JOURNEY IN BEING
‘Whereof one cannot speak…’
SEPTEMBER 2004 EDITION, © ANIL MITRA PHD
INTRODUCTION TO THE JOURNEY IN BEING
Reading the document… Sources and Influences… Document and Research Plans… Preliminary comment on the word ‘being’
1.1 Being, Mind and Logic: Being, Power, and the Elimination of Substance… Being and the Void. Necessity of Becoming. Foundation for Cosmology… FORM… MIND AND SYMBOL… SYMBOL, IDEAL AND EXTERNAL OBJECT… UNIVERSALS… TRUTH… LOGIC… ETHICS / MORALS… Foundation: Summary… Alternative Foundation: LOGIC
1.2 Two Divides: Origins of a Cosmological System: a Coherent Phase-Epoch of the Universe… Origin of the Free Symbolic Capability
1.3 General Cosmology: Origins of a Cosmological System. Essential Indeterminism Must Result in Structure… Local origins of Quasi-Causation and Quantum Theory
1.4 Symbol and Value for Human Being: Mind… Aspects of Mind. Consciousness, Feeling and Awareness… Aspects of Mind. The Categories of Intuition… Language… Knowledge, Logic, Culture… Value
2 JOURNEY IN BEING: A MAP OF THE JOURNEY
2.1 What is the ‘Journey in Being’
2.2 Journey in Being: Background… Metaphysics: unity in understanding… Metaphysics, philosophy and the Journey in Being… Characterizing metaphysics and philosophy… Transformation… The Journey Continues… After the Journey
‘Journey in Being’ is the name of two essentially interwoven journeys or stories of being – an individual journey and the journey of all being
The first is an individual story – that of the author’s travels in being where transformation and understanding interact. Understanding shows what is possible and guides experiment in action and transformation. A greater understanding of the universe – of being, brings a greater degree and variety of being into the realm of what is known to be possible. This connects to the second story
The story of being – of the one universe requires no motivation to be told. Being is known through its possibilities. Being is conceived in its aspect as a Journey. That is, the trajectory is more a meander than a linear path. Understanding and design interact with chance and undirected change
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This essay outlines the foundation and the elements of the Journey in Being
The story begins in the middle with a meandering introduction through some aspects of being and the journey. The first step is a description of the origin and significance of the ‘Journey in Being’ and of the use of the word ‘being.’ This is followed by showing the developmental though not logical need, in discovery, for a Journey with many stations. The next consideration is the origin, nature and fundamental significance of error. The logical need for a journey in any exploration of being with aspirations to completeness is taken up next. The essential need for risk in the journey and in maintaining freshness of being is established. There is an exploration of the idea that the world is or contains an endless supply of facts and it is shown how there is an end, in appropriate perspectives, to chains of fact and explanation. Finally, at the end of the introduction, there is an outline of the CENTRAL CONCEPTUAL ISSUES of concern in this essay
Definitions, arguments, doubts, explanations, and logic and foundation follow in the section, FOUNDATION. In this essay, the foundation for the first version of Journey in Being, SOURCES, has been significantly reworked and improved and currently constitutes a foundation for a complete metaphysics. The foundation is part of the journey and, therefore, a complete embedded foundation is neither possible nor desirable. Elaborations, travels in being and ideas, and plans follow in JOURNEY
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Being may be thought of as being-in-time and as being-over-time. These two views are not exclusive: in classical determinism, they are equivalent. In a less rigid conceptual environment, some translation from one view to the other may be possible. In general, since the complete story is not contained in a ‘slice in time,’ the latter view of being as history or trajectory is a more complete description. There are views that read destiny or determinism into history. There may be local environments where a reading of quasi-destiny or quasi-determinism is valid. However, this case is neither general nor necessary. A historical view is not intrinsically committed to destiny or determinism
Regarding the ubiquity of time, it may be noted that there are perspectives in which both views of being are seen or experienced as eternal or timeless. There may be phases of being, of the universe, that are effectively timeless. However, the argued view in this essay is that a ‘timeless universe’ may not support being. Instead, the support of being is seen to be becoming
The historical view is an origin of the idea of being as a Journey. ‘Journey’ has an additional connotation of seeking and creating a path or paths. At the outset of an attempt at understanding, prejudice is minimized by remaining neutral as to whether seeking is intrinsic to being, whether it is intrinsic to degrees and kinds or modes of being, or whether seeking arises but only occasionally and sporadically. A reading of the foundation encourages the following view
Elemental being does not seek but finds. Ultimate being does not need to seek – its need is ‘dissolution.’ In the range between the elemental and the ultimate there is real seeking that is present together with the processes that characterize the extremes
The origins of the ‘Journey’ in my life are in my explorations in ideas, life and the world, initially unstructured and naïve. There is an account of my explorations in the NARRATIVE [see the SOURCES] for the journey. As the idea of the journey grew so, too, did my understanding of the nature of the process that I had undertaken. Thus, this document has two main sections: a foundation in BEING and an outline of the JOURNEY. Another personal source of the idea of a journey came from my enjoyment of hiking in ‘primitive’ places. I have spent four to twelve weeks every year in such places from Barranca del Cobre in Mexico to Glacier National Park, Montana. The physical beauty and aloneness, the physical exertion, and the extended reflection have been a source of inspiration. I have had my best ideas in these periods. Typically, the remainder of a year is spent working out and writing down the ideas in essay form. I came to think of my periods of extended hiking and living under the stars as a ‘Journey-Quest…’ For the last fourteen years, I have been employed in a psychiatric hospital. Working for a living as a non-academic has given my life and my work a certain truth. While I miss the luxury of extended research in an academic environment, regular work has forced me to focus on essential truth – the truth of my being and the truth of the typical individual and his or her life
An individual may identify a beginning to his or her awareness. However, beginnings and ends have an arbitrary character. I did not create myself – I am not immediately aware of having created my ‘original’ being. A time arrives at which the individual realizes that a journey has been undertaken – perhaps by choice. Thereafter, there may be neither beginning nor end. One is on the journey. The landscape – the character of the journey changes on the way. The naïve phase of my journey, a part of The Journey, was filled with experiment and wonder: a travel through knowledge and being. I read, thought, experienced, and traveled. I was able to build what I thought to be a detailed and comprehensive picture of many areas of knowledge. There was labor and enjoyment. The distillations from the details, the pictures I built, aided by the intuition, were metaphors whereby to see all being. Metaphor builds upon metaphor – I use the term to emphasize the building of a picture. On the way, I arrived at a place where I thought, ‘I understand the extent of knowledge and being.’ I characterize that thought as confident but not as arrogant. The force of thought itself may be such as to give confidence. A journey through ideas presents, at times, with such force and clarity, as if it is perception of a landscape rather than creation or discovery. Strangeness and familiarity are bound together. Cognition is as if re-cognition. The force of vision says, ‘Anyone can know, who will see.’ Doubt is never absent but stands in balance with confidence. Doubt and confidence are mutually generative. Confidence makes for the freedom of absolute doubt rather than of merely neurotic doubt. Doubt is a dam, thought is the river that feeds the reservoir until it breaks through… Every plateau of confidence is an occasion for celebration but as familiarity sets in may also be a reason for dissatisfaction. At first, there is a vague discomfort, a message – perhaps from the dim- or the un-conscious. Old metaphors are subject to criticism; their inadequacy becomes obvious – at the same time their realm of adequacy becomes clearly defined… I sought new metaphors, found fresh vision. A closed view of being gave way to an open view… and, in openness, I was able to see once more: the world revealed something of itself – a perspective with an end to questions. On the way, I arrived at a place where I thought, again, ‘I understand the extent of knowledge and being.’ The place was familiar and new. The cycle is recognized but cynicism is held at bay: eternal trial, success and dissolution is not ultimate; freshness remains. Fresh metaphors, fresh pictures, fresh distillations continue to be sought. Understanding of the nature of metaphor is sought: knowledge as a picture or representation has limits. Knowledge arose in the world, was not imposed from outside – there is no outside. From time to time, knowledge appears to gain independence –validity is determined by criteria– but this occurs only in limited fields of endeavor. The feeling of walking on water is an illusion; one is immersed in the water; this is recognized as good. There is a place of repose where one sees that one’s metaphors have a character, not only of being of the world, but also of being in-the-world. Knowledge and action remain intertwined and no final foundation is available or desired to be sought… Doubt, if absolute, applies also to itself. Thus, doubt has a self-limiting character. Absolute doubt is not possible. It is conceivable that being may arrive at a place of completion without foundation… It is with these characteristic thoughts in mind that I permit myself, in the following, to use the phrase, ‘All essential dimensions of being.’ While the phrase may lack absolute justification, its use may be explained. Arguments for completeness of the justification may be contemplated. The journey continues…
The Journey, whose origin was diffuse and naïve and wonderful, will continue in all essential dimensions of being. The dimensions, the explanations, and the arguments are elaborated below and in the sections on MIND, on BEING, on METAPHYSICS and on THE EXPERIMENTS in the SOURCES
In its ultimate purpose, the Journey recognizes only necessary limits. A necessary limit is one that applies to ALL BEING. Thus, the Journey is into ALL BEING. Knowledge and understanding are important in the journey and as part of the journey. Knowledge shows possibilities, values and means. Awareness is essential to significance. However, ESSENTIAL TRANSFORMATION is also necessary. Thus, the journey has two main aspects or parts: knowledge or understanding, outlined in the METAPHYSICS, and TRANSFORMATION, of being. The metaphysics is seen as a partial foundation for transformation. However, experiment in transformation is also necessary when the metaphysics is not informative and as foundation for the metaphysics
What is the meaning of ‘being?’ First, as elaborated in BEING it is existence. However, as seen, below, the question, ‘What exists?’ immediately leads into discussion of the characteristics or elements of being in general and entities in particular. I.e. compound entities exist when constituted of simpler entities that exist. The meaning of ‘ELEMENT’ is specified to include but not be restricted to that of ‘part’ and is related to but not identical to ‘atom.’ Introduction of elements is not a commitment to simple reduction or to atomism. It may also be questioned, ‘What is essential to the being of an entity or of being in general?’ Answering these questions is an approach to the meaning of being. When the interpretations of ‘element’ and of ‘constitution’ are sufficiently liberal, it is the approach to the meaning of being. The discussions that follow and their elaboration in the SOURCES, take up this answering
Use of ‘being’ rather than ‘person,’ ‘individual,’ ‘cosmos,’ ‘matter,’ ‘mind,’ and so on is especially important for the foundation in the following way. In asking, ‘What am I?’ ‘What is the universe and what it is its nature?’ ‘What are the possibilities of the individual?’ ‘What are the potentials of ALL BEING?’ ‘How may such possibilities and potentials be evaluated and realized?’ I have some ideas for an answer but, obviously and trivially, I do not have full knowledge. To describe the character of all existing things as matter or mind is to prejudice the discussion at the outset. This is because mind, matter and so on are already associated with pre-defined metaphysics. That need not be so but, given the history of the ideas, it is in fact the case. Even though it is obvious that full knowledge of being is absent, the powerful and dominant urge to substance ontology –materialism, idealism and so on– is an unnecessary entrapment in ignorance. It guarantees a perpetual standstill of the academic machine… Use of ‘being’ is analogous to the introduction of a symbol ‘x’ for the unknown in algebra. The power of algebra over pre-algebraic mathematics is as follows. By the introduction of ‘x,’ it becomes possible to talk of what is unknown and relate it to what is known. The paradigm is that of the unknown, ‘x,’ the known, ‘f,’ and a relation f(x) = zero. Algebra develops by discovery of techniques to resolve f = zero for broader and broader classes of f. The generic case of numerous unknowns and numerous known factors is also considered and various special cases resolved. Progress in algebra is non-trivial. With appropriate interpretation, i.e. to find all objects that satisfy certain conditions, ‘algebra’ may be seen to include all of mathematics. The analogy between the algebraic approach in mathematics and the THEORY OF BEING has limits. The context of the being of ALL BEING is infinitely varied in infinitely many ways. Yet the principle is similar. Algebra introduces enormous power into mathematics. Similarly, the idea of being is enormously enabling in thought and transformation in general. Use of ‘being’ is enabling –psychologically and analytically– because it permits individuals to talk and to travel ‘whereof one cannot speak,’ and to make and correct error. Further, it will be seen that from the point of view developed in the treatment of LOGIC, that both algebra and the THEORY OF BEING fall under logic. Regarding the famous quotation, it is acknowledged that numerous ideas and contemplations from the history of thought are the result of confusion of ideas [symbols] and or objects and therefore there is nothing real to say beyond analysis and acknowledgement of the confusion and its sources. It is therefore important to attempt to identify and eliminate confusions and to see what remains as in, e.g., the section containing THE SPAN OF ALL BEING. That is part of the Journey. However, the introduction of x in algebra and being in thought and life is not an end. It is the beginning of a journey
The ‘free symbolic capability,’ is the ability to have and form images, iconic or otherwise, of the world. Instead of ‘of the world,’ it is more accurate to say that there is an intended degree of relation –such as faithfulness– to the world. At one extreme, that of pure imagination, there is no immediate intent to connect to the world. The individual who possesses the free symbolic capability has a degree of freedom in the creation of images
The world is seen as containing the individual. Even though it is trivial, this observation is important because there is a naïve though natural tendency for the individual to perceive and think of the self as outside the world, as able to view the world as object. Possession of the free symbolic capability is not a guarantee that the image is faithful to the object. At the outset of inquiry, it is not clear what ‘object,’ faithfulness of image to object, ‘realism,’ are or might mean. Clarification of this meaning is one of the objectives of the developments of the foundation. It is reasonable to expect that, due to adaptation, there will be some degree and some kind of intrinsic faithfulness. Thus, simultaneously, there is faithfulness and error. Without the free symbolic capability, there is no possibility of error. Error is not an intrinsic property of the universe. Error is an ‘invention’ of the organism with the symbolic capability
Thus, commission of error in concept or knowledge is possible and meaningful only for being that has the free symbolic capability. Simultaneously, this symbolic capability is the foundation of the ability to have knowledge, truth, logic, and science. It is the foundation of the ability to create. At the root of these abilities is the facility to conceive and choose from among alternatives, to compare outcomes with expectations and to choose again, i.e. to make correction. The concept and possibility of correction arises when the individual has ‘chosen again’ at least two times –one time to recognize error and a second time to apply a correction– and is able to compare the results of repeated choice
However, possession of capabilities for truth, logic, and science is no guarantee of freedom from error. Therefore, where there would be silence, there is an imperative to the Journey, to action, and to ESSENTIAL TRANSFORMATION
The problem of ‘reality’ is not resolved by speaking –or silence– or ‘showing’… or by e.g. an artifact such as a hierarchy of languages. The depth of the real may be plumbed by the depth and essential transformation of being… of which thought –which includes thought in language– is a fragment
[In the following, I have attempted to make specific, to elaborate and to justify these thoughts. In the absence of a definite formulation of a theory of the understanding of the world, it may be impossible to achieve the sharp relief that has been intended in the varieties of LOGICAL ATOMISM. It is not clear that being is such that an atomism of any kind obtains. On an assumption of a root atomism, it is possible to reflect on the reduction of the apparent non-atomic character of experience to LOGICAL ATOMISM. The interest in an atomism lies in the fact that the possibility of clarity of understanding appears to lie in a correspondence between a –hypothesized– definite e.g. discrete reality and a discrete system of understanding. Here, however, the foundation sought is as follows. The concept of being –existence– includes that without it there is and can be nothing – not experience, not even illusory experience. That is, for example, that there is a thought of being or talk of being satisfies the meaning of ‘there is being’ or ‘something exists.’ Starting from this point, POWER, the ability to have an effect, is a natural criterion for deciding existence. That is, in considering whether some proposed kind or entity exists, it is sufficient to show that it has an effect on what is known to exist i.e. on experience. POWER is shown to be superior to alternatives such as categories of existence and substances. Then, a foundation for being –THEORY OF BEING– is established in ‘non-being’ i.e. in nothingness or the void. The void is found to be non-trivial and the concept is developed. The foundation in the void is developed. The developments are not especially intricate but care is required. This foundation is one that does not require substance or self-evident axioms or infinite regress. At this point the concept of logic is taken up. There is not found to be a universal system of logic. The most primitive logic requires the existence of definite entities to have application. The logics require special contexts for their application. The ‘logics’ include the tradition ones –propositional and predicate calculi, multi-valued, tensed logics and so on– but other activities such as theoretical physics find interpretation as logic. A loose interpretation finds art and even action to be kinds of logic. The THEORY OF BEING that has been developed by this point is then used to illuminate the system of understanding and action and to provide some clarification and foundation. The foundation has not been found thus far to be a basis to decide for or against atomism]
Being closed to error is stagnation – generally, and in particular realms of activity; belief that method e.g. scientific method, ethical theory, professionalism, or administrative principles can avoid all error is a sign of a closed society
It has been said that the negative judgment is the peak of intellect – that positive judgment is not possible; rather, in this view, hypothesis is the correct form of assertion. There is sense to these claims for, as suggested above, the meaning of positive judgment is not clear at the outset of inquiry. Under the reign of the negative judgment, hypotheses are made and subject to negative empirical, conceptual and or logical judgment, i.e. to experiment and criticism. The ‘surviving’ systems of working hypotheses are always provisional, subject to revision. The process is thought to be ongoing and without end. These negative conclusions are the apparent outcome of any line of reasoning that starts with a positivist program for the foundation of knowledge
The ideas that the negative judgment is the essence of judgment and that discovery is without end are related. An objective, here, is to show that there are paths of discovery that terminate and in which positive judgment is possible. The intent of the following discussion is to validate the possibility of significant positive judgment and terminating paths of significant discovery
That a process has been ongoing up to the present does not imply that it is endless. On an assumption that the supply of ‘facts’ is unending or infinite, the ongoing character of the process may follow. It is possible, that regarding knowledge-understanding and being-becoming there is an infinite number of pathways and never-ending streams of facts, concepts and theories awaiting discovery and realization. In these, it would seem that the primal variation and selection –or its symbolic analog of error and correction– is the way of becoming. Excepting improbable ‘accident,’ on the assumption of infinite vistas of discovery and becoming, this is the way
However, the idea that there are always new facts in all modes of viewing and being-becoming in the world is a metaphysical assumption of positivist thought. Without this assumption, there would be no occasion for positivism. Although increment and hypothesis constitute what may be considered the normal way of knowledge-understanding, it is metaphysical positivism to consider it the only way. The history of human ideas reveals a significant cultivation of both creative-positive and critical faculties in abundance. The demands of objectivity as apprehension of the external object in isolation are a wellspring of a wavering between epistemic and ontological nihilism and positivism – whose foundation remains insecure. Being-in-the world – rather than any attempt to apprehend the world as an object, being simultaneously open to faithfulness and to error is robust being. On the Journey, robust being is open to faithfulness and error, even to their absolutes, without commitment to absolute being or knowledge and without aversion to absolute error
Simultaneously, the THEORY OF BEING developed below shows that there is a phase of being, complete in itself that requires no hypothesis and seeks no correction. From the vantage point of finite being, the normal approach to that phase of being is through hypothesis and correction, through variation and selection, through risk and the consequent alternate outcomes of loss –including death– and growth
Life, freshness and growth require openness to error. This includes acting on belief, on possibility or on an imperative to action, rather than only upon certainty. It is life as a Journey-in rather than as a guided excursion. Being closed to error, whether of thought or action, is a luxury whose indulgence entails exclusion from the real and the ultimate
The central conceptual issues of ‘being’ of primary significance here are the nature and origin of being, the possibilities of being, what possibilities are ‘desirable,’ ways in which the possible may be actualized, and the issue of how to think about these questions i.e. the nature of LOGIC. Whether being has an origin or origins, and what could be its source is a further question, for, if everything has being then it would seem that there is nothing outside being. Paradoxes associated with the word ‘everything’ have been considered and treated in the SOURCES
Thus, the concern is with being as existence and with the nature of existence. The word ‘being’ may be used in the sense of being-in-time or in a sense in which it includes process, i.e. in which it includes becoming, sustaining and dissolution. The latter meaning may be indicated, where necessary, by writing the hyphenated form ‘be-ing.’ It is not given that the conceptual distinction corresponds to an actual one. An entity may be thought of as static in its being but, in fact, it may be sustained in its being by an underlying process or dynamic. The developments here found the latter view. In the actuality of being and becoming, it is found that, state, process and relation are mutually sustaining
Since the developments in this document are interrelated, it may be best understood by reading through it twice. Additionally, it will be helpful to refer to the SOURCES, below, as a source of details, further information and background developments
This document has internal hyperlinks and reference hyperlinks to other documents and Internet sites. These links are coded as follows: EXTERNAL HYPERLINKS and INTERNAL HYPERLINKS. The table of contents is an exception to this coding
Formal and Informal Style
There is a dual use, in this document, of reference to ‘the author,’ and of personal pronouns ‘I’ and so on. This reflects a duality of objectives. I seek a balance between humility as acceptance of finitude and assertion of personal power. Acceptance of finitude does not imply finitude; assertion of personal power implies acceptance of, at least, the possibility of identity with the infinite
I seek a balance between the purposes of formal convention and flow of thought and power. The personal emphasizes the latter. I have also used the less formal form when describing aspects of my journey – the account is not biographical and I have included such material when relevant to the development of the ideas
‘Missing’ Periods at the Ends of Paragraphs
In this document, ends of most paragraphs do not have explicit end of sentence marks. I have adopted a rule that, a period –full stop– at the end of a paragraph will be implicit. However, other marks such as the question mark will be shown
The general source for this document is the Journey in Being Website http://www.horizons-2000.org, which links to the Site-Map and supporting documents
The website has a number of essays and notes that are elaborations of the present essay. Some essays have bibliographies and references. Additionally, there are a number of free standing BIBLIOGRAPHIES that constitute an extended list of the author’s reading
More specifically, the present document is a summary and conceptual revision of the NARRATIVE for the Journey in Being and FOUNDATION. [the external link, FOUNDATION, refers to the previous version of the foundation where the logic is not as well developed but which has considerations omitted in the present essay.] The older document KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE may be useful in refining the NARRATIVE in its concerns with the nature and roles of knowledge. Some recent ideas, systematic and miscellaneous, have been recorded in a SUPPLEMENT. Designs and planning for the Journey and its phases are in DESIGN
The Journey in Being Website has numerous essays and documents such as EVOLUTION AND DESIGN whose origin is in the studies undertaken to develop my understanding of the world. There is also a record of the various NOTES and minor essays that I wrote on and during my travels. Details may be accessed from the Site-Map. While these essays may be useful sources of information and may contain what seemed to me to be original insights, their present utility in the journey is in the provision of comprehensive though transitional pictures and metaphors toward an understanding of being
Unless greater specificity is necessary, LINKS to source documents will be to the present section
Influences. In this document, primarily in the interest of conciseness, I depart from the practice of attempting to be detailed and clear in identifying sources and influences. The reader who is familiar with my sources will recognize their influence. As noted, the above website links references a number of bibliographies that constitute a reading list
The primary logical reason for identifying sources is to show where a piece of work stands in relation to a tradition – or the traditions. Further, the tradition of emphasis on thought as cumulative recognizes the individual thinker and encourages –a certain kind of– scholarship. However, that emphasis –especially when the importance of the publication exceeds that of the idea– detracts from regard for the ideas and for being as such
There is, however, no doubt that my thought has been significantly influenced and enriched by acquaintance with the thought of others. Most recently, for example, I have gained new insight from Wittgenstein’s earlier writing on the nature of logic and his later thoughts on philosophy as grammar
I have been influenced by aspects of the thought of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, DESCARTES, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, HUME, Kant, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Santayana, Frege, Russell, Whitehead, Heidegger, WITTGENSTEIN, and Popper and by the Vedanta system of Indian philosophy. Although I have been influenced by the thought of many other individuals, I have listed only those whose influence in ideas I have clearly retained. A partial record of the studies is in the author’s HISTORY OF WESTERN PHILOSOPHY, in the NARRATIVE for the Journey, and in THE PERIODS OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. If an individual’s name is underlined, I have absorbed and used some of their ideas. While my thought has a debt to all these influences, the learning was, in some cases, a result of the analysis required to be able to disagree with the relevant aspects of the thought. The names of individuals from whom I have learned primarily by ‘reaction’ are not underlined. A name in small capitals indicates both kinds of learning. I have found the writing of the individuals listed, even those from whom I have learned by reaction, to remain fresh after many readings
I have found the paradigms and theories of science to be extremely useful and suggestive even though I have argued that those paradigms do not project to the ONE UNIVERSE
It is impossible to do justice to the extent and variety of the influence in a text or bibliography of any length. However, I will briefly mention some important ideas that are significant in my thought and the individuals that I associate with those ideas. It is not always the case that my thought is derived from the association. Occasionally the derivation is indirect, through the writing of another individual or through the cultural milieu. Sometimes, the association has been made and has confirmed or helped to clarify my thinking after the actual process. There are times when words are suggestive – the terms introduced by earlier thinkers is a factor in channeling thought in a certain direction. Numerous associations and influences are surely omitted. The following collection of associations is illustrative and, to some extent a reconstruction of the sources of influence
I associate the name of Socrates with the importance of reflection over conclusions even though, in this essay, I have labored to make definite conclusions. Socrates’ name is also associated with the idea of living the consequences of what one thinks and believes. Combined with the THEORY OF BEING this becomes the idea, developed here, that embedded thought and action are mutually sustaining – the existence of one is a condition of existence for the other. I have been influenced by Plato’s use of the idea of POWER. Plato’s concept of POWER is one of extreme simplicity – it is the ability to have an effect. It is this concept that enables the identification of what is and what is not, i.e. what is or has being. Aristotle and Heidegger emphasized the importance of BEING. Aristotle introduced the idea of SUBSTANCES or CATEGORIES OF BEING. The ideas retain practical significance, but the concept of POWER renders them as conceptually and fundamentally unnecessary. Descartes’ contribution to the analytic method enables efficiency of thought. Spinoza’s thought that, in addition to mind and matter, nature may have an infinite number of attributes is a useful reminder on the limitation of our embedded categories of thought. Leibniz’ thoughts on the experience of a particle of being –the words are mine– are suggestive in showing that a resolution of the mind-body problem is in recognizing that we have, with Descartes, arbitrarily attributed lifelessness and mindlessness to the particles. Hume’s criticisms of a variety of forms of thought have been a spur to understand the nature of CAUSATION and other CATEGORIES OF COGNITION. Much later, in the twentieth century, Popper showed an almost obvious way to see that Hume’s criticisms do not apply to the categories of cognition but to the view of those categories as absolutes. Popper’s view, which has the advantage of a knowledge of two centuries of science since the time of Hume, is that science must be revisable in the light of new information. I have argued here that the fact that science has been subject to revision since its beginnings does not show that all knowledge –even empirical knowledge– must be forever subject to revision. This amounts to a criticism, on the style of Hume, of Hume’s criticisms. Kant introduced the importance of what, in this essay, I have labeled the IDEAL OBJECT. In doing this, Kant did not restore the categories to the status of reality but did show how to explain the categories and justify their use. Here, I have shown that symbolic knowledge of the thing-in-itself is possible but have not shown that for a finite –e.g. animal and human– mind embedded knowledge –knowledge that is immediately ready for use– of the thing-in-itself is possible. However, I have also argued that this impossibility not factual but logical and, therefore, any human desire to have complete and embedded knowledge of the NOUMENON or thing-in-itself is not rational. This, however, does not imply that a human desire to become or experience the infinite is irrational even though a preoccupation with such a desire might be labeled ‘unbalanced.’ Hegel’s concern with the absolute is a reminder to not avoid reflection on ALL BEING even while being concerned with the details. I have found Schopenhauer’s essential version of Kant’s CATEGORIES OF COGNITION, i.e. space, time, and causation to be a useful point to begin reflection on the categories. I have supplemented Schopenhauer’s system with a fourth category, that of HUMOR, to reflect the fact that, we live in a world that is only partially causal at root and in its manifestations. HUMOR is the category of cognition-feeling that is involved in the negotiation of the essentially unpredictable and the unmanageable
Nietzsche revealed the universe to be a place of ever-freshness and emphasized in a new way the limitations of received cosmologies. Although vastly different in temperament and scope, Nietzsche and Whitehead have in common an awareness of vast ranges of previous thought and their interconnections. I have learned much from their general themes of thought as well as their very specific uses of and connections among ideas. Whitehead has a sense of significance that is absent from much of analytic philosophy. The work of Frege in codifying reason and of Russell in identifying sources of paradox in naïve thought has been present in my thoughts on the ABSENCE of all things that has been so significant in developing the THEORY OF BEING of this essay. The possibility of paradox has been one of the motives to careful thought in any endeavor that refers to ALL things. The combination, in this essay, of the idea of POWER and the non-trivial concept of ABSENCE –or VOID– make possible a foundation of an understanding of ALL BEING without INFINITE REGRESS and without SUBSTANCE. A network of POWER may be seen as emanating from an individual or locale; thus, its combination with ABSENCE is a combination with an individual or local perspective with the UNIVERSAL. Wittgenstein further emphasized the need for care in the use of language and, much of his writing is an elaboration of this theme i.e. what constitutes care in a variety of contexts. Wittgenstein is exceptional for a combination of severe criticism, austerity of thought, and a sense of ultimate things. From science, Einstein’s THEORY OF GRAVITATION and the EQUIVALENCE OF MASS AND ENERGY, the QUANTUM THEORY of Schrödinger and Heisenberg, and Darwin’s theory of NATURAL SELECTION have been suggestive in arriving at some core conclusions of the THEORY OF BEING. These include that ‘something may come from nothing,’ that the process of the world is indeterministic and that essential indeterminism must result in structure. However, I have not used science in showing these conclusions to be true. The justification comes from analysis of the nature of BEING and the nature of ABSENCE and drawing conclusions from these analyses. Incidentally, this line of thought has no connection with what has been called ‘chaos theory.’ The process is analytic in the sense of Kant. Instead of drawing conclusions from the world to ideas, conclusions about the world are drawn by considering the question, ‘What is the nature of the absence of the world?’ The conflict between some of the conventional readings of the paradigms of science and the great critics such as Hume and Wittgenstein has been the instructive for or, at least, supportive of some of my thoughts
I have attempted to see whether my thoughts are nothing more than the union of the prior thought to which I have been exposed. Because the history of an individual’s thought and influence is remote and diffuse, this conclusion would be difficult to demonstrate even if it were true. However, I have not yet been able to see or to show it to be true. What I have found or experienced repeatedly, as did Plato, is that what I may have thought to be creation is discovery and what appeared to be discovery is re-discovery. There is a beautiful point where the ego becomes still and thought is sustained through its force as if carrying the thinker along with the thinking. Whether true or otherwise, the discovery of ideas has often presented as if it were the exploration of a previously unseen landscape of unanticipated clarity and beauty
Planning and design
This document is a brief outline of the Journey and, especially, of its foundation. Further details of planning and content are in the sources. The section, ‘Document Plans’ of FOUNDATION is relevant. DESIGN contains planning for the Journey. In a new version of the Website, the content of main documents including the histories and the design will be rendered as two: a brief document e.g. FOUNDATION and a NARRATIVE
A number of topics require further investigation. DESIGN contains a program for the Journey including a program of study. Additionally, in developing the next version of the Website, works of other writers relevant to the various topics may be researched for correction, completion or illumination of my thought
Since the being of the individual is intimately bound to the individual’s understanding of being, the topic of BEING is ever fresh
The concept and structure of the Journey in Being and its foundation
There is a need for continuing review of the following topics. Is a complete foundation possible? It is argued in the essay that a complete and embedded foundation is not possible. Is the foundation complete with regard to the needs of metaphysics and the journey? What is the best ordering and reasoning out or logic of the document –the introduction, the foundation and the journey– and its topics with regard to logic or reason and the needs of exposition? The logic of the document should include consideration of those topics whose consideration is distributed over more than one location in the document. To what extent is the journey essential in being and becoming? Is there an implication that the literature over-emphasizes the roles of thought and the written word over that of action? What is the role of ‘timeless thought?’ The approach to timeless thought through thinking, action and evolution. What is the proper balance between thought and action? What are the proper balances between perception and thought, between being and becoming, and between living and seeking? It has been argued that the agent has over-emphasized her or his role in change. It has sometimes been said that human beings should not endeavor to ‘alter the course and being of nature.’ However, there may be a human nature that includes agency and, perhaps, insisting on quiescence is an attempt to alter nature. What is proper relation between the individual and the universal journey? Review the equation that Atman is Brahman. Review the adequacy of the phases of the Journey in Being as laid out in the sources above. ‘Logic’ as the central discipline [1] of necessary law, [2] a system of context-specific necessary laws or ‘logics,’ and [3] the intersection of the elements of the real e.g. journey / Journey, thought / action, subject / object, symbol / ideal object
Structure of the next edition: The next edition will encompass the entire journey in two volumes
Volume 1: Introduction and Foundation
The introduction will include: biography but no more than is pertinent to the journey; the nature, origins and necessity of the journey
The foundation is part of the journey and will contain the essentials of the journey and its theoretical support i.e. the THEORY OF BEING and its dynamics. The precise distribution of topics among the volumes is open but the foundation will contain essentials of the THEORY OF BEING while details of the metaphysics will be developed in the second volume
Volume 2: The Journey
Metaphysics: the relation and possible identity of metaphysics and logic which suggests and is implied by metaphysics as the discipline whose only limits are necessary limits and by logic as the discipline that expresses the outer limits of possibility. A logic as the outer limits as a kind of possibility and the implications of this consideration for a general or context free logic. The equivalence – or otherwise – of these conceptions of metaphysics and logic to the theory of the void and its consequences. The concept and resolution of a complete system of metaphysics. Classical, analytical and other recent metaphysics – including learning from the metaphysics of Africa, China, India, Latin America and non-industrialized cultures. General and physical cosmology, the place of mind in cosmology, an account of mind at the primal and the animal and human level including consideration of the categories, the functions and their integration, and the neurological support of categories, functions, and integration. Symbol, language and thought. Epistemology. The theory of group action and value
Experiments in transformation: dynamics and the theory of experiments in transformation. The theory of a complete, minimal set of experiments. General experiments, theory and experimentation with machines [computation,] and social action and theory of value [ethics and political theory and philosophy]
Biographical elements that enhance the understanding of place of the individual, the story of all being, and the relevance of individual motivation and doubt in discovery
A note on ‘psychologism:’ although the author does not subscribe to the view that the study of mental processes can provide foundation of logic, metaphysics, the dynamics, or their divisions, there is little doubt that psychology –among other factors– influences the beliefs of the individual. However, psychology –perhaps, together with sociology– might explain how an individual might choose one of two apparently equally valid arguments or why some individuals prefer to believe what appears to be patently untrue to others
There are criticisms of trans-individual or trans-finite vision that amount to asserting that such vision is false because it is sought as a solace. However, depending on the psychological orientation of the individual, the strictly finite vision may also be experienced as solace; further true transfinite vision provides meaning rather than solace. Every world view appeals to some psychological orientation… but its truth should stand or stumble on the test of reason –which does not exclude experience– and not its appeal
Specific topics for further study and investigation
Topics relevant to the foundation, briefly touched in the present document, include:
Experiments in the Transformation of Being: the program of research and experimentation for a complete set of experiments is described in the section TRANSFORMATION. A system of experiments is complete if it covers all dimensions in the possibilities of being as identified in the THEORY OF BEING developed here. To this end, I have attempted to develop a complete system of metaphysics, and a complete theory of mind and being. The developments define and provide justification for the completeness claims. A more detailed treatment of the program, especially with regard to foundation, details of the various approaches, and a design for a complete, minimal, system of experiments are found in the document, EXPERIMENTS IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF BEING
Development of the concepts and terms: Some important concepts in the development are being, power, void, form, mind, symbol, ideal object and external object, meaning, universal, truth, logic, the void, possibility, necessity, dynamics, universe, essential indeterminism, free symbol, relative stability and near symmetry, cosmological system or coherent phase-epoch of the universe, quasi-causation and quasi-determinism, categories of intuition –space, time, cause and humor– and language, culture, and value
The choice of words used to designate the concepts is important. Existing terms may suggest empty, prejudicial, or unintended connotations that may be difficult to avoid even though logically unnecessary. Simultaneously, existing terms carry the force of their history of use and association. In the choice of terms the positive and negative associations may be balanced. Where ideas are fresh, a balance of new and old terms may enhance the understanding and acceptance of the new ideas. The words ‘being’ and ‘nothingness’ are purely logical terms but suggest the ideological framework of existentialism. Therefore, I have replaced ‘nothingness’ by ‘void.’ It may be useful to find an alternative for ‘being’
Structure and relations among: METAPHYSICS and ONTOLOGY, LOGIC and DYNAMICS, EPISTEMOLOGY, and ETHICS. This study is present in the FOUNDATION which shows, in the foundation, the unities among the topics
The nature of the object: Three possibilities for the object are the ideal object, the fact and the thing-in-itself. As discussed in MIND AND SYMBOL and subsequent sections, the ideal object is constituted of apprehension and comprehension. The significance of the ideal object –the fact is a special case of the ideal object– is that it introduces a great simplicity by eliminating the gulf between the ‘thing’ and its representation. The simplicity appears to come at a cost – that the thing-in-itself is not in the category of knowable things. The idea of the thing-in-itself seems, because of its nature, to exclude being known. On this view, there is no real limitation because the ideal of comparison is illusory. There is no essential limitation, even on a view in which the ‘thing’ is intrinsically knowable for a similar difficulty is associated with knowledge as representation. However, in the latter case, the difficulty is contingent rather than necessary. In the author’s view, the idea of knowledge as ideal object –both Kantian and Wittgensteinian– is preferred. It is a particular case of the more general view discussed below where, in comprehension, a correspondence between ideal object and the thing-in-itself cannot be ruled out in all cases. Further, in any case, there is always some degree of approach of the ideal the real i.e. to the ‘thing.’ The latter view may be expressed by saying that there are two kinds of knowledge, apprehension and comprehension or acquaintance and description, and that possibility of approach to exact correspondence resides in the freedom of the comprehension. The terms ‘acquaintance’ and ‘description’ are associated with Russell and others. However, Russell’s view was a thoroughgoing empiricism in which there was no place for the ideal object and, therefore, no hope of knowledge as faithful to the world. There are further views, e.g. certain kinds of idealism and the views of Heidegger, in which ‘appearance is reality.’ A tentative foundation for this kind of view is found in the author’s KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE in which a third kind of knowledge, knowledge by immersion is identified. The various discussions of relationships and inter-translatabilities among the views, and consequent identification of invariant content require, further reflection and elaboration
In summary, the ideal object lies at the intersection of the subject and the world or external object. This metaphorical statement may be written, the object straddles the subject and the world. The metaphor emphasizes the shadowy nature of the subject. More accurately, as has been discussed in the essay, objective and the subjective are modes of being and discourse. The view in which there is a discrete thing or external object or world and a discrete ideal object as the effect of the discrete external object-of-the-world in a discrete subject is a picture. In an alternate picture, in which the underlying physical and physiological processes are described dynamically and in detail, the sharp discreteness disappears. Here, ‘appearance is reality’ does not have the interpretation of ‘reality is but mere appearance’ but ‘the world and appearance are fused.’ In view of the dictum, below, that ‘knowledge is the effect of the one in the other,’ the fusion of appearance and reality is given manifest meaning
Mind: Develop details of evolutionary neurology sufficient to show the distinctness of and distinct bases of cognition and emotion and, simultaneously, their integration and fundamental or root unity in the ‘higher’ organism. See the section MIND. Experiments in the foundation of mind and consciousness and in construction of symbolic and machine being, mind, and life. Comment on mind: I use mind in one and only one sense. However, mind-as-we-have-inner-apprehension-of-it is a limited range of that sense. As shown in this document, that range has an efficient and consistent extension in two directions: the direction of the primal and the direction of higher being. This needs to be kept in mind when I say ‘mind is coextensive and coeval with being.’ I further assert, below, that ‘mind is being.’ The step from coextension to identity requires interpretation and demonstration that is given below
The problem of identity, see THE IDENTITY OF THE THINKER, and the discussion of SOLIPSISM
That there is experience seems to imply that there is a thinker – the one who experiences. What is it that is experienced? Things experienced include objects, the world, and the self. Perhaps there is no self, no ‘I’ but there is, in the meaning of ‘I,’ no doubt that there is an experience –a collection of experiences– that is labeled ‘I.’ In fact, there are multiple sets of experiences labeled ‘I’ but, apparently, one and only one of them is ‘my I’
What is the ‘I’ or the self? Why or how does it seem to have continuity over time even though it changes and others perceive external changes? I.e., what is the continuity of ‘self’ or the experience of self, and why or how does it remain ‘in place’ through change – psychological and physiological
What would constitute an explanation of identity? It is necessary to explain, [1] what it is – the phenomenon, [2] what makes it up and how or why is it continuous over change – the constitution, and [3] how the ‘physical’ organism has identity – the association with the body [the phrase ‘association with the body’ may be misleading if it is thought to imply that there is something in addition to the body]
[In terms of the explanatory system of this document, the terms ‘actual organism,’ or, simply, ‘organism’ are preferred to ‘physical organism’]
Some thoughts on possible lines of explanation follow. [1] The phenomenon of identity… has possible relation or analog to the binding problem of perception of objects. I.e., the type of explanation used in attempting to resolve the binding problem may be applied to the ‘self’… see THE IDENTITY OF THE THINKER. One consideration of that kind of explanation is that it is only on some ways of seeing that the problem arises. [2] The constitution of identity: the constitution – or integration and continuity – through memory. [3] The association with the body - a physiological explanation of the foregoing. An explanation in terms of origins is not necessary but would be illuminating
Language and thought: while it may be usual to think of language as spoken, written, or thought language e.g. English, what is its status relative to thought in general? E.g. while iconic thought and thought in a language may be distinguished, is that distinction ultimate? Thought in language –in its traditional sense– is available for expression. What is the distinction between this kind of thought and speaking? Is there an essential distinction? May all thought be conceived as language? What is the translatability between thought or general mental ‘content’ and spoken, linear language?
Language: the present document includes a treatment of particulars, kinds, universals, and abstract entities. A treatment of proper names and other elements of language may be useful if only for completeness. The recent developments in metaphysics and the THEORY OF BEING may have additional implications for the philosophy of language. It will be useful to list possibilities for development. The issues of variety of use, linguistic atomism and relation between language or, more generally, symbol and logic may be significant. There are treatments of language in WORDS, KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE, NARRATIVE for the Journey and in THE ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE. The guiding principles for the developments will be [1] Language is not a system unto itself and it is essential to understand it as a system of relations among users and between users and the world. This point of view will be useful in understanding the meaning of concepts. It may also balance recent i.e. 19th – 21st century tendencies to interpret meaning in terms of language in isolation – in terms of grammar, sense, and use, to the relative exclusion of reference. Note that ‘use’ has coherence and correspondence aspects and that, while the correspondence aspect has not been ignored, the greater emphasis has been on coherence. [2] Use and analysis of language as partial foundation for the THEORY OF BEING and its LOGIC. The present document eliminates the need for substance and infinite regress of the foundation
Language structure and logic: the language structure[s] that obtain in reference –talking, writing– to a particular context are the forms of that context . The language structure expresses the kinds of possibility. Given that some possibilities actually obtain, some further possibilities are necessary, others ruled out, and yet others are neither necessary nor ruled out. Thus, the structure of the language implies at least some of the rules of logic that obtain in the context. Language regards forms, logic expresses structures inherent in the forms. Does the structure of language imply all of the rules of logic for the context? Is there a universal ‘context’ underlying all particular contexts? E.g. since the language and context of commands occurs in the world, and if the world can be seen as a ‘context’ of objects or facts, can the language and logic of commands be reduced to the logic of propositions? Is there a single language of propositions?
Logic: Detailed development of reality conditions necessary and or sufficient to found various logical calculi on LOGIC and becoming from the void – a brief consideration of the topic is in the sections LOGIC and ALTERNATIVE FOUNDATION. How logic and knowledge go to the primal core in an elimination of the essence of the ‘object-subject’ distinction
Just as it is inherent in physical being to always satisfy physical law, it is in the nature of being that the laws of LOGIC are not violated. The logical laws pertaining to a context are those laws that are inherent in the nature of the context. The laws of logic of the world are implicit in the constitution of the world. In this sense, physics can be seen as a specialized logic. Whereas the contexts of logics are usually specified by a logical or linguistic context, as logic, the context of physics is specified by a kind of being or behavior – physical behavior. It is implied that our physics is local and approximate
The concept and demarcation of the Unspeakable or Unthinkable: precisely what is the concept, and what is the boundary between what can be said and what can be shown? If the ‘language of thought’ is the picture, as is that of the proposition, then what can be thought can also be ‘said’ e.g. by speaking or by drawing a picture i.e. even though it is said that some impressions cannot be communicated, is this truly so? For example, when communicating emotion by music, is it the sound or the emotion that is being communicated? To what degree is the answer to that question one of convention or agreement? What is the implication for communication of the ‘non-symbolic’ senses e.g. taste and smell? Additionally, distinctions between impression and thought should be taken into account. What are the theoretical –what cannot be done– and practical –what should not be attempted even in the face of necessary action– implications of these thoughts? These thoughts are continued in a discussion of the RELEVANCE OF LOGIC
[There are a number of kinds that cannot be said. The limit of understanding may be spoken of though not spoken and in speaking of that limit, the understanding may be communicated. The depth of feeling and mutual inspiration cannot be said –has not effectively been said– in ‘literal language’ but may be communicated through art. Alternatively, the depth of feeling and form may be communicated in the ‘languages’ of poetry, of music, of painting and sculpture… and in the ‘language’ of action
In a language constructed of signs from sight and sound the objects of taste and smell cannot be ‘said.’ It is natural for human language to be constructed from auditory-visual-tactile signs because those are the kinds of sign that the human being can freely produce. It is not necessary for the human being to ‘say’ the ‘olfactory object;’ pointing is sufficient. Human beings do ‘speak’ an olfactory language but not –usually– consciously or volitionally: a feeling of love may be communicated without conscious awareness in this way – and unconscious communication may contradict conscious, intended communication. Other species may communicate intentionally in modes that are not auditory or visual]
Truth: the nature of FACTUAL TRUTH, truth-bearers, ‘theories’ of truth – review and attempt at extension, consolidation of the standard accounts. The program of research will investigate other families of meaning of TRUTH and relations among the meanings of truth. The section, TRUTH, has a preliminary account that includes an attempt to bring factual truth and an interpretation of ‘HIGHER TRUTH’ under a single umbrella
The problems of ATOMISM
The concept of Value and the Ideal: see the discussions of HUMOR, VALUE, and THE THEORY OF GROUP ACTION AND VALUE. These discussions receive elaboration in and may be further be developed from the materials in the SOURCES AND INFLUENCES above
Quantum theory: foundation from the void for quantum theory, the quantum vacuum, and the zero-point energy. Analogy of THEORY OF BEING – void and quantum theory: every quantum state has a creation and annihilation operator! See the brief discussion in the section ORIGINS OF QUANTUM THEORY
Time and space – some details of the following thoughts are given in the SOURCES above. [1] Although a universal time –the proper time whose introduction does not imply e.g. that identical particles in different circumstances have identical rates of decay– can be introduced in the relativistic theory of gravitation, general cosmology does not support a single universal time. It is possible to give meaning to the phrase, ‘the beginning of time.’ [2] Whether space and time are seen as relational or absolute depends on the perspective adopted. [3] Viewed in terms of origin from the void, space and time are coeval with being and, therefore, it is more accurate to talk of extension and duration. Since, extension and duration are determined in becoming –they are not a framework within which there is becoming– it is not necessary that there will be a unique coordination of space-time-being. General cosmology will include a theory of space-time-being, of which the relativistic theory of gravitation will be a special case
The word ‘be’ and its forms have various senses and uses in English of which two families are primary. In one family, the forms are used to indicate predication. An example of the use in predication is ‘The fence is white.’ In the second family, the forms of ‘be’ are used to indicate existence or identity. This is the sense of ‘being’ used here. ‘I think, therefore I am’ is, perhaps, the most famous example of the second family of use
The potential for confusion is avoided in some languages where ‘The fence is white’ may be written, ‘The fence has whiteness’
The senses are related but not identical. In saying ‘I am’ or ‘The fence exists,’ there may appear to be a predication. However, the significance goes beyond mere predication. In saying ‘The fence is white,’ there is usually no explicit intention to assert the existence of the fence in question or of whiteness: existence is assumed. In saying, ‘The fence exists,’ existence is asserted. Insofar as there is an external object ‘fence,’ the predication of its existence is empty in that existence is predicative of all actual external objects. Therefore, existence will be more informative when predicated of a concept e.g. the concept of ‘fence.’ The further development of the concept of existence will depend crucially upon the nature of the ‘concept,’ of the ‘object,’ and of the ‘external object.’ The question arises, ‘Is the external object ever apprehended?’ If not, what is the nature of the –ideal– object and its existence? Discussion of these issues is taken up in what follows
Further, regarding predication in the notorious quotation of the first paragraph of this preliminary comment on being, the question arises, ‘What is being predicated of what?’ That is, to what does ‘I’ refer, what is the nature of its being, and, furthermore, regarding the connection between the ‘I’ and the ‘thinking’ or experience, what is the nature of the connection and how is it sustained?
The question of the nature of the identity of the thinker has a long history and has received extensive treatment especially in recent analytic philosophy. This interesting and important question is not among the primary concerns of the present document. There is, however, a brief discussion of identity in the discussion of SOLIPSISM. There is an affinity between the issue of identity and the ‘binding problem’ in the theory of perception. The binding problem is the question of how the different elements that constitute the perception of an object present, in the perception, as a single object. The binding problem and the related problem of object constancy have been discussed in the SOURCES