnification. Ideal mathematical Power Law
Distributions also reduce by constant proportions throught each level of
magnification.Clay Shirky interestingly notes that diversity plus freedom
creates inequality and the greater the diversity, the greater the inequality.
Power Law Distributions operate within complex systems which display diversity
and freedom. There are individual 'agents' with diverse natures and the freedom
to operate autonomously. The Power Law is an effect created by the intense
interconnectivity of the agents. Power Law Distributions create inequality, so
there is a wide range of incomes, earthquake sizes, sand pile colapses, traffic
jam times etc.The mathematics of Power Laws suggest that inequality is inherent
in human complex systems. Not only that, but the more we become diverse and
able to act as free agents, the greater the degree of inequality will
grow.There are three similar measures which describe the sort of distributions
we see in Power Law Distributions. Using the example of the income levels of
people in a society, Zipf's Law measures states simply that the size of the rth
largest occurence of an event is inversely proportional to it's rank.
i.e. y ~ r-b
, where b is near to the value 1.
Pareto's Law states that the number of larger events than an income level x is
an inverse power of x.
i.e. P/X>x/~x-k
Power Law Distributions measure the number of people who have a particular
level of income. The equation for this is
P/X=x/~x-(k+1)=x-a
If there is only order everything becomes the same and there is no room for
creativity. If there is too much chaos nothing can last long enough to create
anything useful. Between order and chaos is found the edge of chaos the
point where there is enough chaos for novelty and creativity, but also enough
order for consistency and patterns to endure. This point is a magic point,
where new and unimagined properties can emerge.At the Edge of Chaos systems
have enough order to maintain an ongoing identity, while also having enough
chaos to allow for novelty and learning. At the Edge of Chaos self organisation
and emergence can appear.The Edge of Chaos is not a stable balance point but is
a dynamics balance point more like a tightrope walker's balance point.The Edge
of Chaos is also more than just a balance point. It is a point of emergence.
When the Edge of Chaos is reached, whole new behaviours can emerge that could
not have been predicted before.The Edge of Chaos is found in so many natural
systems, throughout ecosystems, in human dynamics and in so many places of the
world about us.There is debate as to whether natural systems automatically move
towards the Edge of chaos because that is the most efficient place to be. edge
of chaos systems naturally move to the edge of chaos. While it is an appealing
idea with a logic to it, in practice it has been hard to show. It is appearing
that perhaps staying at the Edge of Chaos is just too stressful, and that
organisms move to the Edge of Chaos for short periods and receive a boost, but
are not able to remain in that state so drop back until they have integrated
the changes before once again approaching the Edge of Chaos.
The tendency of all things to
decay over time is called entropy and is described in the second law of
thermodynamics.A dissipative structure is one that has a distinct boundary with
the outside world. A cell has a membrane that divides it off from the outside
environment in which it lives. The boundary is not a totally closed off
boundary however, and it draws energy from the outside environment in whatever
form it needs to survive. When this is added to the energy the cell already
has, it is enough to turn around the effects of the second law of
thermodynamics and stop the winding down process. Instead it maintains its own
separate identity over time. It must then return the waste products back into
the environment or they would just build up and build up until the system could
no longer sustain itself. there is therefore a flow of energy through the
system which taps that energy to maintain its structure.A dissipative system
is one that maintains an ongoing shape or identity because of a flow of
energy through the system is maintained. Our human body is such a dissipative
system because it is maintained by a number of energy flows, such as food,
water, air, and even environmental stimuli and cognitive processes.Disspative
systems operate far from equilibrium and not at an equilibrium point .There are
chemical disspative systems that could exhibit strange behaviour such as a
chemical changing colour rhythmically.About Evolution the fossil record tell a
story of long times with little happening and then sudden bursts of
evolutionary change. Dissipative systems might be at least part of an
explanation of how this happens. If an organism, which is a dissipative system,
can move towards the critical point over time, then it could suddenly evolve to
a new state. Over time this would lead to an organism that at each new level
maintains what existed before but creates something new and more complex at a
new level. That level itself would spawn a new level and that new level an even
newer level. When we look at a human being we see these levels within levels
from cells, to body organs to body systems to a whole body.
When we look at things more closely instead of clarity they stay just fuzzy. Fuzzy
Logic explores this world and comes up with some surprisingly practical
applications.So many aspects of life, the reality is fuzzy, but we try and
control the situation by discrete rules.Our language is full of fuzziness so
that we can describe the fuzziness of the world in which we live. All words
such as probably, almost, quite, fairly, and round about are fuzzy words.There
is similarities between fuzzy logic and Quantum Mechanics and the Heisenberg principle
of uncertainty. Heisenberg found that at very small sub-atomic levels we are
not able to measure momentum and position at the same time. The very act of
measuring the particle changes it and makes the complete measurement
impossible. Fuzzy logic also shows that the world is not as measurable as we
had thought, but it demonstrates it directly in the macroscopic world rather
than only at sub atomic levels. Fuzzy logic also uses the ideas of patches.
While it is often very difficult to predict the operation of a particular
system over the whole range of its operation, we can put a patch over a part of
the system’s operation. If the patch describes the operation very accurately,
then the patch is very thinly wrapped around that part of the graph of the
system’s operation. If the patch is not as accurate then the patch is wider.
The more patches you have the more accurate it is. With the patches there is no
need to know what is actually causing the behaviour of the system as long as
they can give enough information about how the system operates in the range of
the patch.Human decision making may well operate on a fuzzy system. Do we in
fact intuitively look for a fuzzy weighted average of the various factors to be
taken into account in each possible choice of action? And does our justice
system actually work on a fuzzy basis. We have a set of rules called laws just
as fuzzy systems have rules, but the interpretation of those rules appears to
be decided on through fuzzy weighted averages.Just as complex system can become
adaptive and find ways to enhance their effectiveness without intervention from
outside, there are fuzzy adaptive systems which can adapt their own rules to
make the system more efficient. It checks the effectiveness of its rules and
interpretation and weighting of the rules to find more effective combinations.
The longer the systems operates and the more data it processes, the more
accurate its ability to judge the most efficient way for the system to operate.
Complex Adaptive Systems are complex systems which have the ability to
learn and adapt to become more effective in the environment it finds itself.
Liiving creatures are examples of Complex Adaptive Sytems.
It is impossible to predict the outcome
of systems with millions or more of intensely interacting parts.Small changes
in the state of a system can cause major changes in the final output
(sensitivity to initial conditions). We thinks that large changes need large
forces,but small forces could have large effects. This has become known as the butterfly
effect .At critical values, the system took twice as long to settle back
into a stable pattern. After several period doubling cycles the system became
unpredictable. Period doubling proved to be an important concept in many
branches of complexity.. Period doubling was the normal way for order to break
down into chaos. There is recurring ratios in the period doubling, called Feigenbaum
Numbers. Catastrophe Theory is based on how a complex system
bifurcates or branches out. The system will reach a critical point through
period doubling and must either collapse into chaos or self organise to a new
level of complexity. Strange attractors (also known as chaotic
attractors) They mapped these mathematically onto a phase space, where each
dimension corrsponds to a variable of the system. which enabled accurate
mapping of a system and its dynamics
Chapter
28: Modern ideal philosophies
a. Neo Thomism
This is a form of objective idealism and revival of Aquinas philosophy. According to it pure being is spiritual divine being. This is the highest reality or God. God is the prime cause of being and all existence.
According to them human behaviour is controlled by super natural forces so history depends on these forces.
b. Personalism
This is also a form of objective idealism. Personalism has its roots in Leibiniz's monad theory. According to it person is the fundamental reality and has supreme spiritual value so all enquiry should proceed around the concept of person. Personality is the spiritual essence of being and nature consists of personalities spirits. According to them God is the primary manifestation or supreme personality. Their ethic is ethics of self realisation. According to them social task is not to change the world but to change the personality by spiritual perfection. Aim of moral activity consists in each individual realising its unique inner ego so ethical value lies in originality and personal quality.
Analysis
What personalism says as personalities spirits are multiple essences or spirits.
c. Neo realism
The exponents of neo realism are Russell,
They also argued that objective reality does not depend on our mind for their existence or nature. They have independent existence. They also classified reality in to universals and particulars. Universals are general concepts and logical connections. They are real and have ideal existence. So things are independent of the relation they enter in nature.
Analysis
The universals and particulars are the spiritual or ideal existence and manifestations. It is true that the beings only depend on their own essences vor spirits for their existence. They do not depend for their existence on the observing mind. Objective knowledge on the other hand is depends on the observing mind. When we are observing other people or objects the knowledge we receive depends partly on our own nature. The objects or peoples nature, which depends on senses, we can know by our sense data. Like this the objects suprasensual nature only reveal to us according to our own rational or spiritual nature and capacity. And as we told earlier the complete essence of other beings what Kant calls 'thing in itself' always remain unknowable.
Chapter:29:Post Modernism and Critical Theory
a. Post Modernism.
Post Modernism is the belief that direction, evolution and progression have ended in social history, and society is based instead upon the decline of absolute truths, and the rise of relativity.So postmodernism is partly a new language, a new set of terms that call our attention to new dimension.The main features of Post modernism are the challenging of convention, the mixing of styles, tolerance of ambiguity, emphasis on diversity, acceptance (indeed celebration) of innovation and change, and stress on the constructedness .Postmodernism is often seen by its proponents as bringing an end to metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, and so forth, on the ground that these types of discourse assume a fixed, universal reality and method of inquiry.
Post modernism is characterizedby the decline of any absolute truths - the creation of relativity .The lack of purpose and direction in historical change (decline of teleology) .The fragmentation and division of all academic subjects into a variety of perspectives - with no 'answers', no agreement. An Abandonment of the Optimism of the Enlightenment - there is no objective progress, and the fragmentation of cultural forms into a "playful celebration" of chaos and increased diversity of culture. Massive loss of faith in Science - people no longer believe in 'The Myth of truth' (Lyotard). The End of Meta narratives - no 'big story' (Marxism, Functionalism) can explain everything. The Spread of Globalization - both Business and Culture cross national boundaries.
Post Modernity is based upon a relativistic theory of knowledge - this is the belief that there are no certain, single truths about the world. Instead, every question has an infinite number of answers, each being equally as valid as each other. While modernism says there are universal truths and facts post modernism says there are only relative truths due to interpretations and social constructions.
Post modernity, according to Bauman ‘does not seek to substitute one truth for another, one life ideal for another … It braces itself for a life without truths, standards and ideals’
Modernity, which started with Enlightenment, described the world in rational, empirical and objective terms. It assumed that there was a truth to be uncovered, a way of obtaining answers to the question posed by the human condition. The basic ideas of modernism and enlightenment were that there is a stable and knowing self which knows itself and the world objectively through reason(power of reason over ignorance).This knowledge is science and it gives eternal and universal truths(power of science over ignorance).So in modernism there is only one truth and by rationality and reasoning people could find the truth and science leads to progress, and Reason and science through truth leads to Good and Right. Science would uncover the truth and liberate humans from spiritual captivity. Freedom consists in obedience to laws of reason(power of order over disorder).As language express rational knowledge it must be transparent and only represent the real.There is an objective connection between the objects of perception and the words used to name them (between signifier and signified).Language communicates meanings but also reference to objects and situations in the world which exist independently of language. This means language have communicative and referential functions.
All these ideas of enlightenment is rejected by Post Modernism.Reason itself is now seen as a particular historical form and the postmodern subject has no rational way to evaluate a preference in relation to judgments of truth, morality, aesthetic experience or objectivity. According to Post Modernism there is no stable self but human nature is essentially a social construction. Postmodernism has rightly questioned the idea of a universal, unchanging, unified self or “subject” which has full knowledge of and control over what it thinks, says, and does. It has shown that the self is strongly influenced by its surrounding culture, changes with that culture, and is fragmented like that culture. To a degree, it is not we who think, speak, and act but the culture which thinks, speaks, and acts through us.
Despite the post modernists disagreement on many points, they stressed the fragmentary and plural character of reality. They denied human thought the ability to arrive at any objective account of that reality. Any ideology or social theory that justified human action as a means to progress or order was condemned as meaningless. The grand social theory or narrative that justified human activity, whether it was Marxism, liberalism or Fascism is no longer credible, they argued. There are no universal truths. All they have done in the past is legitimate the power of those who know and deny power to those who do not know.. There is a complete rejection of any grand theories to explain social phenomena. Iconoclasm is the order of the day. Scepticism replaces certainty.Post modernism encourage new ideas and fresh conceptualisations, new discourses such as feminist, post-colonial, gay and green discourse have been found necessary to help explain the contemporary condition.
One of the slogans of postmodernism is that “there is no center,” and in particular there is no central tradition of scholarship (namely Eurocentric, middle- class, predominantly male) of which other traditions - Native American, Afro-American, Islamic, feminist, working class, for example - are mere colonies.
Postmodernism then is the critique of grand narratives, the awareness that such narratives serve to mask the contradictions and instabilities that are inherent in any social organization or practice. In other words, every attempt to create "order" always demands the creation of an equal amount of "disorder," but a "grand narrative" masks the constructedness of these categories by explaining that "disorder" really is chaotic and bad, and that "order" really is rational and good. Postmodernism, in rejecting grand narratives, favors "mini-narratives," stories that explain small practices, local events, rather than large-scale universal or global concepts. Postmodern "mini-narratives" are always situational, provisional, contingent, and temporary, making no claim to universality, truth, reason, or stability.
According to Post Modernism we are beyond a time where we can believe in Meta Narratives, i.e. big stories, grand accounts that describe all of history or all of social life (like Marxism or Functionalism).It is a world of rich, complex diversity -(pluralism) .Postmodernism begins, as Lyotard said, with an incredulity towards our cultural metanarratives
Lyotard emphasizes the antifoundational and antiholistic aspects of the theory, as well as its hostility to eternal, metaphysical truths or realities and to grand narratives.. He defines postmodern as "incredulity toward metanarratives," .. He proposes a postmodern world in which decisions are made on the basis of local conditions and are applicable only in that limited context. Individuals participate in a multitude of such localities and the lessons, beliefs, and practices of one site are not transferable to any other. But Habermas disagrees and insists that a complete immersion in the local gives us no way to judge it and is thus doomed to accommodation with the given.
The ways that modern societies go about creating categories labeled as "order" or "disorder" have to do with the effort to achieve stability. Lyotard equates that stability with the idea of "totality," or a totalized system . Totality, and stability, and order, Lyotard argues, are maintained in modern societies through the means of "grand narratives" or "master narratives," which are stories a culture tells itself about its practices and beliefs. A "grand narrative" in American culture might be the story that democracy is the most enlightened (rational) form of government, and that democracy can and will lead to universal human happiness. Every belief system or ideology has its grand narratives, according to Lyotard; for Marxism, for instance, the "grand narrative" is the idea that capitalism will collapse in on itself and a utopian socialist world will evolve
Foucault was a French philosopher who attempted to show that basic ideas about how people think of permanent truths of human nature and society change throughout the course of history. Foucault analysed the 'discursive practices' not in terms of their truth but for their history or genesis.This is called Genealogy of Knowledge.He showed how the development of knowledge was intertwined with the mechanisms of (political) power.He believed there is no underlying truth or structure.According to him there was no objective viewpoint from which one could analyse discourse or society. According to Foucault seeking for knowledge does not simply find it but it also actively shapes and creates them. The 'discursive practices' of knowledge are not independent of the objects that are studied, and must be understood in their social and political context. Truth and knowledge are culturally specific.There are no Absolute knowledge or truth. All type and forms of knowledge are socially constructed. The world is constructed by human discourses so there is no truth but only truth effects. So Reality is entirely composed of our discourses about it. So There are multiple worlds .Nature is merely a cultural construction.Objective truth about reality is impossible.The notion of nature, tends to be seen as essentially a social construct, which means that we can never speak of nature as such but only of discourses about nature.
The customization & subjectification of truth means that culturally supported meta-narratives(theories that provide totalizing explanations) and general notions of truth have been de-constructed. postmodern truths are concepts that are narrow-cast, self-discovered and authoritative only for the person seeking them.
According to modernism Reality exists independently of human
representations. It supports the existence of “mind-independent external
reality” which is called “metaphysical realism. Relativism argues that there is
no such thing as Objective Truth.In other words 'reality' has no meaning apart
from what is believed to be real. We take science and scientific knowledge for
granted.So, if you believe something then it is real.Therefore scientific
knowledge is not powerful because it is true; it is true because it is
powerful. Relativistic thinking is the work of Michel Foucault. Foucault
studies history from a position of 'discourse theory' (discourse is a way of
thinking/talking - language). He looks at the way certain discourses came into
being.
We cannot ever really know truth and without truth there can be no objective
progress.This means in effect the death of ideologies.
In Postmodernism reality does not exist objectively, “out there,” simply to be mirrored by our thoughts. Rather, it is in part a human creation. We mold reality in accordance with our needs, interests, prejudices, and cultural traditions. A corollary of this interactive view of reality is that there is no sharp fact-value distinction. All factual statements reflect the values they serve, and all value beliefs are conditioned by factual assumptions.Because reality is in part culture dependent, it changes over time, as cultures do, and varies from community to community. Knowledge is neither eternal nor universal
Postmodernism is concerned with questions of the organization of knowledge. In modern societies, knowledge was equated with science, and was contrasted to narrative; science was good knowledge, and narrative was bad, primitive, irrational (and thus associated with women, children, primitives, and insane people). Knowledge, however, was good for its own sake; one gained. In a postmodern society, however, knowledge becomes functional--you learn things, not to know them, but to use that knowledge
Another Post Modern term is Self Reflexivity .Reflexivity can be defined as “The scientific observers objectification of structure as well as strategy was seen as placing the actors in a framework not of their own making but one produced by the observer, “ . Self-Reflexivity leads to a consciousness of the process of knowledge creation . It emphasizes the point of theoretical and practical questioning changing the ethnographers view of themselves and their work. There is an increased awareness of the collection of data and the limitation of methodological systems.
Whereas modernism focused on “one”, thus concealing differences , postmodernism celebrates difference. According to post modernism language, images, and other cultural phenomena are as central, if not more central, to the production and maintenance of contemporary social order as economic or political processes.This view encouraged globalisation and pluralism.Postmodernism, in contrast to modernism, doesn't lament the idea of fragmentation, provisionality, or incoherence, but rather celebrates it.Diverse perspectives are welcomed and difference is celebrated
Another aspect of Enlightenment the idea that language is transparent, that words serve only as representations of thoughts or things, and don't have any function beyond that. Modern societies depend on the idea that signifiers always point to signifieds, and that reality resides in signifieds. In postmodernism, however, there are only signifiers. The idea of any stable or permanent reality disappears, and with it the idea of signifieds that signifiers point to. Rather, for postmodern societies, there are only surfaces, without depth; only signifiers, with no signifieds.According to Derrida language is a self-referential system,so in communication and in texts there are no inherent meanings and all meaning is indefinitely deferred. Deconstruction emphasizes negative critical capacity. Deconstruction involves demystifying a text to reveal internal arbitrary hierarchies and presuppositions. By examining the margins of a text, the effort of deconstruction examines what it represses, what it does not say, and its incongruities.
According to Derrida, language or 'texts' are not a natural reflection of the world. Text structures our interpretation of the world. Derrida thought that all text contained a legacy of many assumptions, and as a result of this, these texts could be re-interpreted with an awareness of the hierarchies implicit in language. Derrida does not think that we can reach an end point of interpretation, a truth. For Derrida all texts exhibit 'differance': they allow multiple interpretations. Meaning is diffuse, not settled. Textuality always gives us a surplus of possibilities, yet we cannot stand outside of textuality in an attempt to find objectivity.
One consequence of deconstruction is that certainty in textual analyses becomes impossible. There may be competing interpretations, but there is no uninterpreted way one could assess the validity of these competing interpretations. Rather than basing our philosophical understanding on undeniable truths, the deconstructionist turns the settled bedrock of rationalism into the shifting sands of a multiplicity of interpretations.
Another post modern term is Intuitive Interpretation .Postmodern interpretation is introspective and anti-objectivist which is a form of individualized understanding. It is more a vision than data observation.Foucault argues that everything is interpretation . “There is no final meaning for any particular sign, no notion of unitary sense of text, no interpretation can be regarded as superior to any other" .
While most of the post modernists are anti rational and do not believe in a universal or objective reason, Habermas believes we must retain modernity's (the Enlightenment's) dream of emancipation through reason. Habermas expresses a great deal of faith in human reason, urging humans not to abandon the modern hope that more careful uses of reason might lead to the eventual betterment of humankind.
All of the modern and postmodern currents deny that there are higher realms--or, more generally, deny that there are any sort of pre-existing givens at all (including any sort of pregiven ontological structures: modernity denies higher structures, postmodernity denies structures altogether: either way, spirituality is out). Spiritual traditions insist that salvation is in some sense a re-discovery of an already existing reality. Postmodernity insists that nothing is discovered, everything is constructed.
Analysis:
Reality is not completly a human construction.As we told earlier there are Absolute and Relative truths.The truth which vary according to culture ,nation and people is the relative truth.
b:Critical Theory
Critical Theory is the theoretical approach of the Frankfurt School of social philosophers. Relying on the work of Hegel and Marx, they tried to exhibit dialectically the contradictions imposed upon modern human beings by varieties of social organization that abuse formal rationality in order to deny power to classes of citizens. Rejecting the detached insularity of traditional efforts at objectivity, critical theorists of any sort generally hope that their explanation of the causes of oppression will result in practical efforts to eliminate it.This is a contemporary philosophical approach to political, ethical, aesthetic, and epistemological issues.It is new approaches to the study of culture, literature and thought.Critical Theory challenges our common sense assumptions about the world and poses controversial questions.It tell us to critically approach our assumptions about ourselves and the world. It teaches us to ‘look awry’ at what we take for granted.It saya that by‘looking awry’ we can find the forms or structures that underly our experience. In this way we can see the world, in new and unexpected ways.
The roots of Critical theory lies in the Enlightenment period and in the philosophies of Kant, Hegel, and Marx. contemporary theory is is advanced in the writings of the Frankfurt School of Social philosophers and Habermas is the leading representative of critical theory today.
Critical theory begins by inquiring into what prevents the realization of thes Enlightenment ideal. Critical theory questions and challenges the seeming obviousness, naturalness, immediacy, and simplicity of the world around us, and, in particular, of what we are able to perceive through our senses and understand through the application of our powers of reason. Critical theory is therefore concerned with discovering and uncovering, and with describing and explaining "mediations" - environmental, ecological, physical, physiological, psychological, intellectual, emotional, historical, social, cultural, economic, political, ideological, linguistic, semiotic, aesthetic, religious, ethical, etc. - between "object" and "subject," "event" and "impression," "impression" and "perception," "perception" and "cognition," "cognition" and "reflection," "reflection" and "response," "response" and "reaction," "reaction" and "action," and "action" and "practice." At the same time, "critical theory" also always involves questioning and challenging the passive acceptance that "the way things are" -- or "the way things seem" -- simply "is" the "natural" way they necessarily "should" or "must" be. In other words, critical theory questions and challenges the conviction that what is, or what is in the process of becoming, or what appears to be, or what is most commonly understood to be, or what is dominantly conveyed to be, is also at the same time right and true, good and just, and necessary and inevitable: critical theory does not, at least not automatically, accept any of this. Critical theory is always particularly concerned with inquiring into the problems and limitations, the blindnesses and mistakes, the contradictions and incoherences, the injustices and inequities in how we as human beings, operating within particular kinds of structures and hierarchies of relations with each other, facilitated and regulated by particular kinds of institutions, engaged in particular kinds of processes and practices, have formed, reformed, and transformed ourselves, each other, and the communities, cultures, societies, and worlds in which we live.
The major concerns of critical theory are questions of identity, both within the private sphere and within the public sphere, and particularly in questions of dissonance between those two identities. A major focus of critical theory, then, is on the process through which these identities are developed. Major thinkers on this question include Lacan, Louis Althusser, and Martin Heidegger.
The second major focus of critical theory is on specific ways that cultural institutions - ranging from media to religion to scientific and academic work - are used to shape identities, dictating what is accepted as true, normal, or acceptable within a culture, offering privilege to some, and marginalizing or denying others. Critical theory looks at the mechanics of this process of privilege and marginalization, and often thinks about the possibility of political action against this process. Major thinkers within this aspect of critical theory include Derrida, Foucault, and the Frankfurt School
In politics it is concerned with the nature of democracy, justice, political communication and practice.
Critical social theory is critical theory in sociology and philosophy.It is the critique of domination, an emancipatory interest, and the fusion of social/cultural analysis, explanation, and interpretation with social/cultural critique.the earlest form of critical theory is seen in marx's theory of alienated society.The whole society was alienated from the human actors who produced and reproduced it . An alienated society is a social formation which is beyond control of the human beings who have produced it
The methodological basis of the critical theory of society is the dialectical logic of Hegel . According to the principles of dialectical logic, "That which is cannot be true," . This means our existing society of racism, genocide, and possible nuclear holocaust cannot be the "truth" of human existence. Truth must lie somewhere else, not in the facts of the given reality, but in the negation or transcendence of those facts. Truth lies in the attempt to go beyond this reality to a better world.
Facticity resides in the whole for critical theory while it is a mere fragment for others. The criterion of verification can never be applied to critical sociological analysis . Only the criteria of transcendence and praxis apply.The criterion of transcendence may be thought of as the degree to which the analysis uncovers the potential for social change and human liberation inherent in any social institution. The "unactualized potential" of a social system implicitly acknowledges that social change is continuous
A second criterion for judging the truth of a theory is praxis, or the degree to which sociological analysis is responsible to human values (Habermas, 1971). Praxis is the key concept that differentiates the critical sociologist from others.Praxis refers to the ideal of conscious practical action.Critical theory establishes truth as that which negates or opposes the status quo. The mere description of the status quo, whether it be statistical or interpretative, can never by itself qualify as critical theory.
Critical theory has two goals: to bring to consciousness the awareness of capitalist exploitation and bureaucratic domination; and to create a popular demand for liberation--a demand, desire, and need for a better world. Critical theory is critical in two senses: it brings to our consciousness oppression of which we may or may not have been aware, and it calls for "criticism of life" to resist and change the existing system of domination and exploitation. Some versions of Marxism are critical theory and some are not: other theories are used critically from time to time such as phenomenology, psychoanalysis and existentialism
Rather than accepting the categories of social being as they exist in the East or West, critical theory posits the possibility and potential of a freedom which has yet to be realized. The rapid standardization and bureaucratization of the Communist countries and the rise of consumerism and mass society in the capitalist countries make the Frankfurt School demand for critique in the tradition of Hegel's dialectical logic a rational theoretical means to the negation of a status quo which has, while proclaiming the rationality of its own system, actually "eclipsed" reason and established irrational domination. Therefore, much of the work of the critical theory of society has been generated from a critique of the established practices of contemporary social science.
Both positivist sociology and classical political economy are grounded in a faith in the scientific method, or in the "episteme" of Western rationalism .The critical theory of society, as a moment of self-reflection of western culture, achieves its most progressive intellectual insight with its criticism of the Enlightenment , and of the Western concept of reason and rationality from which scientific ideology develops . The advances of technology and science have themselves undermined the humanistic roots of science. Science and technology are today "alien creations" out of popular control or understanding. The social sciences, in an attempt to appear as powerful and true as science and technology, have attempted to adopt their methods and rules of verification. By developing a philosophical critique of science, critical theory unravels the system of "rational" domination. The ideology of science is a means to this hierarchy of domination which is then perpetuated in the social sciences. The demand for a critical sociology is the demand that people who engage in the study of society stop serving the forces of imperialism, genocide, and colonization, and become a force for positive social change and the dignity of human beings
Positivism merely describes the "facts" of the given reality in order to "explain" and maintain it. Critical theory understands "facts" and reality as the historical products of human beings in the hope that the species might become conscious of its social products and achieve conscious control over them. In an era in which the development of science and technology have given the human species power to dominate and destroy natural and social reality on a level far beyond any previous historical era, a critique of the limits and distortions of science has been developed by the critical theory which transcends the dominant socio-political schism of world powers.
LITERARY THEORY-Literary theory is the theory (or the philosophy) of the interpretation of literature and literary criticism. Its history begins with classical Greek poetics and rhetoric and includes, since the 18th century, aesthetics and hermeneutics. In the 20th century, "theory" has become an umbrella term for a variety of scholarly approaches to reading texts.
One of the fundamental questions of literary theory is "What is literature?", though many contemporary theorists and literary scholars believe either that the term "literature" is undefinable or that it can potentially refer to any use of language.. literary theory can be thought of as the general theory of interpretation.
. There are many "schools" or types of literary theory, which take different approaches to understanding texts. Broad schools of theory that have historically been important include the New Criticism, formalism, Russian formalism, and structuralism, post-structuralism, Marxism, feminism and French feminism, new historicism, deconstruction, reader-response criticism, and psychoanalytic criticism
The intellectual traditions and priorities of the various kinds of literary theory are often radically different.New Criticism bases work on an East-Coast American scholarly and religious tradition so often contained an implicit moral dimension, and sometimes even a religious one: Marxist theory derives its thought from a body of critical social and economic thought, so find such judgments merely ideological rather than critical; the Marxist would say that the New Critical reading did not keep enough critical distance from the poem's religious stance to be able to understand it.The post-structuralist's work emerges from twentieth-century Continental philosophy of language so they understand the religious meaning of a poem as an allegory of meaning, treating the poem's references to "God" by discussing their referential nature.
For some theories of literature (especially certain kinds of formalism), the distinction between 'literary' and other sorts of texts is of paramount importance. Other schools (particuarly post-structuralism in its various forms: new historicism, deconstruction, some strains of Marxism and feminism) have sought to break down distinctions between the two and have applied the tools of textual interpretation to a wide range of 'texts', including film, non-fiction, historical writing, and even cultural events.
Another crucial distinction among the various theories of literary interpretation is intentionality, the amount of weight given to the author's own opinions about and intentions for a work. For most pre-20th century approaches, the author's intentions are a guiding factor and an important determiner of the 'correct' interpretation of texts. The New Criticism was the first school to disavow the role of the author in interpreting texts, preferring to focus on "the text itself" in a close reading. In fact, as much contention as there is between formalism and later schools, they share the tenet that the author's interpretation of a work is no more inherently meaningful than any other.
Chapter:30:Foucault ,Derrida and Habermas
a:Michel Foucault
Foucault is assosiated mainly with structuralism and post-structuralism.Foucault's philosophy is seen as carrying philosophy's traditional critical project in a new (historical) manner; and also as a critical engagement with the thought of traditional philosophers.His critique of subjectivity and the corresponding "archaeological" and "genealogical" methods of writing history inform Foucault's projects of historical critique
According to Kant the same critique that revealed the limits of our knowing powers could also reveal necessary conditions for their exercise. so contingent features of human cognition like space and time turn out to be necessary truths. Foucault, invert this Kantian move. he says that what is apparently necessary, might be contingent. he mainly focus on the modern human sciences (biological, psychological, social). so what is called universal scientific truths about human nature are often mere expressions of ethical and political commitments of a particular society. Foucault shows how they are just the outcome of contingent historical forces, and are not scientifically grounded truths.
1-Critiques of Historical Reason
History of Madness-In The History of Madness in the Classical Age Foucault examines the approach to madness. histories saw the nineteenth-century medical treatment of madness as a disease and needing treatment as an enlightened liberation of the mad from the ignorance and brutality of preceding ages like the Renaissance idea that the mad were in contact with the mysterious forces of cosmic tragedy or the 17th-18th-century view of madness as a renouncing of reason. but according to Foucault this is not a clear improvement on earlier conceptions.He also argued that the alleged scientific neutrality of modern medical treatments of insanity are in fact covers for controlling challenges to a conventional bourgeois morality. What was presented as an objective, incontrovertible scientific discovery (that madness is mental illness) was in fact the product of eminently questionable social and ethical commitments
Archaeology and Genealogy-According Foucault he employed archaeology (historical approach) in history of madnes and other early books.Archaeological method is the systems of thought and knowledge(epistemes or discursive formations) which are governed by rules beyond grammer and logic which operate beneath the consiousness of individual subjecs and define a system of conceptual possibilities that determines the boundaries of thought in a given domain and period.So The History of Madness be read as an intellectual excavation of the radically different discursive formations that governed talk and thought about madness from the 17th through the 19th centuries.Archaeology was an essential method for Foucault because it supported a historiography that did not rest on the primacy of the consciousness of individual subjects; it allowed the historian of thought to operate at an unconscious level that displaced the primacy of the subject found in both phenomenology and in traditional historiography.By comparing the different discursive formations of different periods suggest the contingency of a given way of thinking by showing that previous ages had thought very differently.Archaeological analysis cannot say the causes of the transition from one way of thinking to another. Genealogy, the new method deployed in Discipline and Punish, was intended to remedy this deficiency. Discipline and Punish marks the transition to "genealogical" period, in contrast to the preceding "archaeological" period. Foucault meant by"genealogy" genealogy of morals, particularly with its suggestion of complex, mundane, inglorious origins -- in no way part of any grand scheme of progressive history. The point of a genealogical analysis is to show that a given system of thought (itself uncovered in its essential structures by archaeology, which therefore remains part of Foucault's historiography) was the result of contingent turns of history, not the outcome of rationally inevitable trends
History of the Prison-Discipline and Punish is a genealogical study of the development of the "gentler" modern way of imprisoning criminals rather than torturing or killing them. Foucault particularly emphasizes how even genuinely enlightened reform becomes a vehicle of more effective control: "to punish less, perhaps; but certainly to punish better". He further argues that the new mode of punishment becomes the model for control of an entire society, with factories, hospitals, and schools modeled on the modern prison. This model is not due to the explicit decisions of some central controlling agency. In typically genealogical fashion, Foucault's analysis shows how techniques and institutions, developed for different and often quite innocuous purposes, converged to create the modern system of disciplinary power.
In modern "disciplinary" society there are three primary techniques of control: hierarchical observation, normalizing judgment, and the examination. In most of the cases control over people (power) can be achieved merely by observing them. A perfect system of observation would allow one (eg-guard) to see everything.Due to sch an impossibility there is a need for "relays" of observers, hierarchically ordered, through whom observed data passes from lower to higher levels.A distinctive feature of modern power (disciplinary control) is its concern with what people have not done (nonobservence), , a person's failure to reach required standards. This concern illustrates the primary function of modern disciplinary systems: to correct deviant behavior. The goal is not revenge like the tortures of premodern punishment but reform, means coming to live by society's standards or norms. Discipline through imposing precise norms ("normalization") is quite different from the older system of judicial punishment, which merely judges each action as allowed by the law or not allowed by the law and does not say that those judged are "normal" or "abnormal". This idea of normalization is pervasive in our society: e.g., national standards for educational programs, for medical practice, for industrial processes and products.The examination eg- of students in schools is a method of control that combines hierarchical observation with normative judgment. This is what Foucault calls power/knowledge, since it combines into a unified whole "the deployment of force and the establishment of truth" . Unlike the saying knowledge is power accrding to Foucault for the study of human beings, the goals of power and the goals of knowledge cannot be separated: in knowing we control and in controlling we know.The examination also situates individuals in a "field of documentation". They are recorded in documents and allow power systems to control them (e.g., absentee records for schools). On the basis of these documentation formulated categories, averages, and norms that are in turn a basis for knowledge. The examination turns the individual into a "case"--in both senses of the term: a scientific example and an object of care; caring is always also an opportunity for control
Bentham's Panopticon is, for Foucault, an ideal architectural model of modern disciplinary power. It is a design for a prison, built so that each inmate is separated from others and monitored. Since inmates never know whether they are being observed, they must act as if they are always objects of observation. So control is achieved more by the internal monitoring of those controlled than by heavy physical constraints.The principle of the Panopticon can be applied not only to prisons but to any system of disciplinary power (a factory, a hospital, a school).Its principle has come to pervade every aspect of modern society. It is the instrument through which modern discipline has replaced pre-modern sovereignty (kings, judges) as the fundamental power relation.
2-Representation in Modern Philosophy
The Order of Things analyses the problem of representation.
Classical Representation-For Foucault, representation is at the heart of the question of knowledge.During classical age(Descartes upto kant)representation was identical with thought.the knowledge of an object is by representation of it in thought.Here whether the idea is an adequate representation of the object be made by the idea itself since knowledge of objects indepentent of representation is not possible.Language in this case cannot have fundumental role in knowledge since it is only a physical representation of these ideas.
Kant's Critique of Classical Representation-According to Kant however representations are the product of transcendental subjectivity.so the grounds of this knowledge or ideas of representation is the transcendental subject.And another is the modern view idea as historical realities tied to language as its primary vehicle.but this view also must include some transcendental like element to explain the normative validity of knowledge.
Language and "Man"-The two central features of thought after Kant are the return of language and the "birth of man". From Kant and the modern view of historicl reality it is clear that it has an independent and essential role that it couldn't have as the mere instrument of Classical ideas. Language is related to knowledge in diverse ways.The history of natural languages has introduced confusions and distortions that we can try to eliminate through techniques of formalization. This same history may have deposited fundamental truths in our languages that we can unearth only by the methods of hermeneutic interpretation.So language can be treated as an autonomous reality .So language is a truth unto itself, speaking nothing other than its own meaning. .
The most important point about "man" is that it is an epistemological concept.This concept did not exist during the Classical age or before. Man is an epistemological notion in the Kantian sense of a transcendental subject that is also an empirical object. In Classical thought, there is no modern notion of "constitution".
The Analytic of Finitude-At the very heart of man is his finitude: he is limited by the various historical forces (organic, economic, linguistic) operating on him. This finitude is a philosophical problem because, this same historically limited empirical being must also somehow be the source of the representations whereby we know the empirical world, including ourselves as empirical beings. I (my consciousness) must, as Kant put it, be both an empirical object of representation and the transcendental source of representations. This impossibility (historically realized) means the collapse of the modern episteme. By the "analytic of finitude" Faucault sketches the historical case for this conclusion, examining the major efforts to answer the question.
This question and the basic strategy for answering it takes him to Kant.According to Kant the very factors that make us finite (our subjection to space, time, causality, etc.) are also conditions necessary for the possibility of knowledge. Our finitude is, therefore, simultaneously founded and founding (positive and fundamental, as Foucault puts it). The project of modern (Kantian and post-Kantian) philosophy -- the analytic of finitude -- is to show how this is possible.
Some modern philosophy tries to resolve the problem of man by reducing the transcendental to the empirical. Positivism attempts to explain knowledge in terms of natural science (physics, biology), while Marxism appeals to historical social sciences. Both ignores that man must be regarded as both empirical and transcendental.
Husserl's phenomenology synthesize man as object and man as subject by grounding our knowledge of empirical truths in the reality of the transcendental subject. But the notion of man and thought is no longer pure representation and therefore cannot be separated from an "unthought" (i.e., the given empirical and historical truths about who we are).So Husserl,s transcendental subject is not the subject of Descartes but the modern cogito, which includes the (empirical) unthought that is part of man's reality. Phenomenology, like all modern thought, must accept the unthought as the ineliminable "other" of man. Existential phenomenologists (Sartre and Merleau-Ponty) avoid positing a transcendental ego and instead focus on the concrete reality of man-in-the world. This subtle way of reducing the transcendental to the empirical.Philosophers like (Hegel and Marx in one way, Nietzsche and Heidegger in another) have tried to resolve the problem of man's dual status by treating him as a historical reality. But man has to be both a product of historical processes and the origin of history. If we treat man as a product, we find ourselves reducing his reality to something non-human (this is what Foucault calls the "retreat" from man's origin). But if we insist on a "return" to man as his own proper origin, then we can no longer make sense of his place in the empirical world. This paradox may explain the endless modern obsession with origins, but there is never any way out of the contradiction between man as originator and man as originated. Nonetheless, Foucault thinks that the modern pursuit of the question of origins has provided us with a deeper sense of the ontological significance of time, particularly in the thought of Nietzsche and Heidegger, who reject Hegel's and Marx's view of the return to our origin as a redemptive fullness of being, and instead see it as a confrontation with the nothingness of our existence.
Philosophy and Ancient Sexuality
History of Sexuality,The Confessions of the Flesh The Use of Pleasure and The Care of the Self deals with the notion of sexuality.
History of Modern Sexuality-According to Foucault modern control of sexuality parallels modern control of criminality by making sex (like crime) an object of allegedly scientific disciplines, which simultaneously offer knowledge and domination of their objects. In sexuality not only is there control exercised via others' knowledge , there is also control via individuals' knowledge of themselves. Individuals internalize the norms laid down by the sciences of sexuality and monitor themselves in an effort to conform to these norms. Thus, they are controlled not only as objects of disciplines but also as self-scrutinizing and self-forming subjects.
The Confessions of the Flesh that dealt with the origins of the modern notion of the subject in the practices of Christian confession.According to him a proper understanding of the Christian confession required a comparison with ancient conceptions of the ethical self.The main difference is the chrstian view of sex as evil in themselves and the morality of forbidding and restricting sex and and Greek view that sex is good ,natural and necessary if not abused and the proper use of pleasures, where this involved engaging in the full range of sexual activities (heterosexual, homosexual, in marriage, out of marriage), but with proper moderation. So sex for the Greeks was an "aesthetics of the self": the self's creation of a beautiful and enjoyable existence. This idea of an aesthetics of the self, led Foucault to the ancient idea of philosophy as a way of life rather than a search for theoretical truth
b:Jacques Derrida
Philosophy of deconstruction
Jacques Derrida is assosiated with deconstruction.Deconstruction shows that meaning emerges only provisionally, from an endless process of re-interpretation based on the interaction between reader and text.In metaphysics priority given to one term of the binary opposition (nature over culture, presence over absence, speech over writing, rational over irrational), and this allows for the formation of a system (philosophical, societal, and so on) with a stable center (God, Truth, Man, Being, Consciousness, and so on). Derrida exposes the arbitrary nature of all binary valorizations: One term cannot exist without the other, and the positive value assigned to one term is reversible.
Deconstruction is a ‘critique’ of the Western philosophical tradition by analysis of specific texts. Deconstruction seeks to expose, and then to subvert, the various binary oppositions that undergird our dominant ways of thinking.Deconstruction had influenced psychology, literary theory, cultural studies, linguistics, feminism, sociology and anthropology.
Derrida say that metaphysical way of reading makes a number of assumptions about the nature of texts. We believes language is capable of expressing ideas without changing them, that in language writing is secondary to speech, and that the author of a text is the source of its meaning. Deconstruction challenges the idea that a text has an unchanging, unified meaning.Deconstruction shows the multiple layers of meaning in a text. By deconstructing the text Derrida shows that language is constantly shifting.
Deconstruction like other philosophies is not another grand narrative, or theory about the nature of the world but rather distortalready existing narratives, and to revealing the dualistic hierarchies they conceal.
Deconstruction is analyses of particular texts. It analyses the literal meaning of a text, and also try find within that meaning, something which point towards alternative meanings. Deconstruction establish a methodology that looks to these contradictory imperatives (sameness and difference) . The first aspect of deconstructive strategy is a “desire to be faithful to the themes and audacities of a thinking” but it also open texts up to alternative and usually repressed meanings that reside sometimes outside of the metaphysical tradition.Derrida makes invention as a vitally important aspect of any deconstructive reading. as he says “invent in your own language if you can or want to hear mine; invent if you can or want to give my language to be understood” So a faithful interpretation is one that goes beyond the meaning of the text.The merit of a deconstructive reading consists in the creative contact with another text that cannot be characterised as either mere fidelity or as an absolute transgression, but rather which oscillates between these dual demands.
In a Deconstruction it is difficult to point where the explanatory exegesis of a text ends and where the more violent aspect of deconstruction begins.This is so since deconstruction only highlights what was already revealed in the text itself. All of the elements of a deconstructive intervention reside in the “neglected cornerstones” of an already existing system , and this equation is not altered in any significant way whether that ‘system’ be conceived of as metaphysics generally, which must contain its non-metaphysical track, or the writings of a specific thinker, which must also always testify to that which they are attempting to exclude .
Deconstruction says in any text, there are points of equivocation and ‘undecidability’ that reveal stable meaning that an author might seek to impose upon his or her text. So the process of writing always reveals that which has been suppressed, covers over that which has been disclosed, and more generally breaches the very oppositions that are thought to sustain it. Deconstruction expose us to that which is wholly other and to open us up to alternative possibilities.
Metaphysics of Presence/Logocentrism
According to Derrida the fundamental ways of thought in western philosophy is Metaphysics.Metaphysics is “The enterprise of returning ‘strategically’, ‘ideally’, to an origin or to a priority thought to be simple, intact, normal, pure, standard, self-identical, in order then to think in terms of derivation, complication, deterioration, accident, etc.Logocentrism means the privileged role that logos, or speech, has been accorded in the Western tradition .Metaphysics make hierarchies and orders of subordination in dualisms.metaphysics give importance and prority to presence and purity and consider contingent and complicated as mere aberrations.
c:Jurgen Habermas
Habermas's philosophy deals with social theory and epistemology. His own contribution is communicative reason.Habermas's main mission is the re-establishment of the theoretical foundations of the human sciences in general and critical theory in particular, or in Haberman's own words, “the reconciliation of the decayed parts of modernity.With studies in epistemology, science, and social theory; it has led him to a deepening concentration on problems of communication, including extensive work in interpretive theory and speech act philosophy.
Communicative Theory-In the The Theory of Communicative Action he discusses mainly for themes.They are concept of the rationality of actions,problem of an appropriate theory of action , concept of social order,diagnosis of contemporary society.
Habermas defines Communicative action as" which can be understood as a circular process in which the actor is two things in one: an initiator, who masters situations through actions for which he is accountable, and a product of the transitions surrounding him, of groups whose cohesion is based on solidarity to which he belongs, and of processes of socialization in which he is reared"
According to Habermas in serious communication hearer agrees to five implicit claims: that the utterance is true, that the speaker is sincere or truthful, that the utterance responds to the appropriate values, that it is fitting to the relation between speaker and listener, and that it is comprehensible.From this Habermas develops a notion of communication competency.These five claims in politics deepen democracy by a speech situation without domination, violence, coercion, or ignorance.communicative theory is socially situated, open to reflection, and that refuses to value one form of discourse—scientific, persuasive, or expressive—at the expense of others.According to him communication is more than grammatical comprehensibility of a sentence.These five claims are logically necessary qualities of speech directed at understanding.In order for any consensus to be rational, each of the implicit validity claims must be redeemable—supportable by rational argumentation, open to questioning of assumptions, addressed by speakers free from inequality, coercion, and domination. The notion of rational agreement has critical force; the outcome of a discussion can be challenged as irrational if it is shown to be influenced by deceptive force, or the like.
The central point of Communicative theory is intersubjective agreement—rational, negotiated assent among autonomous, responsible individuals.His intersubjectiviy in communcative theory critizises positivism according to which valid knowledge is limited to emirically tested propositions reached through value enquiry.This leaves meaning values and experience.To Habermas human society was a web of intersubjectivity, created through the actions and interactions of subjects who could become the conscious creators of values.Intersubjectivity favours hermeneutics.Hermeneutics allows us to understand the motives, values, emotions, and thoughts of others—subjectively, sympathetically, from the inside.Intersubjectivity critises mere subjective reason .Subjective knowledge enters the intersubjective sphere only by being translated into rational, accessible discourse. Intersubjectivity is not the creation of subjective reason, but is a medium of communicable knowledge, created and maintained through the interaction of many subjectivities. So intersubjective sphere has an autonomous existence, beyond any one individual, and must be entered through socialization, especially language acquisition.
Unlike other ideal and rational philosophers instead of locating reason in subjectivity or cosmos Habermas see it in the structures of interpersonal linguistic communication.
In sociology Habermas developed a theory of societal evolution and modernization focusing on the difference between communicative rationality and rationalization on the one hand and strategic/instrumental rationality and rationalization on the other
He envisages democratic socialism through realisation of human potential for reason and transformation of society as a more humane,just and egalitarian world.Habermas's social theory is non-oppressive and within universal morality.According to him all speech acts have the telos of mutal understanding.so human beings have the communicative competence to bring such understanding.
Habermas sees the rationalization, humanization, and democratization of society by institutionalization of the rationality potential of humans inherent in the communicative competence which developed through the course of evolution.In contemporary society this is suppressed or weakened by the way in which major domains of social life, such as the market, the state, and organizations, have been given over to or taken over by strategic/instrumental rationality, so that the logic of the system supplants that of the lifeworld.
Public Sphere
Life world is Society conceived from the participant perspective of acting subjects. as the lifeworld of a social group. Lifeworld is life as we live it, with all our beliefs, hopes, expectations, and desires. It is manifest in individual personalities and, in a larger sense, in cultures and subcultures. Rationalized lifeworld also embodies a "structural differentiation of three dimensions: culture, society and personality".
System is society conceived from the observer perspective of someone not involved as merely a system of actions, in which actions attain a functional value according to their contribution to the maintenance of the system.systems in modern society are the economic system and the administrative system [the state].
It is through communicative action that the structures and norms of the Lifeworld are produced and reproduced. Systems, in contrast, reproduce materially, which causes them to "interfere in the process of the symbolic reproduction of daily life" . And since these systems act in functional terms "the processes of mediation between systems and lifeworld are perceived under imperatives of money and power in functional terms exclusive of communicative interaction" .
The public sphere is part of that space which is beyond the influence of systems such as economy, church, and state. It is part of that space in which 'communicative action' takes place, as opposed to the 'functionalistic reason' "conceptualized within systems theory" .The public sphere concerns itself with the "domain of 'common concern' which is the object of public critical attention" An idealised public sphere where such public opinion takes charactrised by three "institutional criteria .Universal access - anybody can have access to the space .Rational debate - any topic can be raised by any participant, and it will be debated rationally until consensus is achieved Disregard of rank - the status of participants is ignored.
This distinction between public and private parallels, but is not identical to, the distinction he draws between system and lifeworld.
System and Private sphere is illustrated by action in modern society which is coordinated by systems which function as means -end rationality eg-market.In contrast in public sphere actions are coordinated primarily by communicatively mediated norms and values, and by the socially defined ends and meanings which constitute the fabric of the lifeworld .Discourse Ethics
Discourse ethics is a "scaled down" version of Kant's categorical imperative--a kind of moral argumentation.It is deontological, cognitivist ,formalist and universalist
Theory of discourse is an attempt to rethink the terms subjective and objective and to clarify and define the difference we intuit between analysing a novel and knowing how a diesel engine operates. Habermas adds other categories to include what we must know about our own mental processes, the language, and the social organizations that generate both novels and diesel engines.In The Theory of Communicative Action, Habermas distinguishes five discourse types, corresponding to the five validity claims. These discourse are ways of identifying the kind of claim that a text makes.
Theoretical discourse is concerned with the truth of propositions. This includes both analytic-empirical discourse, such a scientific and technical writing, and cognitive-rational discourse, writing oriented to describing states of affairs in society.Habermas attempt to delimit science’s legitimate application, sharply distinguishing technical reason from the related categories of normative and theoretical discourse. Habermas insists that even technical knowledge is constituted by the active interventions of human subjectivity and can be described intersubjectively.Sociological writing is the paradigm for cognitive-rational discourse, especially when it combines theoretical discussion and the presentation of concrete information.
Practical discourse, with the rightness of norms of action. Habermas distinguishes between discourse about society which addresses questions of truth, and discourse that addresses social norms. Such discourse is practical discourse.This grasp its object of study precisely as part of a humanly formed, subjectivity-disclosing system. . The empirical sciences seek to establish technical control over their objects; hermeneutics seeks to open its objects to comprehension as forms of intersubjective communication
Aesthetic criticism is concerned with the adequacy of the standards of value presented in works of art.Aesthetic criticism like practical discourse is questions of norms and values, but about interpretation and evaluation of works of art.
Therapeutic critique addresses the sincerity of a piece of discourse; it includes, on different levels, ideology critique and Freudian analysis.It is reader’s ability to reflect on his or her own discourse. The model for therapeutic critique is the Freudian dialogue between doctor and patient; its aim is to emancipate the reader from systematic but unconscious self-deception. Finally, explicative discourse is concerned with questions of comprehensibility, of how a text is to be understood.It includes such disciplines as linguistic inquiry and translation.
Modernity
Habermas defends modernity and see possibility of bringing back Enlightenment rationality. According to him modernity the efforts to develop objective science, universal morality and law, and autonomous art according to their inner logic', and the aim is 'the rational organization of everyday social life.'
Analysis
The remarkable thing about Habermas philosophy is He is the only important post modernist to bring back universal reason.It is also true that unlike existentialists and phenomenologists he takes this reason beyond subjective reason and also unlike some others beyond objective reason like reason in cosmos.but intersubjective and communicative reason still falls under objective reason,the reason in universal history.but absolute reason is a dialectics of subjective and objective reason.Absolute reason as hegel's Philosophic mind and what we described as Mystic mind(Absolute Man) include and transcend these reasons.both becomes only the elements in the absolute reason. so communicative reason is not absolute in itself.
Chapter:31: Other Post Modern
Philosophies
Here what I mean by Post modern philosophy is philosophies of the latter half of twentieth century.
a:Critical Realism.
Critical Realism is a philosophical view of science and/or theology which asserts that our knowledge of the world refers to the-way-things-really-are, but in a partial fashion which will necessarily be revised as that knowledge develops.Roy Basker is founder of Critical Realism.According to Critical Realism the post modernist view that there are multiple worlds is wrong but there is only One world. There is a pre-existing external reality .According to critical realism the world was seen as structured, differentiated and changing. Science was seen as a process in motion attempting to capture ever deeper and more basic strata of a reality at any moment of time unknown to man and perhaps not even empirically manifest.
According to Critical Realism Reality consist of stratification. Stratification is the layering of ontology into the levels of the real, the actual, and the empirical. The real consists of real mechanisms which generate phenomena at the level of the actual, which may or may not be observed at the level of the empirical .So there is a need for complex, differentiated grasp of the various strata or levels of reality, some of them exerting their causal powers wholly independent of human intervention, while others are affected by the kinds of observation we make or the sorts of experiment we carry out. According to Critical Realism stratification of natural and social reality is necessary for argumenation; besides the stratification of knowledge due to scientific progress make the need of a a critical realist ontology in which the world itself is seen as stratified.This notion also gives to science demystification and society human freedom.
Basker in his "A Realist Theory of Science" argues about the necessity of ontology.In particular, he argued against idea that one can reduce or analyze knowledge in terms of being. It was argued that being was an absolutely irreducible and necessary category. This is proved by what is called transcendental method of argument .Then this is converted in to a dialectical one.
Critical Realism present a systematic realist account of science and it reject the positivist view of science, the ideas that science has a certain base and a deductive structure.Critical realism views reality as much deeper than what we can observe. The basic principle of critical realism is that perception and experiments gives us access to things and structures which have an independent existence.Critical Realism states that the events we observe (and those we don't) are caused by a variety of mechanisms--physical, biological, social etc. In normal situations a whole number of different and conflicting mechanisms determine what will happen in any particular situation, making it difficult to see what exactly is the cause of any event. So Critical Realism criticizes the causal laws of positivism and argue that not only is a constant conjunction of events not a sufficient, it is not even a necessary condition for a scientific law.This is proved by what is called transendental argument, that is in a an experiment the experimenter is a causal agent of a sequence of events but not of the causal law which the sequence of events enables him to identify. This suggests that there is a ontological distinction between scientific laws and patterns of events. This shows that real structures exist independently of and are often out of phase with the actual patterns of events. According to critical realism natural necessity, that is necessity in nature is quite independent of men or human activity.
According to critical Realism knowledge is a social product; but the objects of which, in the social activity of science, knowledge comes to be produced, exist and act quite independently of men. These two aspects gives two dimensions and two kinds of 'object' of knowledge: a transitive dimension, in which the object is the material cause or antecedently established knowledge which is used to generate the new knowledge; and an intransitive dimension, in which the object is the real structure or mechanism that exists and acts quite independently of men and the conditions which allow men access to it.Critical realism states that knowledge must be viewed as a produced means of production and science as an ongoing social activity in a continuing process of transformation.
The Main argument of Basker in this first book is that if science is to be possible the world must consist of enduring and transfactually active mechanisms; society must consist of an ensemble of powers irreducible to but present only in the intentional actions of men; and men must be causal agents capable of acting self-consciously on the world. They do so in an endeavor to express to themselves in thought the diverse and deeper structures that account in their complex manifold determinations for all the phenomena of our world.
Critical Realism is critical of what we can call the nature of reality itself. Not the nature of absolute reality, or the absolute structure of being - to be critical of that is to put oneself into the position of God or the creator of the universe - but rather it is to be critical of the nature of actual, currently existing, social reality, or of our understandings of social and natural reality. It has always taken epistemologies, philosophical thesis, etc., as reflections of the society in which they are generated and sustained. And as far as these theses are misleading, they point to deep categorial confusions and errors inherent in the very structure of social reality itself.
According to Basker the three major distinctive things about critical realism are: its transcendental and dialectical character; the content of its particular theses; and the fact that it is critical of the nature of reality itself, in the first instance social reality, including the impact of human beings upon the natural world in which they are embedded and in which they are at present creating so much havoc.
The Possibility of Naturalism is mainly against the Dualisms . The dualisms between positivism and hermeneutics; between collectivism and individualism; structure and agency; reason and cause; mind and body; fact and value. Critical Realism argued for a third sublating position which could reconcile these stark polarities and oppositions, and which could situate the two extremes as special cases of the more general sublating position. Thus, against positivism and hermeneutics, it argued for a critical naturalism based on a realist philosophy of science. Against collectivism and individualism alike, it argued for relationism - that is, the conception of society as essentially relational in character, as not consisting either of collectivities of individuals or individuals, but as concerned with the relations between individuals.
In Dialectic: the pulse of freedom he make two novel ideas: notions of absence and dialectic.According to Basker the notion of absence is ontologically, logically and epistemologically prior to that notion of presence because positive being could not exist without negative being. Dialectic is a "process of conceptual or social ... conflict, interconnection and change" Dialectics is a real process which results in the removal of causally efficacious obstacles to human flourishing. Such obstacles are "absences" which must be "absented" in a real, contingent dialectical process of emancipatory critique or "absenting absences" .. Ontological dialectics is concerned with reality, epistemological dialectics is concerned with what is known about reality, and relational dialectics metacritically situates our knowledge in relation to what is known . Bhaskar sees humanity as sharing a core human nature which manifests itself differently under different conditions via various mediations. Humanity manifests itself in different ways under conditions of poverty and conditions of wealth. . Things are dialectically equal if there are no differences justified by particular mediations that could justify treating them unequally, and dialectical universalizability requires treating dialectical equals equally.
In From East to West Basker states God, the absolute, comes to self-realisation in and through the relative world of human and other being so Man and other beings are essentially God.The human being's aim is to realize God, both in their inner lives and in outer love and solidarity with all other humans and beings.
With the evolution of human being, after an initial period of enchantment and oneness with God people started to make mistakes and fall into error. Their two category mistakes have been, first to define ontology (being) in terms of human knowledge and means of knowing (the 'epistemic fallacy'); and second to give a purely positive and 'monovalent', rather than negative and 'polyvalent', account of being. The most fundamental moves in the Bhaskarian system are therefore the revindication of ontology , and the elaboration of an adequate concept of absence.This mistakes made us relative being(Demi real).
What we have to do is shed our structural sin and act accrding to our divine nature.This is poissible through two dialectics.First, the dialectics of 'inaction' (of abstaining from doing in order to be)--prayer and meditation, 'witnessing-in-activity', etc (inner commitment). Second, the dialectics of action (outer commitment and solidarity).
b. Metaphysics of quality
Robert M Pirsig the celebrated author of “Zen, the art of motor cycle maintenance” in his second philosophical novel ‘Lila’ describes reality as quality. He develops his own system called metaphysics of quality. He first divides quality into dynamic quality and static quality. Static quality is further divided into inorganic quality, biological quality, social quality and intellectual quality. According to him all life is migration of static quality to dynamic quality.
Analysis
Migration from static to dynamic is what we called evolution of the absolute in m,anifestation culminating in self realisation.
Dynamic quality is similar to spiritual or self consciousness where reality is an immediate and wholesome experience.
Static quality is discursive consciousness, which divide reality into subject and object.
Inorganic static quality or inorganic pattern of values are essence expressing through lifeless beings. Biological quality or biological pattern of value is reality expressing through plants, animals and also primitive and unsocial man. This is as we told earlier man completely a slave to passionate nature. Social quality is reality expressing through social life. This as we told earlier is emotional nature or feelings and between passionate and rational nature. As we told earlier subjective element predominate in emotional nature. Intellectual quality is reality expressing through rational nature. The man of reason. This is more objective than emotional nature so superior to social quality but inferior to dynamic quality.
Chapter 32 Ken Wilber
and Integral Post Metaphysics
According to Ken Wilber the world consists of Holons.Reality in all domain
consists of holon.A
Holon at each level consists of 4 quadrants or dimensions.left and right quadrants ( interior and exterior) and singular and collective.UL(I,subject)LL(we,culture)UR(It,object)LR(Its,Social) or subjective,intersubjective,objective and interobjective quadrants.
Each quadrant consists of levels(waves)lines(streams),states,and types.
if we take humans UL levels are 1-beige,2-purple,3-red,4-blue,5-orange&green(1-5 first tier),6-yellow&turquoise(second tier),7-coral ,8-lavander,9-silver and 10-platinum.the last four are transpersonal and third tier and roughly corresponds to psychic( nature mysticism),subtle(deity or form mysticism),causual (formless)and non dual) levels.Strictly speaking this is only one of the developmental lines or the waves of value stream ,but it can be used to illustrate general UL.
The corresponding
(According to ken wilber evolution produce greater complexity of material body and this is correlated with increased subtle energies and consiousness.So increased complexity of the physical form is the vehicle for manifestation of subtle energy and consiousness.He supports the view that subtle cannot be reduced to consiousness but these energy accompany and support the correlative level of consiousness.According to him with increased complexity of physical forms more subtler energy also evolve.with physical particle gross energy like gravitation etc,with viruses etheric body and with brain stem astral body etc....According to Wilber each of the seven chakras also contain three type of subtle energies and the corresponding minds(gross,subtle,causual).)
Corresponding LL levels are premodern like archaic, magic,power gods and mythic,modern like rational and post modern like pluralistic,integral and holonic
RL are survival clans(foraging),ethinic tribes (horticultural)(feudal empires &early nations)(agrarian)corporate states(industrial)value communities,integral communes,holistic mesh works(informational)
Lines(streams )are developmental factors like kinesthetic,cognitive,moral,emotional,spiritual,self identity etc.
States are like waking,dreaming,sleeping , nondual and altered,non ordinary and meditatives.
Types are different orientation at every level like personaliy types(jungian),gender styles.
According to ken wilber an integral post meta physics need the AQAL matrix approach.This is all quadrant ,all level,states,lines &types.Now the AQAL of the holon of every moment is the out come of the Karma of the previous moments quadrants with the creativity of the present moments quadrants.Each quadrants include the previous moments four quadrants but also transend due to this moments creativity.So this moment is determined by the tetra meshing of the last moments four quadrants with this moments four quadrants.The karma of the previous moment is inherited to the present moment in UL by whitehead's prehension,subjective identity and agentic memory and in UR. by morphic resonance ,formatic causation,autopoiesis and genetic inheritence and LL by habitus,cultural memory,mutual prehensions and intersubjective background and LR by Systems memory,Ecosystem autopoiesis,Chaotic and strange attractors,Social autopoiesis.,Collective formative causation.As nature of complete reality of any holon depends on all these quadrents and their tetra mesh, taking only one quadrant view like phenomenology(UL) hermeneutics,collabrative inquiry(LL) empiricism,behaviorism(UR) and Systems theory(LR) only gives a partial view of reality or quadrant absolutism..
So the first principles in PIM(Post Integral Metaphysics) are nonexclusion,unfoldment and enactment .Non exclusion means all philosophy are partially right.Unfoldment is some are more right and so enfold the lesser theory .Enactment is reality is enacted and brought forth by injunctions,paradigms or social practice of a subject or group of subject so it is coloured by subject's or group of subjects perspective.
The four quadrants are divided into insides and out sides so there are eight native perspectives.They are inside of an I or UL dealt in phenomenology,outside of an I or UL dealt in structuralism,inside of a WE or LL dealt in hermeneutics,out side of a WE or LL dealt in cultural anthropology,inside of a IT or UR dealt in autopoiesis,out side of an IT or UR dealt in empiricism,inside of an ITS or LR dealt in social autopoiesis ,and out side of an ITS or LR dealt in systems theory.
I am inside an higher I when my lesser I's(I as emotions like anger,etc) transcended and included in higher I's ,but when I am inside a WE or IT (inside a culture or society)my subjectivity(I) is not in it but only my inter action or communication is inside the We or It.
So according to wilber the Reality is built of perspectives which are primary and perception is only secondary.The great philosophers are wrong in saying consiousness or awareness is the primary nature of reality.
Analysis:
There is no doubt that ken wilber is one of the great philosopher of today. He is the only one who integates all the philosophies of this post modern era which are in themselves only partial view of reality and present a holistic spectrum.As we know phenomenology's approach is only from the subjectivist angle and only stresses on the intentionaliy of the subject.Behaviorism,Empiricism and Positivism on the other hand neglects subjectivity and intentionality and stresses on the observable form and behaviour of the exterior and analyse the interior from these behavior.According to post modernist's relativistic pluralism there is no absolute truth but truth depends on the culture .So truth is culturally moulded and no universal application.According to systems theorists and ecologists external environments and social systems are the most decisive factors.According to Marxist Historical materialism, the basis of society or infrastructure is material, economic and social relations. Religion and morality are super structure of this base so only a reflection of the infrastructure and never the basis of society.Ken wilber integrates all these partial philosophies in eight native perspectives by his novel idea of karma and creativty .According to this every moment of the holon is the resultant of the tetra meshing of the karma of the last moments quadrants with the creativity of the present moments quadrants.So every moment the quadrands include the previous moments quadrants but also transend them.So previous moments subjective holon,objective holon,cultural holon and social holon becomes subholons in this moments subjective,objective,cultural,and social holons.
Now it is true that
ken wilber says "Strictly speaking, a collective or communal holon (cultural or social) does not have a singular agency, will, or consciousness, and thus communal holons do not directly prehend their ancestors, or previous communal holons, in the same way that individual holons do".This not seems a correct view.Every I is a whole with these 4 dimensions and one I pervades all and underlies all quadrants.It is also the subject which initiates all changes.So all real changes starts from the UL even though this subjective awareness is the resultant of the tetramesh of all quadrants.
This we can illustrate with a simple example.As a result of tetramesh of 4 quadrants a new idea or awareness or a higher state dimly arise in my consiousness(UL).At first this is a vague intution which I intutes must need a paradigm to make it a permanant and real state..As I make a paradigm by injunctions and practices(UR)like some meditative and spiritual practices this higher state become permanant .Now if I want to bring my wife and child also into this higher awareness I have to bring a paradigm,injunctions and practises for them to follow (LR) like meditative and spiritual methods before they can attain to the higher awareness(LL).this is what marxism says social structure moulds and determine culture.Now it is nether social structure nor culture nor all the quadrents together but UL or subject which initiate all the changes.
About the terminology of Holon also there are confusing statements.Many times wilber says quadrants are not itself holons but dimensions of holons .Still he treat them as holons and use as I described above terms like subjective holon,objective holon,communal holon(social or cultural holon).Now what wilber says as holon is in other words individual spirits. so subjective,intersubjective,objective and inter objective are only aspects of or dimensions or quadrents of holon.None of them are in them selves holon.They are what we rather say "sub holons".
But Wilber use sub holon for a holon which is a part of another holon.eg.atoms are sub holon in a molecule holon.But as wilber says every holon is simultaneously whole and part of another holon and as there is no beginning or end(turtles all the way up and down) all holon are sub holon also and there is no much difference between these terms.
Now if we take reality as involution and evolution as I described elsewhere
Universal spirit and corresponding Cosmic photon is the begining of
manifestations.So this the begining of holon. Like that human spirt at the
nondual level(Absolute Spirit) is the end.There is no
Now the 8 native perspectives are really comes to the same four quadrents.Both phenomenology(insideUL)and autopoiesis (insideUR) deals with subjective dimensions. the only difference is phenomenology exclusively deals with humans and autopoiesis the enactment of other living organism.Like that both structuralism(out sideUL) and empricism(out sideUR) deals with objective dimension both depending on external observable behaviour.Both hermeneutics(insideLL)and social autopoiesis (inside LR) are intersubjective dimensions and cultural anthropology(outsideLL) and systems theory(outside LR) are inter objective dimensions depending on external observable behaviour of society and nature.
Now about wilber's theory that perspectives are primary and perception secondary.It is true that every moment is the out come of the tetra mesh of the karma of the 4 quadrants of the previous moment(UL or subjective,LL or inter subjective,UR or objective,LR or inter objective) with the creativity of the quadrants of this moment.But actual moment cannot be reduced to any of the quadrant perspectives or to a sum of them.Every moment can be only analyzed into perspectives or divided into perspectives.This is the function of discursive thought.The same analytical reason make the perspectives of first person(I),second person(You) and third person(He,It). But as a living experience what mystics call immediate knowledge or with speculative reason(Hegel) this is a whole undivided moment to moment existence as consciousness or awareness where every being as an I simultaneously feel the I in every other thing(we,you,he,it).
Every being as sentient being experience every moment as "I" whose content can be analyzed into(but cannot be reduced to) I as universal subject,I as individual subject,I as universal object,I as individual object at every moment ("I" is being and thought and universal and particular-Hegel).
So after all it seems that the great sages and philosophers are right in saying ultimate nature of reality is consciousness or idea.
ken wilber in his integral psychology agreeing with others treat spirituality and self sense or self identity(loevinger )as developmental lines(streams).But spirit and self is one and the same thing .Spiritual consiousness and self identification is the same thing.They are not the developmental lines ,but all these lines like cognition,values,etc are the components of the spirit or self.Spirituality or self identity express through all these lines.As all of these lines depends on cognition for their existence spiritualty or self identity measured by the cognition level.Now as level(wave) of consiousness is also primarly cognition level spiritualty and self identity is measured by the wave of cognition stream.
Wilber in his theory of subtle energies states that subtle energies support the corresponding consiousness.Even though in his discussion of the "Hard problem" he states at Satori(self realisation)there is nondual awareness and subject object,mind body duality is dissolved when discussing subtle energy he says it is the vehicle of mind or mind is supported by subtle enegy.
It is true that gross bodies or subtle bodies cannot be reduced to mind or consiousness but they are not two different things. As Hegel says Thought as being and Thought as idea is one and the same or as Spinoza says "substance thinking and substance extended are one and the same substance,comprehended now through one attribute,now through the the other."So in reality neither support the other nor one is the vehicle of other.
In his theory of subtle energies wilber says "each chakra must contain gross, subtle, and causal energies and their correlative consciousness".
This is a totally confused statement. According to tradition chakra are vortex of psychic energy which represent evolutionary spectrum of consiousness(Kundalini)and denoted by imaginary points in the spinal cord.. It passes from lower to higher level.So first "Muladhara"represent only gross body and gross mind.Swadishtan(2) represent only life and its body(etheric).like that manipura(3),anahata(4),vishuddi(5)only represend other subtle minds and bodies likeastral &psychic.Ajna(6) represent causal body and mind and Sahasrara(7) represent non dual state.So lower chaka represent gross body &mind, middle subtle body and mind and higher causual &nondual.
Lastly through out his all books he critises plato,hegel and others saying that archetypes are not fixed and predetrmined from the begining and every thing already there to unfold in the present .He denies such archetypes and says what they describe as archetype is the karma of the previous quadrants which by continuous repetition carried to the present as subjective prehension and cosmic memory. But what hegel and plato says as archetype is the essence of beings or the nature which cannot be altered.Hegel illustrates this by saying an acorn is the archetype of an oak .This does not mean the actual form of oak tree like its root,trunk and branches are present in the acorn in a minute form but the real meaning is acorn gives rise to oak and not mango tree.So archetype means Essentiall nature. Whether one become a Philosopher or Artist is determined by his archetypes and no amount of cosmic memory can make one a Philosopher if his essential nature or Archetype is Artistic nature.
Chapter 33 :Hermeneutics and Gadamer:
a: Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics is the science and theory of interpretation to explain a text from its objective(grammetical meanings,historical variations) and subjective((author's intention) features.It establishes and classifies principles, methods and rules by which the meaning of an author can be ascertained.
In social philosophy it concerned with the investigations and interpretation of human behaviour ,speech,institututions etc as essentally intentional.It is designed to ensure understanding of events in the life of society through subjective intentions of historical figures.Hermeneutics provide "objective," "valid" interpretations.So whatever the role of the subject may be in the process of developing understanding, the object of understanding or interpretation of it can be accomplished. This objectivity of interpretation is by knowing the author's intention.Hermeneutics argue that one understands a text when one reproduces the meaning that was originally produced by the author. This meaning is synonymous with the author's intent. So a correct understanding is identical with the author's intended meaning. This type of hermeneutics is reproduction.
In existentialism Hermenutics is concernd with enquiry in to the purpose of human existence.The hermeneutics of Heidegger and Gadamer develop a productive rather than a reproductive approach. They do not view understanding as a process whereby an interpreter/listener recreates the objectifiable meaning originally created by the author/speaker. According to this variety of Hermeneutics there is a subject-subject relation .In hermeneutic experience what is being analyzed is the act of communication, and the participants exist in a world of previously shared meanings; that is to say, they share a language. In contrast to the other variety of Hermeneutics this insist that hermeneutical understanding is "not a mysterious communion of souls, but rather a participation in shared meaning.According to Ricoeur "Hermeneutics can be defined no longer as an inquiry into the psychological intentions which are hidden beneath the text, but rather as the explication of the being-in-the-world displayed by the text".
According to hermeneutics objective, positive knowledge is impossible.. From the hermeneutic perspective, verifiable certainty is unattainable in the human sciences, and that fact is not the cause for epistemological despair but simply a reaffirmation of the inherently contextual, historically situated nature of human knowledge. Hermenutic discourse need 'Openness'.In a hermeneutic discourse the listener is open to the meanings that are being developed between oneself and one's partner. These meanings, moreover, are also open--fluid, and continuously context-dependent. Positive meanings are not "given" in language or even "in persons"; instead, the interpreter participates in the development of understanding as he or she encounters the discourse. By direct extension, in a conversation characterized by genuine interpretive listening, both/all persons participate in the ongoing process of constituting meanings. What occurs is the co-constituting of understanding in talk. The process, again, is productive not reproductive, and the understandings that emerge are contingent and context-dependent, not positive or "objective.Hermenutic discourse need"fusion of horizons" .This is to emphasize the global breadth of prejudices that always affect one's interpreting, to highlight the open, fluid nature of those prejudices, and to underscore the fact that understanding is not a static state but a tensional event, a stasis defined by the contact of two life worlds.
In post modernism hermeneutics is used as 'criticism of ideology' and is designed to reveal through language analysis "an instrument of rule and social power' serving 'to justify relations of organised coercion'.
b:Hans-Georg Gadamer
In hermeneutics
Gadamer developed a dialogical approach, grounded in Platonic-Aristotelian as
well as Heideggerian thinking, that grounds understanding in the linguistically
mediated happening of tradition and rejects subjectivism and relativism and any
simple notion of interpretive method.
There are mainly
four subjects in Gadmerr’s philosophy.1. the development and elaboration of a
philosophical hermeneutics; 2. the dialogue within philosophy, and within the
history of philosophy, with respect to Plato and Aristotle in particular, but
also with Hegel and Heidegger; 3. the engagement with literature, particularly
poetry, and with art; 4. ‘practical philosophy’
encompassing contemporary political and ethical issues.
Philosophical
hermeneutics.
One of the key
concept of Gadamer is dialogic approach.Gadamer rejected hidden doctrines in
philosophic texts.while discussing plato Gadmer maintained that looking to the
structure of the Platonic dialogues themselves as the key to understanding
Plato's philosophy. The correctway to understand Plato is by entering into the dialogue and dialectic set
out in these texts and by repeats that dialogic movement in the attempt at
understanding .
The second concept
is Phronesis(practical wisdom).Gadamer’s concept of understanding and
interpretation is a practical mode of insight
not conforming to any set of rules,but depending on the particular
subject.
Taking hemeneutics
in the heideggarian and phenominolgical sense(hermeneutics as that which allows
the self-disclosure of the structure of understanding as such.All understanding
of a subject .based in a prior ‘ontological’ understanding -- a prior
hermeneutical situatedness.) he elaborated a philosophical hermeneutics that
explains the nature of understanding in its universality (where this refers both
to the ontologically fundamental character of the hermeneutical situation and
the all-encompassing nature of hermeneutic practice) and developed a response
to the problem of interpretive
method.This philosophical hermeneutics explains the proper ground for
understanding, but also rejecting the attempt to found understanding on any
method or set of rules. This is not a rejection of the importance of
methodological concerns, but rather an insistence on the limited role of method
and the priority of understanding as a dialogic, practical, situated activity.
Heidegger connect
art with truth.so according to him art is not representational but it has the
capacity to reveal a world.he call it as the event of ‘truth’against the
popualar view of truth as correctness or coherence which is consistency of
statements with facts. Heidegger says these are derivatives a more basic
meaning of truth as this unconcelement. This is an event or process in and
through which both the things of the world and what is said about them come to
be revealed at one and the same time.but unconcelemrnt of things alsodependent
upon other things being concealed so truth arises on the basis of an ongoing
play between unconcealment and concealment.
These two
elements,one connection of art with truth and the other truth as concelement
and unconcelement canbe seen in the response of Gadamer to aesthetic theory of
kant and romantic hermeneutics of Schleiermacher and others.to neo kantians art
is abstract , aesthetic and subjective and romantic hermenetics objectivity
made understanding of a text without the contemporary situatioin of the text..
The Art
work which is central to the experience and concept of play form an important
role in Gadamer’s theory of art.it is closely related to other concepts like
dialogue,phronesis,hermeneutical situation,truth as prior and partial
disclosure .all these are in a way basic concept of nderstanding.understanding
is possible not in spite of ,but because of it’s prior involvement.our prior
involvement and partiality is the enabling condition for understanding.
Now This prior
hermeneutic involvement is determined by particular dispositions so it is based
on subjective prejudice.According to Gadamer this prejudice opens us to what is to be understood.Gadamer
says such anticipatory structures or anticipatory completeness involves the revisable presupposition that
what is to be understood constitutes something that is understandable, that is,
something that is constituted as a coherent, and therefore meaningful, whole.
This positive
conception of prejudice means it opens
up to matter at issu in such a way that these prejuidices itself is revised in
the process.This concept of prejidice is connected with Gadamer’s concept of
hemenuetics as not merely explication but also application. According to
Gadamer though “temporal distance” identify these predijuices “dialogical
interplay “is a better means of identifying prejuidices
Like our prior
understanding ,history also is the basis of our understanding.Hemeneutical consiousness
is consious of history so it is historically effected consiousness..Gadamer
referes to this situation by the phenomenolgical concept of ‘horizon’.Like
prejuidices this is also not static but undego change in the process of
understanding. Understanding is an agreement between the partners in a
hermeneutical dialogue so it is a
‘fusion of horizons’.so there is no definite methodology for an understanding of neither human and
history nor for nonhuman or nature.
To Gadamer basic
model of understanding is conversation. So it is linguistcally mediated.as
understanding is involve agreement so
there is a common language.so understanding is interpretive and translative.so
understanding is in essence conceptual articulation.This is not linguistic
relativism because like prjuidice and history this can be revised. To Gadamer
language is the universal horizon of hermeneutic experience and hermeneutic experience itself is
universal. This is because Hermeneutics is our fundamental mode of being in the
world so understanding is the basic phenomena in our existence.We cannot go
behind understanding because there is
not any mode of intelligibility prior to understanding.So hermeneutics is
universal to all forms of knowledge, and also understanding.So philosophy is in
its essence hermeneutics
Philosophy
and the History of Philosophy
As history is
also the basis of our understanding so philosophy stand in a critical relation
to history of philosophy.According to Gadamer Plato and Aristotle have similar
viewsThey need a particular reading that attends to the character of their
texts which display a high degree of consisitency’they provide entry to
understand presocretic thought.Gada mer’s hermeneutic finititude hegelian
philosophy of thought that aims at totality and completion.According to Gadamer
Heidegger’s idea to find a non-metaphysical path of thought lead him to
experience a lack of language.but gadamer works with existing language.Gadamer
also denies the heideggerian view of history of philosophy,eg:plato as
forgetting of being.
Gadamer’s
Hermeneutics approach to art made integration of aesthetics into
hermeneutics.To Gadamer experience of beauty is is central to an understanding
of art and beautiful is which is self evidently present to us.The main three
ideas of Gadamer about art and literature is as play,symbol and festivel..Play
is cental to hermenuetics and provide
basis for experience of art and understanding.Symbolic means not just
representationalism showing more than literally present in the workArt opens a
space in which the the world and our being in the world brought to light as a
single but inexhaustibly rich totality.Festivity means in art experience
besides moment of vision we are able to dwell along with the work that takes us
out of ordinary time into fulfilled or autonomous time.
According to Gadamer all understanding is determined by
our contemporary situation.He has written on the role of europe and its culture
in the present world.also about nature and role of modern science and
technology,humanitiesquestion of humanistic education,understanding between
cultures and religions. Gadamer has written on matters concerning law, ethics,
the changing character of the modern university, the connection between
philosophy and politics, and the nature of medical practice and the concept of
health
Chapter 34
i:Francis Fukuyama and The end of History and the Last Man
Fukuyama says that mankind's ages long global conflict was over because everyone would seek to become liberal democratic capitalists .In Part 1 of “In the end of history and the last man” Fukuyama argues that due to two main reasons one 'economics' like freemarket and the other'struggle for recognition' about directional History of mankind that is leading the greater part of humanity to liberal democracy.The instability and weakness of all forms of dictatorship , and liberal revolution in economics and movement of political freedom around the globe points to this change. According to Fukuyama the liberal economic state provide the need for self recognisation and hence produce mutual recognisation more effectively than any other system in history.The ideal of liberal democracy is the final ideology .The only problems with liberal democracy are ones of incomplete implementation of the twin principles of liberty and equality on which modern democracy is founded, rather than of flaws in the principles themselves.
According to
He argues that liberal democracy may
constitute the "end point of mankind's ideological evolution" and the
"final form of human government," and as such constituted the
"end of history.So he think after this liberal west no major hisorical
changes can occur so the west has won history and the end of history comes with
the liberal west.What Fukuyama mean by end of history is not the end of large
and grave events, but history understood as a single, coherent,
evolutionary process, when taking into account the experience of all peoples in
all times.This is the notion of history by Hegel and Marx who borrowed this
notion from hegel.This sense is what we mean when referring words like "primitive" or "advanced,"
"traditional" or "modern," when referring to different
types of human societies. For Hegel& Marx, there was a development of human
societies&history from simple tribal ones based on slavery and subsistence
agriculture, through various theocracies, monarchies, and feudal aristocracies,
up through modern liberal democracy and technologically driven capitalism.
Hegel believed History ends with
In part 2 of the book he use modern natural science as a regulator to explain the directionality and coherence of History.Natural science has uniform effct on all world societies .One of the reason is technology give military adwantage for those society that possess it no country can ignore defensive modernization.Second reason modern natural science provide a uniformity of production possibilities. Technology make societies to ve become increasingly linked with one another through global markets and the spread of a universal consumer culture.Also the logic of modern natural science show a universal evolution directed to capitalism by the experience of highly centralized economic countries like Russia,china and other socialist countries.
But natural science is not enough to explain democracy.It is true that most developed countries are most democratic but natural science only leads us to the gate of liberal democracy because there is no economically necessary reason why advanced industrialisation should produce political liberty
In part 3 He elaborates “struggle for recognisation”.According to Hegel humans have besides natural needs like animals also have desire to be recognized.He is able to even over come his instinct for self preservation for the sake of higher abstract principles.This desire for recognisation leads initially two primodial men to make the other recognize him by staking their lives in mortal fight.when fear of death make one to submit relationship of master and slave born.as this battle in the beginning of history is for prestige and not determined by biology ,hegel consider it as first sign of human freedom.The desire for recognition, and the accompanying emotions of anger, shame, and pride, are parts of the human personality critical to political life. According to Hegel, they are what drives the whole historical process.So this battle divided society in to masters and slaves.this relationship in arious forms in unequal aristocratic societies charecterised the geater part of history.But this failed the desire for recognisation of either slaves or masters.slave was not at all recognized as a human being but the master was also not recognized by other masters and only by the incomplete human slave.This dissatisfaction produced a contradiction that developed further stages of history.Hegel believed this contradiction is overcome by French and American revolution.These democratic revolution abolished slavery and made he slave their own manstrand establishing principles of popular sovereignity and rule of law. So the master and slave society is replaced by universal and reciprocal recognition, where every citizen recognises the dignity and humanity of every other citizen, and where that dignity is recognised in turn by the state through the granting of rights.According to Hegel rights is an end in themselves. With the American and French revolutions, Hegel asserted that history comes to an end because the longing that had driven the historical process — the struggle for recognition — has now been satisfied in a society characterised by universal and reciprocal recognition.
So struggle for recognisation ,which arises out of thymos ,the part of soul that demands recognisation leads to liberal democracy. As standards of living increase, as populations become more cosmopolitan and better educated, and as society as a whole achieves a greater equality of condition, people begin to demand not simply more wealth but recognition of their status
Part 4 reinterpret phenomena culture,religion,work, nationalism and war from this angle of struggle for recognisation as the cause of the main development of history and project in to future the different ways struggle for regognisation manifest.According to the author manifestation of religious and nationalist desire for recognisation are based on arbitary distinction so less rational than universal recognisation of liberal state.
Liberal democracy replaces the irrational desire to be recognised as greater than others with a rational desire to be recognised as equal.
Part 5 the final part discusses “End of history” and the “Last man” at the end.Here the goodness of liberal democracy and its superiority and trimpuh over communism,religion and ultra nationalism discussed.According to fukayama recognition is the central problem of politics because it is the origin of tyranny, imperialism, and the desire to dominate. But while it has a dark side, it cannot simply be abolished from political life, because it is simultaneously the psychological ground for political virtues like courage, public-spiritedness, and justice.Part 5 deals with the answers to the question whether recognisation available to citizen of liberal democracy adequate.The left response is that liberal democracy continue to recognize equal people unequally due to economic inequality and division of labour.The right response is that The last man had no desire to be recognised as greater than others, and without such desire no excellence or achievement was possible. Content with his happiness and unable to feel any sense of shame for being unable to rise above those wants, the last man ceased to be human.
ii:Samuel P.Huntington and the Clash of Civilisations
The central theme of 'Clash of Civilsations' is that culture and cultural identities, which are civilization identities, are shaping the patterns of cohesion, disintegration, and conflict in the post-Cold War world
In the first part according to
Huntington for the first time in history global politics is both multipolar and
multicivilizational; modernization is distinct from Westernization and is
producing neither a universal civilization in any meaningful sense nor the
Westernization of non-Western societies.According to huntington these are the
primary motivators in international politics,commerce,war,and diplomacy.The
principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of
different civilizations. The clash of civilizations will dominate global
politics.According to
In the second part
In the third part Huntington states that A civilization-based world order is emerging: societies sharing cultural affinities cooperate with each other; efforts to shift societies from one civilization to another are unsuccessful; and countries group themselvesaround the lead or core states of their civilization.Civilisations should actually live in peace with one another.Huntington recognises the emergence of a world civilisation.One charecter of such civilastion is univesalism.but not in the sense of imperialism the west thrusting its value on others,but true universalism of commanalities.This is cherishing our common aspirations and values as human beings at the same time recognising our differences between cultures.In this universal civilisation people from all over searh for and attempt to expand the values,institutions,and practices they have in common with peoples of other civilisation.This is the best way of transforming ethnocentric clashing civilisation into universal civilisation.
In Part Four according to Huntigton the West's universalist pretensions increasingly bring it into conflict with other civilizations, most seriously with Islam and China; at the local level fault line wars, largely between Muslims and non-Muslims, generate "kin-country rallying," the threat of broader escalation, and hence efforts by core states to halt these wars.
In the last Part Huntington says the survival of the West depends on Americans reaffirming their Western identity and Westerners accepting their civilization as unique not universal and uniting to renew and preserve it against challenges from non-Western societies. Avoidance of a global war of civilizations depends on world leaders accepting and cooperating to maintain the multi civilizational character of global politics.
Chapter 35: Participatory Philosophy and Fourth World
Participatory philosophy is one of the most important and dominating philosophy of 21 st century.as a general definition it means the participation of the individual and the society in all walks of life.Participatory philosophy touches many material mental and spiritual aspects of man and society like social,economic,cultural and political life except metaphysics,ontology.so there is participatory democracy,participatory economics(parecon),participatory society ,community and culture etc.some of its core values are solidarity,diversity,equity,self management ,justice and sustainability.the definite seed of participation can be seen as early as 1970 in Noam Chomsky’s political philosophy.
"If the present wave of repression can be beaten back, if the left can overcome its more suicidal tendencies and build upon what has been accomplished in the past decade, then the problem of how to organize industrial society on truly democratic lines, with democratic control in the workplace and in the community, should become a dominant intellectual issue for those who are alive to the problems of contemporary society, and, as a mass movement develops, speculation should proceed to action."- Noam Chomsky1970
It’s philosophy is closely related to Anarchism .Traditional Anarchism include the principles--autonomy, voluntary association, self-organization, mutual aid, direct democracy. participation, classlesness and participatory management: the hallmark goals of anarchism. Anarchism is the confluence of the two philosophies: Socialism and Liberalism. Or simply libertarian socialism.Anarchism “strives for the free unhindered unfolding of all the individual and social forces in life” For the anarchist, freedom is not an abstract philosophical concept, but the vital concrete possibility for every human being to bring to full development all the powers, capacities, and talents with which nature has endowed him, and turn them to social account ".Anarchism in modern times adovacate specific positive economic institutions not advocated by traditional anarchists, such as balanced job complexes and participatory planning
.The vision task of participatory philosophy is to describe values we hold dear and then the central institutions for these spheres of social life that can accomplish their prescribed functions while simultaneously furthering those values.
The strategic task is to win improved conditions for the worst off constituencies of society in a trajectory of non reformist reforms that raises consciousness, enlarges commitment, and builds and strengthens organization, leading in time to movements able to establish wholly new institutions
In participatory economics(Parecon) Micheal Albert charecterise it as solidarity instead of anti-sociality and diversity instead od uniformity.The third is Equity(renumeration for our out put) and the fourth self management(every one should have a role in decision proportionate to the impact of that decision on them)
Participatory politics produce participatory democracy. In participatory democracy participatory management or self management(people having a proportionate say in the decisions that affect their lives.)to replace authoritarian decision making.
In participatory society each person's mix of tasks and responsibilities accords with their abilities and also conveys a fair share of rote and tedious and interesting and empowering conditions and responsibilities.
In participatory society and community there is Polyculturalism.Poly culturalism like multiculturalism also wants to respect and protect all cultures, but without losing sight of their entwinement and mutual responsibilities. It wants autonomy, but also mutuality or even solidarity. It wants to escape the bias away from entwinement that characterizes multiculturalism so it seeks a kind of integration without assimilation and with retention of identity -- actually, multiple identities – and without making land central. . Multiculturalism focuses too much on “cultures” having autonomy, resources, and so on. polycultural outlook puts the focus on people and on whole societies. Polyculturalism recognizes that a single person holds multiple identities, multiple allegiances and affinities. polyculturalism recognizes that cultures overlap, they change, they evolve over time. They cross-fertilize, and all societies are in a permanent state of flux, with all kinds of often very creative exchanges and interactions happening.
In participatory philosophy concept of nation and citizenship is also undergo change.If a polyculturalist outlook recognizes that we all have multiple, overlapping identities and affiliations, it makes it possible to imagine multiple, overlapping levels of citizenship as well. If citizenship implies a set of rights and duties, you have such rights and duties at multiple levels—rights as a part of a local community, as part of a regional community, as part of a ‘national’ community, and as a citizen of the world. Everyone had the right to participate in decisions that affected their locality but not someone else’s, but in decisions that affected the whole world, one would have as much say as anyone else. At the global level, there is something like an expanded version of the universal declaration of human rights, and also decisions on action for global issues like climate change. At the local level, there are by-laws and decisions for public expenditures. Citizens have rights and obligations at every level. When a nationalist says that you should owe your primary loyalty and cultural affiliation to the nation, a polyculturalist says no, there are many loyalties and affiliations, that overlap and merge and change. Because territory is the basis of government, cultural or communal autonomy will have a territorial basis.
The WSF and its motto “Another world is possible” is one of the main proponents of participatory philosophy.The fourth world is the world run according to participatpry philosophy.
Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri in their famous book ‘Empire” also propse a world of participatory philosphy like global citizenship etc and the principles of participation as a strategy of the 'Multitude' against the 'Empire'.
“ In today's productive matrix, the constituent power of labor can be expressed as self- valorization of the human (the equal right of citizenship for all over the entire sphere of the world market); as cooperation (the right to communicate, construct languages, and control communications networks); and as political power, or really as the constitution of a society in which the basis of power is defined by the expression of the needs of all. This is the organization of the social worker and immaterial labor, an organization of productive and political power as a biopolitical unity managed by the multitude, organized by the multitude, directed by the multitude-absolute democracy in action.”-Empire.
Chapter:1
:Introduction
(not complete)
Easten philosophy covers mainly philosophies of india,china,persia and japan.
Indian philosophy
Hindu philosophy,jainism,buddism
Persian philosophy
Zoroastranism
Chinese philosophy
Confusianism,taoism
Japanese philosophy’
i:Indian Philosophy
Chapter:
1: Hindu Philosophy:
In Hindu philosophy the systems, which deals with the
nature of reality and evolution of the universe, are
According to nyaya there are innumerable souls and atoms in the universe. Atoms combine to form the material world. Souls exist either freely or in combination with material atoms. God is not the creator of atoms or souls but only the cause of combination and release of them.
According to vaisesika there are nine eternal realities. They are earth, water, fire, air, ether, time, space, soul and mind. Yoga is an individualistic version of Samkhya philosophy.
A: Samkhya Philosophy:
In Samkhya philosophy the ultimate reality is called uncaused cause and it is indefinable. Below this there are two eternal realities. One is Purusha, which is unevolved and does not evolve further. The second is Prakrti or pradhana, which is also unevolved but does evolve further to form all manifestations. This prakrti contain three gunas or attributes. They are satwa Guna, Rajoguna and thamoguna.
The world is a combination of purusha and prakrti. Purusha is passive and does not change but prakrti is active and undergoes all changes and manifests the predominance of one of the gunas.
Third is Mahat or Buddi (great mind), which is evolved and does evolve to new beings. Forth is Ahamkara (I), which is also evolved, and evolve to new beings. Fifth are manas (intellect), which is evolved but does not evolve. Then comes Indriyas or senses. There are five Jnanendriyas or knowing senses and five Karmendriyas or working senses. Senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch are knowing senses. Organs of grasping, moving, procreation, excretion and expression are working senses. These ten are evolved and does not evolve to form new beings. Then comes five Tanmathras or subtle elements, which are those of sound, form, touch, taste and smell. These are evolved and do evolve to form five Mahabutas or gross elements. These are Akasa, or ether, air, fire, water and earth. These are the vehicles of subtle elements. Ether the vehicle of sound, air of sound and touch, fire that of sound, touch and form, water these three plus taste and earth the vehicle of all five subtle elements. These five gross elements are evolved and do not evolve further.
Analysis:
The uncaused cause of Samkhya is I logos. Second logos or essential being with self and nonself is purusha and prakrti. Purusha is active spirit and prakrti is passive nature. While in Samkhya prakrti is active and contain three gunas according to our system active spirit contain the three attribute of wisdom, love and power and non self is passive and the receptive element.
The three gunas are similar to wisdom, love and power.
The Mahat is third logos or consious being as Absolute subject with multiple predicates.
Ahamkara is spiritual existence as spirits or individual egos.
Manas are mental existence, Indriyas are astral existence and Tanmathras and Mahabutas are physical and material existence. The first element ether, which is the vehicle of sound, is similar to our Cosmic and X-RAY waves as electro magnetic radiations.
While Samkhya considers air as the second element and fire evolving after air according to us air is evolved out of fire. Fire is represented by high-energy rays like x-ray, Gamma ray and cosmic rays while air is represent by basic material particles, elements and gaseous molecules.
The main difference between vaisesika and nyaya on the one hand and Samkhya on the other is in the former the elements are eternal while in Samkhya they are evolved.
In vaisesika space and time are separate realities while in Samkhya they are not separate realities but forms of manas and Indriyas.
We have told that every element has their own essence. While the essences are eternal, elements are transient and evolved. As we told earlier mental time begins with serial thought and mental space with imagination. Physical time and space begins with Cosmic wave itself. As we told earlier both changes when Cosmic wave is changed to Gamma wave. In yoga system the three gunas are expressed in psychological terms. Individual are divided in to three types depending on the predominance of sattwa, Rajo or Tamo gunas. This is similar to our classification of spiritual, rational and passionate nature.
B:
The
The cosmic evolution according to Kasmir saivism is as follows.
The first stage is the indefinable being called parsamvit.
At the second stage the consciousness is internally divided into Adam or I and Idam or This. This is the internal division as subject and object. These are called Siva tattwa and Sakti tattwa respectively. First and second stages are unproduced so eternal. Third stage is formed first by Sadasiva tattwa then Iswara tattwa and lastly by Sadvidya tattwa. They are Iccha Sakti or will, Jnana Sakti or knowledge and kriya Sakti or power of action respectively. They are evolved from Siva and Sakti tattwa so they are not eternal. They are the last ones to dissolve at the time of universal dissolution. From these Maya tattwa is produced which is responsible for the dual nature of reality and veiling of the original nature. As a result of Maya tattwa from the five tattwas five kanchukas produced. These are the five evolutes of Maya Sakti.
From Siva tattwa, which is absolute existence, kala or time, which is limited existence, is formed. From Sakti tattwa, which is omnipresence dik or space as limited presence, is formed. From Iswara tattwa, which is omniscience, limited knowledge and from Sadasiva tattwa, which is absolute will form limited desire and from sad vidya tattwa or omni potence limited power is formed. With the evolution of these five kanchukas dual nature is established then comes purusha and prakrti and evolution follows the same line as Samkhya system.
Analysis:
The transcendental aspect is not something completely divorced from manifestation. It is the root or base of all manifestation. What we mean when we say it transcend manifestation is it is not an object of thought because it is both subject and object and also thought or knowledge or it is the absolute being.
The parsamvit is the first logos. Second logos is Siva and sakti tattwa as self and nonself. Sadasiva, Iswara and Sadvidya tattwa are love, wisdom and power aspect of the second logos. But according to us wisdom or knowledge precede love or will. We can love or will only what we know. So will is depends on wisdom for its reality. So Iswara tattwa precede Sadasiva tattwa.
As Kasmir saivism says Maya tattwa is real and not as Vedantists say illusion. It is the one and same unlimited, which reduce to limited due to Maya tattwa.
According to Kasmir saivism purusha and prakrti comes after Maya tattwa and five kanjukas. But as we told earlier purusha and prakrti is second logos or same as Siva and sakti tattwa.
C. Vedanta:
Vedanta is the system developed by badarayana's Brahma Sutra or Vedanta sutra. This is mainly based on Upanishad teachings.
We will mainly focus on the nature of ultimate reality, nature of human spirit and the relation between ultimate reality and human spirit, the nature of world and the relation between ultimate reality and world.
Different commentators interpret the Vedanta differently. There are mainly three systems. The advaita or absolute monism of Shankara, vishistadvaita or differential monism or qualified monism of ramanuja and dualism of madhava.
1. Nature of Brahman or ultimate reality:
According to Shankara the ultimate reality is Para Brahman means higher Brahman. This is Nirguna and Nirvishesha Brahman, means Brahman without attribute or quality. According to Shankara Saguna and Savishesha Brahman is apara Brahman means reality with quality and attribute is a lower Brahman. This apara Brahman is unreal and it is due to Maya or avidya means illusion or ignorance.
According to Ramanuja the ultimate reality is saguna and savishesha Brahman and it is the real Brahman and not apara Brahman due to Maya.
According to madhava also real Brahman is saguna and savishesha Brahman.
ii. Nature of Jiva and its relation to Brahman:
Jiva in Vedanta mean human spirit. According to Shankara Jiva is identical with Brahman and in reality Brahman itself conditioned by limiting adjuncts due to avidya or Maya.
According to Ramanuja Jiva is an ontological entity different from Brahman. Jiva is amsa or part of Brahman and it is relation of essential attribute to its substance. This is difference cum non difference.
According to madhava there is no organic relation between Brahman and Jiva. Only some attributes are similar to Brahman and Jiva and it is absolutely different from Brahman.
III. Nature of world or jagat and its relation to Brahman
According to Shankara Brahman is both the instrumental and material cause of the universe. Apart from Brahman the jagat has no existence. So Jagat is unreal and illusory manifestation of the real being due to avidya and Maya.
According to Ramanuja also Brahman is the instrumental and material cause of the universe. But according to him the jagat is real as there is a causal relation between Brahman and jagat. Casual relation means different state of the same substance.
According to madhava Brahman is only the instrumental cause and the material cause is prakrti. Jagat is real but absolutely different from Brahman.
The evolution of the world is conceived as various stages in vedanta. The stages are described as kosha or body of the atman. At the centre there is atman or ultimate reality, then ananda Maya consists of bliss, next vijnana Maya consist of wisdom next mano maya means mind, then pranamaya or life, then annamaya or food.
In purana evolution is symbolically represented by ten incarnation or dasawatara of Vishnu. They are Fish, Tortoise, Boar, Narasimha or Lion-man, Vamana or Dwarf, Parasurama, Sreeram, Srikrishna, Buddha (According to some ninth is Balarama), last and tenth Kalki.
In yoga philosophy the kosha of atman are applied to the individual spirit or jivatman and broadly divided into two bodies. Jivatman is covered by an inner linga or sukshma sarira means subtle body and outer stula sarira or gross body.
Vedanta also classifies human self or consciousness into four types.
The first jagrat or waking self or consciousness, second swapna or dream self third is susupti or deep sleep self and fourth turya or realised self. Some also refer to a still higher self or turya atit.
Analysis:
What Shankara mean by Para Brahman as sat-chit-ananda or being consciousness bliss is the second logos and what Shankara and ramanuja mean by saguna and savishesha Brahman is third logos or consious or creative being with innumerable attributes and qualities. Now the second logos and third logos are not separate realities but two aspects of one and the same reality. Third logos or consious being is not unreal but both are real. It is only a lower plane of reality.
When the ultimate contemplate itself as pure self it is nirguna Brahman or second logos and when it contemplate itself as multiple essences with innumerable attributes and qualities it is saguna Brahman or third logos. The ultimate is one and many at the same time. The one essence is the many essences. The unlimited is the limited aspect and both are real.
Jiva or human spirit is the spiritual existence of the essences and jagat or world is the material existence of the essences. In reality Brahman and Jiva and jagat are one and the same reality. When the ultimate is viewed from its eternal aspects it is first, second or third logos and when the ultimate is viewed from its temporal aspect it is Jiva and jagat.
Now the being is perfect in itself. The perfection in becoming is only possible through self expression by manifestation. So Jiva and jagat are not due to avidya or Maya but real.
What Shankara means by illusion is that jagat has no independent existence but active thought and active imagination of one creative being as essences. Spiritual, mental, astral and material existences are not illusion in the sense of unreal but the temporal and lower planes of the same being.
The stage of reality corresponds to our division as follows: Atman is Consious Being. Anandamaya is Pure Being, Vijnana maya is Spiritual existence, manomaya is mental existence, pranamaya is astral existence and annamaya is physical and material existence.
The dasavatara of Vishnu or ten incarnation of God are the evolution as already described. Fish symbolise life in water, Tortoise as amphibian, Boar as mammals, Narasimha transitional stage between man and animals, Vamana primitive ancestors of Homo sapiens, Parasurama, pre-agricultural wild hunting man, Sreeram, agricultural age, Sreekrishna development of trades and cities, Budda and Kalki also represent perfection of man's spiritual, mental and material existence.
In yoga system the subtle body corresponds to mental and astral existence, gross body is material existence and individual jivatman is spiritual existence.
Jagrat or waking self is consciousness directed trough the senses. At this stage self is completely identified with material and astral existence. This is the stage of sensory knowledge or passionate nature.
Swapna self is comparable to mental existence. At this stage material world or world of senses are considered as a dream. This means the world appear less real than in the Jagrat self. The consciousness at this stage is more centered within than without through the senses. This is the stage of rational nature.
Actual deep sleep is the stage of unconscious spiritual existence. Susupti self is comparable to spiritual existence. Here consciousness is centered more and more within and material world is considered as unreal and neglected. At this stage contemplative life is more real than the world of objects. This is the stage of spiritual nature. Turya is the realised self. This is the state of the self realised man. Contrasting with deep sleep self this is conscious spiritual existence. Turya state is the complete expression of the spirit. Here every nature gets its due and nothing is neglected as unreal. At turya life is lived in its fullness and there is complete self expression.
Now if turya is taken as the spiritual existence of consious being as human spirit Turya atit is the human spirits awareness as third logos or consious being with innumeable attributes.
D: The conscious and the
unconscious:
According to Freud the unconscious urge or libido is mainly consist of ID. This is repressed impulses and desires and mostly sexual impulses. This is the cause of all conscious behaviour. According to Jung libido or unconscious is undifferentiated psychic energy, which manifest in various forms like sex impulse, superiority complex etc. According to him the basic urge is self realisation and freedom lies in the assimilation of unconscious by conscious. In Vedanta Jagrat is conscious self and Swapna and Susupti form the unconscious self. Swapna is similar to Freud’s preconscious, which can be brought to conscious level. Turya is the self realised state or in Jung’s terms the assimilation of unconscious by conscious state.
Both conscious and unconscious is the state of human spirit. Now the part revealed in material, astral, mental and spiritual existence as sensory, rational and spiritual consciousness or knowledge we call the conscious part and the hidden side of these essences from knowledge we call the unconscious part. So human spirit is a unity with both conscious and unconscious.
As we told earlier those with predominant passionate nature in their unconscious part of the spirit reveal it as conscious desire and passion which Freud identified with sex impulses. This id is not the whole unconscious libido as Jung explained. When self consciousness is increased by contemplation or other methods even those with passionate nature are able to regulate it with reason. This is as Jung told due to assimilation of unconscious by conscious. But this in turn produces what Adler identified as basic urge, ego activities like superiority complex and social recognisation. When self consciousness further increases rational nature is regulated by spiritual nature. This produce what Jung called basic urge for self realisation. Here all activities are the urges for complete self expression.
Turya or self realisation is realisation of complete nature of the spirit. As Jung says this is freedom because unconscious is completely assimilated by the conscious. Here activity is regulated from the total perspective. Not any part or nature of spirit is neglected so there is perfect expression of one's self.
Chapter:
2. Jain Philosophy:
According to Jainism there are two main essences in the world.
One is ajiva or lifeless essence. These include space, dharma means media of motion, rest, time and pudugala or matter.
Matter exist as homogeneous atoms with property of sound, colour, taste, smell and touch. They are capable of change and can be known by sensory organs. They are not created by God. They are eternal in the sense of existing from the beginning. There is also subtle matter through which Jiva is connected with the body.
The second essence is Jiva or souls. They are innumerable.
Their real nature is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. There is no single
great Jiva or God. They are either in the embodied state or
The Jiva's original nature is veiled by asrava or influx of subtle matter. This is due to accumulated karma or action in the form of thought, word and deeds. As a result there is banda or bondage of Jiva and suffering by sansara or repeated births.
The original nature and moksha or liberation can be attained by samvara means prevention of further karma and matter and nirjara means removing already present karma and matter by discipline and meditation.
Analysis:
Jiva and ajiva is the plane of manifestation. Jiva is spiritual existence and ajiva physical and material manifestation. The Jiva and ajiva are there from the beginning of manifestation but they are not eternal.
Chapter:
3: Buddhist philosophy:
There are basically two type of Buddhism. One is Hinayana Buddhism and the other is Mahayana Buddhism.
Hinayana Buddhism, which is also called lesser vehicle, contains the first wheel of dharma. This includes sutra of four noble truths. In Hinayana Buddha explain how to liberate from suffering oneself.
Mahayana Buddhism, which also called greater vehicle, contain second and third wheel of dharma. This includes perfection of wisdom sutras and discriminating the intention sutras. The adherents of Mahayana claims in Mahayana Buddha explain how to attain enlightment for the benefit of others.
The four noble truths are as follows. First the worldly life is full of dukka or suffering. Second the cause of dukka is trishna means clinging and desire for transient objects. Third suffering can be removed. Eight fold path of meditation is the way to over come suffering.
Fourth there is an end to suffering.
Nirvana is end of suffering through liberation from rebirths.
The eight fold path is right views, right thought, right speech, right action, right mindfulness, right effort, right livelihood and right concentration.
In Buddhism the ultimate reality is called Amitabh, which is infinite and boundless life or light. This give rise to the second avalokitheshwara and this to the third manjusree, which is identified with creative mind.
In Buddhism the ultimate reality is also described as tatatha means suchness or thusness. This tatatha has two aspects. One is static, which is suchness and indefinable. The second is dynamic aspect, which on the universal level called dharma dhatu and is the essence of world. Individual level this dynamic aspect is tatgatha garba and is the individual essence.
Madyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism considers tatatha or ultimate reality as shunyata or void means devoid of any essence. This is the nihilistic school of Buddhism.
Vijnanavada school of Mahayana Buddhism identifies tatatha with vijnana or universal consciousness. The world is the illusory mental projection of this universal consciousness or world is vijnana's cosmic imagination. The cause of the world is vijnana function as alaya (store house) of vasanas (latent impression). This is the idealistic school in Buddhism.
In Buddhism all manifestation are the result of a combination of different dharmas, which are considered real in Hinayana Buddhism but illusory in Mahayana Buddhism. The views of eternal spirits, substance or elements are rejected in Buddhism.
In sarvastivada school of Hinayana Buddhism there are 3 types of atoms. The subtlest are paramanus. Seven paramanu constitute one anu and seven anu constitute one rajas. Rajas can be perceived by Bodhisattva. The shortest time is transition from one atom to another. So space and time are co-related. Sarvastivada School is the realistic school in Buddhism.
In Sarvastivada School all manifestation are reduced to dharma. This is the smallest unit and material atoms are one of the dharmas. The worlds including men are aggregation of material, imaginary, mental and emotional dharmas. These dharmas exist only for one moment to be replaced by similar ones next moment. The world is the momentary aggregation of dharmas like this and lasts only one moment.
Prapti (Acquisition or obtainment) is a special dharma, which is responsible for binding and false feeling of personality. This prapti dharma is responsible for transmigration.
In sarvastivada school nirvana is also considered as a dharma which when attached to the individual eliminate prapti dharma and stop these sequence giving rise to liberation. The central theme of Buddhism is the transient and impermanent nature of every thing. According to Buddhism human spirits, substances and elements are not eternal.
In Buddhism manifestation is explained by causation theory. The cause of human and other beings are due to action principles. This is karma means past activity which is responsible for sansara or continuous rebirth through transmigration. There are three lower realms, which are animal, ghost and hell, and three higher realms like man, demi God and God where rebirths can take place. The cause of this karma is as already told alaya vijnana or ideation state. The cause of this alaya Vijnana is the dynamic aspect of reality. This is tatgatha garba in the case of individual and dharma datu in the case of world.
Freedom from rebirth and suffering is through nirvana. This is equivalent to liberation. This is an ineffable experience. Negatively this is extinction of all imperfection and positively attainment of all perfection.
Analysis:
The noble truths and eight fold path are mainly about passionate and rational nature and ways of self realisation. Nirvana is akin to self realisation.
The amitabh is the first logos, avalokiteswara second logos and manjusree is third logos or creative being.
The static aspect of ultimate reality as tatatha or suchness is first logos. Dynamic aspect as dharma datu is third logos with multiple attributes. The individual tatgata garba is human spirits in spiritualor ideal existence.
The shunyata or void of Madyamaka is not a negative state without essence but the first logos or pure being, which is the seat of all perfection. So it is a positive indefinable essence.
The Vijnana of vijnanavada is third logos or state of consious being. The vijnana functioning as alaya for vasana is spirits in spiritual existence. The world as cosmic imagination is what we were saying as the active imagination of the spirits. The replacement of dharma every moment is what we were saying as continuous creation at each breath. With inhalation a world is annihilated and with exhalation similar one is created.
Except pudgala wada school all other sects deny the eternity of human spirit. In Pudgalavada school pudgala who transmigrate between rebirths is permanent.
There is the belief that Bodhisattva reincarnate again and again to alleviate the suffering of the world. If there is no permanent spirit the same individual incarnating again and again become meaningless because there is no way to say it is the same spirit.
Another concept as we already told the transmigration of human being in different realms until nirvana is attained. If there is no permanent soul what is this permanent entity, which transmigrate from birth to birth.
Now in the causation theory of Buddhism the present life is explained due to vasanas means impression and karmas means past actions due to previous births. Now the cause of this vasana and karma is the Alaya vijnana or ideation store, which is carried from birth to births. Now when we ask what is the first cause of this ideation store or where it originate the answer is it is the nature of reality. It is the dynamic aspect of reality itself as Tatgatha garba means individual essence and dharma datu as world essence. So the final and ultimate cause is the dynamic aspect of reality itself. From all these it is clear that human essence is eternal. This means the human essence as ideal existence or third logos is eternal. Human spirit is the spiritual existence of human essence as an individual being. So it is not eternal but permanent and exists from the beginning of spiritual existence. It is clear that what Buddhism negates is not the human spirits permanence but the false ego, which identify the spirit with present personality. The personality is transient and dissolves at death and is the cause of all suffering.
Chapter
4: Theosophy:
Agrippa of Nettesheim was an early proponent of theosophy. Theosophy shares theology's belief in super natural and philosophy's faith in nature. It rests upon an inner revelation, which is superior to sensible experience and reason. It dies not study nature for natures sake but to discover the mysterious being in it. It is not content with knowledge of nature alone, but also with secret doctrines to rule over, master and control it. This is by magic. It depends on the principle of Neo-Platonism that in the hierarchy of emanation the higher forces command and lower ones obey.
In theosophy the evolution of a solar system is conceived as follows.Reality is described in seven planes.
From higher to lower or from subtle to gross they are Adi, Anupada, Atmic, Buddi, Mental, Astral and Physical planes. The lower five planes are again divided into seven sub planes. They are from subtle to gross atomic, subatomic, supra akashic, akashic, gaseous, liquid and solid sub planes.
According to theosophy the ultimate unmanifest reality is beyond adi and beyond this division. From this ultimate unmanifest the first manifested is adi. The second is anupada. Adi and Anupada form three logi. First logos is the root of all being. Second logos is divided into life and form or self and non self. Third logos form the creative mind.
The monads or spirits are also formed from these three logi and they reside in anupada plane. The monads are broadly classified into seven groups. The second logos due to division of self and non-self shows three aspect of reality. They are will, wisdom and activity. The divisions of monads into seven groups are due to different combination of these three attributes.
The evolution is described in three stages. First there is evolution of matter, second stage evolution of form and third evolution of Consciousness.
The monads always remain in the anupada plane and its representative atma-Buddi-manas or the heavenly man is formed by joining the atoms of the atomic sub plane of atma, Buddi and manas planes. This atma-Buddi-Manas or lower monad take part in evolution while the higher monad remains in the anupada plane.
As we told earlier first there is evolution of matter. The third logos first produce the matter of atmic plane. This starts with atomic sub plane and proceeded to all seven sub planes. Then the same is followed in buddic, mental, astral and physical planes. A mental plane is broadly divided into two sub planes. The higher mental or causal plane consists of atomic, subatomic and supra akashic sub planes. This is the realm of abstract thoughts. The lower mental consist of the remaining four sub planes and is the realm of concrete thoughts
After evolution of matter the same steps are repeated with second logos and form is evolved. Then in the third stage in the same way consciousness is evolved. Here the lower monad takes part in evolution and with the evolution of self consciousness in human beings evolution is completed.
Corresponding to the seven cosmic planes human beings also consist of seven planes. They from gross to subtle are physical body, prana or life, pranic body, animal soul, human soul, spiritual soul and atman.
Analysis:
According to us there is no indefinable reality above and beyond Adi plane. What we state as the first logos or pure being itself is the unknowable and indefinable plane. This corresponds to theosophy's adi plane.
The second plane anupada we identity with essential being or II logos. According to us atmic plane or theosophist's third plane also is this essential being or II logos.
According to us the third plane is buddic plane which is also third logos. This is the stage of consious being or creative mind. According to theosophists the three logi are formed from adi and anupada planes only. According to us the three logi corresponds to three higher planes. These are first plane or pure being or Adi, second plane or essential being or anupada or atmic plane, third plane or consious being or buddic plane.
According to us high mental or causal plane is fourth plane corresponds to spiritual existence. Fifth plane is lower mental corresponds to mental existence. Sixth and seventh are astral and physical existences respectively.
Theosophy identifies will with Sattwaguna and will precede wisdom. According to us will or love depends on wisdom or knowledge. We can will only what we know. So wisdom precedes will and wisdom is Sattwa guna. According to us will is Rajoguna and activity Tamoguna.
As we told earlier according to us there is only three fundamental groups of monads. Predominance of wisdom, will or activity.
Like this the lower five planes have only three major subplane in our system. This is gas, liquid and solid on the physical and material plane and predominance of wisdom, will or power on the higher planes.
According to us there is not a higher monad in second plane and another lower monad called heavenly man from third, fourth and fifth plane.
First, second and third plane does not admit any division so there are no monads in this plane. But one single being. What we mean when we say human spirit contain all essences is monad contain the essential nature of first, second and third plane and not they exist as individual monads in this planes. Third plane or according to us Buddic plane is also the plane of one creative being as multiple attributes or essences. After Pralya or dissolution and in between manifestation they exist as atma Buddi in third plane and not as Atma-Buddi manas. This is the stage as one creative being so exist as essences of first plane or Adi and second plane or anupada or atmic and third plane or Buddi. Here atma Buddi means this potential essences contain first, second and III logos. Monads and individual separate being is only possible in forth plane or spiritual existence or higher mental plane. Only here monad exists as Atma-Buddi-Manas. So there is actually only one monad, which contains essences from all planes. According to us the seven planes of human beings are physical and material plane, astral plane (contain both Prana and Pranic body), Animal or low mental plane, human or causal or spiritual plane, Buddic or third logos or consious being, second logos or essential being or atmic or Anupadic plane, first logos or Adi or pure being.
Chapter 5:Sri Aurabindo and Integral Yoga
According to Aurabindo man is a transitional being and not a final product of evolution.Man can change his social, political and economic life in such a way that it will bring down the kingdom of heaven upon earth.This will come about as the logical culmination of the evolutionary process which is persistently and constantly working in nature.
According to aurabindo the One Being and Consciousness is the base of all reality ,self of all things,one and eternal.In this world this one being is involved in matter.So life , mind and principles higher than mind are also involved in matter, as the Divine Himself has manifested as matter. it is through evolution that this being liberates itself or regains its one being and consiousness.this is achieved by passing through the stages of life,mind,supra mental(spiritual consiousness),and supermind(domination of spirit).Life evolved from matter by meeting of two forces,one life force in matter the second from above the descending life force.For only as supermind the involved Divinity in things release itself entirely and it become possible for life to manifest perfection.This superman with supermind will not be a magnified edition of the present humanity with its vices and virtues but an altogether different kind of being, with an entirely different kind of consciousness, knowledge and power, whose difference from the present man will be far more pronounced than that between animals and man.
This evolution is in plant and animal life without consious will in them.In man this evolution can only takes place with a consious will.mental will can help this evolution only upto a certain stage.Our present mind is not a instrument for real knowledge.like that our life and body also have so many limitations.If these limitations can be removed, human mind will become omniscient, and omnipotent. But further evolution is only posible by a conversion of mind in to supra mental consiousness.This supramental force is now exerting its pressure upon the terrestrial world for its transformation
.According to Aurabindo by the practice of integral yoga descend of the supramental into the faculties of man is possible.It is called integral because it is integral in its aims and integral in its methods.The ultimate aim of integeral yoga is a total transformation of this earthly life into the Divine Life, a descent of the Divine Consciousness right into the mind, life and even the body. It also try to change ultimately the whole earth and not merely some individuals.Integral yoga is evolutionary also in its method.The mind, the vital, the body must all participate in the invocation for the Divine transformation. All life is a field for this Yoga. Aurobindo has taken the essence of all yogas and has created a new yoga which enables the sadhak to unite himself with the totality of this multi-faceted Divine.It is from this point of view that it is an integral yoga and a synthesis of yoga.This Integral yoga will release the spiritual self in the world itself and convert the mind into a supramental truth consiousness. this supramental is the instrument of the innerself by which humanity is evolved into a divine race.
For this yoga control of desires and renunciation of attachment is essential. control over the body and its needs, greeds and instincts are needed.Aurobindo emphasises primarily the Karma, Jnana and Bhakti yogas. These form the most indispensable parts of his synthetic yoga.
Karma yoga is turning the will away from motives of self-interest to the Truth and the service of a greater self.In the first stage in Karmayoga we still have the feeling of being the doer.This is overcome by remembering the Divine Mother in all works and offering the works to divine.We must continue doing so until this remembrance becomes constant. And remembrance cannot become constant as long as our inner being is not awake. When the inner being is awake then the outer nature does the work while the inner being is always conscious of the Divine. The more we can establish ourselves in our inner being, the more shall the consciousness of the Divine permeate our work. The second is the stage of self surrender.In the second stage, we must try not to expect any fruit of our actions. We shall try to take the result of our actions with an equal heart, with no feeling of joy or of sorrow, whether the result brings loss or gain, weal or woe. When that becomes possible then all the results of action will be looked upon as a gift of the Divine Mother's Love and shall be accepted as such. In the third stage we shall try to experience that we are not the doers, we are only instruments of the Divine. Through bhakti and self-surrender, as our rapport with the Mother will grow, so will grow also this feeling of being an instrument and as our being single-mindedly opens to Her force so will we become capable of receiving Her guidance. In the fourth stage we will realise that the Divine Shakti does not merely encourage and guide us but is also the inspirer of all our works. And finally we as instruments and the Divine Mother and Her Force shall become totally one. In Karmayoga we must renounce all types of egoism,even spiritual egoism.We must renounce all attachment to works.According to Aurabindo any one yoga ,so even Karmayoga can lead to liberation and perfection.
Jnana yoga is attainment of knowledge,discrimination of reality and
appearence,the knowledge of the infinite consciousness.The ways of acquiring
this knowledge are through vichaara, reflection, meditation.The first steps on
this path are renunciation, detachment and the purification of the instrument.
Unlike traditional vedantists Aurabindo forbids the renunciation of works
because then the transformation of the mind, the vital and the body will not be
possible. Instead of the outer renunciation he teaches us the inner
renunciation. We have to get rid of all attachment from within. We have to
renounce the sense of the ego which we normally mistake for our real being.
According to aurabindo we have to renoununce fasehood of life,falsehood of
gross sense perceptions,falsehood of heart,superficial limited thought process
so that divine will,subtle senses,deep heart and deep and unlimited divine
knowledge will take over and lead us.But for inner renunciation purification
with the help of vichaara and discrimination is needed.main cause of impurity
is ego which divide us from god and others so we have to eliminate the ego.Once
purification has been achieved we must constantly reflect on the truth that we
are not the body, the vital or the mind but an infinite, eternal, immortal
entity which at the same time contains and transcends the universe. This kind
of reflection is called in Jnanayoga nididhyaasana, once it is established it
enables our consciousness to become deep-rootedand immersed in the Brahman.
This in brief is the essence of Jnanayoga.
Baktiyoga is devotion ,love and surrender to God.Here we make the emotions of heart the instrument so this yoga is possible only if we have love and devotion in our hearts to god.Worship and meditation are used only for the preparation and increase of intensity of the divine relationship. It may begin with outer worship but the devotion becomes strong and true only when this worship becomes an inner adoration full of faith and self-offering.Therefore the endeavour to approach the Divine through the way of Love will bring us the highest success.In Aurobindo's yoga the realisations of this trimaarga have been brought together, they have been integrated. According to Aurobindo karma gets its fulfilment only in knowledge.By uniting our action and will-power to the Divine Will we can experience his All-Knowing state and feel that Will-Power from which all other will-power is born.And the means for this unification of the human and the Divine is Love; it is through Love that we unite ourselves to the Blissful Consciousness of the Lord and live in it and make it the fount of all our actions and all our movements; it is this Love which takes us by the hand, as it were, to the threshold of Knowledge. In Aurobindo's yoga we can take the help of any one of the triple paths and arrive at the other two as well.
Above all a realised master is absolutly necessary for this integral yoga.The inspiration and presence of the master is immence help in this spiritual journey.
The three attitudes and movements that are cardinal to the working of integral yoga are aspiration, rejection and surrender.
We must aspire for the Divine. Aspiration needs to be vigilant, constant and unceasing. It must be supported by all the parts of one's being: the mind's will, the heart's seeking and the vital being's constant cooperation. We must always remember our goal, remember it at every moment of our life. For this there are different methods. One, we have to seriously consider the problem of preyas and shreyas, the merely pleasant though not good on one hand and the good though not always pleasant on the other. This problem constantly bothers us until we attain to a state of "yogic consciousness". This yogic consciousness can best be achieved by vichara; unbiased, intellectual contemplation strongly impresses the mind and can change our mental make-up.Two, take up svaadhyaaya, the study of scriptures, which may include the works of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo or any other book which can help in the growth of our faith, devotion and steadiness in the face of difficulties or in a general way help us to progress on the path of yoga. The study of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother also brings an added help to the sadhak; mantrashakti. Mantrashakti is Sri Aurobindo's and Mother's spiritual force and influence that is inherent in their utterances and emanates from them and which opens our consciousness to Their Force that dispels all darkness and removes all veils and obstacles from our path. Three, we may take up japa : repetition of a spiritually potent name or mantra. In our case the mantra could be Sri Aurobindo's or the Mother's or any other which may help this yoga. The function of mantra is to awaken our inner being and lead us faster along the path.Four, we may take up some work and do it for the Mother in the right attitude.
Rejection is surrender of oneself and all one is and has and every plane of the consciousness and every movement to the Divine .For rejection we must adopt one or more of the following methods : One, we may seek the Mother's help to remove the difficulties through prayer. Two, we may adopt the Mother's own formula: step back and reject. We have to step back into our inner being. . If we can position ourselves on the place of the inner mind, rejection becomes spontaneous and easy. For this the following methods suggested :One, we can pierce the veil and force an entry into the inner mind by an intense, one-pointed concentration. Two, this rending of the veil can also be achieved through vichaara, a special kind of pure, intellectual reflection which is practised widely in Jnanayoga. We must be firmly convinced of the idea that we are not the body, life or mind but a separate being, calm and quiet, silently witnessing everything, within and without, totally uninvolved and unaffected. Three, the way of psychic awakening. The psychic being must be awakened and brought to the forefront of our mental, vital and physical beings and influence the individual's actions. The psychic being is our inmost being, and its place is behind the heart rather than in it. This mostly secret power behind, quite distinct from the inner mind or inner vital, is the true soul in us.. Through increase of self-surrender and bhakti, the psychic being can be awakened and once it is fully awake, it takes over control of the mind, the vital and the body. Four, the inner being may be awakened through japa.
He who has surrendered himself must lose this sense of I-ness or my-ness. His body, mind and life no longer belong to him. Everything one is or one has is offered to the Divine: one obeys only the guidance and no other. All one's desires and ideas are consecrated at the altar of the divine Truth. As a consequence one accepts everything whole-heartedly, without question. The duality of pleasure and pain, comfort and discomfort, wealth and poverty, reputation and disgrace, hope and despair, exists no longer. . To become an instrument of the Divine Mother, the surrender has to be total and sincere. It must seize all the parts of one's being. It is not enough that the psychic being only responds or the inner mind or vital submits to its influence. Even the most external part of our being must consecrate itself totally; all desire, anger, greed, envy, jealousy must disappear. And the greater will be the surrender, the more will the Divine Shakti work through us and for us. Without any advance in surrender it is impossible to advance towards the goal. The secret of surrender is trust and confidence in the Divine and we must allow this to progressively grow in us. One must not allow one's mental and vital movements to interfere in its workings. We must be watchful and detect all wrong acts, thoughts, feelings that may come in the way of the total surrender. The Mother says that if we remain sincere and do not deceive ourselves we shall become conscious of all kinds of contradictions in our nature and these contradictions we must lay at Her feet for transformation. Slowly but surely the Divine Force will remove all our impurities and imperfections. But we must be careful about the wrong notion that the Divine will do everything we demand even when we do not satisfy the conditions laid down by the Supreme. We must also reject that other false idea that the Divine will also do the surrender for us. The Divine asks for our surrender but it does not force it on us. Our surrender must be free and done by ourselves, the surrender of a living person and not that of a robot.
In this integral yoga for the descend of supramental consists of many stages.Man usually lives in his outer self.the first step of the yoga is therefore to open his innerbeing and live from there outward filling his life with innerlight.the second stage is opening upwards and desend of higher mind.Between mind and supramental truth consiousness there are several ranges of consiousness which forms several steps or stages before supramental descend.But Sri Aurobindo says that this evolutionary force will raise the present humanity to a higher level, to a consciousness of supermanhood.
Chapter :6 J.Krishnamurthy
According to J.K.the human mind was conditioned by traditions, religious beliefs, ethnic and national identities etc .Only one's own insight into this conditioning could free the mind
.Truth is a pathless land. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organised... The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth Man cannot come to it through any organization, through any creed, through any dogma, priest or ritual, not through any philosophic knowledge or psychological technique.He has to find it through the mirror of relationship, through the understanding of the contents of his own mind, through observation and not through intellectual analysis or introspective dissection.The seeker must find truth by his own discovery. For this awareness of our conditioning and stilling of the mind that block awareness is necessry.Truth is knowledge of what IS.Thought cannot know the unknown so never experience the real.when experience stops there is thought.Only when thought is silent there is new,the state of experiencing the real.when thought stops there is stillness.This state of stillness is the meditative mind what J.K. calls a Benediction and 'otherness'.The ending of thought-time is to be nothing.This nothing contains the whole world.
To experience what is solitude and what is meditation, one must be in in a state of inquiry; only a mind that is in a state of inquiry is capable of learning. But when inquiry is suppressed by previous knowledge, or by the authority and experience of another, then learning becomes mere imitation, and imitation causes a human being to repeat what is learnt without experiencing it.When we give our total attention to our conditioning by chiceless awareness we becomes free of the past . Every thig that is the result of memory is old and past.So thought never brings the new or what IS.
"Meditation is the ending of thought. It is only then that there is a different dimension which is beyond time."According to J.K.When man becomes aware of the movement of his own thoughts, he will see the division between the thinker and thought, the observer and the observed, the experiencer and the experience. .It is an illusion by which the brain dividesone into two.We cannot do any thing about this because this action it self comes out of this division.But when chicelessly becomes aware of this that awareness itself produce a change in the whole being.Only chiceless intelligent awareness of everything inside and out outside ourself will bring the transformation.He will discover that this division is an illusion Then only is there pure observation which is insight without any shadow of the past or of time. This timeless insight brings about a deep, radical mutation in the mind.
To J.K.Freedom is not a reaction; freedom is not a choice. It is man’s pretense that because he has choice he is free. Freedom is pure observation without direction, without fear of punishment and reward. Freedom is without motive; freedom is not at the end of the evolution of man but lies in the first step of his existence. In observation one begins to discover the lack of freedom. Freedom is found in the choiceless awareness of our daily existence and activity
J.K.says listening is an art .when one listens totally without judging and deeply involved this it self produce a transformation in awareness.
According to J.K. words and explanations and thoughts will never lead to the real.What lies beyond cannot be explained in thoughts.Only choiceless awareness and constant attention will open the unkown where there is no conflict or time.
Chapter 7: Osho Rajneesh
According to Osho national, religious, gender and racial divisions are destructive to humankind.He taught a form of Monism, that God was in everything and everyone. He developed and taught a spiritual path that combined elements from Hinduism,Jainsm,Zen buddism,Taoism ,Sufism. ancient Greek philosophy, many other religious and philosophic traditions, humanistic psychology, new forms of therapy and meditation.
Osho taught that we are all potential Buddhas and have the capacity for enlightenment. It is possible to experience innate divinity and our egos prevent us from enjoying this experience: "When the ego is gone the whole individuality arises in its crystal purity" . The problem is how to bypass the ego so that our innate being can flower; how to move from the periphery to the center.
His methods was to identify the ways in which the ego, or mind, comes to exert its control. The mind replicates behavioral strategies that, in the past, proved successful in ensuring survival. But in appealing to the past, the mind prevents us from living authentically in the present. In so doing, we automatically close ourselves off from experiencing the joy that naturally comes when we move into the present because "the mind has no inherent capacity for joy. ... It only thinks about joy" The result is we are burdened with and unconsciously poison ourselves with various neuroses, jealousies, fears, etc. accumulating false religious teachings instead of living in joyous, authentic awareness.
This kind of unconscious behavior does not produce the desired result.By repressing sexual feelings we cannot over come sex.. Repression only leads to the re-emergence of these feelings in other forms. Instead of repressing, we should accept everything—our thoughts, feelings, prejudices, and opinions--unconditionally: "Be total. Be authentic; be true"
According to him a master can only point you to the truth.
"Truth, the living truth, has to be discovered by each individual by himself.
Nobody can give it to you. Yes, somebody who has achieved it can transpire a
thirst in you, a tremendous desire for it. I cannot give you the truth, but I
can give you the desire for it. I cannot give you the truth, but I can show you
the moon… please don't get attached to my finger which is indicating the moon.
This finger will disappear. The moon will remain and the search will continue."
And again,
"I don't give you any tradition.
I don't give you any scripture.
I don't give you any discipline.
Those are all non-essentials. I simply concentrate my whole work on making you
more conscious. Consciousness is the key to transform the whole of humanity."
Osho says self realisation is one's nature and the master is only to help in the process.
"I have tried my best to convince you of only one thing: that enlightenment
is your nature; that it is not something achieved, you bring it with your birth.
All that you have to do is not to create it but just to open the hidden secret
of your life.
The moment you start feeling your inner light, your whole perspective starts
changing. You will feel compassionate towards human beings even if they are
doing stupid things. And you will feel immensely joyous, celebrating, even
though you don't have anything to celebrate. Nothing is needed to celebrate—only
excuses
The whole work of the mystery school is to somehow introduce you to yourself.
That introduction is the introduction to existence itself."
He stressed te importance of Now and Here,
"I cannot promise you anything.
I trust in the moment, in the present.
For me there is no tomorrow.
For me there is no future.
And I want you to understand that existence is always now and here. If you want
to live it authentically, intensely, then be now and here. Use this moment to
its totality. Squeeze the whole juice out of it. Don't wait for the next moment,
because who knows about the next moment. And you are waiting for centuries, for
thousands of years. This is simply wasting the great opportunity that existence
has given to you.
Existence knows only one tense—the present. It neither knows the past,
because it is no more, nor does it know the future, because it is not yet. But
the mind is always concerned either with the past or with the future, never with
the present. Do you see?
Existence is only in the present. Mind is never in the present. In fact, the
moment you are in the present, there is no mind in you, there is great silence.
The whole sky of your inner being is without thoughts, without clouds. I call
this the state of no-mind.
Life is a school. You have to learn something. Don't postpone it till
tomorrow—tomorrow may never come. Use this moment to learn. And the only thing
life wants you to learn is to know yourself, to be yourself. Then whatever
comes, you will be joyful. Whatever happens, you will find ecstasy in it. Don't
think in terms of the future; the future is nonexistential. Only the present
is."
Osho's main method is witnessing the self.In his later years he again and again
stressed the importance of the Zen and the method Zazen.He claimed that he is
teaching the Zen for the contemporary man.
"Zen simply makes it clear that there is nothing to be found, that there is
no truth which is hidden--it is only your eyes which are closed.
This commune has to be a commune of understanding, awareness, looking into one's
own mind patterns and remembering that they are not yours. You are simply the
watcher, and the watcher is outside the mind.
I teach you the watcher.
The only way to get out of misery patterns, whether ancient or new, is
witnessing. I say it is the only way, because nobody has escaped from the mind
without becoming a witness.
You don't have to work for twelve years, you can just start from the relaxed
state. It was the last point in Gautam Buddha's journey. It can be the first
point in your journey….
I am telling you, why not drop it right now? You can relax this very moment! And
in that relaxation you will find the light, the awareness, the awakening".
He thought that enlightenment comes from aloneness and the resulting silence.
"In your aloneness you are beautiful, pure. It does not mean that you have to renounce the world. It simply means that you don't have to belong to the world. You can remain in the marketplace, but just be a mirror, a witness, watching whatever is going on
Anything that arises from your silences has a beauty, a truthfulness, an authenticity. And that which arises out of the mind is only a carbon copy
And this is my attitude: you are here, every individual is here, the whole
existence is available. All that you need is just to be silent and listen to
existence. There is no need of any religion, there is no need of any God, there
is no need of any priesthood, there is no need of any organization.
I trust in the individual categorically. Nobody up to now has trusted in the
individual in such a way.
So all things can be removed. Now all that has been left to you is a state of
meditation which simply means a state of utter silence. The word meditation
makes it look heavier. It is better to call it just a simple, innocent silence
and existence opens all its beauties to you.
And as it goes on growing you go on growing, and there comes a moment when you
have reached the very peak of your potentiality—you can call it Buddhahood,
enlightenment, bhagwatta, godliness, whatever…it has no name, so any name will
do".
According to Osho, meditation is not simply a practice. It is a state of awareness that can be realized in every moment. Osho developed new forms of active meditation. The best known is Dynamic Meditation .This is divided into five stages.It starts with strenuous physical activity followed by silence and celebration. These were expected to lead the individual to overcome repression, lower their personal inhibitions, develop a "state of emptiness", and attain enlightenment.
Stage-1-Rapid breathing through the nose .Start by standing with your eyes closed and breath deep and fast through your nose for ten minutes. Allow your body to move freely. Jump, sway back and forth, or use any physical motion that helps you pump more oxygen into your lungs.
Stage -2- The second ten minute stage is one of catharsis. Let go totally and be spontaneous. You may dance or roll on the ground. For once in your life screaming is allowed and encouraged. You must act out any anger you feel in a safe way, such as beating the earth with your hands. All the suppressed emotions from your subconscious mind are to be released.Laugh, shout, scream, jump, shake--whatever you feel to do, do it!"
Stage- 3-Holding your arms over your head while jumpig up and down and shouting "Hoo".
Stge-4- Sudden Freezing in place like a statue with your arms still held over your head.
Stage-5-Finally, the exercise is completed with between ten and fifteen minutes of dancing and celebration.
Chapter:
1: Persian Philosophy:
Zoroastrianism:
This is a dualistic Philosophy founded by the Persian
prophet Zarathustra. Parsees in
Ahura Mazda created a pair of twins called spentomainyush and angromainyush. These two primary realities are opposite but form a unity. They produce reality and non reality. Reality is identified with good, light, positive and spirit. Non reality is identified with evil, darkness, negative and matter. Due to these two opposing forces there is constant struggle in the world. Later to improve the world the God armati came. Armati is identified with wealth, good and true mind. She is the creator. She produced mitra and six amesha spends. They together create every thing.
In some later writings Ahuramazda is identified with spento mainyush or good spirit and ahiram separated from him the devil.
Zoroastrianism also believed in end of the world and resurrection of dead then last judgment and retribution in another world.
Analysis:
Ahura Mazda is the first logos, spentomanyush and angromainyush the second logos and armati as consious or creative mind the third logos. Mitra and six ameshaspends are the seven principal existence or universal beings.
Chapter
2: Chinese philosophy:
Taoism:
Confucianism and Taoism are the two main philosophical systems in china.
Laotse is believed to be the founder of Taoism.
According to Taoism Tao is the ultimate reality. The formless Tao shows itself in two forms. Cyclic and polar pattern of yin and yang. One pole is yang. It is pure, masculine, strong, light, warm, creative, active and moving, symbolised in world by heaven and in man by reason.
Yin is impure or turbid, feminine, weak, darkness, cold, passive and resting symbolised in universe by earth and in human by intuition.
In nature Yin and Yang is represented by two basic essences. One is 'Li' this is Law, order and form. This is the spiritual immaterial principle. In man this is rational creative principle. The second is ‘Chi’ which is primary matter and elements. In manifestation the 'Li' is immanent in 'Chi'. Light and pure part of Chi rises and form heaven and impure and heavy part form earth. There are five 'Chi' as prime elements. They are fire, water, earth, wood and metal. In man "li" is the spirit and generative virtue, Chi is the body and produce vice.
There is cyclic pattern of yang, and Yin in nature. After expansion there is contraction. First Yang expands and reaching climax start to contract and give way to Yin. This motion and change is essential feature of nature due to interplay of Yin and Yang. So there is unity in the conflict of Yin Yang.
Human happiness only possible by following this natural order. This is by trusting intuition and acting spontaneously. This type of action is called Wu-Wei and is in harmony with Tao. In fact Tao itself is this true natural way. Man had lost this natural primitive way. This natural and equilibrium of Yin Yang produce moral and physical health in man. In these two forms Tao is the universal principle immanent in all phenomenon. All existence is material flux informed by Tao in this way. In man this exist as moral nature.
According to Taoism adherence to Tao or natural way give rise to wisdom and knowledge of truth so Taoists discard conventional moral political and social standards.
Analysis:
The indefinable Tao is the first logos ,Yin-Yang is the second logos.
Chapter 3: Japanese Philosophy
Shintoism
The chief element of Shintoism (the way of the Kami or the
Gods) is worship of numerous spirits ,which were orginally personified by
animals,plants,things,natural phenomena and souls of ancestors.These spirits or
deities are referred to as kami.
According to Shinto theology, Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi is the Absolute One,One without attributes.. The visible universe (Ken Kai) and the invisible world (Yu Kai) have come into being from Ame-no-mi-naka-nushi through the activities of the three deities of Musubi, Principle of Creation, Completion and the Controlling Bond between the spiritual and the material, the invisible and the visible, the real and the ideal. These contradictory attributes are functional only. The Absolute One is not affected by these contradictory attributes. It is beyond these attributes. The idea of time has come into existence from the attributes.
According to the myth found at the beginning of the Kojiki, the earliest of
the celestial gods who came into being instructed Izanagi and Izanami, male and
female deities of the second generation of gods, to create the world, and in
particular the islands of Japan.Through the process of sexual generation they
produced the land, and the kami of the mountains, trees, and streams, the god
of the wind and the god of fire, and so on. Eventually the goddess Amaterasu,
the great kami of the Sun(Sun Goddess), came into being as chief among them;
Susano-o-no-Mikoto is the impetuous divine brother of the Sun-God. He is the
God of rainstorm. Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto is the Moon-God. These three constitute a
divine triad. They preside, respectively, over the plane of High Heaven, the
vast ocean, and the realm of Night.Amaterasu sent her son Ni-ni-gi down to rule
The mirror, the sword and the jewel have a figurative meaning in the course
of the development of Shinto. They symbolise wisdom, courage and benevolence or
intelligence, will and love in Shinto theology. These three are the holy
ensigns of royalty of the Sovereign Emperor. They are supposed to symbolise the
dynamic working of the
The Shinto world view is fundamentally bright and optimistic, as befits a religion in which the main deity is a sun goddess. While it is not unaware of the darker aspects of human existence, Shinto's chief raison d'etre is the celebration and enrichment of life.
Shinto is divided into two classes, viz., the Sectarian Shinto, which is sub-divided into 13 sects; and the Shinto of the national faith of the Japanese, or the State Shinto Religion.
Although Shinto had no founder and is not based on any holy books, two books
are considered sacred .. These are Ko-ji-ki, the "records of ancient
matters" and Nihongi . , the "chronicles of
Worship in Shinto is undertaken to express gratitude to the gods and to secure their continued favor. Shinto worship have three essential elements.one is the act of purification, which ordinarily involves the use of water; second an offering is presented to the kami, today usually money but often food; and third a prayer or petition is made
Purity is one of the fundamental virtues of Shinto ethics. There are two significations of purity. One is outer purity or bodily purity and the other inner purity or purity of heart. . Sincerity is also the guiding ethical principle of Shinto.
The 10 percepts of Shintoism are i)Do not transgress the will of the gods.ii) Do not forget your obligations to ancestors.iii) Do not offend by violating the decrees of the State.iv) Do not forget the profound goodness of the, gods, through which calamity and misfortunes are averted and sickness is healed.v) Do not forget that the world is one great family.vi) Do not forget the limitations of your own person.vii) Do not become angry even though others become angry.viii) Do not be sluggish in your work.ix) Do not bring blame to the teaching.x) Do not be carried away by foreign teachings.
Chapter 1: Introduction
(not complete)
Abrahamic philosohy emerges from semetic tradition.They are the common aderents of the prophet Abraham
Jewish philosophy
Christian philosophy
Islamic philosophy
Early islamic philosohy
Modern islamic philosphy
Chapter
2: Jewish philosophy:
Maimonides.
Born in Cordova 1135 went to Cairo at 30 stayed there the rest of life. Main work 'Guide to wanderers'. Against Aristotle he says both form and matter created by God out of nothing. Essence of God unknowable.
Kabbalism:
In Jewish philosophy Kabbala deals with metaphysical problems. The classic text of mystic Kabbala is Zohar. According to Kabbala the ultimate is unknowable and unground one, which is called 'Einsof'. The cause of world is emanations. There are ten emanations or sephiroths. The diagram of these ten sephiroths is known as sacred tree
1. Kethar or Crown
This is the first or top sephiroth. This is emanated from Einsof. This is called creative God head. There is production of thought or knowledge in Kethar. This is the origin of all creations. Nine lights or sephiroths emanate after kethar. First thought split in to two producing chokmah and Binah.
2. Chokmah or masculine wisdom:
This is the life giving spirit. The basic creative urge.
3. Binah or feminine understanding:
This also called voice. This is the opposite of chokmah, the passive principle. This three sephiroths form the first or upper tried. These are three degree of reality and each exists by itself. But these three comes out of one. The one exist in three. Three light also unite as one. This is behind three in one symbolism. The remaining are the lower seven sephiroths. The next triad is formed by chesed, geburah and tiphareth
4: Chesed or love
This is male and symbolise protective love and receptive intelligence. This is the force that creates civilisations. Its planet is Jupiter.
5. Geburah or Din:
This is the wife of chesed. Symbolise power, energy, courage and justice. Its planet is mars.
6. Tiphareth or beauty:
This directly descends from Kethar. This reconciles the opposite of chesed and geburah. This is the symbol of vitality and warmth. The associated planet is sun.
Next Triangle is Netshah, Hod and Yesod. At this plane the sephiroth is descended to attributes of world and man.
7: Netshah:
This is endurance and victory. Symbol of instinctive life of nature with boundless energy and power of self renewal. This is the sphere of Venus.
8. Hod or Majesty
This is the female part of Netshah. Symbol of glory and majesty. Sphere of mental faculty such as reason, logic and imagination. Sphere of Mercury.
9. Yesod or Foundation.
This is the son of Netshah and Hod. Plane of strength, happiness and material possession. Associated with magic. Sphere of moon.
10. Malkuth:
This is the last sephiroth. Also called Malkah or Queen. Symbolised by young girl. Associated with generation and productive forces of nature. Plane of innocence, pure joy and also inertia. Sphere of earth.
As we told earlier this ten sephiroths diagrammatically represented is known as sacred tree. This consists of ten circles joined by 22 lines. Ten sephiroth or circles is the heart of Kabbala. 22 lines are the paths. Sephiroths are also paths. So total 32 paths. Each path has many symbols. Kabbalists believe creation as fall from kethar to earth. Due to fall human soul developed amnesia so forgot its real nature. Kabbalic mysticism is an attempt of human soul to acquire union with God. This is done by detachment from physical body, then with subtle or spiritual body ascending through the nine spheres and reaching kethar or God head.
The realms of 10 sephiroth are divided into four planes or worlds.
1. Atziluth:
This is the world or plane of emanation. Consist of upper triad. Kethar, Chokmah and Binah. This give rise to three emanated planes.
2. Briah:
This is also called throne. This is the world or plane of creation and the abode of pure spirits. This consists of the second triad. This give rise to yetzirah world.
3. Yetzirah
This is the plane of formation. This is the Home of angels. This consists of the lower triad, Netshah, Hod and Yesod. This gives rise to Asiatic world.
4. Assiah:
This is the world of action or our earth. Consists of Malkuth.
The lower seven sephiroths is septad. This is collectively called tetra grammations or tetraktys or lower quaternary. They are the four arch angels.
Analysis:
Einsof and Kethar together form first logos. According to us the first logos is not with form but just a concept to denote the unknowable essence. The upper triad is the eternal three logi. The lower seven sephiroths are the principal manifestations. The four planes of ten sephiroths are Atziluth is the eternal world of three logi, Briah is spiritual and mental existence, Yetzirah is astral existence and Assiah is physical and material existence.
The lower seven sephiroths as tetra grammations are universal spiritual being, universal mental being, universal astral being and universal material being. These are four arch angels or tetrad or lower quaternary. Lower septad are this tetrad plus universal mineral soul,universal plant soul, universal animal soul . The upper eternal triad and lower septad form decad.
Chapter:
3: Christian Philosophy
A. Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a mixture of Christian theology, Neo Platonism and Pythagoreanism. The basic feature of Gnosticism is gnosis or knowledge revealed to the initiates to attain salvation. According to Gnosticism the beginning of perfection is the knowledge of man and absolute perfection and salvation by knowledge of God. Gnosticism is a dualistic philosophy with good spiritual world in conflict with evil material world.
According to Gnosticism the ultimate is unknowable. It is one, infinite, self existent and source of everything. This one is above creation and dwell in the realm of pleroma means mystical plentitude. This one is described as Alien, Abyss and non existent in the sense of beyond existence. There occur a basic split in this one due to Sophia the feminine figure of wisdom causing emanation from one the demi urge or the first archon. Some identity this demiurge with nous or begotten son. From demiurge emanated or he created six other archons. The demiurge is ignorant of his reality and considers he is the only God. This demiurge with his six archon created man and the material world. As a creation of demiurge matter is evil. The body and sensual soul of man is matter so it is also evil. According to Manichaeism, which is an extreme form of Gnosticism every thing connected with the material world is evil. They consider even marriage, sexual life and family life evil. In man besides body and sensual soul particles of spirit is trapped and present as rational soul. According to Gnostics Christ was sent by God to liberate this trapped spirit. This spirit detests the world and long for true home. In this world man is in the prison of matter. His true home or his self is this spirit, which is divine light. By help from wise serpent, which is a symbol of divine goodness and spiritual knowledge, and by use of will he acquire this freedom. The Gnostics also believed in reincarnation.
Analysis:
The one alien is first logos and the seven archons are the seven universal beings.
B. Thomas Aquinas:
Aquinas believed there are two paths to truth. One is reason and this leads to partial truth. The second is faith, which leads to absolute truth. According to him they are complimentary and not contradictory to each other.
According to him every thing in the world consist of form and matter. According to him potentiality is a things capability and actuality is what a thing is by becoming. Substance is what has the potentiality for substantial change and form is actuality involved in the change. If there is only accidental change it is called accidental form and if result in change of substance substantial form.
According to Aquinas essence and existence is one in the case of God but distinct to the created. Before creation creature was non existent.
According to him form exist in two ways. One is natural or material form and second is intelligent, or mental form. Human soul is the form of human body. Unlike Aristotle he believed there is only one substantial form for man, which is the rational soul. Two faculties inherent in human soul are intellect and will. There are two types of intellect, active intellect and receptive intellect. Active intellect is the power to acquire ideas by sense experience and receptive intellect is power to store and execute ideas and this also depends on senses. According to him both intellect are particular and present in all individuals.
Analysis:
Aquinas matter and form is what we call passive nature and essences. Both accidental change and substantial change is inherent in the essential nature. Active intellect is innate ideas so they do not depend on senses. Receptive intellect depends on the senses to execute them. Every individual has his own spirit and spirit is a unity. This is what Aquinas mean by there is only one substantial form for humans and both active and receptive intellect are particular to each individual.
Chapter:
4: Islamic Philosophy
A. Mutazilah and Ashiri:
The
According to Ashiri God's existence and his essence is one and the same thing. All other sects believed existence is not essence but a different state. They also believed that attributes are neither identical nor separate from essence. The difference between essence and attributes are essence rank first attribute second, essence self existing attributes depends on essence, essence has self consciousness attribute has no consciousness, essence unity attributes diversity, essence always hidden, attribute hidden or revealed, attribute must have proper locality and manifestation of one attribute conflict with or suppress other attributes.
On the question of free will against determinism they argued that initiation and production of human action by God but it is acquired by creature. So man has free will.
According to Ashiri the world consists of innumerable, smallest unit of matter called Jawhar means atoms. Before manifestation Jawhar lies in the creative energy or mind of God. At this stage Jawhar has only essence no existence. So at this stage Jawhar has only position no space or magnitude. Existence of Jawhar is nothing but divine mind or energy becoming visible. Space is formed by aggregation of Jawhar. Objects are aggregation of this Jawhar, which are atomic acts of divine mind. The Jawhar possess inseparable positive or negative qualities. Continuous existence of Jawhar depends on the continuous creation of accidents on it. By this incessant renewal of accidents there is continuous creation of the world. So every moment one world is annihilated and another world is created.
B: Al kindi (c.801-873)
Al Kindi is known as the father of Arab philosophy. According to Al Kindi the first principle is God who alone is infinite and eternal. He is Transcendent and indefinable. He is the real cause of every thing.
The second principle is mind or active intellect. This is universal reason. The fundamental principles governing the universe are essences or universals in the active intellect. They are the essences of matter, form, motion, time and space.
Al Kindi was a dualist. He believed the world was created by God out of nothing and not eternal. It is created in time and matter, time, space, and motion are finite. He believed in the neoplatonic emanation but insisted that the highest sphere, which he symbolised with second principle, created out of nothing in time. Through this highest sphere lower strata and earth emanated.
The third principle is soul. Soul is a divine simple substance and has three parts.
The first is intellectual part corresponding to intellectual faculties. There are two type of intellect. Primary and secondary intellect. Primary intellect is active intellect and is universal reason. This is external and separate from human soul. This is divine and an actuality. The secondary intellects are three and they are inseparable or innate in human soul. Latent intellect is first and it is the latent capacity to acquire truths in the active intellect. Acquisition transform the latent to second type or degree. This is acquired intellect. To put them into practice is the function of third intellect known as manifest intellect. Acquisition of intellect is the gift of God but to transform acquired intellect to manifest intellect is the act of man himself.
The second passionate part of soul corresponds to middle faculties like; imagination and retention. The third is concupiscent part corresponding to sensations.
Like Mutazilah Al Kindi also maintained that God's attributes are not different from his essence but identical with it.
According to Al Kindi all existence can be reduced to four classes. Three are substances and the fourth is notion. They are individual, species, genera and differentia respectively. He is the first philosopher to add the sixth term or voice to the already existing five fold classification. These are individual, species, genera, differentia, property and accident. He divided beings in to broadly two types. One those of sensible nature and second those of intellectual nature.
The beings of sensible nature can be known by sensory knowledge; they are particulars, changing and transient. The beings of intellectual natures can be known only by intellectual knowledge. They have no material existence and they are universals. According to him both universals and particulars are self subsistent so they are substances. Universals have no separate world but exist as common qualities of class of particulars.
According to Al Kindi there are three kinds of created beings in the world. One is material being second those that can be separated from matter due to their fine nature like human beings and third complete spiritual beings like divine beings.
Al Kindi tried to reconcile the wisdom of the Quran with Greek philosophy. Philosophy depends upon reason, religion upon revelation; logic is the method of the former, faith of the latter .That of the Quran is strictly a divine science, while that of the philosophers is finally a human science. The knowledge of the prophet is immediate and inspired, whereas that of the philosophers is reached by way of logic and demonstration
C: Al Farabi, Ibn Sina,
Ibn Rushd
All these philosophers were influenced by Plato, Aristotle and Neo platonism. They like Neoplatonists believed in a transcendent first principle and world as successive emanation from this supreme one by natural necessity.They all believed in the second principle or active intellect. This is universal reason and can contain universals or general ideas. According to them God has only knowledge about these universals and not about particular things of the world.They all believed the world is eternal. It is eternal as an eternal creation of an eternal God. It is not created in time but came with time. Time and world came together. They also believed cosmic and natural phenomena do not depends on God.They all believed physical body is perishable. According to them only human soul is immortal. They denied physical resurrection.
i. Al Farabi (c.870-c.950:
Al-Farabi's conception of philosophy is that the various philosophical schools teach, not many philosophies, but different aspects of the one philosophy.
Al Farabi identified the first principle with Islamic God -Allah. According to him this give rise to first intelligence or active intellect. This emanated to nine other intelligences. These are heavenly intellects and souls. According to him the first principle is infinite, simple, immutable and unknowable. God is the necessary being and his essence is his existence. It has Neoplatonic elements.relying on a doctrine of emanation and insisting on a hierarchy such that God acts on lesser orders only through the medium of intervening orders. The picture of the universe is contained in al- Farabi's theory of the ten intelligences. First, there is God, the One, who in thinking of himself produces a first intelligence which emanates from him. God is necessary, but the first intelligence is possible in itself, though necessary with respect to another, that is, to God. When the first intelligence thinks about God, this is productive of another intelligence, and the chain of emanations continues, reaching the tenth intelligence, called the "agent intellect," which directs the sublunary world. According to him to be thought is to be created; the first nine intelligences hierarchically ordered are productive of the souls of the nine celestial spheres.. Prime matter issues in some way from the tenth intelligence, and prime matter underlies the four elements out of which all physical things are ultimately made; the forms of bodies also emanate from the tenth intelligence. According to him world and men are contingent being because they receive existence from God. Contingent beings are only possible or potential before existence or actuality. God alone is pure actuality.
ii. Ibn sina:
Avicenna is a Persian born in province of Bokhara in 980.He taught medicine and philosophy. Settled in Tehran and died in 1037.His philosophy is mainly Aristotlelian..
According to Ibn Sina also the first principle is a supreme being. It is eternal, the necessary existent and the first unmoved mover. From him, , creation emanates. He generated the first being or first intelligence by creative thought.. In knowing himself, God effects the first intelligence, which is not a necessary being considered in itself but only possible. Any being other than God is not necessary of itself, in its nature, but receives its necessity from God. The first intelligence created the second intelligence and first celestial sphere and its soul. The second intelligence produce third intelligence and so on up to tenth intelligence which is the giver of forms.Avicenna's theory of emanations is productive of angels and of celestial spheres, to the tenth intelligence, the agent intellect, whose name is the angel Gabriel.
According to Ibn sina the universal or eternal ideas have three types of being or existence. One in active intellect, second in things and third in human intellect.. Thought brings about generality in forms. Genera are before things, in things, after things. They are before things in God’s understanding, in things in natural objects, after things in our thought.
According to him matter is only pre disposed to accept forms. The giver of form and human soul is active intellect.The agent intellect is the giver of forms responsible for forms not only in the sense of the substantial forms of physical bodies but also in the sense of man's mental concepts. Avicenna denies that the human soul is the form of the body. Rather the union of soul and body is the union of two substances. This doctrine is based on Avicenna's reflections on the difference between mental and corporeal activities, which he sees to be heterogeneous and which he then concludes cannot pertain to one and the same substance. However, if soul and body are two substances, their link is something so intimate that the soul retains after its separation from the body in death a relation to the matter which entered into its body. For this and other reasons Avicenna will deny that souls coalesce into one in their separated state; Due to this he rejects the Necplatonic conception that the ultimate goal of the return to God which complements emanation will be the fusion of the soul with God. Unlike al-Farabi, who had made immortality an achievement of good men, Avicenna maintains that every human soul is immortal
According to him there are three type of souls: Vegetative, Animal and human souls. Only human soul has reason. Reason has two faculties, theoretical and practical. The theoretic faculty can develop up to active intellect activated by tenth intelligence. This is the knowledge of discovering necessary relation between universals. According to Ibn sina the ultimate aim of life is to realise this active intellect.
In the relation between essence and existence ,between knowing what a thing is and knowing that it is, in creatures the difference between essence and existence. Essence here stands for nature, which is possibility, which does not include existence. If a nature exists, this must be explained by something other than itself. In short, existence is accidental to essence or nature. By accident Avicenna did not mean what would be meant if red were said to be an accident of a thing, for the thing might continue to be while ceasing to be red. His point is simply that if existence is not part of what a thing is, part of its essence, when it exists existence befalls it; it happens to exist. Existence seems to identify the created nature's dependence on God and would be, if t, a relational notion. God is existence, is necessary existence. Avicenna say, not that in God essence and existence are the same, but that God has no essence or nature. This is similar of the Neoplatonic notion that nature or essence is a limitation or restriction on existence. In speaking of God's "nature" and attributes Avicenna will use terms like "will" and "knowledge" and "power," but it is his opinion that all such terms are either negative or relational and finally coincide with existence, which is what God is. He will speak of all things preexisting in God as Ideas or forms, but this is not taken to be a denial of his basic claim that God knows only himself; it is in knowing himself that God knows whatever emanates from him. Avicenna wants to say that God knows individuals as individuals, not merely types or universals
iii Ibn Rushd
Averroes (ibn rushd) was born at Cordova in.1126 and died in 1198.He was a pure Aristotelian.
According to him existence of God can be proved by reason independent of revelation. Ghazali wrote destruction of philosophers containing statements like since Quran contain all necessary truth no need of speculation independent of revelation, creation of world out of nothing, reality of divine attributes, reality of resurrection etc. As abeply in the book 'Destruction of the destruction' he says religion contain philosophic truth in allegoric form. According to Ibn Rushd also the first principle is the unmoved prime mover. According to him the matter, motion and the spirits moving it are eternal and world is so eternal. In every thing there is necessary causal relation so no place for providence or miracle.He deny the theory of emanation, though he retains the notion of a hierarchy of intelligences.
Ibn Rushd also denied after life and immortality of individual human soul. For Averroes the human soul is the substantial form of the body, and as the form of a body it has whatever existence it has as a bodily form.Like Aristotle Ibn Rushd also believed in two type of intellect. Active and passive intellect. The passive intellect is individual and does not survive death. Active intellect is universal and there is only one active intellect for the whole human race. This active intellect is eternal and immortal.
Ibn Rushd is also famous for his two fold truth theory. This says theology and philosophy are mutually independent of each other and the truth of one is unacceptable to the other.. By this Averroes seems to mean that the statement of truths in the Koran is not as exact and accurate as might be, and this is only fitting since the Koran addresses itself to all, not merely to the learned, For a clear and distinct statement of a truth we must turn to philosophy. Philosophy thus becomes the measure of faith, and revealed statements are considered not to be in straight conflict with philosophical ones.
D: Al Razi and Al
Ghazali:
i. Al Razi:
According to Al Razi there are five eternal principles. They are creator, universal soul, prime matter, absolute time and absolute space. The creator is perfect and one pure intelligence. Universal soul contains the forms or universals and they are eternal. Prime matter is also eternal. This contains atoms and particles of void. Admixture of atoms and void produce five elements. They are as the proportion of void reduces from maximum to minimum are ether, fire, air, water and earth.
Absolute time is eternal and has independent existence and is a substance. The serial time in the world is a limited time. Like this there is also absolute and relative space.
He advised to accept passion as nature but to regulate them. According to him the best life is a life of reason.
ii. Al Ghazali:
Ghazali was a famous Sufi. According to him God is primarily a volitional being and not thinking being. So God's essence is will and not intelligence.
He criticised the philosophers and maintained that world originated in time and not eternal. According to him God knows both the universal and particulars. He also argued that bodily resurrection is possible.
He also maintained intuition and revelation are more reliable than rational knowledge.
All the lights are related to each other in a downward sense by their being 'triumphal' or 'exalted', but cohesion is further maintained by the 'desire' or 'love' which the lower degrees feel for the upper, and by the explanation which this affords of such things as the joy we experience in the presence of the sun and our fear in the presence of darkness, and the delight which we take in certain minerals such as gold and rubies.
E:Al-Suhrawardi and Illuminationist
philosophy
Shihab al-Din al-Suhrawardi founded the school of ishraq or Illumination. Al-Suhrawardi's basic premise was that knowledge is available to man not through ratiocination alone but also, and above all, through illumination resulting from the purification of one's inner being.This doctrine is based not on the refutation of logic, but of transcending its categories through an illuminationist knowledge based on immediacy and presence, or what al-Suhrawardi himself called 'knowledge by presence' (al-'ilm al-huduri), in contrast to conceptual knowledge (al-'ilm al-husuli) which is our ordinary method of knowing based on concepts To Suhrawardi intuitive knowledge is more significant than scientific knowledge.So the main notion for Illuminationist epistemology is knowledge-by-presence (al-'ilm al-huduri). This identifies an epistemological position prior to acquired or representational knowledge (al-'ilm al-husuli). This has often been related to intuitive knowledge, and results in attempts to unravel the mysteries of nature not through the principles of physics but through the metaphysical world and the realm of myths, dreams, fantasy and truths known through inspiration. The distinction between scientific knowledge and knowledge-by-presence is crucial for al-Suhrawardi , who claims that the essence of human beings lies in their self-awareness, through the luminosity of their own inner existence
Suhrawardi also based his philosophy on experience, but his notion of experience was not confined to that obtained through the senses but embraced other forms including that of mystical experience.According to Suhrawardi there is a fundamental kind of knowledge, which is, like the experience of pain, unmediated and undeniable. The prime mode of this presential knowledge (al-'ilm al-huduri) is self-awareness, and every being existing in itself which is capable of self-awareness is a pure and simple light, as evinced by the pellucid clarity with which it is manifest to itself. In fact, being a pure and simple light is precisely the same as having self-awareness, and this is true of all self-aware entities up to and including God, the Light of Lights, the intensity of whose illumination and self-awareness encompasses everything else.
Suhrawardi use a language of light entities to describe the whole continuum of reality. The main constituent of reality is the hierarchies of pure lights, differing solely in the intensity of their Illumination, and thus of self-awareness. Suhrawardi taught a complex and profound emanationist cosmology, according to which all creation is a successive outflow from the original supreme Light of Lights (nur al-anwar). The cosmos and all planes of existence are therefore ultimately nothing more than varying degrees of Light .By basing his philosophy on light, al-Suhrawardi was able to introduce two important notions which may be thought of as the seeds of the entire system: that of intensity and gradation, and that of presence and self-manifestation.The fundamental constituent of reality for al-Suhrawardi is pure, immaterial light, than which nothing is more manifest, and which unfolds from the Light of Lights in emanationist fashion through a descending order of lights of ever diminishing intensity; through complex interactions, these in turn give rise to horizontal arrays of lights, similar in concept to the Platonic Forms, which govern the species of mundane reality. The unfolding of reality in Illuminationism is governed by the different ways in which the pure lights interact to produce further levels of lights and darknesses, and by the subsequent interaction of all these different levels with each other, resulting eventually in a densely populated universe.
From the lights of lights issues lights of decreasing intensity.they consists of mainly four things: intellect, soul, matter and a fourth realm named the 'alam al-khayal.First From the original Light of Lights there issues the Vic-torial Light (al-nur al-qahir), also called the Greatest Light (al-nur al-a`zam) or Most Proximate Light (al-nur al-aqrab). Suhrawardi identifies this original Light with the Zoroastrian Bahman (late Zoroastrian (Mazdean) Vohumen) or "Good (or Divine) Mind". From this first Light there in turn emanates a whole "longitudinal" (tuli) order of Lights, so called because each higher Light generates the one following it. Each Light thus stands in a position or aspect of domination (qahr) to the one below it, and love (mahabbah) to the one above it (from which it arose), and serves as an isthmus (barzakh) or purgatory between the Lights above and below it. This original order of Lights, each of which is also, like the first Light, a "victorial light", is also called the world of mothers (ummahat) since all things in the Cosmos are generated from it.
From the "masculine" pole of this supreme hierarchy, which is its aspect as domination and contemplation, there issues a further hierarchies of angels. These are transcendent spiritual Intelligences independent of any material body. They are described as "latitudinal" (`ardi) because they do not generate each other as do the longitudinal order, but rather subsist side by side as the "masters of the species" (arbab al-anwa) or "masters of the theurgies (arbab al-tilasm). They are identified with the Platonic Ideas, and are the celestial archetypes of all the types of entities in the universe. Suhrawardi has the transcendent spirits as the source of the next lower order of reality. So from the "latitudinal" order of angelic Intel-ligences there issues a further hierarchy; an intermediary angelic order which acts as its vice-regent and reigns over the species diercetly. These are called the "regent lights" (al-anwar al-muhabbirah) or "lordly lights" (al-anwar al-isfahbadiyah). They include the Souls of the Heavenly Spheres and the human souls (the higher spiritual being - the Higher Self), angels and pure spiritual beings, who overshadow the natural and the human world. Thus we have the world of Malakut, the angelic world or world of Creative-Imaginative perception.
Between this Angelic World and the material world of the senses there is a further world, the world of images and archetypal forms (`alam al-mithal). This is an interworld (barzakh), the world of subtle forms revealed through the Imagination, having attributes of both physical and spiritual, and intermediate between the two.This world is similar to Platonic Forms except that entities in it are continuous with the whole of reality. This realm is describable as that of 'things as ideas' prior to taking on shape, that is, before they receive 'luminosity' from the One Source, the Light of Lights. The beings of this universe possess shape and extent, even though they do not have "material matter".
While from the "feminine" pole of the Spiritual Lights, which is their aspect as love and receptivity to illumination and irridation, there come into being the visible, astrological heavens, and finally the Earth. The heavens can thus be considered the "materialisation" or "crystallisation" of the original archangelic Light; the "non-being" or "privation" or separation from the original Light of Lights, which is the only absolute Reality.
All the lights are related to each other in a downward sense by their being 'triumphal' or 'exalted', but cohesion is further maintained by the 'desire' or 'love' which the lower degrees feel for the upper, and by the explanation which this affords of such things as the joy we experience in the presence of the sun and our fear in the presence of darkness, and the delight which we take in certain minerals such as gold and rubies.
The light received by all thing is essentially the same, and the luminous thing differs from other light entities only in respect of degrees of intensity. Luminosity flows eternally, and gives shape to the forms, thus making the entity 'visible' and known. The difference between things, then, lies not in their essences but in terms of the degrees of intensity of the shared essences of the things. All luminous things constitute an aggregate whole and are coeternal with the Light of Lights. The Light of Lights is one, but is neither beyond being nor nonbeing, nor does it have a will. Everything in the continuum is generated from the Light of Lights and shares a degree of light similarity. The Light of Lights is one with respect to all possible modes, known or discovered subsequently.
The lights (and darknesses and barzakhs caused by lights) in al-Suhrawardi's system are discrete entities whose interactions in turn bring about other lights. There is thus a primacy of the entity, and al-Suhrawardi regards existence as such to be no more than a mental abstraction having no external reality.So in Suhrawardi's philosophy essence is more important than existence. So on the nature of the relationship between existence and quiddity he was above all the conceiver and main proponent of the theory of the primacy of quiddity.Some philosophers uphold the primacy of being or existence, and consider essence to be a derived mental concept, while Suhrawardi and those who adhere to the primacy of quiddity consider existence to be a derived mental concept
F: Ibn Arabi
According to Ibn Arabi God has two aspects Tanzih and Tasbih.Tanzih is God’s distance from His creation, and is established by His Essence. His Essence has no relationship with creation, while some of His Attributes-called the Attributes of Jalal, Majesty-have some relationship, but it is one of great distance. On the other hand, tashbih denotes God’s nearness to-even, similarity with-His creatures, and is established by the Attributes of Jamal, Beauty. Tanzih and tashbih are essential for understanding Ibn al-Arabi’s concept of God and his relationship with other-than-God. What is of utmost importance is to remember that God is not just near and distant, but that He is near and distant at the same time-tanzih and tashbih don’t just describe two kinds of God’s relationship with His creation, they describe His relationship with everything, simultaneously.
Ibn 'Arabi distinguishes between Haqq and Khalq; the Real and the Appearance, the Godhead and the external world, One and Many, Unity and diversity, Essence and phenomena, Creator and creature; only the Absolute (Haqq) is Real, the many (Khalq) being merely the attributes thereof; still he nevertheless posits an intermediate stage linking the two. This is the Logos, the "reality of realities"; or alternatively it is the al-ayan thabitah, the "eternal prototypes" or "unchanging essences"; which in both cases mediate between the One and the phenomenal world. This principle is passive or receptive in relation to the Divine, but active in relation to the world
In Fusus al Hikam Ibn Arabi describes three major planes of reality. The first is the state of essence,second divine names and third the world
The first is unknowable essence(ahadiya).This is the infinite unconditional essence.State of pure non existence.This is the state of transcendence(tansih) .This is the state of divine unity(ahadiyah)No one participate in it and one cannot designate aspects to it.This is the unity of god which is independent of the names and world.Ibn arabi believed that God as the real (al-haqq) or 'the Essence' (al-dhat) - is absolutely unknowable because he transcends all humanly conceivable qualifications.
The second is Divine Names or Qualities or universal ideas.Divine Name is the stage of divine attributes or qualities.God's 'names' (asma') or 'attributes' (sifat), are the relationships which can be discerned between the Essence and the cosmos. They are known to God because he knows every object of knowledge, but they are not existent entities or ontological qualities, for this would imply plurality in the godhead.These divine qualities or names apply themselves to individual or things(world)without undergoing division or distinction.For example qualities like life,knowledge is present in everything qualified with them without life or knowledge undergoing division.There are Active divine names and passive divine names.Generally active qualities represent spiritual ,mental or nonmaterial realities and passive qualities material realities. Everything in the world manifest one or some of the divine names but man manifest the total divine names.Man, however, is that thing in the cosmos that can manifest all the Names of God in the same proportion as they exist in God Himself. In other words, while other things reflect God’s Attributes partially, Man reflects them perfectly-at least, he has the potential to do so. The Perfect Man, or Insan il-Kamil, is that man who actualizes this potential, and becomes the perfect mazhar, locus of manifestation, for all the Names of God. Even though humans contains all the names each one manifest a particulr quality which is the proper determination of that name.Because of the infinite names each one represent a unique divine name.This is also same as permanant essences or archytypes(ayan ath-thabitah)There is also a hierarchy of divine name .The will is inferior to knowledge and superior to power,so the divine name representing knowledge is hierarchically superior to all other names.and the most superior is the divine name which represent the most perfect knowledge of God.This is the seal of saints((khatim ul awliya)who imbibes in the origins and who contemplates all the ranks and it is from the spirit of the seal that this knowledge flows to all spirits.
The third is the world. The world is formed by the combination of divine names and being and the being or existence(Wujud) is derived from the necessary being(God).The world is compared to a shadow.So the world belongs to God like a shadow to the person.So world is the shadow of god.The manifestation of shadow(here shadow is being or existence which is derived from God) is on the permenant essences.So world is illusiory and imagination because it has no independent existence but depends on God..The formation of world is also compared to Divine Beath(nafas ar rahman) Divine Breath is similar to universal nature.The permenant essences combines with universal nature to form the world.At each inbreath a world is annihilated and out breath a similar one is manifested.
The totality of our being is not only the part which we at present call our person, for this totality also includes another person, a transcendent counterpart which remains invisible to us, what Ibn `Arabi designates as our "eternal individuality" -- our Divine Name.. The Lord is the vassal's higher self; it is the Lord who acts in him and through him: God in any one of His numerous self-limited forms is what we humans come to know as our personal Lord, and it is with this personal Lord that we establish a relationship based on mutual love. So every one is attached to God only by his own Lord which is his divine name.Now as every divine name is qualified by all the other divine names it is essentially identical with the named(God) but as every name distinguishes it self from all the other names by its particular significance it is not God or distinct from God.In sum, all things are "He/not He" (howa la howa), which is to say that they are both God and other than God.
Ibn al-Arabi predicates the coming into existence of the cosmos-all that is other-than-God-upon four Divine Attributes: Life, Knowledge, Desire, and Power. God can create the Universe because he is Powerful; but He will not use that Power towards creation, unless he Desires to create it; but he cannot Desire to create that which he does not know; and He cannot be Knowledgeable unless he is Alive. Thus, the God, who is Alive, creates, through His Power, that which He Knows, because he Desires to do so.
According to ibn arabi there are three kind of knowledge.First, there is 'knowledge based on reason' ('ilm al-'aql), that is, knowledge which can be acquired by rational consideration. Second, there is knowledge based on states ('ilm al-ahwal), which is what we would call empirical knowledge.Third, there is 'knowledge of mysteries' ('ulum al-asrar) - sometimes called 'gnosis' (ma'rifa) - which is specific to prophets and saints.
Ibn Arabi is the proponent of the doctrine Wahdat-al-Wujud or unity of existence. According to him God's essence and existence is one and the same. God's attributes are also his essence itself in lower plane. There is only one essence and existence and God himself is manifested as the world. According to this doctrine the world comes out of the knowledge of God and after gaining experience of the world return to his own essence. Here world is viewed as successive emanation of God himself and is symbolised by a pyramid. This is the theory of emanation.
G: Mulla Sadra
Mulla Sadra synthesized the four branches of Islamic philosophy
like peripatetic, illuminationoist ,Gnostic and theological into one
philosophy.Sadra's system is called
The concept of “journey” has two meanings in Sadra’s thought. One, the intellectual journey of the traveler (salik) comes to an end in the present and posthumous state of human beings. Second, the material and spiritual journey of the order of existence, which begins with the creation of the world and the reality of being, is brought to full completion in its ultimate return to God.
Sadra's philosophy is based on the principiality and gradation of Wujud.(being,existence).Sadra reformulates all branches of knowledge in reference to the all-inclusive reality of wujud(Being or Existence). According to Sadra wujud( translated as both Existence and Being depending on the context in which it is used) is the principal reality by which everything exists.Wujud is the sole constituent of reality.Wujud is at once a single unity and an internally articulated dynamic process, the unique source of both unity and diversity
He argues the primacy or principiality of Being against quiddity (mahiyyah), and defines it as the source of all existence and intelligibility. According to him wujud is primary and quiddity is accidental with respect to wujud.According to him it is Wujud that constitutes reality and quiddities which are the mental constructs.In contrast to the mental representation of being which is abstract, conceptual, and static, the reality of Being does not lend itself to mental analysis except as a second order concept.
According to sadra Wujud and Reality is identical.Wujud is one but graded in intensity.This he called systematic ambiguity of Wujud(tashkik al-wujud).It is the same wujud which occurs in all things, but that wujud differ in terms of 'priority and posteriority, perfection and imperfection, strength and weakness'.As wujud manifests in different modes it is these modes which present themselves in the mind as quiddities.When reality or wujud presents itself to the mind, the mind abstracts a quiddity from it - being unable, except in exceptional circumstances, to grasp wujud intuitively - and in the mind the quiddity becomes, as it were, the reality and wujud the accident. However, this 'wujud' which the mind predicates of the quiddity is itself merely a notion or concept, one of the secondary intelligibles
Another main property of wujud is transubstantiality, effected through motion in substance or substantial motion The doctrine of substantial motion is based on the premise that everything in the order of nature, including celestial spheres, undergoes substantial change and transformation as a result of the self-flow and penetration of being which gives every concrete individual entity its share of being.So this substantial change is not only a property of sublunary elemental beings (those composed of earth, water, air and fire) but also of celestial beings. In contrast to Aristotle and Ibn Sina who had accepted change only in four categories, i.e., quantity , quality ,position and place Sadra defines change as an all-pervasive reality running through the entire cosmos including the category of substance (jawhar). According to him change in the accidental qualities of physical bodies has to come from their substance because accidents can not have existence independent of the substance.So every accidental change is the result of a deeper change/motion that takes place in the very substance and constitution of things. The movement from potentiality to actuality of a thing is in fact the abstract notion in the mind, while material being itself is in a constant state of flux perpetually undergoing substantial change.
So wujud in Mulla Sadra's philosophical system is characterized by systematic ambiguity (tashkik), being given its systematic character by substantial motion, which is always in one direction towards perfection. According to this the new forms, or modes, of wujud do not replace prior forms but on the contrary subsume them So wujud is a continual unfolding and is a a single whole with a constantly evolving internal dynamic. The identities of things are the imagined essences which we abstract from the modes of wujud, while the reality is ever-changing; it is only when crucial points are reached that we perceive this change and new essences are formed in our minds, although change has been continually going on. Time is the measure of this process of renewal, and is not an independent entity such that events take place within it, but rather is a dimension exactly like the three spatial dimensions: the physical world is a spatio-temporal continuum.
So according to Sadra the world is eternal as a continual process of the unfolding of wujud, but since wujud is in a constant state of flux due to its continuous substantial change, every new manifestation of wujud in the world emerges in time.So every spatio-temporal event in the world from the highest heaven downwards - is thus temporally originated, although as a whole the world is also eternal in the sense that it has no beginning or end, because time is not something existing independently but world is a spatio temporal continuam. So according to Mulla Sadra the whole universe--except God and his Knowledge--was originated both eternally as well as temporally. Nature is the substance of all things and is the cause for all movement. So nature is permanent and furnishes the continuing link between the eternal and the originated.The world of physical existence is temporally originated and renewed at every successive phase of its existential transformation.
Mulla Sadra's epistemology is based on the identity of the intellect and the intelligible, and on the identity of knowledge and wujud.. So knowledge (wujud) subsumes prior forms and by acquiring successive intelligible forms - which are in reality modes of being and not essential forms, and are thus successive intensifications of wujud gradually moves the human intellect towards identity with the Active Intellect. The intellect thus becomes identified with the intelligibles which inform it.Actual intelligibles are self-intelligent and self-intellected. As the human intellect acquires more intelligibles, it gradually moves upwards in terms of the intensification and perfection of wujud, losing its dependence on quiddities, until it becomes one with the Active Intellect and enters the realm of pure wujud.
According to Sadra everything in nature is directed towards a ‘universal purpose’and this is nothing but the existential actualization and perfection of the cosmos. The world displays a dual nature: on one hand, it subsists by and is utterly dependent upon the Command of God . On the other hand, God has created the world in such a way that it possesses a remarkable regularity and constancy. It is thus through the binary relationship of these two ‘agencies’ that Sadra seeks to establish a harmonious relationship between the vertical and horizontal lines of causation.
According to him the soul is a bodily or material substance in its origination and spiritual in its subsistence . Through substantial transformation and perfection, the soul reaches a point where it leaves the domain of material existence and enters into the abode of spiritual reality. The process of essential change continues until the soul becomes completely separate from the limitations of bodily existence. Substantial motion of the soul, however, continues even after the soul has left its bodily home as the degrees of perfection for it are potentially infinite until it becomes re-united with its Divine origin.
To reach at real knowledge Sadra combines and makes a unity of revelation (qur’an,wahy), reason,demonstration or analytic knowledge (burhan,aql) and metaphysical , realized or intuitive knowledge (‘irfan,kasf) and illumination(ishraq). He examines all of the major problems of traditional philosophy to the triple scrutiny of Qur’anic teachings, logical analysis and intuitive knowledge. By this synthesis Sadra explains the unity of transmitted and intellectual sciences.Transmitted knowledge like revealed books(Quran) , sayings of prophets(Hadith) and grammer do not require rational analysis because it is not constructed like a philosophical or logical problem .Intellectual sciences on the other hand are based not on imitation or mere transmission but on rational and intellectual analysis, which includes metaphysical intuition.
H: Shah Waliyullah
Shah Waliyullah's philosophy according to an exposition of Sataat and Lamahat is done by shah Ismail Shahid in 'Abaqat'.
The planes of the Real (Tahaqquq) are six.First the stage of Divinity.Reality itself with no condition(Bishart la).This is the stage of Essence(dhat).This is the stabilizer of everything.After this start the stages of Names.Second is the stage of Unity(wahdat)Stage of self consciousness ,also called settlement(Taqarrur).This is the first emanation.It is a descent of the divinity in the plane of knowledge.Third is the stage of Ahadiyat. This is the absolute simplicity and unity of the one(ahadiya) and the stage of the states((shuyun).Here the unity dominates the plurality and the plurality disappear in the unity.Fourth is the stage of Wahidiyat(Oneness).This is the stage of unity in plurality.This is the stage of the latent realities(Ayan Thabitha).Fifth is the stage of Hubb Jabruti(Friendship).This is the link between inward being and external being or between intelligible and imagination.This stage is neither pure intelligible nor pure imagination.This state is similar to the states of mind like intention ,love ,absorption ,rapture , inclination, longing and such other states.Sixth is the stage of self unfolding being or external being.This is the self subsistent(Qayyum)All existence is derived from this Existence.These are the stages of the descend of the Essence itself .So these are called Essential Names or Divine Names.
Some mystics are annihilated in the sixth stage or self unfolding being..They beleive that God has manifested Himself in the phenomena and this existence is an overflow of a far superior existence.They are called 'Wujudiyah Ainiyah'.But there are more perfect mystics who understand the plane of divinity far beyond the plane of self unfolding being.They believe God transcend phenomena.They are annihilated in pure divinity and they are called 'Wujudiyah Wara'iyah'.There are some mystics more perfect in this group for whom plurality is not a veil for comprehension of divinity and find plurality as the details of divinity's perfection and the mirror of His beauty.There are some among these groups who proved the unity of the being between divinity and the plurality and the disappearence of the plurality in the divinity.Shah Ismail says according to Waliyullah this is the path of Ibn Arabi.Then there are others in this group who refuse to pronounce any unity of the being between divinity and plurality. According to them plurality is only the shadow of divinity and these shadows have no essence.This is the path of Imam rabbani(Ahmad Sirhindi).
According to Shah Ismail there are some in this group(like Shah waliyullah) who understood the link of stability existing between divinity and plurality by origination and complete disappearance of plurality in the divinity.They know the weakness of the existence of the plurality in opposition to divinity and also the true existence of the plurality in its own plane.They can go deep in to the principle of the theory of Wahdat al Wujud(Unity of Existence) and Wahdat al Suhud(Unity of Appearance) and followed the substance of both the schools and have fulfilled the right of both the stations(Maqam).They also effected an agreement between Tanzih and Tasbih(comparability and incomparability)
According to Shah Waliyullah the whole material universe is confined to one individual subsisting by itself.This individual is called Shaks Akbar(Great Body).This is the all in all.This is called the Great Body.This Great Body has a specific form and temperamental power which is called Tabi'at Kll(Universal Nature).It posses a soul divested of matter and it is called Nafs Kull(Universal Soul).This also possess an imaginative faculty(Alam Mithal).The Great Body also possess a willing faculty.This is the heart of the Great Body This is the origin of the whole universe and of all changes taking place in it.This is the Throne of God and the seat of Hazrat ul Kuds(Holy fold).All divine grace which flows from the Throne flows through the agency of Holy Fold.
According to Waliyullah the Human Soul(Nafs Natiqa)when exists is tied with Angelic Soul(Ruh Malakuti).This tied soul is called Soul(Ruh).So the Soul is a compound thing whose form is angelic soul and matter is human soul.Nasma is a vapoury body and this is attached to the human soul.This Nasma bears all the faculties like senses(sight,hearing,etc),imagination,thinking and cognitive faculties.After death human soul together with Nasma separates from the material body and carry all faculties with it.
The perfection of the soul begins with refinement of nasma(Tahdib Nasma).The refinement of nasma is mainly through five faculties.they are intellectual faculty(Mufakkirah),estimative faculty(Wahimah),imaginative faculty(Mutakhayyilah),moving and common sense faculties(Muharrikah &Mushtarik) and the heart(Qalb).There are three stages for the purification of every faculty.The final stages of the purification of intellctual faculty is he will understand the core and the secret of beliefs and the reality and he can discriminate the reality from its mould.Such a person is called Rasik(firm footed).The final stages of purification of estimative faculty is that his attention focused on the unseen occupy a central position in the mind of him so he may have continuous connection with holy fold and absorption in to divine states.This person is called person of continuous self consiousnes(Musahada).The final stage of purification of imaginative faculty is that some similitudinary pictures of future events appear before his mind in waking or sleep.Such a person is called person of mystical unveiling(Kashf).The final stages of purification of moving and common sense faculty is it should not be left without work except when the man is exhausted and the senses and common sense is always turned away from destractions and always turned to the ways of god .Such a person is called person of self mortification(Mujahida).The final stage of the purification of heart faculty is that the pleasing states such as passion,longing,fear,love,hope,humility acquired in the heart becomes permanent faculties and produce permanent good qualitiesHe is called the person of Stations(Maqam).
The state of refined and illumined Nasma is called Annihilation of the Nasma(Fana Nafs).This is only the first stage of foremost(Sabiqun) and the furthest goal of the devotee(salik).This is called sufi path(Tariqat) and knowledge of certainity(Ilm ul yaqin).Imam rabbani called this station minor saintship(Wilayat Sughra).
Disregarding the faculties of Nasma and its refinement the rise of human soul to perfection is called God bestowed perfections or infused perfections(Kamalat Wahbi).This is also called Essence of certainity(Ain ul Yaqin).There are different stages of this perfections.If the human soul is predominant in the tied soul and and if this rational soul is annihilated and absorbed in the holy fold(divinity) this is the first stage of infused (Wahbi) perfections and the second stage of formost(Sabiqin).Mystics call this stage journey in the divinity(Lahut), or nearness achieved through supergatory prayers(Qurb Nawafil) or annihilation and survival(Fana and Baqa).Imam Rabbani called this Major saintship(Wilayat Kubra) and Shah waliyullah 'journey in the hidden faculties'.If the angelic soul is predominant and not completely annihilated but produce expansion of the perfection of Holy Fold this is the first station from god bestowed stations and third stage of the formost(sabiquin).Mystics call this the stage of rightious(siddiq).Imam rabbani call this Sublime Saintship(Wilayat Ulya) and Shah waliyullah 'nearness of being(Qurb Wujud).To the most perfect from this Sublime Saintship descends all knowledge from the Holy fold tajalli.If this knowledge descends on the intellectual faculty it is called revelation.if the person is a prophet it is called premonition(Tahdith).If it is other than prophet such a state is called by mystics and shah waliyullah as station of Qurb ul Fara'id(nearness of god achieved through performance of obligatory duties).Imam rabbani call this station the perfection of prophet hood but more general than specific prophets and applies to Critical Scholars(Muhaddithun).But the difference between prophets and critical scholar is only the difference between one and the same species,so only degrees of perfection.but the difference between prophets and other stations are like difference between two species.Like this the actions of the leaders of Major Saintship are actions of the human being even though through God but the actions of persons of Qurb ul Fara'id are actions of God even though through human being.
I: Muhammad Iqbal:
According to Iqbal reality is spirit. The ultimate reality is a personal absolute ego. The world is organic to ultimate ego or nature is to absolute ego like character is to individual ego. So this absolute ego is the whole of reality. The unity of this absolute ego is as pure duration in which thought, life and purpose form a unity. The ultimate ego is infinite in the sense of infinite inner possibility of creativity. This is not extensive infinity but intensive infinity. From this absolute ego other egos proceed. Every thing is egos but there are different degrees in the expression of ego hood. So both matter or body and mind are as ego's, a system of events or acts. Matter is a colony of ego of low order out of which emerge the ego of high order. The difference is the acts of body or matter is repeat but the act of mind spontaneous. Body is the accumulated action or habit of soul.
According to Iqbal the existence of finite ego's in infinite absolute Ego possible because as we told earlier the infinity of God is intensive and not extensive. So finite ego's not isolated but live in absolute ego as distinct due to difference in degree of intensity.
According to Iqbal human self has two sides. In conscious experience self in inner life moves from centre outwards. The inner side is appreciative self and outer self is efficient self. Efficient side enters into relation with the world of space and exists in serial time. This is discursive thought. The appreciative self experience unity. Here time is eternal now or pure duration without space. Time as self and not as thought. Here there is change and movement without division. So thought and intuition are not opposed but related. Thought grasp piecemeal and intuition grasp in full. Intuition is a higher form of reason.
Analysis:
What Iqbal says as absolute ego is universal spirit in spiritual existence. Otherwise as Ibn arabi says in Fuses it is impossible the totality of names or divine aspects corresponds to a particular being.
Appreciative side is spiritual consciousness and efficient side is rational self.
J: Sufism:
i. Maqam and Hal
In Sufism in the journey to perfection in the path there are various stages and states. They are called maqam and hal.
Maqam is stage and hal is a state. Every Maqam starts as hal. So Hal is a transient state between two maqams. Maqam is permanent. In hal grace is revealed and effort is hidden. In maqam effort is revealed. To proceed from one maqam to the next need preservation so it is an act of man. The ten main maqams are 1. Repentance (tauba) 2. Abstinence (Wisr) 3. Renunciation (Zuhd) 4. Patience (Sabr) 5. Poverty (Faqr) 6. Gratitude (Sukr) 7. Fear (Kawf) 8. Hope (Raja) 9. Trust (Thawakkal) 10. Satisfaction (Rida)
ii. Emanations
In Sufism ultimate reality is seen in two aspects. One is Dhat or the state of pure essence and the second is essence combined with attributes or Dhat with sifat. Complete reality and evolution is conceived in a number of stages or gradations. This is by forming different planes. The ultimate reality descending into the lower planes without diminishing or changing in the higher planes.
First stage is called Ahadiyat. This is the stage of pure essence. At this stage reality is unknowable and indefinable. Second stage is called Wahdat or unity. Here attributes appear as potentialities in the essence. Here attributes are in the essence. Essence is in evidence and attributes are hidden. These potentialities are wujud (existence), Ilm (knowledge), Nur (light or self love), and Suhud (power). This stage is also called Haqiqat ul Muhammad representing perfect man.
Third stage is called Wahidiyat or unity in multiplicity. Here the essence is hidden and attributes are revealed. The chief attributes are life, knowledge, will, power, hearing, sight and speech.
The above three stages are called divine stages and they are eternal.
The following stages are called worldly stages and they are not eternal but temporal.
The fourth stage is Alam Arwah or world of spirits. This contains universal spirit, universal mind, universal nature and essence of matter or universal matter.
The fifth stage is Alam mithal or the world of similitudes.
The sixth stage is Alam ul ajsm or physical and material word. This is again divided in to superior fathers and inferior mothers or heavenly bodies and terrestrial bodies. Superior fathers are crystalline spheres, sky of zodiac, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon. Inferior mothers are fire, air, water, earth, minerals, plants, animals, terrestrial angels, Jinn and man.
The nine superior fathers working on the eleven inferior mothers ultimately produce the seventh stage or stage of Insan Ul kamil means the perfect man. This is the state of self realisation and complete self expression. This stage contains the essences of all the preceding six stages.
iii. Time and space by
Iraqi:
According to the Sufi Iraqi there are different type of time and space depending on the grade of being.
Time of material beings is serial time so divisible into past, present and future.
Times of immaterial beings are also serial time but magnitude may be different. One year in the case of material beings may be one day in the case of immaterial beings.
The third is divine time. This is not serial time but pure duration. This time is above eternity and without beginning or end. This is an eternal now. The divine eye sees everything in one invisible act of perception. There is movement and change without succession or division.
There are also three type of space. Space of material beings space of immaterial beings and space of God. Space of material beings is further divided into three types. First is the space of solids. This occupies place and being resist motion and motion takes serial time. Second is space of air. This also resists motion and motion take time. But the magnitude of resistance and serial time as duration is different from solids. Third is space of light. Here also motion take time but negligible comparing with gas and solids. Velocity of light is almost three hundred thousand Kilometer per second. This is also the subtlest space among material or physical space. Light can fill a room without displacing air.
The space of immaterial being is subtler than light and divine space is free from all dimensions.
iv. Nafs:
In Sufism the Nafs or Human self is divided into three types according to the evolution of self.
The first nafs ammara or the passionate self. The second is nafs lawwama or accusing self. This is the state of conscience. Third is nafs mutamainna or peaceful self. This is the state of mind beyond conflict. Some instead of three divided it into seven types. Nafs ammara, lawwama, mulhama, mutmainna, ralia, marlia and kamaliya.
v. Nafs, Qalb, Ruh
The human constitution or nature is also classified into Nafs or self, Qalb or heart and Ruh or spirit.
Here Nafs means passionate nature. This includes vegetative part characterised by faculty of growth and animal part with faculty of motion.
Qalb or heart is rational nature characterised by faculty of speech. Ruh or spirit is divine or spiritual nature characterized by faculty of wisdom. In perfect man Ruh regulates Nafs and Qalb. Some make a six fold classification. These are Nafs, Qalb, Ruh, sirr, Kafi and Ikfa
vi. Manzils:
There are four Manzils or stations in spiritual journey.
First is nasut or material world. This is the stage of shariat or religious law. Second is malakut or angelic world. This is the stage of tariqat or Sufi path. Third is Jabrut or spiritual world. This is the stage of Haqiqat or truth. Fourth is lahut or divine world. This is the stage of marifat or wisdom.
vii. Fana and Baqa;
Dhat, Sifat, af'al
As we told earlier 'Dhat' is the state of pure essence or Ahadiyat. 'Sifat' is the state of essence with attributes or Wahidiyat. 'Af'al' is the state of activity or worldly stages. Some divide these worldly stages to 'Asma' and 'Af'al'. Here Asma is spiritual world and af'al the remaining worldly stages.
Fana means annihilation and Baqa means regeneration. These are two important stages in the spiritual journey in Sufi path. There are three types of Fana and Baqa.
viii. Fana Af'al and
Baqa Af'al
This is annihilation of actions and regeneration of actions. Here Fana of actions are all actions as a separate self is abandoned and in Baqa actions are performed from the cosmic perspective.
ix. Fana Sifat and Baqa
sifat:
This is annihilation of attributes and regeneration of attributes. Here attributes and qualities arising as a separate self are abandoned in Fana sifat. Baqa sifat is the realisation that all attributes belong to One and attributes are exercised from cosmic view.
x. Fana Dhat and Baqa
Dhat:
Here in Fana Dhat the idea of separate self is annihilated. Baqa Dhat is identifying oneself with cosmic self.
Some classify this as Fana, Baqa and Liqa. Here Liqa is identified with returning to individual activity with cosmic consciousness.
xi. Tawhid:
Tawhid means unity. This is the realisation or experience of unity. Like Baqa there are three type of Tawhid.
Tawhid af’al: This is realising the unity of action.
Tawhid Sifat: Experiencing the unity of attributes.
Tawhid Dhat: This is experiencing the unity of essence.
xii. Ilm ul Yaqin, Ayn
Ul Yaqin, Haqul Yaqin:
In Sufism on the pursuit of reality there are mainly three types of certitudes. First is Ilm ul Yaqin or certitude by knowledge. The second is Ain-Ul-Yaqin or certitude by inner vision. Third is Haq ul Yaqin or certitude by truth itself. Some classify it into six types. Ism ul Yaqin (Name), Rasm Ul Yaqin (form), Ilm ul Yaqin, Ayn ul yaqin, Haq ul yaqin and haqaiq or kamal ul yaqin (perfect).
xiii. Ijadiya, suhudiya
and wujudiya Sufism
In Sufism there are three different views regarding the nature of reality and the world and the relation between them.
a. Ijadiya Sufism:
These are the creationists and dualists. They believe in the duality of God and world. According to them the world is created out of nothing and not emanated from God. Their God is transcendental and personal God. God possess both essence and attributes. The attributes are different from God's person and his essence. According to them God is present in the world only through knowledge and manifestation of his attributes. They believe in two essences and two existences. The essence and existence of God and the essence and existence of world.
b. Suhudiya Sufism
This is known as Wahdat ul Suhud or unity of appearance. According to this view God's essence is different from his existence. There is only one essence but two existences. One is essential existence and the other is ideal existence with attributes.
According to them through these beings God sees as one. Beings are mirrors through which God is reflected. Essence is one beings or manifestations many. Many mirrors but one observer. The multiplicity of mirrors does not affect the individuality of the observer.
According to this theory the real and only one essence is God. World has only relative essence. This essence is similar to zero which when added does not make any difference so the manifestation is the shadow of the real. God is every where present as the single observer. This is known as the theory of immanence. The symbol is a point at the centre of a circle, which spreads all around.
c. Wujudiya Sufism:
This doctrine is called Wahdat-Ul-Wujud or unity of existence. The exponent of this doctrine was Ibn arabi who is known as greatest Sufi among Sufi circle.
According to him God's essence and existence is one and the same. God's attributes are also his essence itself in lower plane. There is only one essence and existence and God himself is manifested as the world. According to this doctrine the world comes out of the knowledge of God and after gaining experience of the world return to his own essence. Here world is viewed as successive emanation of God himself and is symbolised by a pyramid. This is the theory of emanation.
Analysis:
The continuous creation of accidents of Ashiri is the continuous annihilation and creation of the universe with each breath. The first principle or God, the second principle or mind, the third principle or soul corresponds to second logos, third logos as consious or creative being and spiritual existence as spirits.
The three parts of soul of Al Kindi corresponds to spiritual, rational and passionate nature.
Active intellect is not only universal as Ibn Rushd says but both active and receptive intellect has individual element. Every individual is unique due to his unique essence. This unique essence is his individuality. While personality is mortal individuality is immortal.
Ahadiyat of Sufism is first logos and Wahdat is second logos. Here knower- knowledge known aspect is further differentiated into existence, knowledge, self love and power. Wahidiyat is third logos or consious being. The seven major attributes are the major seven essences. Life corresponds to universal spirit; knowledge to universal mind, will to universal. Nature or imagination, power to uni: matter, hearing to uni: plant soul, sight to uni: animal soul and speech to uni: human spirit.
Alam arwah is spiritual and mental existence, alam mithal astral existence and alam ajsm physical and material existence.
Heavenly body symbolises spiritual, mental and astral existences and terrestrial bodies material existence.
The immaterial time of Iraqi is mental serial time and divine time is spiritual time as pure duration and eternal now. The immaterial space is imaginary space and divine space is the concept of space. Nafs ammara, lawwama, mutmainna and nafs, Qalb, Rub are similar to passionate rational and spiritual natures. The Manzils corresponds to major existences. Nasut material existence, malakut astral existence, Jabrut mental and spiritual existence and lahut eternal existence as first, second and third logos.
Ilm ul yaqin corresponds to empirical knowledge, Ayn ul yaqin to rational knowledge and Haq ul yaqin to spiritual knowledge or intuition.
As we told earlier the single essence or consious being is the multiple spirits or essences. First logos is second logos is third logos is manifestation. The difference is only different aspect or different plane or different point of view. This means there is unity of existence or Wahdat ul wujud.
Chapter:5:Ridwan School and Diamond Way.
Diamond approach is the spiritual way of Ridwan School developed by A.Hamed Ali known as A.H.Almaas.According to Almaas human spirit is a many-faceted diamond.. Most psychological and spiritual systems polish only one or two facets of this precious jewel. Dynamic Way combines both psychological and spiritual methods..The development of the personal essence, is central to the Diamond Approach.It has the view that spiritual reality is primary and the material world is an epiphenomenon of this spiritual reality.The Diamond Approach uses a specific methodology which incorporates methods such as meditation, self-remembering and inquiry, all aimed at achieving the goal methodically and scientifically.
Openness is central to the Diamond Approach. The most important tool used in this approach is Inquiry. This Inquiry is open ended, and is used to reveal and develop the truth at its many levels and dimensions. One motto of the Diamond Approach is to be in the world but not of it. It is to develop the capacity to be aware of what is happening, but at the same time not to identify with it; we develop what we call awareness and disidentification.This means to participate in human society, and contribute to it. At the same time, it also means to not be of the world, to not be a product of the conditioning and influences of the world, of society, but to be of the real world, the true nature, the spiritual dimension.
According to Almaas at birth the soul is unformed and without much ego.The ego as personality develops through family and social interactions.In this way Essence is replaced with false identifications.This personality conceals our Essence because Essence reveals only when there is no mind.By essence(Dhat) is meant the spiritual nature or soul nature or rather it is the nature of the whole reality. That real nature of the essence, the nature of everything, is what is sometimes called God. The essential characteristics are called Holy Ideas.All the particular essences are due to particularization of Holy Ideas.Fixation of ego types happens due to non experience of the holy idea.When we experience the holy idea we can diffuse our false personality.In this work Almaas make use of the psychological Enneagram.
The process of essential revelation can be seen from either as self realization-realising one’s essence or as liberation-freeing oneself from acquired identity or personality.According to Almaas in Dynamic way these two go simultaneously.Liberation is freedom from mind.The mind is not attached to anything and “hang loose”.The seven factors leading to liberation are Energy,Determination,Joyousness,Compassion,Peasefullness,Absorption,Awakeness or Awareness.The combination of these seven factors give rise to the eight factor ,Objectivity. The objective consciousness, what we call the diamond consciousness, is needed to free the mind.
According to Almaas Essential revelation is possible only by personal quest. There must be a deep sense of inquiry to know who we are and where we are going.This he calls the burning flame of search. If you know, for yourself, who you are, you will know where you are going, and you will be fulfilled.All gudence,help and teachers are only to assist you in your own inquiry. TheirWork is to encourage your own inner development, to help you remain alone with your inquiry.
According to Almaas the process of realization can be looked from the perspective of transcendence or from the perspective of embodiment.By transcending the ego totality of life cannot be lived.In Dynamic way transcendence followed by embodiment. This is what is sometimes called death and rebirth; death is transcendence and the rebirth is embodiment.Here personality is integrated so essential realization permeates the personality.Embodiment is possible only by clarification of personality.The unclarity of personality is due to the past as memory and conditioning.This is the 'false pearl, " contrasting it to the true person, which we call the Pearl.Major work is to become aware of the conditioning.When there is essential revelation is personality is not clarified there is duality and conflict between Essence and personality.
There are two ways to work with personality.Disidentification and Immersion.In disidentification personality is not completely clarified.In immersion we completely identify and experience the personality without any resistance. When there is total identification and no resistance activity stops.Then we realize that this nowness and presence is our beingness itself.The new experience is the presence of Supreme person as ourself.The basis of the personality, the underlying principle that makes it possible for us to be a person, the thing that we have rejected all this time, is nothing but the supreme reality as a person.. So when the personality is completely clarified, and yet we feel we are a person, the personality doesn't disappear; it is now the supreme person, the truest person. This is a sublime reality existing as you, the human individual.This process of clarification--which is the clarification of the soul--is the development of the Personal Essence, what we call the Pearl Beyond Price. The development of the Pearl is a process which keeps moving towards further clarification until it becomes the Supreme Personal Essence.Finally, you are You, completely; yet, who you are is the supreme reality itself, or the personalization of the supreme realityself.
Chapter :6 : Perennial philosophy and Traditionalism.
the other.
Perennialism or Traditionalism says all the world’s religions and mystical traditions were expressions of one original perennial philosophy or primordial trdition, long lost to humanity. This philosophy is the tradition referred in Traditionalism. It also says that a direct knowledge of of the nature of ultimate reality is possible to all humans, -- whether it be gained after practice of spiritual disciplines and study of scriptures or through a wholly unanticipated illuminating experience of union with God or the Ultimate. A result of such awareness is the confidence that we have devolved from a single Source and the process of spiritual development is completed and perfected in our return to that One.To call this perennial is to say that such an insight reappears in diverse times and places, not limited to any particular culture, class, or community.
According to this philosophy the world is not progressing as the moderns say but there is gradual spiritual and intellectual decline from the start of a historic cycle.
a:Rene Guénon
Rene Guénon believed in perennial religion, of a supreme God and a hierarchy of spirits, which could be expressed in the terms of any religion.
According to Guenon the world is not in progression or evolution but in gradual spiritual and intellectual decline . Guenon uses as a foundation Vedic tradition of the Yugas or four ages. This tradition is based on periods known as Gold, Silver, Copper and Iron(Krita,Treta,Dwapara,Kali) is are also found in many other traditions ranging from Buddhism to Greek Philosophy. These are not evolving or developing ages but degenerative ages. The age of silver is less evolved, has less knowledge than the age of Gold or the “Golden Age”. The Kali Yuga or Epoch of Iron, in which we are presently stranded, is the most dark, dense and degenerative of all. According to Guenon in each succeeding ages Quality decreases and quantity increases.Quality represents spiritual and intellectual activities while Quantity represents units and numbers and hence materialistic possessions..In golden age people are more involved in self realisation so high in quality, but in iron age men more interested in quantity.
According to Guenon a true religion has a living link with the Perennial wisdom, the truth which began in the Age of Gold and has emanated, like ripples in a pond, throughout time. The core of that religion must be a living esoteric tradition. So every religion consisits of esoterism and exoterism.In the Kali Yuga these teachings were becoming debased and that these traditions were loosing their link to the perennial wisdom, as such they were becoming atrophied and even, in some cases, becoming “counter traditions”. Guenon worked to re-instate the esotericism behind the forms and traditions of Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and other living religions.
Guénon distinguish the esoteric and the exoteric aspect of religion. The exoteric consists of the regular rites of religion--church services, communal prayer in mosques, and the requirements and prohibitions of sacred law.All can follow this exoteric aspect. The esoteric is real meaning of all this exoteric,--the individual human relationship with God and all that goes with it, both in terms of possibilities and of techniques. Only a few can travel the esoteric path, and according to Guénon, must travel within the vessel of orthodox exoteric religion
b:Frithjof Schuon
Schuon said that his role was to bring back the concept of the Absolute in a world become relativized. All of Schuon’s work re-affirms the traditional metaphysical principles, explicating the esoteric dimensions of religion, and critiquing modernism. He clarified the distinctions between exoteric and esoteric dimensions of religious tradition and uncovered the metaphysical convergence of all orthodox religions.
The essential theme of Schuon’s writing, as summarized by Martin Lings, is this: the Sole Ultimate Reality of Absolute, Infinite Perfection and the predicament of man, made in the image of that Perfection, an image from which he has fallen, and to which he must return on his way to the final reintegration into his Divine Source
according to Schuon all religions are true in their inner signification, which corresponds to perennial philosophy .
Schuon says for spiritual life three things are necessary. First, Truth. Metaphysics is the pure real truth. Religious dogmas are symbols of metaphysics. Second is spiritual practice. This is Prayer. There are three forms of prayer,Canonical Prayer,personal prayer and contemplative prayer. Contemplative Prayer is mystical spirituality, which requires certain conditions and is the prayer of heart. Third is Morals. One aspect of moral is rational and generous behavior and the other aspect is beauty of the soul , hence intrinsic nobility
c:Sayyed Hossein Nasr
Nasr analysed mainly the relation between religion and science.His contributions are on the one hand on the concept of Islamic science and on the other critique of modern western science.
According to Nasr Islamic science as the systematic study of natural phenomena within the context of the Islamic Weltanschauung, at the heart of which lies the doctrine of tawhid, Divine unity.There is unity of natural and human phenomena because everything comes from the creative act of God. The order of nature is signs of God(ayat Allah) so divinely originated .There is also a hierarchic order in nature. There are two aspects of God. One in his absoluteness independent of worlds and the second as manifestation.The development of the world of multiplicity from god implies an ontological hierarchy. , various levels of existence are also structured in hierarchic units, the cosmos being a special case in point. Since every level of reality has its own meaning and place in the total economy of Divine creation, none of them can be reduced to one single element, viz., the so-called ultimate building block of things. According to Nasr, it is the teleological and hierarchic view of the universe that has prevented the Islamic sciences of nature from falling into the trap of reductionism and materialism.
In his critisicm of western science Nasr points out the six dominenet traits.
The first is the secular view of the universe which denies any divine involvement in natural order or any telos or purpose to the universe.The second is the mechanization of the world upon the models of machines and clocks.Third is rationalism and empiricism as the only scientific method to knowledge and truth. The fourth is the Cartesian dualism of subject and object. The fifth is the "Promethean view of man", which proclaim man as the measure of all things, and which Nasr contrasts with what he calls the "Pontifical man", i.e., man as a bridge between heaven and earth. The sixth is the exploitation of nature as a source of power and domination, which was the driving force behind the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalism.
These six postulates constitute the philosophical framework of modern secular science, which has led to scientism and demise of the sacred view of the cosmos on the one hand, and to such modern disasters as the environmental crisis and nuclear warfare on the other.
Part
IV: Mind Physiology & Human psychology
Section-A:Mind Physiology
Definition of Thought in terms of neural activity is “A thought probably results from the momentary ‘pattern’ of stimulation of many different parts of the nervous system at the same time ,probably involving most importantly the cerebral cortex,thalamus,limbic system,and the upper reticular formation of the brain stem.This is called the holistic theory of thoughts.The stimulated areas of the limbic system,thalamus,and reticular formation perhaps determine the general nature of thought like pleasure ,pain,comfort,crude modalities of sensation, localisation to gross areas of the body ,and other general characteristics.Stimulated areas of cerebral cortex probably determine the discrete characteristics of thought such as specific localisation of sensation in the body and the objects in the fields of vision.
In physiological terms consiousness is described as our continuing stream of awareness of either our surroundings or our sequential thoughts.
Memory-To provide memory nervous system must recreate the same spatial and temporal pattern (the holistic pattern)of stimulation of CNS at some future time.
Physiological classification of Memory-Sensory Memory,Primary Memory,Secondary Memory.
Sensory memory is the ability to retain sensory signals in the sensory areas of brain for a very short period following actual sensory experience.
Primary memory is the memory of facts,words,numbers,letters or other information for a few seconds to few minutes at a time.One characteristics of primary memory is unlike secondary memory the information is instantaneously available.Another feature is if new information is put in primary memory the old is replaced.
Reverberating Circuit Theory-It is postulated that sensory signals reaching the cerebral cortex set up reverberating oscillations,the signals passing through a multistage circuits of neurons in the local area of cortex or perhaps back and forth between the cortex and thalamus and other subcotical areas.This could be the basis for primary memory.When the circuit fatigues or when new signal interferes,the primary memory fades away.
Post-Tetanic Potentiation Theory-In most part of nervous system titanic stimulation cause later increased excitability from seconds to hours.if synapse is stimulated at this time neuron respond more strongly than normally ,the phenomenon called post-tetanic potentiation.This also could be the basis for primary memory.
Presynaptic facilitation and inhibition-many presynaptic terminals of CNS lie on the surface or on nerve fibrils of other presynaptic terminals.Stimulation of such terminals cause facilitate or inhibit the secondary terminals even for hours.This may be also a type of primary memory.
Secondary memory or long term memory is the storage in the brain of information which is recalled later after months or years.One feature of this memory is usually one must search seconds or minutes before one can recall the information.Secondary memory result from anatomical ,physical or chemical actual changes of the synaptic terminals or perhaps in the whole neurons that permanently facilitate the transm life an excess of synaptic connection is made Anatomical changes in synapses is like changes in numbers of presynaptic terminals,size of the terminals,size and conductivity of dentrites.This could cause permanent or semi permanent increase in the degree of facilitation of specific neuronal circuits allowing signals to pass through the circuits with more ease the more often the memory trace is used.Another form of anatomic change is while in early life an excess of synaptic connections is made later those synapses that are active continues while others eventually degenerate.so the pattern of synaptic transmission can be established by destroying the unused ones rather than enhancing the used ones.
Physical and Chemical changes.There are several mechanism resulting from physical or chemical changes in the presynaptic terminal or entire presynaptic neuron.There are two two separate presynaptic terminals.one from a primary input sensory neuron and terminates on the surface of secondary neuron that is to be stimulated.This is sensory terminal.The second is facilitatory terminal and lies on the surface of sensory terminal.When sensory terminal is repeatedly stimulated without facilitator terminal signal transmission at first is more but become less and less and then stops.This is called habituation.This is a type of memory that cause neuronal circuit to lose its response to repeated events that are insignificant.But if a noxious stimulus excites facilitator terminal and at the same time sensory terminal also excited the transmission becomes stronger and remain stronger even for weeks without with out further stimulation of facilitator terminal.
Another mechanism is stimuli from two separate sources acting on a single sensory neuron cause long term changes in the membrane properties of the entire neuron and these changes can increase the excitability for many minutes.
Consolidation of Memory.For primary memory to convert to secondary memory synapses must be permanently facilitated.This is called consolidation. For minimal cosoliation 5-10 minutes needed and for maximum consolidation one hour or more needed.
Rehearsal of the same information again and again accelerates and potentates the transfer of primary into secondary memory and also accelerates and potentiates consolidation.One important feature of consolidation is Codification.Here before storing the new it is compared for similarities and differences with the old in secondary memory.So in consolidation the new primary memory is stored in direct association other similar memories in secondary memory.Hippocampus and Wernick’s area in the temporal area play a major role in codification, rehearsal and consolidation in to secondary memory.
Analytical Operations.The mechanism by which brain preformes complex intellectual operations like analysis of sensory information and establishment of abstract thoughts contain the follwing factors.
1.The brain can focus its attention on specific types of information.Because the generalized thalamocortical system activate small areas of cerebral cortex at a time it is possible that specific activation of regional portion of cortex is the way by which we direct our attention.and might also be the basis for searching through memory stores.
2. Seperate qualities of each set of information signals are split away from the central signal and transmitted to multiple areas of the brain.
3.Analysis of new information by comparing with the memories. If the new pattern of stimulation matches a memory engram interaction between the two gives a sense of recognisation.
4.In Analysing information,brain depends on patterns of stimulation.
Communicative Functions. There are two aspects of communication.sensory aspect involving ears and eyes, motor aspect involving vocalization and its control.
Auditory and visual association areas of cortex is concerned with sensory aspect.Motor aspect involve two stages.The first stage of the formation of thoughts and and choice of words and is the function of sensory area. Secondly motor control of vocalization and actual articulation. Broca’s area is responsible for these skilled motor patterns.
The pathway involved in hearing and speaking a word is a)reception in primary auditory area of the sound signals that encode the word.b)interpretation of the word in Wernick’s area.c)determination in Wernick’s area that the word is to be spoken.d)transmission of signals from Wernick’s area to Broca’s area via the arcuate fasciculus.e)Activation of the skilled motor programs in Broca’s area for control of word formation)transmission of appropriate signals into the motor cortex to control the speech muscles.
The pathway involved in reading and then speaking a word is a) reception in the primary visual area.b)early recognisation in angular gyrus region.c)full recognisation in Wernick’s area.Then the stages are same as speaking a heard word.
Functions of Corpus Callosum and Anterior Commissure.These transfer thoughts,memory and other information to opposite hemisphere.corpus callosum is needed to two both sides to operate cooperatively and anterior commissure has an important role in unifying the emotional responses of the two sides.
Section-B:Human Psychology
Chapter
1: Freud, Jung, Adler and
Corresponding to rationalism and empiricism in philosophy psychology also earlier divided into faculty psychology and association psychology.
According to faculty psychology mind has certain faculties, which are decisive in motivation and behaviour. The main exponents of this theory were Kant and other rationalists.
According to association psychology ideas comes from the senses. Association of ideas formed by similar and contrasting sense data. The main exponent of association psychology is David Hume.
a. Freud and
psychoanalysis
In modern psychology one of the main trend is Freud and his theory of the unconscious.
According to Sigmund Freud in childhood there are different stages at which the child derive pleasures from different parts of the body. These normal stages he called psychosexual stages. These are the oral, anal, phallic, latent, and genital stages.
Oral is the feeding stage deriving pleasure from breast-feeding; this is during the first year of life. Anal stage is Toddler’s stage, during second year of life, deriving pleasure from excretions. Phallic is mainly preschool age from two to five and derive pleasure from touching genital organs. Oedipal stage or complex is at this stage and is characterised by strong attachment to mother. Six to twelve is the stage of latency characterised by withdrawal and indulging in external activities. Genital stage 12-20 is adolescence and adult stages where there is normal heterosexual attraction. Normally each stage is replaced by the next one. But if there is fixation means arrested development some problems of early stage persists in adult life.
According to Freud in normal social life an individual is unable to express all his normal impulses. So there arise a conflict between his drives and social demand. The unwanted impulses are sublimated or repressed. This is because these impulses produce a feeling of guilt and condemned and censored by the part of consciousness known as super ego. This is similar to conscience but this super ego is built on the super ego of parents. So these impulses and desires remain hidden in the unconscious and form ID. This ID is the pleasure principle and constituted mostly sex impulses. The conscious part regulates the ID to reality by developing ego. Ego contains both the conscious and preconscious. Preconscious is that part which can be brought to conscious level by memory.
Freud believed man is a slave to these inner forces or subconscious impulses. Actual behaviour is always some form of conversion or symbol of hidden and unconscious motive. This active unconscious as we told earlier contains mainly sex impulses and forms the source of all social motives.
All conscious thought and expression are the result of these type of unconscious dynamic urge which Freud collectively called libido. As we told earlier this Libido contain mainly ID. Broadly Libido consists of two types of instincts. One is Eros or life or sex instincts the other Thanatos or aggressive or death instinct. Libido is narcissistic in character so all conscious behaviour stems from self-love. According to Freud man can never uncover this libido completely so there is eternal conflict and unhappiness in human life.
Freud is the founder of psychoanalysis. Freud believed that this repressed desires and impulses are expressed by various ways in normal and abnormal life. This produce minor mental illness called neurosis. In normal life they are expressed as irrational impulses, irrationalism, slips of the tongue and projections. Projection is projecting our fault in to others. In creative persons these impulses are expressed in inspirations and automatic writing. The main channel of expression of these impulses in normal life is through dreams. Psychoanalysis is the treatment side to bring this unconscious impulses and traumatic experience to conscious mind. This is mainly through free associations, transference and interpretation of dreams.
Free association is making the patient reveal whatever comes to his mind and therapist taking the role of a good friend and listener. The therapist in turn responds in a similar way by disclosing some problem of his own life.
Transference is transferring to the therapist the emotionally perfect image.
Dreams are really wish fulfillments. These wishes are expressed through dreams mainly by four means. Dramatisation; condensation, construction of new and mixed image and displacement. The actual contend of the dreams are repressed impulses or traumatic experience of past life. This is known as latent dream. The apparent content of the dream is usually from the incidents of last 24 hours. This is called manifest dream. This conversion of latent dream to manifest dream is coding and is called dream work. Interpretation of dream is by converting the manifest dream back to latent dream. This is known as decoding of the dream. The motto of psycho analysis is “where ID was ego shall be” or to bring as much unconscious impulses as possible to conscious level.
Analysis
It is true that all conscious behaviour stems from the unconscious urge or Libido. But this libido is the human essence or spirit itself and not mere ID or sexual nature. As we told earlier self expression depends on the predominance of nature and degree of self consciousness. ID or sexual energy is passionate nature but rational and spiritual natures are entirely different nature. It is also true that Libido is narcissistic or self love. All behaviour and actions are the result of love of self expression. But it is the love for complete self expression. Besides the material nature this also include astral, mental and spiritual nature.
As we told ID as sexual impulse and repressed desires forms only a small part of libido or human spirit. With increased self consciousness we can regulate our ID with rational and spiritual nature.
Conscience and moral sense are not socially or parentally acquired super ego but stemming from the rational and spiritual nature of the human spirit.
b. Adler and individual
psychology
Adler is the founder of individual psychology. He believed libido is not sexual energy but result from insecurity, incompleteness, inferiority complex and social interest. He thought psychic life or libido is determined by fictional goal of superiority and social recognisation and the individual adapt a style of life to achieve this fictional goal. Inferiority complex act as an incentive and over compensate by superior performance. According to him every individual is unique and an organic whole.
Analysis
Social interest and inferiority complex are expression of rational nature, which act for fame and power. As we told earlier this is only part of the human nature.
c. Jung and analytical
psychology
Carl Gustav Jung the founder of analytical psychology believed libido is undifferentiated psychic energy, which manifest in various form as sexual energy, superiority complex or self assertion.
Libido is the driving force of the spirit and there is only one instinct and death instinct is also a manifestation of this libido. He believed the physical law of equivalence or conservation of heat or energy also applies to the psyche. So when desire for one object diminishes it is replaced by another object. He believed that the basic drive of man is towards self realisation and complete freedom is only possible by the assimilation of the unconscious by the conscious.
Jung believed intuition is a teleological sense and it is coming from the unconscious. Jung thought the personal unconscious also contains a large part of collective unconscious, which cannot be explained by the single life of the individual. Neither it is derived from ego nor ego derived from it. This collective unconscious contains racial, national and other components, which he called archetypes. These are the inherited ways of responding to experience. These archetypes function like negatives of photograph and we identify our living characters with these archetypes.
Jung classified people into introvert and extrovert depending on the person’s nature and attitude to the external world.
The introvert is shy and work alone and at the time of emotional stress with draws to him self.
The extrovert is out going and at the time of stress seeks social company.
Analysis
Libido is undifferentiated energy because it is human spirit itself. The passionate nature manifest as sexual impulse, rational nature manifest as superiority complex and social interest and spiritual nature manifest as longing for self realisation.
Intuition is teleological sense because it is spiritual or self consciousness. Collective unconscious is not something external to the person’s unconscious or some collection of the personalities of past births. What we mean by unconscious or libido is human spirit. As we told earlier human spirit contain all the essences and all human spirits are qualitatively similar but quantitatively different. So the racial national and other characteristics are inherent in every spirit.
d.
Transactional analysis was developed by Eric Berne. This system depends on the ego unlike previous systems, which mainly depends on ID.
Usually in one’s life a ‘script’ is formed around the age
of five by the influence of parents and society. After this the whole life is a
replay of this script, which he called “playing games”. Only adult continuously
taking control can break this script. But
Analysis
The child and parent type mainly comes from passionate nature and adult is rational nature. Awareness, spontaneity and intimacy are features of increased self consciousness or spiritual nature.
Chapter
2: Neo behaviourism
Neo behaviourism advocated by skinner is a modified form of behaviourism of Watson.
Behaviourism is a form of association psychology. It is a mechanical and materialistic explanation of human behaviour in terms of reflexes. There are three forms of behaviourism.
Metaphysical behaviourism claims there is no consciousness but only the behaviour of the organism.
Methodological behaviourism says that the reality of consciousness is irrelevant because psychology can only deal with observable behaviour.
Analytical behaviourism claims that psychological concepts can be fully analysed in behavioural terms.
All form of behaviourism denies the duality of mind and body and defines psychological functions in terms of behaviour. According to it man is a slave to external forces and there is no such thing as motivation or valuation. Thinking is reduced to talking to oneself and everything to overt or covert behaviour. Mental concepts can be analysed in terms of overt acts.
In behaviourism consciousness and behaviour is seen as a unit of stimulus and response relation and knowledge even in man is considered as a conditioned response of the organism. Subjective experience and inner life is completely negated and neglected in behaviourism.
In skinner's neo behaviourism instead of the complete mechanical view of stimulus response relation some intermediate variables like skill, excitation inhibition potential, need and others are introduced between these reflex arc. This view try to over come the mere mechanical view of Watson.
Behavioural theory of motivation emphasis stimulus response relationship and learning few systems. This consist of a set of habits or customs due to innate or acquired motive and which leads to common satisfaction. According to behaviourists the subject modifies his behaviour by this S-R relation or learning principle. Motivation and modification by resolving unconscious conflicts or by developing insight is completely rejected.
Analysis
Neo behaviourism, is viewing behaviour from the passionate nature. Rational and spiritual nature cannot be explained by S-R relation or learning habits.
Chapter
3: Gestalt psychology
Unlike association psychology of behaviourism gestalt is a holistic psychology. Unlike behaviourism which perceive in parts gestalt perceive in total concept or whole configuration. It is also called configuration psychology.
According to it not sensation alone but gestalts or organised whole is primary and basic in the working of the mind. Our behaviour depends on patterns that stimulus forms on the organization of experience. Besides the stimulus its relation to the background and other aspects of the whole are also important. So perception is an organised coherent whole or whole configuration. So the part is determined by the law of the whole. But the whole cannot be reduced to the sum of the parts. The configuration determines behaviour and the property of whole affect the way parts are perceived.
According to cognitive theory, which is closely related to gestalt besides S-R relations purposefulness and cognitive perception of environment essential element in behaviour. Man’s achievement motivation is according to cognition of goals, purpose and plans. This is called theory of preferential choice. So intelligent behaviour disclose insight and purpose above mere sensations. This insight is individual’s appreciation of temporal, spatial and causal relation of things and choice of data from this complex whole in view of goal or purpose, which the individual has set before itself for the time being.
Unlike phenomenology gestalt consider ego as distinct from other objects with which it comes into contact. Ego is a complete whole with many subsystems and at the centre of this system is the self.
Analysis
Every behaviour should be analysed from the whole perspective because human spirit is a unity with passionate, rational and spiritual nature. Gestalt’s ego as a complex with self at the core is human essence with spiritual, rational and material parts.
Chapter 4:Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive psychology is the scientific analysis of human mental processes and memory structures in order to understand human behavior.. This covers a broad range of research domains, examining questions about the workings of memory, attention, perception, knowledge representation, reasoning, creativity and problem solving.
Cognitive psychology differ from psychoanalysis in that it accepts the use of scientific method and rejects introspection.It differs from behaviourism it accept the existence of internal mental states like belief,desires and motivations.
The dominant method in the cognitive psychology has been the information processing model of cognition. This is a way of thinking and reasoning about mental processes, envisaging them like software running on the computer that is the brain. Theories commonly refer to forms of input, representation, computation or processing, and outputs. This way of conceiving mental processes by cognitive psycholgy can be also found in cognitive theories within social psychology, personality, abnormal psychology, developmental psychology; the application of cognitive theories in comparative psychology has led to many recent studies in animal cognition.
Due to this use of computational metaphors and terminology, cognitive psychology o benefited from the research in artificial intelligence and other related areas.So cognitive psychology developed as one of the significant aspects of the inter-disciplinary subject of cognitive science, which attempts to integrate a range of approaches in research on the mind and mental processes.
Major research areas in cognitive psychology are Perception(Attention,Pattern recognisation),Memory(short term and long term,autobiographical,episodic,flash bulb and semantic memory,Encoding,storing and retrieving memory based information),Knowledge representation(Mental imagery,Propositional encoding,imagery vs propsitional debate,Dual-coding theories and Mental models),language(Grammer and Linguistics,Phonetics and Phonology,Language acquisition) and thinking(logic,formal and natural reasoning,conept formation,Problem solving and Judgment and decision making)
Chapter 5:Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic psychology is concerned with the subjective experience of human beings and instead of using quantitative methods in the study of the human mind and behaviour tresses on qualitative research. Humanist psychology believe the inherent value and dignity of human beings. They are against ideologies, beliefs and practices which see people to be merely the means for accomplishing economic and political ends. They have remind others that the purpose of institutions is to serve and advance the freedom and power of their members.It is a response to the denigration of the human spirit that has so often been implied in the image of the person drawn by behavioral and social sciences.
It emerged in reaction to both behaviorism and psychoanalysis.While the behaviorists ignored consciousness because they felt that its essential privacy and subjectivity rendered it inaccessible to scientific study, the depth psychologists tended to regard it as the relatively superficial expression of unconscious drives.According to humanists these two type of psychology did not deal with human beings as uniquely human nor with many of the real problems of human life. humanists say that if psychology were to become more than a narrow academic discipline limited by the biases of behaviorism, and if it were to study human attributes such as values and self-consciousness that the depth psychologists had chosen to de-emphasize, their humanistic psychology would have to offer a fuller concept and experience of what it means to be human.Hmanistic psychology reflected many of the values expressed by the Hebrews, the Greeks, the Renaissance Europeans, and others who have attempted to study those qualities that are unique to human life and that make possible such essentially human phenomena as love, self-consciousness, self-determination, personal freedom, greed, lust for power, cruelty, morality, art, philosophy, religion, literature, and science.
In humanistic psychology themes like as self, self-actualization, health, creativity, intrinsic nature, being, becoming, individuality, and meaning - likely to become central concerns of psychology.
Humanistic psychology stresses on a phenomenological view of human experience . The humanistic approach has its roots in existentialist thought . The founders of this are Abraham Maslow, who presented a 'hierarchy of human needs'; Carl Rogers, who created and developed 'client centered therapy' and Fritz and Laura Perls who helped create and develop Gestalt therapy.
Abraham Maslow developed a hierarchical theory of human motivation which asserted that when certain basic needs are provided for, higher motives toward self-actualization can emerge.Rogers introduced person-centered therapy, which holds that intrinsic tendencies toward self-actualization can be expressed in a therapeutic relationship in which the therapist offers personal congruence, unconditional positive regard and accurate empathic understanding.So Maslow and Rogers embraced self-actualization both as an empirical principle and an ethical idea. Their vision of human nature as intrinsically good became a major theme of the "human potential" movement hence Humanistic psychology is closely related to, and sometimes equated with the Human potential movement
Rollo May represented the influence of existentialism and phenomenology in humanistic psychology and emphasized the inherently tragic aspects of the human condition like the enduring presence of evil and suffering in the world, the nature of creativity, art and mythology, and the value of the humanities as psychological resources.
The impact of Humanistic psychology can be understood in terms of three major areas: 1) It offered a new set of values for approaching an understanding of human nature and the human condition. 2) It offered an expanded horizon of methods of inquiry in the study of human behavior. 3) It offered a broader range of more effective methods in the professional practice of psychotherapy.
The Humanistic view of Human behaviour-Humanistic psychology is a value orientation that holds a hopeful, constructive view of human beings and of their substantial capacity to be self-determining. It is guided by a conviction that intentionality and ethical values are strong psychological forces, among the basic determinants of human behavior. This conviction leads to an effort to enhance such distinctly human qualities as choice, creativity, the interaction of the body, mind and spirit, and the capacity to become more aware, free, responsible, life-affirming and trustworthy.
While acknowledging that the mind is strongly influenced by determining forces in society and in the unconscious, it emphasizes the independent dignity and worth of human beings and their conscious capacity to develop personal competence and self respect. .
Since there is much difficulty involved in inner growth, humanistic psychologists often stress the importance of courageously learning to take responsibility for oneself as one confronts personal transitions. The difficulty of encouraging personal growth is matched by the difficulty of developing appropriate institutional and organizational environments in which human beings can flourish. Clearly, societies both help and hinder human growth.
Many humanistic psychologists stress the importance of social change, the challenge of modifying old institutions and inventing new ones able to sustain both human development and organizational efficacy. Thus the humanistic emphasis on individual freedom should be matched by a recognition of our interdependence and our responsibilities to one another, to society and culture, and to the future.
Method of Inquiry- Humanistic psychology is best known as a body of theory and systems of psychotherapy Humanistic psychology recognizes that human existence consists of multiple layers of reality: the physical, the organic and the symbolic. In considering these components it advocates the use of a variety of research approaches to study their characteristics and intentions. .Humanistic psychology is strongly supportive of phenomenological and clinical approaches to the study of the human position in the order of life. .The symbolic dimension of consciousness is where that meaning value, culture, personal decision and responsibility are expressed and manifested. The humanities are thus important resources in humanistic psychology research.of Human Behavior
Humanistic Psychotherapy- Carl Rogers introduced Person Centered Psychotherapy, Roll May Existential Psychoanalysis pe and Fritz Perls developed Geslalt Therapy.The whole person, multi-dimensional perspective of the Humanistic Psychology has generated a broad spectrum of approaches that enormously expand the range of options for dealing with psychological, psychosomatic, psychosocial and psycho-spiritual conditions. In addition, it has emphasized that psychotherapy is not only of value in dealing with emotionally crippled, neurotic and psychotic populations. It is equally relevant to the interests of relatively healthy people who are interested in exploring the farther reaches of human potential and examining the intrinsic role we have as humans in maintaining homeostasis on the planet, otherwise known as Ecopsychology. Approaches embraced by humanistic therapists include: Bioenergetics (Wilhem Reich, Alexander Lowen), Sensory Awareness Through Movement ( Moshe Feldenkreis), Focusing (Eugene Gendin), Authentic Movement (Mary Whitehouse), Encounter (Carl Rogers, Will Schultz, National Training Lab, and many others at Esalan and elsewhere), Rational-Emotive Therapy (Albert Ellis), Reality Therapy (William Glasser), Analytical & Archetypal Psychology (C.G.Jung, James Hillman), Psychosynthesis (Roberto Assagioli), Gestalt Art Therapy (Janie Rhyne), Existential Analysis (Rollo May, James F.T.Bugental), Logotherapy (Viktor Frankl), Self-Disclosure (Sidney Jourard), Conjoint Family Therapy (Virginia Satir), and Neuro-Linguistic Programming (Richard Bandler & John Grinder).
Chapter 6:Modern trends in
Psychology
a:Evolutionary Psychology.
Evolutionary psychology is the combination of two sciences ,evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology.It is the approach of explaining human behavior based on the combination of evolutionary biology, anthropology, cognitive science, and the neurosciences.
Evolutionary psychology is based on the recognition that the human brain is a set of information-processing machines that were designed by natural selection to solve the adaptive problems regularly encountered by our hunter-gatherer ancestors. Because humans share a universal evolved architecture, all ordinary individuals reliably develop a distinctively human set of preferences, motives, shared conceptual frameworks, emotion programs, content-specific reasoning procedures, and specialized interpretation systems--programs that operate beneath the surface of expressed cultural variability, and whose designs constitute a precise definition of human nature.
Evolutionary psychology seeks to explain through universal mechanisms of behavior why humans act the way they do . It seeks to reconstruct problems that our ancestors faced in their primitive environments, and the problem-solving mechanisms they created to meet those particular challenges. From these reconstructed problem-solving adaptations, the science then attempts to establish the common roots of our ancestral behavior, and how those common behavioral roots are manifested today in the different cultures of the world.
It believe that all humans have innate areas in their brains which have specific knowledge that help them adapt to local environments. These areas are highly specialized, and only activate when the information is needed. These areas give the brain specific algorithmic (step by step) instructions that have evolved from our ancestral pasts to adapt to all situations, including the situations that we face today .Evolutionary psychologists believe that the brain is divided into hundreds, perhaps, thousand of these specific behavioral modules also called evolved cognitive structures or functionally specialized computational devices.
Evolutionary Psychology consider human instincts as natural,and allows one to recognize what natural competences exist in us.It indicates that the mind is a heterogeneous collection of these competences and, most importantly, it provides positive theories of their designs.
According to EP the brain is a physical system. It functions as a computer. Its circuits are designed to generate behavior that is appropriate to our environmental circumstances.In short, the circuits of the brain are designed to generate motion , behavior in response to information from the environment. .
According to EP our neural circuits were designed by natural selection to solve problems that our ancestors faced during our species' evolutionary history. So the reason we have one set of circuits rather than another is that the circuits that we have were better at solving problems that our ancestors faced during our species' evolutionary history than alternative circuits were
It is important to realize that our circuits weren't designed to solve just any old kind of problem. They were designed to solve adaptive problems. Adaptive problems have two defining characteristics. First, they are ones that cropped up again and again during the evolutionary history of a species. Second, they are problems whose solution affected the reproduction of individual organisms -- however indirect the causal chain may be, and however small the effect on number of offspring produced
According to EP consciousness is just the surface, most of what goes on in our mind is hidden from you. So conscious experience make us believe that our circuitry is simple. Most problems we experience as easy to solve are very difficult to solve and they require very complicated neural circuitry . Different neural circuits are specialized for solving different adaptive problems.
According to EP our modern brain were designed for our ancestors.. Its circuits were not designed to solve the day-to-day problems of a modern man, they were designed to solve the day-to-day problems of our hunter-gatherer ancestors.
According to Evolutionary Psychology the human mind contain a large number of information-processing devices that are domain-specific and functionally specialized. The proposed domain-specificity of many of these devices separates evolutionary psychology from those approaches to psychology that assume the mind is composed of a small number of domain general, content-independent, "general purpose" mechanisms.
According to empirical view mind is blank at birth and all content of the human mind is derived from external environment and the social world. So contents of human minds are primarily Free social constructions, and the social sciences are autonomous and disconnected from any evolutionary or psychological foundation. Evolutionary psychology contradict this and provides an alternative view. According to this all normal human minds reliably develop a standard collection of reasoning and regulatory circuits that are functionally specialized and, frequently, domain-specific. These circuits organize the way we interpret our experiences, inject certain recurrent concepts and motivations into our mental life, and provide universal frames of meaning that allow us to understand the actions and intentions of others. Beneath the level of surface variability, all humans share certain views and assumptions about the nature of the world and human action by virtue of these human universal reasoning circuits.
Evolutionary psychology apply adaptationist logic(adaptation driven by natural selection) to the study of the architecture of the human mind.An adaptationist approach to psychology leads to the search for adaptive design, which usually entails the examination of niche-differentiated mental abilities unique to the species being investigated.According to evolutionists natural selection is a feedback process that "chooses" among alternative designs on the basis of how well they function. Here a design feature that solves an adaptive problem well can be outcompeted by a new design feature that solves it better.Explanations that appeal to the adaptive function of a device are called "distal" or "ultimate" explanations, because they refer to causes that operated over evolutionary time.
Adaptations can be identified using Design evidence.Complex functional design is the hallmark of adaptive machines.. One can identify an aspect of the phenotype as an adaptation by showing that (1) it has many design features that are complexly specialized for solving an adaptive problem, (2) these phenotypic properties are unlikely to have arisen by chance alone, and (3) they are not better explained as the by-product of mechanisms designed to solve some alternative adaptive problem. Finding that an architectural element solves an adaptive problem with "reliability, efficiency, and economy" is prima facie evidence that one has located an adaptation.
About the dispute whether nature or nurture has more influence on the organism Evolutionary psychology seeks to characterize the universal, species-typical architecture .This cognitive architecture, is the joint product of genes and environment. But the development of architecture is buffered against both genetic and environmental insults, such that it reliably develops across the (ancestrally) normal range of human environments. EP do not assume that genes play a more important role in development than the environment does, or that "innate factors" are more important than "learning". Instead, EPs reject these dichotomies as ill-conceived.According to Evolutionists Every aspect of an organism's phenotype is the joint product of its genes and its environment.
b: Developmental Psychology
Developmental psychology is a field within psychology that is concerned with describing and understanding how individuals grow and change over their lifetimes. Development is a life-span phenomenon which begins with conception and continues all throughout life.Developmental Psychology examines patterns of growth, change, and stability in behaviour that occur throughout the entire human lifespan .
Developmentalists says the process of development persists throughout every part of people’s lives, beginning with the moment of conception and continuing until death. People continue to grow and change right up to the end of their lives in some aspects, whereas in other respects their behaviour remains stable. No particular single period of life governs all development. Instead, every period of life contains the potential for both growth and decline in abilities, and that individuals maintain the capacity for substantial growth and change throughout their lives .
Developmental psychology has a lifespan perspective on human development .This has seven basic characteristics. According to this development is life long(no age dominates),multidimensional(physical,cognitive,emotional,social etc...),multidirectional(some aspects increase others decrease),plastic(vary acording to individual life conditions),historically embedded(influenced by history),multidiciplinary(share sociology,anthropology,neuroscience,medical research ,etc)and contexual(The individual continually responds to and acts on contexts, which include a person’s biological makeup, physical environment, social, historical, and cultural contexts ).
According to Developmental Psychology development is mainly continuous change .This means new changes is brought on the achievements of previous level.Due to this life span approach is more important.There are critical periods in development during which particular event has great consequences.Developmental changes are influenced by both nature(heriditary)and nuture(environment).
Human growth produce development and changes in biological,cognitive,socioemotional and spiritual levels or domains.Biological processes involve changes in the individual’s physical nature.Cognitive processes involve changes in the individual’s thought, intelligence and language.Socioemotional processes involve changes in the individual’s relationships with other people, changes in emotions, and changes in personality. spirituality mean the experiences that appeal to the human spirit and our connection to God or some spiritual power outside ourselves. Each of these domains interact and also influence one another.For example as cognition advances it also makes changes in emotions and social relations.The individual and environment also interact reciprocally to produce development. So characteristics within the individual have the potential to influence the environment around him and the charecteristics in the environments influence and change the also the individual.
Developmental Psychology give six major theoretical perspective on human development.These are Psychodynamic Perspective( Focusing on the inner person), Behavioural Perspective( Considering the outer person), Cognitive Perspective( Examining the roots of understanding),Humanistic Perspective( Concentrating on the unique qualities of human beings),Evolutionary Perspective( Focusing on biology as the determinant of development),Sociocultural Perspective( Emphasizing the systems of support).
The main methods of research in developmental psychology are Experimental methods,Interviews,Observations,Case studies,Survey and Topical research like acquisition, synthesis, organization and presentation of information involving paper-based as well as web-based resources.
According to Developmental Psychology there is a continuum of development, in the sense of self and its stability. This begins with individuals who have not achieved object constancy and strong ego identity, people who might be called psychotic. The next step up in the development ladder are those with "borderline personality disorder", in whom an unstable sense of self and object constancy have developed. Another step up toward full functionality are those with a strong sense of ego identity and clear object relations, the so called normal individuals.
c:Depth Psychology.
Depth Psychology is the psychology of unconscious mental processes. It refers to the ongoing development of theroies and therapies in psychoanalytic(and Kohut’s Self Psychology),Adlerian ( Individual Psychology), Jungian ( Analytical Psychology and Hillman’s Archetypal Psychology)and also influences from transpersonal psychology and existentialism.
According to Depth Psychology Psyche is a process not a thing.It is partly conscious and partly unconscious. The unconscious contains both upper layers and depth. Upper layers contains repressed experiences and other personal-level issues and depth contains“transpersonal” (i.e. collective, non-I, archetypal) forces. Psyche is not reducible to either neurochemistry or spiritual reality: it is somewhat between matter and spirit in its own state. This is called “psychic objectivity”, “liminal” or “imaginal". Psyche spontaneously generates mythico-religious symbolism and is therefore spiritual as well as instinctive in nature. So there is no choice like becoming a spiritual person.The only question is whether we live our spirituality consciously or unknowingly invest it in nonspiritual aspirations (perfectionism, addictions, greed, fame).
Psychological symptoms are unconscious messages to oneself and should not be ignored.We have to manage it if necessary, through psychotherapy or pharmacology or both. .Soul is the “seat of meaningful experience”and it is where the psyche’s personal and transpersonal poles meet. Soul experience(Eudaimonsm) is a subjectivity that extends everywhere. Depth Psychology try to enrich the depth of life by being a witness to this subjectivity. Depth psychology rejects Cartesian mind-body dualism and instead posits a shifting interactive field of subjective and objective activities. This means there is no pure objective study and it is interacted and influenced and changed by the subject studying it. Depth psychology envision the psyche studying itself as a “hall of mirrors” in which a consciousness sensitized to its own relativity participates in perpetually reflected realities
Depth psychology neglects stereotypes theory of sexes(active-passive,etc)
and investigates the psyche in its personal, biological, cultural, and
archetypal context. According to Depth Psychology human life is ultimately
embedded in some sort of myth-making. Mythology is not merely old explanations
for natural events but rather the richness and wisdom of humanity played out in
a wondrous symbolical storytelling. According to Depth Psychology cultivating
Soul experience(eudaimonism) is more important than goals of health. What may
be painful or even disastrous for a person’s conscious life might well be
enriching to that person’s soul.
Personal symptoms, conflicts, and stucknesses contain a mythic or
transpersonal/archetypal core that when interpreted can reintroduce the client
to the meaning of his struggles (e.g., the pain of leaving home can be
reimagined as the ageless adventure of the wanderer setting out into the
unknown). The danger in tending only to the transpersonal is inflation of the
ego and the danger in reductively focusing only on the personal is narcissistic
devaluation of spiritual experiences.Work on the personal level is a prelude to
work on the transpersonal level.So one must undergo various sorts of
psychological initiations into adulthood , ideally, with the help of wiser and
more mature adults.In this way he can also attain the maturity to stand later
encounters with those numinous , or highly charged, manifestations of the
transpersonal psyche which in aboriginal cultures have always been considered
signs of normality and vitality.
Because we have a psychical share in all that surrounds us , in order to become sane and whole we must care for our environment and tend responsibly to the world in which we live.
d:Transpersonal Psychology
Transpersonal Psychology is a branch of psychology that is concerned with the study of those states and processes in which people experience a deeper or wider sense of who they are or the "spiritual" dimension. It is the extension of psychological studies into consciousness studies, spiritual inquiry, body-mind relationships and transformation.It is spiritual psychology which states that humanity has both drives toward sex and aggression and drives toward wholeness, toward connecting with and experiencing the divine.
Transpersonal psychology(TP) argue that transpersonal experiences involve a higher mode of consciousness in which the ordinary mental-egoic self is transcended.Transpersonal Psychology try to develop a greater sense of connectedness with the deeper Self, the world of nature, or the social, interpersonal dimension.Transpersonal psychology represents a paradigm shift in consciousness, science and culture.Transpersonal Psycholgy adapts an integrative approach in which other disciplines are combined in the exploration of transpersonal states. These disciplines include philosophy, psychiatry, sociology, politics, education, anthropology, history, literary studies, religious studies, biology and physics.
Transpersonal psychology study of the full range of human experience, from abnormal behavior to healthy normal functioning, to spiritually embodied and transcendent consciousness. Transpersonal psychology looks to saints and self realised men for models of full human development and of the growth-oriented nature of the normal human psyche. It perceive the individual as one engaged in the process of development toward full humanity.According to TP our outer personality is only a covering of our transpersonal essence.Personality is the vehicle which enables the soul and spirit to travel through the world. So personality is a servent of the spirit. According to Transpersonal psychology beyond normal personalty development there are more stages of development.First there is disidentification from one's personality and knowledge of the transient nature of objects.. This is the states of consciousness obtained by advanced meditators. Next stage is the realisation of Supreme Identity (i.e., enlightenment or connection with God), and the relative nature of normal reality. Transpersonal psychology is an holistic and integrated approach to the whole person. It seeks a balanced development of the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, physical, social, and creative expression aspects of a person's life.The central concept in Transpersonal Psychology is self-transcendence, or a sense of identity which is deeper, broader, and more unified with the whole. Transpersonal psychology states that religious and mystical experiences and the perspectives that derive from them are valid approaches to reality and can be studied scientifically.
Transpersonal psychology studies the different states and stations of consciousness. It recognizes that such different states as dreaming, hypnotic trance, and "waking" consciousness all have sub-levels within themselves and possess their own state-specific systems, their own realities. Transpersonal psychology states that not only are there different states of consciousness that one may move into and out of during the course of a day but that there are also stages or stations of consciousness that, through development, one can come to live in relatively permanently
Chapter 7:Experimental Psychology and James Baldwin .
a:Experimental Psychology
Experimental psycholgy is the branch of psychology that uses experimental methods to study psychological issues.Experimental psychologists try to understand the underlying causes of behavior by studying humans and animals. .E.Psychology try to learn more about a particular species, to study how different species are interrelated, to investigate the evolutionary significance of certain behaviors, or to learn more about human behavior.Since Experimental psychology treats Psychology as one of the natural sciences, so assumes that it is susceptible to the experimental method. Many experimental psychologists have assumed that all methods of investigation other than experimentation are not valid. They discount the case study and interview methods used in clinical and developmental psychology.As it is a a methodological category, experimental psychology include the study of perception, cognitive psychology, comparative psychology, the experimental analysis of behavior, and some aspects of physiological psychology.
The pioneers in Experimental psychology G. T. Fechner and Wilhelm Wundt., and others like Hermann Ebbinghaus and E.B. Titchener used laboratory methods to investigate such areas as sensation, memory, reaction time, and rudimentary levels of learning.Though they included introspection among their experimental methods later experimental psychology assosiated with behaviourism and neglected mental phenomena.But in Europe experimental psychologists focused on topics such as thinking, memory and attention, laying the foundations for the subsequent development of cognitive psychology Besides controlled laboratory studies , experimental methods have also been used in such diverse areas as child development, clinical diagnosis, and social problems.Recently, experimental psychologists such as Ulf-Dietrich Reips have begun using the Internet as a convenient medium for Internet-based experimenting
.An experiment in any setting tests a hypothesis, or a prediction about the outcome of a specific event based on theoretical assumptions. All experiments consist of an independent variable, which is manipulated by the researcher, and a dependent variable, whose outcome will be linked to the independent variable. For example, in an experiment to test the sleep-inducing properties of the hormone melatonin, the administration of the hormone would be the independent variable, and the resulting amount of sleep would be the dependent variable.The effects of the independent variable are determined by comparing two groups ,with one group exposed to the independent variable, called the experimental group and the other called the control group.Although ideally the experimental and control groups will be as similar as possible, in practice, most psychological research is complicated by a variety of factors. One method of overcoming these problems is to randomly assign subjects to each group, thus distributing the effect of uncontrollable variables as evenly as possible.
The subjects' attitudes toward the experimental situation is another condition that may influence the results. This is known in placebo effect. The administration of a placebo (a supposed treatment that in fact contains no active ingredient) to a control group can disclose to the experimenter whether improvement in the subjects' conditions has been caused by the treatment itself or only by the subjects' belief that their condition will improve. Results are also influenced by from additional variable, like experimenter bias, the unintentional effect of the experimenter's attitudes, behavior, or personal interests on the results of an experiment. The experimenter may, for example, read instructions to two groups of research subjects differently, or unintentionally allow one group slightly more or less time to complete an experiment. Another experimenter bias is the self-fulfilling prophecy. In a well-known example, when laboratory assistants working with two groups of randomly selected rats were told that one group was brighter than the other, they treated the rats in such a way that the supposedly "brighter" group learned to negotiate a maze faster than the other group. In a placebo experiment, experimenter bias prevented by a double-blind design, in which not only the subjects but also the persons administering the experiment are unaware of which is the control group and what results are expected. Experimenters can minimize bias by making a vigilant attempt to recognize it when it appears, as well as resisting the temptation to intentionally influence the outcome of any experiment.
The results of experiments are generally presented in a report or article that follows a standard format of introduction, method, results, and conclusion.
Experimental research also conducted through quasi-experiments, studies which lack the control of a true experiment because one or more of its requirements cannot be met, such as the deliberate use of an independent variable or the random assignment of subjects to different groups. Studies of the effects of drugs on pregnant women, for instance, are based on data about women who have already been pregnant and either taken or not taken drugs. Thus, the researcher has no control over the assignment of subjects or the choices with which they are presented, but he or she can still measure differences between the two populations and obtain significant findings.
b:James Mark Baldwin .
The Contributions of Baldwin in psychology are, the genetic Method he pursued and, the Results acquired in genetic and social Psychology and Philosophy. These are:
1) General and Experimental: Child Study results; Imitation and Circular Reaction; Motor Interpretations generally.
2) Evolution: The theory of Organic Selection; the theory of Genetic Modes, as serving as basis of Genetic Science and of General Evolution.
3) Social Psychology: The social origin of the Self; the Correlation between personal and social growth through the processes of Imitative Assimilation and social "give-and-take."
4) Genetic Logic: Place of Semblance and "Schematism" in mental development; tracing of the "common" element in knowledge, the doctrine of logical "community"; "Instrumentalism" of knowledge and thought; development of Affective Logic and the theory of Value; Social and Instrumental derivation of the forms of Reason.
5) Aesthetic Psychology: Nature of Art Appreciation; the place in philosophy of Aesthetic Intuition (Pancalism).
Baldwin's main work is on mental development in children and included, experiments with children. Baldwin was one of the first experimental psychologists to apply Darwin’s theory of evolution to his theories of development.He abandoned the older association and structural psychology in favor of functional and developmental psychology.. The theory of synthesis (in such problems as those of apperception, conception, and volition) was based on motor synergy and adaptation.He also developed the motor theory of attention.
He studied the correlation of experimental data with those of biology: experiments on right- and left-handedness, on color-perception, on suggestion, on imitation, on speech, etc. These are explained in the theories of recapitulation, accommodation, and growth in biology and in folk psychology, theories of conscious imitation, learning, social response and organization.
On the psycho-biological side he postualted the the principle of 'circular reaction', found to be the fundamental method of fruitful organic reaction to the environment of things and persons. On variations of this original act of life arise the main adaptations: conscious and social accommodation, imitation, invention, and volition (through the experience of "try, try again"); and on it is based organic evolution and social progress.On the psycho-sociological side this principle operates revealing itself in the various phases of suggestion and imitation. Through conscious imitation and its variations and oppositions, vistas open up along the great highways of individual and social progress. It is through intercourse with others, thus established, that the individual self-thought or "ego" is attained, along with its correlative term, the social fellow or "alter," each using a common body of experiences and forming an identical social fellow or "socius." In each social situation the socii are in large measure identical, only partially and progressively different.This give-and-take, essentially imitative, constitutes a "dialectic of personal growth," which is at the same time that of social organization. Society, genetically considered, is not a composition of separate individuals; on the contrary, the individuals are differentiations of a common social protoplasm. The conclusion is drawn that the individual is a "social outcome not a social unit." We are members one of another. The oppositions, conflicts, antinomies of personal and social life are late developments which are sharpened with the rise of reflective and ethical thinking.The final major result of this 'circular reaction'was the definition of the range and extent of the "social heritage": the body of acquisitions resulting, in each generation, from the progressive integration and re-absorption by each individual of all the transmitted culture. This gives a continuous body of accretions (language, institutions, customs, etc.), by a process of social as opposed to physical heredity commonly known as "tradition."
The interest in genesis(origin, development, evolution) led him to evolution.. He made te view that natural selection operating on "spontaneous variations" is sufficient alone to produce determinate evolution (without the inheritance of acquired adaptations or modifications), since in each generation variations in the direction of, or "coincident" with, the functon to be developed will favor the organisms possessing them, and their descendants will profit by the accumulation of such variations. Thus the function will gradually come to perfection. In other words, the individual organism's accommodations, made through learning, effort, adaptation, etc., while not physically inherited, still act to supplement or screen the congenital endowment during its incomplete stages, and so give the species time to build up its variations in determinate lines.This is called "Organic Selection"
He formulated the "theory of genetic modes"which states one every truly genetic series is irreversible and second each new stage or term in a truly genetic series is sui generis a new mode of presence in what is called reality.These two determinations are corner stones of the various theories of "creative" or "emergent" evolution.This when put in formal logic form the postulates first, "The logic of genesis is not expressed in convertible propositions," and, second, "that series of events alone is truly genetic, which cannot be constructed before it has happened, and which cannot be exhausted, by reading backwards, after it has happened."
He also developed the theory of "selective thinking".according to this the discovery of truth was recognized as being an adaptation to a given set of data, proceeding by a series of tentative selections from variations of imagery and fragments of hypothetical value. This selection -- from hearsay, current half-truths, fragmentary opinions, etc. -- is in its method analogous to that of "trial and error" in physical science. Truth is what is selected under the control of the system of established thoughts and facts, and assimilated to the body of socially acquired knowledges and beliefs. Truth thus becomes a tentative and slowly-expanding body of data, more or less adequately reflecting the stable whole of thought and action which is accepted as reality, and in turn enlarging and clarifying that whole. In this view, thinking is instrumental in two ways: it is an instrument of adaptive action in an environment of things, persons, and beliefs, and it is an instrument of the clarification and enlarging of the body of accreditated [sic] data constituting the system of knowledge, science, tradition, etc., of the race.
In one of his main work called Thought and Things or Genetic Logic he employs the psycho-genetic method for the knowledge of development of mind.This method is the observation of the processes actually going on the essential stages of mental development of the normal human minds taken singly or in groups-the reconstruction of the essential experience by which each individual mind lives, together with its fellows, through its life history from infancy to maturity. This leads to a research which is mainly subjective, since it must be controlled at every stage by direct individual or social experience.
Genetic logic is used to designate the body of inside or psychic processes in which mental development takes place. Within this logic, all the varied special motives of adaptation, opposition, assimilation, etc., uncovered in the detailed researches, show themselves in the panorama of personal and social progress.
The first division of genetic logic is Functional Logic .It deals with the prelogical, means, with operations of mind in the concrete, up to the crisis at which the discursive or thinking processes (logical, in the narrow sense of the word) show themselves. Second, Experimental Logic, deals with the discursive operations of thought. It is called experimental, because all thinking, as such, is found to proceed by experimental adaptation. Third, Interest and Art, treats of the development of the active life, its factors being pooled under the concept of Interest, and of the hyper-logical or higher intuitive operations which find their consummation and goal in Art. Fourth, Genetic Theory of Reality, , is devoted to the problem of the natural interpretations of the Real issuing within the movement of experience itself, a series of points of view in which the several motives implicit in the whole of accepted reality (Realism, Idealism, Intuitionism, Aestheticism) take their rise, and to which the mind, in its reflection on itself and the world, naturally resorts.
The three terms, pre-logical, logical, and hyper-logical, designate well-characterized stages in mental development. They are stages only, not breaks, since the same genetic motives play continuously through these critical points. The mind proceeds, in the pre-logical period, by the motives of memory, imagery, play, and action, achieving in its own way the use of general and abstract contents which become "notions" and "concepts," the essential instruments of reasoning. Thus is ushered in [p. 13] the logical proper; its essential criterion is the act of judgment. In judgment the presented content of any kind takes form as "schema" or hypothesis and passes from the domain of question or supposition to that of belief. Logical belief, as opposed to primitive and naďve acceptance, is the resolution of doubt, the solution of a problem. Its grounds constitute the "reasons" of formal logic. All the processes of logical mediation -- reasoning, argumentation, proof -- arise when general and abstract concepts become available for manipulation; successive judgments carry the thinker's belief over a widening system of accepted truths.
This passage into the logical or discursive period brings with it three very striking and fruitful gains. First, language develops pari passu with generalization, and gives to all the cognitive and emotional processes the adequate instrument of expression and of personal intercourse. Secondly, the sense of self passes, along with other contents, through various phases of growth, and becomes the "ego" over against the social "alter" (as spoken of again further on). And, thirdly, the rise of judgment brings in reflection, the turning-in of the thinker upon his own mental processes. With reflection, the thinker and agent becomes the judge, the critic, the interpreter, the philosopher.
In the third stage, the super-logical, the mind seeks to return to immediacy, to solve the dualism and oppositions inherent in the practical life of thought and action. One or another of the great ideals arises and becomes the place of retreat; and the universal categories of thought, the absolute forms of value, and the various panaceas of feeling erect their claims to final authority.
The leading motives of development found in all these stages are the following.
1) Semblance. The function of "make-believe" or semblance is found to have an essential place in mental development. It progresses from the play of childhood, through the imaginative or "schematic" hypotheses used in reasoning, up to the idealizations of art. Semblance has its utility in play, considered as preparation for serious life; in the hypothesis, used as vehicle of the experimental processes of thinking; and in the creative and purifying constructions of art; all for the reason that the semblant images, in all these domains, serve the essential rôle of presenting a meeting place for the two opposing worlds of inner and outer reality.
2) The social factor. Another of the genetic factors traced out in detail is that of social life or intercourse, as reflected in the individual's growth. . The segmentation and division, so to speak, of the social germ is followed into the great oppositions of personality -- dualism between persons and things, that between persons as things, that between persons as thinkers, moral agents, etc There issues, at a relatively late stage, the hard opposition between the external world, including other persons than the thinker, and the inner or conscious world of the latter -- the source of the realism of the mature life and of positive science. From this dualism of realms of actuality or substance, the thinking individual never afterwards escapes; it is the hurdle in the path of all discursive thinking, as it is the stumbling block to all subjectivist interpretations of the world.
The social or common strain persists in all the discursive processes of thought. All acts of judgment, issuing in verbal propositions, are built upon linguistic elements, by which the content is made communicable. As this proceeds, the judgments take on verbal form which varies both with the thinker by whom they are spoken and with the audience to which they are addressed.A further logical property is added to the traditional quantity, quality, relation, modality namely, "community" or social reference -- the varying meaning of the proposition as being held by or for different speakers and different audiences.
The implications of this constitutes, when taken with the establishment of the experimental and linguistic theories of the origin of thinking, a radical revision, for what it may turn out to be worth, of the bases of logic. Instead of a formal dialectic of propositions, thinking is shown to be a vital function, developed under stress of social necessity, in common with its vehicle, language, and preserving, even in its most abstract forms, traces of its instrumental and experimental origin.
So The individual is the result of refined processes of social differentiation and Knowledge is common property not a private possession."
Cognitive Mediation. The prime mark of knowledge is mediation of a certain sort. Mediation of truth by fact or idea is the formula of cognitive process. When mediation is absent, as in simple feeling, we recognize some sort of immediacy.
AFFECTIVE LOGIC -
Interest. In general we may say that the agent, whether as knower or as doer, finds himself interested in things, both by his curiosities and by his appetites. . The development of interest presents the great genetic problem of "affective" or "motive" logic.The forms of interest are very varied. It begins as purely organic response, becomes emotional, turns theoretical, and emerges finally in the complicated modes of sentiment-moral, religious, and aesthetic.
When the object of interest lose its immediacy, as satisfaction of sense or gratification of instinct and impulse, a new method of mediation like image of memory or fancy begins to show itself. A world of things of desire, things of value, begins to form itself for which the body of facts and knowledges supplies the mediating terms. So the whole system of cognitive meanings -- facts, truth, realities -- becomes means to the pursuit of a further system of values and ends. This mediation of ends by means is the method of affective progress. Interest works by using means to secure ends. The entire world of fact or truth is wrapped up in an envelope of value; besides being true, the true becomes useful, good, and beautiful.
Value. In this mediation of ends by means, we have the fundamental formula of Affective Logic and the theory of Value, just as in the corresponding mediation of truths by ideas of facts we have found that of theoretical logic and the theory of truth. The different systems of ends give rise each to its respective system of values. In the domain of knowledge, the ends have theoretical value; in that of personal and social life, the ends have the value of utility, prudence, economy, social prestige, welfare; in the realm of conduct, moral value; in that of beauty and art, aesthetic value.
Affective Revival. There is a logic of interest and feeling. Besides revival in memory, affective states are subject to comparison, generalization, abstraction, and to vague forms of reasoning, by analogy, substitution, etc. The great difference, however, between affective and cognitive logic is found in the processes of mediation respectively involved. Affective logic is a process proceeding by the mediation of ends through means; its result is always in the domain of an interest or value. On the other hand, that of cognition is in the domain of truth. . The mediating image, the middle term, be it cognitive or affective, may be read either as fact, to serve as premise for a conclusion, or as value, to serve as means to an end. The thinker is easily switched by his interest from the mere recognition of the image to the pursuit of the value it holds for him. The so-called neutrality of knowledge is largely mythical; interest and desire give it value which the will is always ready to espouse.
The Great Interests. In the great interests established in the mental life-intellectual (scientific), prudential (economic), moral (and political), religious, aesthetic-the various motives of the development of the self work themselves out. The scientific interest embodies the impulse to know; the prudential interest is rooted in the egoistic motives as such; seeking the gratification of the personal self by the use of social means; the moral interest represents the progress of the ego-alter relation by the idealization of the self-thought as a personal norm and social rule of life; the religious interest seeks the projection of the self in a perfect socius, who is a Companion and Aid; the aesthetic is the interest of reconciliation and unity . All of these great interests show the flowering of original and irreducible motives of the active and affective life. They clothe the great human values in social institutions; and none of them is to be denied or replaced.
. THE AESTHETIC INTEREST-Semblance in Art. . The aesthetic experience, whether that of the artist himself or that of the spectator, is found to be a reconstruction of an imaginative and semblant sort. It is analogous to play, akin to hypothesis, involves indulgence in self-illusion, is exercised with freedom from the bonds of actual fact, and fulfills the need of free self-expression and self-fulfillment.
From the start, the growing individual finds himself bound constantly more and more tightly in the bonds of the actual.The two domains, "inner" and "outer," grow harder and more opposed one to the other, as his life adjustments proceed. . His release from this tension, this very serious business, is found in play, in fancy, in illusion, in fiction -- in short, in semblance or make-believe of all kinds. Here he has a sense of freedom, , of detachment. similarly, in art the man and artist again remake the world having in view only his own creation of something -- anything -- within the possibilities of the ideal reconstruction that the materials allow.
The matter of most importance to the artist is his freedom in the choice of materials over an unrestricted range, but within rules of satisfying construction. . In art, the attempt is made to return to an emotional and ideal unity, a completeness involving all the various partial motives which the demands of truth and serious living have divorced and made discordant.
Aesthetic Immediacy. In this new immediacy, all values are united. The revival of knowledge is infused with that of feeling; the truth of fact is converted into the value of end; the bond of reality is released in the onrush toward the ideal set up. The self enters to occupy the stage, no longer thwarted by the oppositions of personality or the exigencies of fact.
The preliminaries of this, so far as it is a contribution to aesthetic psychology, were, first, the fact of affective revival, and, secondly, the recognition of the reality of aesthetic sympathy; the positive advance in it is the discovery of the rôle of semblance, as the theater in which the various motives of art reach their fusion. Here alone, it is held, the artist finds the open area, the sphere of immediate presence, in which he may build up by his satisfying thing of beauty. Here, for the spectator, the varied aspects of the art experience, as noted in the literature, fall together in a unique and satisfying synthesis. The thing of beauty matches and surpasses the actual.
HYPER-LOGICAL FUNCTIONS: THE REASON-
Reason. In the theoretical reason, there are causality, identity, sufficient reason, all the categories or presuppositions of thought; under the practical reason, there are the norms of conduct -- obligation, utility, value. These two great modes of function, cognitive and active, both proceed by mediation, but with a difference.. In the realm of knowledge or reasoning, a given image, term, or concept mediates another; a memory recalls a fact, a face, a distant scene. Here it is all within the domain of knowledges or cognitive meanings. In the realm of action, on the contrary, the distant term, the experience mediated, is an end -- a satisfaction, a realization, a value -- set up as object of desire; and the mediating term is the means used to attain that end.As the mind grows into the superlogical stage, these processes become in both cases typical and general, but with a very curious difference in the outcome. On the logical side, the scaffolding of mediation becomes itself a universal instrument, apart from its content of concrete images or concepts: the syllogistic forms come to have an independent or a priori force, and pure thought emerges -- thought, that is, which thinks of anything or nothing. The subject of thought has fallen out, leaving the shell or form. In the practical realm, on the contrary, it is the apparatus of mediation which falls away, while the specific end set up assumes absolute value as the good, the beautiful, the true. While in the theoretical, the process drowns the content -- the process remaining the same whatever the content -- and the content, being singular as value and personal as end, survives the form. The scaffolding of mediation falls away and the end reveals itself as a supreme and ideal value. In this we see depicted the passage from the empirical of personal and social life, to the universal of rational form. The socially established and mediate takes on the form, on the one hand, of an immediate datum of reason, and on the other, of an absolute value.
AESTHETIC INTERPRETATIONS OF REALITY AND PANCALISM- According to Baldwin in the higher reaches of mental development, the thinker attains, in the normal life of thought, understandings of himself and the world which confirm or modify variously his naďve acceptances and beliefs. It becomes then a legitimate problem to determine the types of interpretation that the mind, both individual and social, puts upon its own products-its truths, its values, in general its "realities.whether it accept as final its own natural dualism of self and the world (remaining) or it reduce one of these terms to the other (becoming idealist)? whether it deny the rôle of reflection (becoming positivist) or attempt to escape the claim of thought (lapsing into mysticism)or whether it finally appeal to something outside itself for light and leading (finding Religion the absolute organ of reality)? According to Baldwin the individual falls on occasion into each of these interpretations, following his temperament, training, or the example of others; and the race does likewise, both naturally in its institutions, and reflectively in its philosophy.
Baldwin points out the defects of the different historical interpretations of reality. The theories are classified under the headings of Intellectualist, Voluntarist, and Affectivist. The Intellectualist theories -- all the rationalisms, realisms, and actualisms which start out from cognitive data of fact or truth -- leave unsolved the dualism between the world of truth established by thought, on the one hand, and that of value (the satisfying, the desirable, the ideal), on the other. Voluntarist theories, whether moralist or pragmatic, placing the final emphasis on value, give no proper place to truth as such. Thought, in these latter theories, loses its autonomy as instrument of action. In the two great divisions thus characterized, we see the two great types of mediation pushed respectively to the front: that of "fact by idea" and that of "ends by means." One or the other has its apotheosis, while the other is made subordinate. But in fact both always survive and the opposition remains to the end.
The Affectivist theories which include the immediatisms and mysticisms of all sorts. Religious mysticism is its most important historical form. The religious interpretation of reality fails to solve the dualism between the finite and the infinite personality, as well as that between the self and the world. The religious appeal to God evidences the sense of personal isolation and confirms the futility of the individual scheme of life; it affords, besides, only a personal and fleeting reconciliation. The ecstacy [sic] of absorption in God of religious mysticism attains its end by the loss of personality in a mystic union which in proportion as it succeeds becomes an empty and meaningless Nirvana.
The Aesthetic interpretation is that to which one is led in carrying further the research into the nature and rôle of the aesthetic interest as characterized above.
The mind itself, seeking spontaneously a way of reconciliation of its realities and values among themselves, resorts, as has been seen, to the sort of artifice found in the general function of "semblance." In play, in reverie, in imagination, in hypothesis, in mystic absorption, [p. 25] in each of these the agent escapes the immediate struggle and the urgent task by indulging in "self-illusion." He creates in semblance a complete and harmonious reality, forming in turn a play-world, a stage-world, a world of spirits, a "city of God," where, for the moment at least, he finds both peace and freedom. But in art alone does this sort of construction lose its temporary and capricious character and take on permanent and progressive form. In the aesthetic semblance of fine art we find a permanent mode of reconciliation which includes all the serious factors of life and welds them into a full and satisfying intuition of reality. The thinker finds himself a "pancalist," .Baldwin carries out this interpretation in a philosophical theory of reality called Pancalism.
Aesthetic Reason. -According to Baldwin There is a third sort of "reason" in addition to theoretical and practical reason.. It is the immediacy of reconciliation in which the true and the good being reconciled in a semblant scheme, the agent reads into their union a charge of personal sentiment and value. The artist's feeling absorbs and reinterprets what it depicts. The norms of this construction, that is the formal elements which best satisfy the thinker and advance the construction, constitute the "aesthetic reason." They signalize the conquest of truth and goodness by the sentiment involved in the achievement of beauty. The function of art criticism is to re-decompose what aesthetic intuition has composed and to reveal at once the rules of valid art and the norms of its appreciation.
Chapter 8: Jean Gebser and Clare
Graves
a:Gebser and Structures of Consiousness
Jean Gebser describes the history of civilization as an unfolding of
consciousness. Acording to Gebser we are on the threshold of a new structure of
consciousness. Gebser describes four evolutional surges, of consciousness that
have occurred in the history of man. These evolutions are not just changes of
perspective, but they are fundamentally different ways of experiencing reality.
These four evolutions reflect five separate eras of development that are not
distinct and isolated from one another but are, instead, interconnected such
that all previous stages are found in subsequent ones. Each of these stages is
associated with a dimensionality, beginning with the geometric origin of zero
and progressing to the fourth, the transition which we are experiencing at this
time.
Two fundamental concepts of Gebser is: latency and transparency. The former
deals with what is concealed; as Gebser describes it, latency is the
demonstrable presence of the future. In this manner the seeds of all subsequent
phases of evolution are contained in the current one. The second term
transparency deals with what is revealed. According to Gebser, transparency
(diaphaneity) is the form of manifestation (epiphany) of the spiritual.. The
origin, the source from which all springs, is a spiritual one, and all phases
of consciousness evolution are a testimony to the ever less latent and ever
more transparent spirituality that is inherent in all that is. Another major
element in Gebser's theory is that the manifestation of these structures occurs
in a quantum-like, discontinuous leap, not in a slowly developing and changing
framework as is postulated for Darwinian evolutionary theory, for example.
There are overlaps in these structures in as far as different peoples and
cultures may be manifesting different structures at the same time, but a clear
development can be recognized and it is to be expected that all cultures will
eventually go through the same process.
The first phase is Archaic stucture of consiousness. Here the human has not yet emerged from animal consciousness. This is the stage of zero mentation ,devoid of any perspective.This is a consciousness of maximum latency and minimum transparency.As this is the orgin(archaic) there is no any past and future is complete potentiality.Here the consiousness is undifferentiated,there is no individuation of consiousness so total absence of any sense of separation from the environment.This can be compared to a state of deep sleep.This was a world of identity between self and surroundings; not a world in which we could speak of consciousness in any terms that would be meaningful to our modern understanding of the term.
The second phase is Magic structure of consiousness.This is the stage of the the unity of all things as mediated through emotion and expressed instinctively. This structure is characterized by five primary characteristics: (1) its egolessness, (2) its spacelessness and timelessness, (3) its pointlike-unitary world, (4) its interweaving with nature, and (5) its magical reaction to the world. Consciousness, in this phase, is characterized by man's intimate association with nature. Here latency is still dominant; little is transparent.Hera memory was collective, tribal, and all things were shared and experienced by all. The "I" is not a factor; the "we" is dominant. This is a one-dimensional, pre-perspectival, point-like existence that occurs in a dream- like state.Another feature of this structure is its spacelessness and timelessness.This is the most vital and emotional of all structures
The third phase is the Mythical structure of consiousness.Here there is the awakening of soul through differentiation characterized by polar complementarity as mediated by imagination.This stage is mainly past-oriented.This structure can be considered two-dimensional since it is characterized by fundamental polarities.This phase is the the initial concretization of the "I" of man.Here there is a strong awareness of man's differentness from nature.The "I" of man is developed to that point that it recognizes and demands a separation from nature, from its environment. We can take this as evidence of an increasing crystallization of the ego. Myth, is the primary form of expression of this period.If the Magic structure of consciousness is the emotional aspect, then the Mythical structure is the imaginative one.
The fourth phase is Mental strucure of consiousness.This is characterized by discursive thought and will, duality, reconciliation through synthesis, and future directedness.This is the stage of transition form two dimensional into ( mythical ) into three- dimensional space. Abstraction becomes a key word to describe mental activity and we find man using his mind to overcome and "master" the world around him. With abstraction comes philosophizing, hence the philosopheme is the primary form of expression.method replaces the mysteries and this has given rise to the idea of science as the dominant religion of today.Perspective is the life blood of reasoning and the Rational structure of consciousness.This phase is the full development of the ego and its related centeredness.Time itself was conceptualized (spatialized) as an "arrow" that points from the past to the future by way of the present.Our language, our entire imagery and dominant metaphor takes on visual, spatial character. Space is finally overcome, in the true sense of the word. With the supercession of space, man finally accomplishes his egoistic, individual separation from nature. In this concretization of the "I," we become very aware of our existence, of our beingness, of our individuality.As a culture, we seem to be suffering the over emphasizing of the mental processes. Hopefully we are moving toward the integral stage in which all the stages are recognized and appreciated
The fifth phase is Integral structure of consiousness.This is described as a four-dimensional, aperspectival world of transparency. This is a time-free, space-free, subject- and object-free world of verition(unlike forms of representation Veriton is forms of pure statement).This is characterized by diaphaneity, suprarationality and integrality. This phase integrates the other four and enable the human mind to transcend the limitations of three- dimensionality and time, as fourth dimension is added.The ideas of arationality (as opposed to the rationality of the current structure), aperspectivity (as opposed to the perspective, spatially determined mentation of the current structure), and diaphaneity (the transparent recognition of the whole, not just parts) are significant characteristics of this new structure.This new structure of consciousness to which we are transitioning demands new means, new processes, and new methods.This phase will enable us to overcome the dualism of the mental structure and participate in the transparency of self and life.This phase is one of minimum latency and maximum transparency.Philosophy is replaced by eteology; that is, the eteon, or being-in-truth
Each structure has had its "method" even if it was not characterized as such. Two notions characterize this methodology : systasis and synairesis.Systasis, Gebser defines as,, "the conjoining or fitting together of parts into integrality,"[17] "a process whereby partials merge or are merged with the whole.Systasis, in contrast to systematization, deals with the proper 'arrangement' of intensities (rather than quantified 'extensities').The aim of the method,systasis is Synairesis defined by Gemser as "which is an integral understanding, or perception, of reality.It is synairesis that enables us to achieve the transparency that is indicative of the Integral structure of consciousness
b:
Spiral dynamics combines the theories of Clare Graves and the vMemes of
Dawkins.Spiral dynamics has been developed by
Graves call his theory' The Emergent, Cyclical, Double-Helix Model of Adult
Biopsychosocial Systems Development'.According to Graves the psychology of the
mature human being is an unfolding, emergent, oscillating spiraling process
marked by progressive subordination of older, lower-order behavior systems to
newer, higher-order systems as man's existential problems change.Graves
integrated "bio-psycho-and socio-" in a way that resulted in the
identification of clearly distinct levels of existence, with each level having
its own psychological and behavioral characteristics. The main points of
The second is the concept of "memes" introduced by British
biologist Richard Dawkins .Like Genes carried by DNA meme is a parallel living
force in the realm of ideas. Just as genes travel from cell to cell, replicate,
and fulminate physical changes, memes travel from mind to mind,
self-perpetuate, and then infect us with their concepts.A meme contains
behavioral instructions that are passed from one generation to the next, social
artifacts, and value-laden symbols that glue together social systems. Like an
intellectual virus, a meme reproduces itself through concepts like dress
styles, language trends, popular cultural norms, architectural designs, art
forms, religious expressions, social movements, economic models, and moral
statements of how living should be done.Spiral Dynamics proposes the existence
of another kind of wave-like meta-meme, a systems or "values meme"
(vMemes). While they are initially shaped in each
human mind, vMemes are so vital they reach across whole groups of people and
begin to structure mindsets on their own. vMemes establish the pace and process
for gathering beliefs. They structure the thinking, value systems, political
forms, and world views of entire civilizations.
The spiral developmental model of
worldviews called vMemes . vMemes can be thought of as broad orienting
paradigms, a schema through which we interpret the world. These vMemes fall
into a series of eight levels, with the potential for higher ones emerging
every moment.. Each level also has entering, peak, and declining phases.The
healthy expression of each vMeme is essential to the health of the entire
spiral of development.Each vMeme leads to certain beliefs, social groupings,
motivation patterns, organizational dynamics, and goals. If we try to impose
solutions or structures that are too far ahead of the curve (that reflect or
engage inappropriate vMemes) the result is alienation and rebellion rather than
transformation
A Spiral vortex best depicts the
emergence of human systems as they evolve through levels of increasing
complexity. Each upward turn of the Spiral marks the awakening of a more
elaborated version on top of what already exists. The human Spiral, then ,
consists of a coiled string of value systems, world views, and mindsets, each
the product of its times and conditions.
The eight dominant vMemes are as
follows. Each vMeme has emerged historically in response to the needs of new,
and more complex, life conditions.
1. Beige: Semi-Stone Age not generally
that active today, dominated by nature and basic survival instincts, acting
much as other animals. Results in loose, clan-based survival groups. (newborns
and senile elderly, mentally ill street people, people in starvation,
late-stage Alzheimers, .1% of population)
2. Purple: Tribal animistic, magical,
spiritistic, close to the earth and cyclic in outlook. This leads to tribal
groupings, focus on rituals to appease ancestral spirits. Blood bonds are
strong. Management of Purple demands respect for clan rules and allegiances,
respect to the clan "leaders." . Change must be embodied in rituals,
traditions, and symbols. (guardian angels and voodoo-like curses, blood oaths,
lucky charms, superstitions, athletic team bonding, 10% of world population, 1%
of power)
3. Red: Exploitative Rough and harsh,
rugged authoritarianism, finds expression in slavery or virtual slavery, exploitation
of unskilled labor. Generally run by a Top Boss and series of proxies, strict
division of have's and have not's. Currently evident in street life and gangs
in inner cities. Motivated by "heroes" and conquest. Feudalism.
(Terrible Twos, feudal kingdoms, soldiers of fortune, many rock stars, Power
Rangers, rebellious youth, 20% of world population, 5% of power)
4. Blue: Authoritarian Loyal to Truth,
which is defined by social grouping. Purposeful and patriotic, leads people to
obey authority, feel guilty when not conforming to group norms, try to serve
the greater good through self-sacrifice. Works very well in industrial
economies. Discipline is strict but usually fair and often public (flogging in
5.
6. Green: Communitarian Sensitive and
humanistic, the focus with green is community and personal growth, equality,
attention to environmental concerns. Work is motivated by human contact and
contribution, learning from others. Being liked is more important than
competitive advantage, value openness and trust, fear rejection and
disapproval. Leaders become facilitators, less autocratic. Hierarchies blur in
the move towards egalitarianism with a resulting tendency towards inefficiency
and stagnation. Rogerian counseling, Esalen, GreenPeace, Jacques Costeau, Jimmy
Carter, John Lennon's music, Doctors without Borders, ACLU, Ben & Jerry's,
animal rights, deep ecology, 10% of population, 15% of power)
7. Yellow: Systemic This is the first
vMeme of the second tier in which there is a quantum shift in the capacity to
take multiple perspectives in life. Yellow is motivated by learning for its own
sake and is oriented towards integration of complex systems. Change is a
welcome part of the process in organizations and life; Yellow likes the
challenges. It is characterized by systems thinking, an orientation to how
parts interact to create a greater whole. Unique talents and dispositions are
honored as contributing something valuable to the whole. Yellow likes
engineering complex systems and dealing with ideas. It is also ecologically
oriented, but in a more subdued, behind the scenes way. Yellow thinkers often
work on the periphery of organizations, quietly fine-tuning situations and
procedures, much to the bafflement of the first tier vMemes. (Hawking's Brief
History of Time, chaos theory, eco-industrial parks, Wired magazine, 1% of
world population, 5% of power)
8. Turquoise: Holistic Focused on a
global holism/integralism, attuned to the delicate balance of interlocking life
forces. Synthetic and experiential, emerging focus on spiritual connectivity.
Work must be meaningful to the overall health of life. Feelings and information
experienced together, enhancing both. Able to see and honor many perspectives,
including many of the "lower" vMemes. Structured in multi-dimensional
ways. Conscious of energy fields, holographic links in all walks of work and
life, urge to use collective human intelligence to work on large-scale problems
without sacrificing individuality. (Gaia hypothesis, Ken Wilber's work,
Teilhard de Chardin, David Bohm, McLuhan's ‘global village,' Gandhi's idea of
pluralistic harmony, not very influential yet, .1% of world population, 1% of
power
Beck and Cowan denote transitional
stages with the predominant vMeme in capital letters and the less influential
vMeme in lowercase. BLUE/orange is thus the exiting phase of a predominantly
BLUE colored worldview, mixed with emergent orange. blue/ORANGE is the entering
phase of true orange.Generally, the higher levels emerge like waves at a beach:
swelling from insignificance, peaking, and dissolving again. Each wave is a bit
higher (more complex) than the last. This process of successively more complex
waves of vMemes is not inevitable, though. Changing life conditions must
generate sufficient problems for the predominant worldview to be motivated to
change.
There are six conditions that have to be
met if an individual or organization is to change. Firstly, the potential for
change must be there, that is both the necessary degree of Openness and the
latent vMemes, or intelligences, appropriate to the Life Conditions. .
Secondly, if there are unresolved lower order problems, you cannot expect to
realize change at higher Spiral levels. . Thirdly, there needs to be felt
dissonance within the current Meme system before change will be welcomed in.
Fourthly, there needs to be sufficient insigt into the causes of the
dissonance, and of alternative approaches to their resolution. Such insight
will be enhanced by prior awareness of the way systems form, decline and
reform, and by a disinclination to regress towards outmoded answers from the
past. Fifthly, barriers to change need to be concretely identified, and then
eliminated, bypassed, neutralized or reframed into something else. Sixthly and
finally, when significant change occurs, you can expect periods of confusion,
false starts, long learning curves and awkward assimilation while consolidation
of the new thinking occurs. If there is no culture of nurturing Lacking
therefore a support culture during the transformation, new plants barely
germinate, much less bloom.
Beck and Cowan use something like a
fulcrum model to describe the shift to a new worldview. In the alpha condition,
the vMeme ably fits the predominant life conditions. As this changes, the beta
condition emerges in which the old vMemes begin to be inadequate to deal with
changing circumstances. This is a time of uncertainty, questioning, and doubt.
From here, there are two possibilities: Reform (an evolutionary change) to
create a new alpha fit with more sophisticated vMemes or Revolt (a
revolutionary change) that generally stems from a slow initial reaction to
change. Revolt emerges from something they call a gamma trap, a zone of
frustration and hopelessness. If people are fortunate and savvy, a
transformational pathway emerges (called the delta surge) to the next alpha
fit. If not, regression occurs, or the organizational structure dissolves.
Within this basic fulcrum of development
model, they see seven main options, two horizontal, two oblique, and three
vertical . The horizontal options are to 1)fine tune and 2) expand out, neither
of which alters the fundamental vMemes of the organization.First order
Horizontal changes are the norm when First Tier vMemes are solidly in control
during Alpha or early Beta phases, and when only a few of the above mentioned
six conditions for change are being met. The oblique alternatives (stretch-down
and stretch-up) involve accessing higher or lower vMemes on a temporary basis
to deal with pressing circumstances. Such oblique change represents the
practical limit, without the kind of Second Tier intervention that makes
genuine large-scale transformation work. In fact the quality movement is
possibly the best example of such oblique change, though half-hearted attempts
at reengineering run a close second. Vertical change of the second order
generally involves the awakenings of new vMemes, though it may also resurrect
ones that were thought to be buried and gone. In either case this represents
"vertical change through the Spiral, which may be either evolutionary or
revolutionary." In either case such vertical change requires a direct
assault on both internal and external barriers. When Revolutionary change is
approaching you will probably recognize late Beta and Gamma signals from
several vMemes at once. Fundamental, order of magnitude, change is demanded. .
Evolutionary change which bypasses the Gamma Trap is dependent upon not only a
great deal of Openness but also upon all six change conditions -- available
Potential;, realized Dissonance;, lower order Problems resolved;, Insight into
causes and alternatives;, identified Barriers;, and Support for consolidation
of change - being fulfilled. The vertical alternatives are 1) Break-out, which
is revolutionary but runs risk of regression 2) Up-shift, which is an
evolutionary shift to the next level, as with delta surge 3) Quantum, which is
when a number of vMemes are shifting simultaneous. This kind of change is
integral to success in nation-building and functioning in a global marketplace,
and is seen in era shifts like the Industrial Revolution.
Clare Graves found that people vary in
terms of their change potentials along an Open- Arrested - Closed (OAC)
continuum.Leadership promotes positive change and the health of all levels of
the spiral and involves a sensitivity to meet where people are at. First, this
involves seeing whether people are Open (capable of change), Arrested (change
potential is present but hindered), or Closed (frozen in a vMeme)Rather than
trying to dynamite arrested and closed individuals, the savvy Spiral Wizard (a
great term he uses) tailors interventions and motivations to meet people where
they are at. If you can discern a person’s OAC(open,arrested,closed) status on
a topic you know the possibilities for Meme change, the appropriate techniques,
the amount of energy it will require, and the stress that will result .In the Open
system, it is possible in a broader sense to entertain thinking from new vMemes
on the rise and access previous systems when appropriate. Closed state
thinkers, on the other hand, are locked in narrow ranges and may exhibit a core
vMeme at its peak, shutting the door not only to alternative ideas, but to the
rest of the Spiral.Clare Graves, who started this work before Beck and Cowan,
insisted that people have a right to live the way they want to live. It is our
job to tailor organizations to suit them and motivate them with the most
appropriate tools.
Beck and Cowan delineate two different
kinds of wizards: change wizards and spiral wizards. Change wizards are stage
specific; they provide a credible and powerful example of how to bridge the
zone between two worldviews.Change Wizards understand the transitional cusps
between vMemes. However, such Change Wizards tend to be color specialists whose
style fits a narrow band. The ability to consider broad spectrum views, much
less respond to many systems at once, is the realm of the Spiral Wizard.Spiral
wizards are different from change wizards; their thinking derives from the
quantum jump forward in complexity found in the second tier vMemes. They are
able to view situations from multiple perspectives, to deal with stage
appropriate and stage specific situations. They are not locked in to a single
view, but see the developing vMeme stacks as a total organism. They will not
impose inappropriate vMemes on unwilling subjects, but honor and respect the
motivational systems and structures in existence. They are more concerned with
oiling the evolution of the whole system than preaching from an particular
worldspace
Chapter:9 :The Enneagram
The Enneagram is personality systems that is used to emphasizes psychological motivations and emotions.Though it cannot eradicate the problems it will point out the underlying fixations and thus make aware of them.There are many tests to find out a person's Enneagram type.The essential Enneagram test is one of the most accurate test.It is assumed that one's Enneagram type is fixed in early child hood and it remains through out one's life.The change is possible only in more and more awareness of oneself as one of the Enneagram type and knowing the special characteristics of one's personality. Enneagram types are neither fully inherited nor socially acquired.Even identical twins are usually different Enneagram types.
Depending on the spheres in which the Enneagram is expressed there are 3 instinctual varients.Self preservationist type focus on his own survival and personal sphere.Sexual type focus on intimate one to one relations.Social type focus on social groups.
There are basic 9 Enneagram types.They are denoted by the numbers 1 to 9.In any individual there may be a mixture of different types.but usually mixing of adjacent types are seen.these are called wings.so a 2's wing is either 1 or 3 type.sometimes there is no strong wing or there is both wings.
Enneagram types.
1.Reformer.Their motivation is always to be Right.They are the most rational and perfectionist type.They listen to their inner conscience and ignore the social opinion.They get their energy from anger and this is used in discipline and to organise themselves.They strive lifelong to live up to their ideals.They may become too rigid in their rights,rules and principles to miss the practical and harm themselves or others.
2.Helper.They value relationship and seen giving and receiving love.They are very sensitive to other's needs.They love others as they are and make others feel they are some thing special.Unhealthy 2's help others only with a motive either to feel themselves important or for something in return.
3.Motivator.They are Achievers and are energetic, optimistic, self-assured, and goal oriented. They are very competitive and work hard to their goals.Unhealthy 3's work to impress others without any real achievement.they value very much the opinion of the society and try to conform their life to the norms of society.They are always under tension and compare their life with other more successful than them.
4.Romantic.They are very original and value individuality.They try to being unique.They are self aware,sensitive and intuitive and value their emotional and spiritual growth.Thier strive or inner development produce expression in conventional or other forms of art.they crave for intimate relationship.
5.Thinker.They are the Observers and value knowledge They are introverted, curious, analytical, and insightful. They are intellectual and have scientific temper.They are independent and self motivated with strong sense of privacy.They try to analyse and get into the root of everything.
6.The Loyalist.They are the Skeptic and the Questioner.They give importance to trust and safety.but when they are betrayed in their trust they become doubtful of their trust.They are more active in groups and seek likeminded trusting company.They are usually analytical an able to read others minds.They are nonconformists ,direct and assertive.They value their trusted ones more than themselves.Anxiety is the driving emotion of of 6.
7.The Enthusiast .They are The Adventurers and the men of action.They are energetic and optimistic people.They are spontaneous and usually outspoken.They are multitalented and have a strong sense of aesthetics.They are good problem solvers.They are “Generalists” because they experiment and master different fields.
8-The Confronter. They are the Asserters. They are self-confident, and protective.They usually become leaders.They like independence.They are honest and try to involve in just causes.They are impatient with others weakness.They are usually blunt and quick decision makers.They are autonomous and hate authority.
9. The Mediator.They are the peace makers.They are receptive, good-natured, supportive, patient and mingle with people freely. They can see many different sides of an issue and are good mediators and facilitators.They are too critical of themselves and also too sensitive to criticism . They are passive and hesitate to take hard decision involving others.Their greatest problem is their inertia.
Chapter
10: Action, sensation, feeling, thought, and Intution
a. Pragmatism
Pragmatism says truth of an idea depends on its practical utility to the subject. Pierce, William James and John Dewey in various forms were the exponents of pragmatism.
As we told earlier truth has both absolute and relative aspect, universal and particular aspect. Pragmatism reduces all reality to the level of subjective experience or action. It is true that there are truths whose reality can be only ascertained by experience, utility or action and there are also subjective truths. But there are also sublime truth, which has no practical utility in the normal sense, and also truth with universal application.
b. Empiricism
As we told earlier empiricism consider sensory experience primary and reason secondary. Locke, Hume, Berkeley were well know empiricists.
As we told sensory experience stimulate knowledge or is the cause of knowledge but the source of knowledge is mental essences.
It is true that man controlled by passion or with reduced self consciousness consider sensory knowledge and phenomena as real and final knowledge. But when self consciousness increases and rational nature or spiritual nature regulates passionate nature he considers reason more real and reliable than sensory experience.
c. Emotion:
The exponents of emotion or feelings over reason are Epicurus, Rousseau and Hume.
Epicurus gave importance to pleasure and considered it as the aim of life. Rousseau preferred the feelings of the heart to the logic of the head. Hume believed moral sense is due to feelings and not due to reason.
Emotions and feelings contain both the elements of reason and imagination. While in passion the astral essence are more in emotions and feelings mental essence dominate astral essence.
So it is improper to elevate feelings over reason because emotions and feelings are influenced by subjective sensory experience. It is always coloured by subjectivity. Individual, social, racial and national considerations always colour feelings and it is impossible to be objective with knowledge as emotions or feelings.
d. Rationalism:
Rationalists believe reason is the primary source of knowledge or universal and necessary character of knowledge is derived from mind and these present in mind as innate ideas. Proponents of rationalism in various forms are Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Kant and Hegel.
What rationalists call mind is the spiritual existence of the human essence as a separate spirit. What they call reason is the mental existence of the spirit as rational consciousness. This discursive thought is due to active thought directed towards the essences in the spirit. This movement of thought produces serial time and fragment reality into self and nonself. So even though rational knowledge is superior and more objective than sensory knowledge and feelings they also distort reality and conceal their real nature.
e. Intuition:
Those who considered intuition above reason are Plato, Spinoza, Bergson, James and Existentialists.
Plato believed that best knowledge is knowledge of forms or ideas. He identified the greatest good with knowledge of form of the good. This form of good is one’s own spirit.
Spinoza believed intuition is direct perception and immediate deduction. According to him it is perception of things from their eternal aspect. He considered it higher than sensory knowledge and reason.
According to Bergson intuition is nonconceptional direct perception and higher form of reason but which cannot be reduced to sensation or reason.
William James calls this in radical empiricism direct and immediate knowledge prior to discursive thought.
Sartre called this prereflective or primary consciousness, which cannot be contemplated but can be lived. This is what existentialism says existential awareness, which transcend subject object duality.
Intuition comes from spiritual essence. So it is a form of spiritual existence or spiritual consciousness. Spiritual existence is active thought directed to the human essence as a separate individual being. Here thought is directed to the whole essence and not to the contends of the spirit. So there is no discursive thought or rational consciousness. Here reality present as an eternal now and this is a whole some experience. Here time is present as pure duration. Past abide in the present and future is an open possibility. This is what J Krishnamurthi called moment to moment existence. As we told earlier in spiritual or ideal existence human spirit is a synthesis of all essences. So as we told earlier as spiritual or self consciousness is always consciousness of something. But here essences are not objects due to active thought but part of self consciousness by which consciousness limit itself. This prereflective consciousness is pure experience and not discursive thought like rational consciousness. Spiritual or self consciousness is a higher form of emotion or feelings in the sense that it is pure experience but while feelings and emotions are below reason and more subjective than reason intuition is beyond reason and more objective than reason. Here knowledge of beings is as essences and as part of self consciousness. Here the knowledge is only limited by the limitation of self consciousness itself.
Chapter
11: Causation, determinism, and free will
a. Causation
According to Hume from sensory experience we cannot derive causal relation. So there is no causation in the world. Cause is our mental projection in to the objects.
According to Kant also there is no causation in the external world. But to Kant cause is real apriori subjective knowledge.
According to objective idealists like Hegel cause is real and not only subjective but inherent in objects itself. As we told earlier there are two causes. Primary cause and secondary cause. Primary cause inherent in the being and secondary causes other beings, which is responsible to initiate the change in primary being. This secondary cause is relevant only if the essential nature of the primary being yield to its influence. In this sense the real cause is the being itself. Hume is right in saying we cannot predict cause from sense experience. This because causation is not astral essence but mental essences or primary qualities. As human essence contain all the essences cause has also apriori aspect. So causation has an objective and universal character.
The influence of the secondary cause decreases as the hierarchy of the being increases. So in human beings they are comparatively less than other beings. This is due to self consciousness which gives rise to more autonomy and independence than other beings. So in perfect man and those of spiritual nature the influence of secondary cause is still less than other humans.
In modern physics there is a theory known as uncertainty principle. At subatomic level due to the particle-wave duality of sub atoms it is impossible to know the momentum or speed and position of subatomic particle at the same time. At the subatomic level due to the existing observational method like gamma rays and due to the inherent dual nature of sub atoms we cannot observe subatomic events without changing it. This means at subatomic level reality is also depends on the observer's consciousness. This theory is not against causation, as some believe because this duality and paradox is present in the nature of subatomic particle itself. This is only against rigid determinism.
b. Determinism:
There are two types of determinism. One is mechanistic determinism and the second is vital determinism.
The exponents of mechanistic determinism are Hobbes, Schopenhauer, Stoics, Calvinists and Fatalists. This is a rigid form of determinism. They believe that everything is predestined and future is fixed and reveal in serial time one by one. Here everything including human being is like a machine obeying fixed laws. So man is utterly helpless.
The second type we call vital determinism. Its main exponents are Descartes, Spinoza and some other idealists.
There is a third view of existentialists. According to them human being has no innate or determined nature. There is no law of necessity and he is absolutely free.
The mechanistic determinism is also known as laplacian determinism. In this rigid and fixed determinism if we know the speed and position of an object at a given time we can predict its future. Laplacian determinism was proved wrong by modern physics. According to uncertainty principle it is impossible to know the exact speed and position of a subatomic particle at the same time. According to probability theory we can have only a mapping of some probable points, which can be the position of the particle. According to Calvinism and fatalism everything is predestined and determined and man has to bow down before destiny.
As we told earlier every thing is a manifestation of their spirit or essence. They cannot be anything other than their nature. Necessity exist as objective laws in their own nature or necessity is natural law. This is what Spinoza means by freedom as recognised necessity.
As we told earlier up to man all beings are expressing their full nature in manifestation. In this sense subatomic particles show uncertainty because it is their dual nature, which cause this uncertainly. In this sense determinism as fixed and rigid is right. But in the case of man it is different. The complete nature is usually not expressed during one’s life time. So in man there is the possibility of conscious evolution. In the case of a man dominated by passionate nature determinism is right because he always respond to sense data in a fixed way. As behaviourists say stimulus response relation is predictable. A man dominated by rational nature also divides reality into past present and future. To the rational consciousness future is fixed and waiting to unfold in serial time one by one. Here also rigid determinism is right. But when one is able to regulate his life by spiritual nature there is increased spiritual or self consciousness. Here reality is not divided but whole and an eternal now. Past abide in the present and future is an open possibility. In this sense determinism as every things and event in life as fixed is wrong. But as every one has fixed essential nature determinism is correct. So Sartre is wrong saying there is no inherent nature and man is absolutely free. The vital determinism of Descartes and Spinoza are true because this determinism is inherent in the nature of the essence. Creative freedom lies in complete expression of one’s nature or actualisation of all potential inherent in the essence and not creating or changing one’s essential nature.
c. Free will
The main proponents of free will are Kant, Bergson, Hegel and existentialists. According to Kant freedom is apriori or inherent in human mind. Bergson also believed freedom is inherent in consciousness. Sartre denied any inherent nature and considered man as absolutely free.
We told earlier that man's essence contains passionate, rational and spiritual nature. Passionate nature corresponds to sensory knowledge, rational nature to reason and discursive thought and spiritual nature to self consciousness. We told that every one is unique and different due to the predominance of one of the nature. In normal or natural life one is a slave or one is fully controlled by his predominant nature.
When self consciousness increase by contemplation or by other methods passionate nature is regulated by rational nature then rational nature is regulated by spiritual nature. At total illumination or self realisation all natures are regulated from total perspective and there is most perfect expression of one’s nature.
In normal life when one is controlled by passionate nature he is a slave to passions and desire. Here action is determined from without or from sensory experience. At this stage there is minimal will. When self consciousness increases rational nature regulate passionate nature and will regulate passion and desire. Determinism is right that our nature is determined and we cannot alter our nature. Will is determined by stronger motive than sensory knowledge so freedom is determined from within. Will is this self determination. But this will can only regulate passion and desire of objects but not egoistic motives like fame or power. So this is partial will.
As self consciousness again increases rational nature is regulated by spiritual nature and partial will is replaced by absolute or free will. This will is free because this act from a sense of right irrespective of personal consequences. This moral sense will make one act even though the action produce temporary disadvantage and inconvenience to the personal life. This is the real free will. Such a man ensouls the whole creation and his will is absolute will and he act for augmenting the whole evolution.
Part: V: Cosmology &Modern Physics
Chapter:1:Cosmology
Cosmology is the study of the origin, current state, and future of our Universe. According to big bang theory the present universe and time had a beginning at big bang. 15 billion years back the universe was in a condensed state of zero or minimal size, infinite mass and temperature. This is the point of singularity and big bang explosion. Just after explosion there is very high temperature so there is super symmetry. At this stage there is only one single force and some elementary particles. Further expansion and temperature reduction produce symmetry breaking so single force become four forces and there is formation of elements and molecules.After that it was expanding and Quasars and early galaxies within a few billion years with the Earth and solar system forming only about 4.5 billion years ago.The Doppler shift(red shift) shows that the universe is still in expansion.
The stages of universe
During plank(10-43 seconds))era physics unknowable.
Inflationary Universe .After plank era there is a period called Inflation.. In this model our Universe starts out as a rapidly expanding bubble of pure vacuum energy, with no matter or radiation. The vacuum energy comes from a scalar field that is part of the spontaneous symmetry breaking dynamics of Grand Unified Theory or string theory .After a period of rapid expansion, or inflation, and rapid cooling, the potential energy in the vacuum is converted through particle physics processes into the kinetic energy of matter and radiation.
At the end of inflation around 10-12 and 10-10 seconds universe is in a small hot quantum state.Vacum energy changes to photons,gluons and other elementary particles.
At the beginning of the Big Bang(10-11 seconds), the Universe was so hot that quarks and antiquarks were created from radiation and annihilated back into radiation at a high rate. But as the Universe expanded, it cooled, and the cooler radiation cannot create quark-antiquark pairs. Now, a greater number of quarks than antiquarks was left over.
About 10-10 seconds further expansion and cooling produce the point of spontaneous symmetry breaking. before this the weak nuclear Bosons are massless like strong nuclear gluons and electro magnetic photons due to high energy radiation..At this point and below ,the energy scale of weak nuclear force,the bosons gains mass and become and heavy.
Further expansion and cooling,and at about TIME: 10-4 seconds the free quarks and gluons undergo phase transformation and is confined together inside mesons like pi mesons and baryons like neutron and protons.
When there is high energy neutron
and protons change into each other by emission and absorption of
neutrinos.electrons and antineutrinos hitting protons and changing to neutrons
and neutron decaying into protons.when further expansion and cooling(1
second)produce an excess of protons by spontaneous neutron decay but no neutron
due to energy fall of hitting particles and at the end there are seven proton
for each neutron.
further expansion and cooling(100 seconds) combine proton and neutron to make
the nulei of hydrogen,helium and lithium.This is called nucleosynthesis.This
later forms atoms and then galaxies and stars.
Further cooling and expansion produce more and more matter by high energy radiation.(10,000 years).matter loses less and less energy and eventually energy density of matter is larger than energy density of radiation,in photons.At the end photons scatter more with each other than with matterand energy exchange between matter radiation become less efficient.Photons thermalise and start behaving as thermal black body radiation.This can be measured as cosmic background radiation.
Further expansion and cooling(500,000 years) make the speed of electron not high enough to escape capture by proton so atoms like hydrogen,helium and lithium are formed.
Around one billion years by gravitational field hydrogen collapses and ignite(fusion) to form the first stars.
Around 2-13 billion years by
nuclear fusion heavier elements are produced inside the stars.At the end of the
stars life span these elements are ejected into the universe.
The Big Bang Model rests on two theoretical pillars ,General relativity and Cosmological Principle.According to General relativity gravity is the space- time curve caused by everything inside the spacetime. and cosmological principle says matter in the universe is homogeneous and isotropic when spread over very large area. This is called maximal symmetry.
If space is maximally symmetric space has a constant curvature.so the structure can be closed,open or flat.If we ignore vacuum energy and take matter and radiation in the universe we can also tell the time evolution.
Closed Universe.is having positive curve. This is N-dimensional sphere space expands from zero volume in a Big Bang but then reaches a maximum volume and starts to contract back to zero volume in a Big Crunch.
Open Universe.This having negative curve. space has infinite volume. This spacetime also has space expanding forever in time.
Flat universe is having zero curve.This is non compact This spacetime has space expanding forever in time.
If the total energy density in the universe is grater than critical density(the density of flat universe) it is a closed universe.if the value is less than critical density it is open universe.
The total energy in the universe has three sources.1.matter and radiation in the universe.2.invisible Dark matter consisting of supersymmetric particles.3.vacum energy, quantum zero point energy from the quantum oscillations of virtual particles and antiparticles may be the source of vacuum energy. This produce a constant energy density that is called the cosmological constant.
According to recent trends the density of vacuum energy in our Universe is only about twice as large as the energy density from dark matter, with visible matter and radiation added not more than critical density.so it looks like a flat universe which should expand forever.
Chapter:2:New Physics:
According to
Space is also objective reality but unchangeable and at rest. Space is three dimensional and absolute.
Matter is solid with position and mass. If we know the initial speed and position of a particle we can predict its future.
According to modern physics time and space are not separate realities but relative to each other and together form four dimensional space - time continuous. Time is not absolute but different observer will observe event different in time if they move with different velocity to the observed event. So there is no universal flow of time. It is relative to the observer. Space is also not absolute but relative. Space is curved due to gravity of the objects so it depends on mass of matter.
According to the latest theory of modern physics the basic unit of matter is a plank quantum. According to string theory. this is not particle but plank quanta string. This basic unit has no position but only length.According to string theory fundemental units are strings or one dimensional vibrating chords which are really the interior of quarks.according to this theory quarks are produced by resonating patterns of fundamental entities or strings.strings are microscopic,one dimensional lines looped like rubber band.the notes of these vibrating stings give rise to basic particles or quarks.
according to latest M-theory one dimensional strings contains "p-branes"which are three or four or upto nine dimensional membranes plus the dimension of time.these p-branes exist in hetrarchy of convertible forms depending on factors such as coupling constants .so now out of this p-branes comes srings. so now p-branes are the basic unit of matter.
According to particle physicists there are twelve fundamental particles and six force carrying particles. Fundamental particles are either leptons or quarks.. Leptons are Electons,Electron neutrino,Muon,Muon neutrino,Tau, and Tao neutrinos.Six Quarks are Up,Down,Top,Bottom,Strange and Charm.Force carriers are Photons,Z bosons,W+ bosons,W-bosons,Gluons and Higgs bosons.
Protons and neutrons are made of quarks. The general structure of an atom is with positively charged proton and neutral neutron at the centre and negatively charged electrons revolving round it in an orbit.
Forces are also really force carrying sub atomic particles. They are electromagnetic force, gravitational force, strong nuclear force and weak nuclear force.
According to quantum physics matter is not solid at all. Sub atomic particles are nothing but quanta or specific amount of energy. According to quantum field theory at subatomic level due to interaction of different energy fields there is continuous creation and destruction of subatomic particles.
Subatomic unit is not particle alone but show a dual nature. This is called wave-particle nature. Subatomic units show both the property of wave and particle.
According to uncertainty principle at subatomic level it is impossible to know the momentum (speed) and position of a particle at the same time. So we cannot predict the future event with certainty. According to probability theory we can have only some probability mappings of future events.
.
Analysis:
Time and space has meaning only with respect to manifestations. First, second and third logos are beyond space and time. As we told earlier in spiritual existence there is spiritual time as pure duration. Here time exist as an eternal now. There is movement from moment to moment without division or succession.
Mental time is serial time. Here discursive thought fragment reality and produce past, present and future.
Mental space begins with astral or imaginary existence.
Matter is used by philosophers to denote two things. One is contrasting with form and the other is contrasting with mind. Plato, Aristotle and Neoplatonists used matter in the first sense. This is second logos where there is dual aspect of self and nonself or active spirit and passive nature. In this sense matter is eternal. In the second sense both atoms and energy comes under matter. Descartes, Spinoza, Nyaya, Vyshesika, Jainism use matter in this sense.
We have seen that corresponding to spiritual existence there is physical existence from the beginning of manifestation. According to us this is energy with maximal frequency and highest vibrations and least wavelength. We denoted this by Cosmic wave. This Cosmic photon is a mass less lepton. This basic physical unit has no position but length only. According to string theory also plank quanta has only length. According to us this is the basic physical unit. Physical time also starts from manifestation of Cosmic photon. Physical space also begins with Cosmic photon or the wave length of Cosmic wave is physical space. Time and space is both changed when part of Cosmic wave is replaced by Gamma wave. Time as serial duration is calculated from appearance of Cosmic wave to appearance of Gamma wave. Part of space also changed and become space as Gamma wave. In this sense we can say time, space and basic physical unit are inter related. If we consider this Cosmic photon as basic unit of matter we can say matter, time and space are there from the beginning but they are not eternal.
If we take basic unit of matter as leptons with minimum mass like electrons this is the beginning of material existence.
As we told earlier the frequency and vibrational energy of the photon go on decreasing and wave length go on increasing and a critical point is reached. At this point there is less energy and frequency and maximum wavelength. According to us this is not a solid mass state like big bang point. Our theory comes nearer to steady state theory. At this critical point due to interaction of different photons, leptons with minimum mass like electrons and quarks are formed. This is similar to quantum field theory. This is the beginning of material existence.In QM theory, the wave potential is a vast source of creative energy that gives rise to denser material particles, including, eventually, particles such as quarks, electrons, and protons. when the Schroedinger wave function collapses, cosmic ray wave gives rise to matter.According to modern quantum and relativity physics, the amount of vacuum density energy contained in a single hydrogen atom is greater than the amount of all other energy stored in all known stars.
After formation of electrons and quarks the process continues and frequency and energy go on reducing and there is symmetry breaking and formations of elements. So if we take electron and quarks as the basic unit of matter this is material existence. This matter is not inert as materialists say but active imagination of essences as matter. What philosophers call animism or panpsychism.
THE END
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For quotes and Excerpts from "Viveka Chudamani"-Sankara; "Fusus-al-Hikam"-Ibn Arabi ; "Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences "-Hegel ;See my "Book of Gems" at https://lathief1.tripod.com/gems.htm