JOURNEY IN BEING
Document status: January 16, 2007
Outdated; maintained out of interest
Essential content absorbed to and no further action needed for Journey in Being
In this version of the essay, so that it may be more easily read, criticized and adapted to the reader’s ends, I have kept elaboration of argument and illustration to a minimum
Note. Reduce detail from ‘Introduction’ by eliminating unnecessary material, writing in précis form and placing as much of the remainder as reasonable in the main text
Topics to enter. Complete the following list
Principles of Thought
Space-time-matter; quantum theory; relativistic theory of gravitation
Analytic vs. logical truth
Mechanism / origins
Society
Science, Quine ® Theory of Being
War, peace, terrorism (application of Ethics)
Utopia: two errors
An idea does not attain definite form from a definition. It is necessary to understand the idea in relation to other ideas – a system of coherent ideas of which it is a part; it is necessary to become familiar with the uses of the ideas. This is especially true of an open system i.e. a system of ideas used in the understanding and discovery of the whole world and not just a prescribed part of it. In the open case, the ideas are not fixed but are themselves part of discovery
The purpose of the introduction is to provide a survey of the terrain. Ideas are introduced but do not attain the definition and sense of the later text. The reader may defer concerns about meaning to the later chapters, especially ‘Foundation,’ which provides a more systematic and complete exposition of meanings, positions and reasons
Although most of the words used in this essay are not new, many are given new meaning and deployed to new ends. The metaphysics developed in ‘Foundation’ provides a vision of being, of the individual and individual possibility and of the universe that, in depth, magnitude and variety, exceeds the common views from literature, myth, religion and science. Since the ideas form a system, the reader who seeks to understand it may find it useful to trace and retrace the narrative
I hope that the reader who has the patience to trace the narrative is rewarded with a new sense of vision and possibility
Of transformation
A system of transformation and of particular transformations
Confluence of individual endeavor and universal process
Based in a picture of the universe that is greater than any picture of definite form
Source: Foundation, metaphysics
Greater: in depth, magnitude and variety
Definite form: actual, scientific, artistic, literary – ‘fiction’ is permissible if logical – and including modern literature and poetry, scripture, myth…
Goals
General – to experience all through knowledge and transformation. Constraints – moral and feasible (both depend on context and knowledge.) Individual – the choices of an individual, society, civilization
Even the goals are a journey – made possible by evolving understanding (metaphysics)
Knowledge and transformation; knowledge is a form of transformation, a part of the journey and partial basis of further transformation – of body and identity
The role of the personal
Particular transformations
This material added to Journey in Being (simple version)
I have chosen ‘being’ as the open idea into which to channel my search for and growing understanding of what is fundamental to the deepest vision of the universe. The history of thought suggests alternatives – substance e.g. matter and mind, form, process, action, becoming, relationship, propositions, facts, the bearer of properties, the idea itself, sensations, word, God or gods… I might have coined a new word or chosen a word from another language. However, using a familiar allows continuity with the tradition. I have found ‘being’ to be the least prejudiced by unnecessary conceptual trappings. The following discussion provides formal reason for the choice of ‘being’
I use ‘being’ in this sense and no other. Any apparently distinct senses of being that I may use are derived from this one. Any special senses that I use may lie within being but may not be characteristic. My use has no particular interest in special senses such ‘higher being.’ My interest in ‘higher being’ so far as being is concerned is that it is an example – it falls under being; higher being does not characterize being
‘Being’ is related to verb to be of which ‘is’ is a special case. In English, ‘is’ has more than one use. Later, identify which use is pertinent to being. I also take up later some problems of the concept of existence, including apparent paradoxes, that have been identified in the literature which has a number of meanings; my goal will be to show the problems to be empty or provide resolutions
Immediacy – that which exists must include what is most immediate; the idea is not remote as are mind, matter
Remoteness of matter follows when it takes its definition from e.g. modern physics or a philosophical analysis of a particular kind of substance. On the other hand, if matter is an absolutely open ended concept, it may then take on the uncommitted role of being. This thought is problematic because, in contrast to being, the history of the idea of matter is that it is a definite kind (of thing or substance) that is distinct from others. One could choose to not be bound by history; the main problem, then, with choice of ‘matter’ as uncommitted would not be conceptual but of the committed connotations that might enter – either unawares or by intent: ‘matter’ remains a rallying cry for materialists. In addition to flex in a system of concepts, there is of course some freedom regarding which words should signify which concepts; choice then is a matter of taste and of minimizing undesirable connotations of prior use versus use of new words that may seem empty due to absence of (rich framework of) connotations
Generality – all things have being. A problem may occur to the reader, ‘How could any thing not have being?’ This hints of paradox. The resolution is to ask ‘From among all concepts –mental content– which ones correspond to an actual thing or things?’
Lack of commitment or specificity – corollary to generality. Being acquires its general application by being uncommitted. This seems problematic. However, there is no essential problem for lack of commitment of the concept itself permits development of any commitments that inhere in the world. What might seem like a problem is actually the main source of strength. The power of the concept follows from lack of original commitments. What is the meaning of ‘lack of commitment?’ To say that mind, matter, state, fact, process, relationship i.e. some special kind or aspect of things is the kind of all things is to make a commitment to the special kind or aspect. To say e.g. that matter is the kind of all things is to prejudice an investigation into all things (goals above) is to prejudice the investigation at the outset. If all is matter then the approach from being can only strengthen understanding of the case. Being is the term that I use to signify absence of commitment to kind or aspect as foundation at the outset. Some thinkers have emphasized process or becoming; however, becoming will be seen to be a part of being. Being will be the basis of a metaphysics that is ultimate in depth, magnitude and variety; this is possible in consequence of the absence of a priori commitment. Lack of a priori commitment makes this possible. It will turn out that the lack of a priori commitment is essential; pre-commitment is destined at outset from failure; this will be a conclusion from the analysis
Brief outline – chapters and their dependence; then the sections
Audience – academic, journey; these define interests – not occupation; and may overlap. Academic interest is interest for in the narrative itself; especially in the ‘Foundation’ but also in ‘Journey in Being;’ see topics from the outline or peruse the table of contents and the narrative. Readers may be interested the ‘journey,’ in using the ideas and transformation in their thought or life
Being and knowing – dual address. Principles of thought (on concepts; on theory.) On impossibility. The personal: practical aspects, essence of life
Complete this
Fill this out. This is section ‘Dimensions’ of Journey in Being which requires filling out and refinement
Existence and its paradoxes
Verb to be, ‘is’ etc…
As far as possible get properties of being without reference to the void or other concepts
The real
Essential as regards being: entity, law, form, pattern…
Essential as regards knowledge: object, form, universal, substance
Essential as regards concept of being, concepts, variety: number
Criteria: Theory of Being and Power; power as criterion should be derived from the theory
Requirements of a theory of being. It should be explicitly ultimate in depth and implicitly ultimate in breadth or variety. It might be thought that it should be explicitly ultimate in breadth but that is impossible (and not desirable.) It should make it possible to show what has being. It should make possible an estimate of the magnitude of the universe and the place in it of this (our) cosmological system
The central concepts: (being,) universe, void, logos (logic) and their properties; the concept of the normal
Main developments: logical – possibility, necessity and actuality; cosmological – one universe, indeterminism, determinism, and form; creation, evolution and mechanism
On substance and the void
Theory of objects. Dual address of the problems of being and knowing. Coalesce the treatments of being, knowledge, and, possibly, identity. I.e. to what extent can it be shown that this and the previous section ‘Theory of Being’ are the same and should the sections be combined? Problems of knowing: identity and faithfulness. How can faithfulness be known? In the bound view from the inside, it is not – there is no getting outside… there is no (ultimate) outside to get to; faithfulness cannot be known. Therefore, doubt and faith meet in the principle of adaptation; and, in some ways, one needs no more. There are distortions of perspective but there is no final distortion of what is seen – what is seen is, finally, in and of itself and is not a distortion of anything else. In the Theory of Being, via the ‘free symbol’ e.g. language, used in the ‘abstract’ or in the general, absolute certainty is possible
On certainty
Theory of Identity
Form, universal, individual
Faith and doubt. But if there is no ultimate in faithfulness, there is certainly no need for it. Faith (certainty) and doubt meet at the same place and are colorings of the intentional state
Here the following, mind, morals… are treated in their general aspect – special aspects (human…) are treated later in ‘Human Being’
Metaphysics of mind
Metaphysics of morals
Metaphysics of faith
Science (as contingent or local form)
Theory of variety
Variety, origin, manifold (phase)
Journey as next paradigm
Principles of thought: meaning and use; on certainty
Principles of thought: the main principle is reflexivity (test this)
In knowledge and transformation, one may reach a place of pure ‘being;’ characterize this including that it is a place where possibilities exist but are not necessary
This may be incorporated in the day-to-day