The humbled shall be raised.
The risen shall fall.
Those that shed self shall gain it.
Those who hoard for themselves shall lose their self.
He must decrease, so that I must increase.
Set your goods up in heaven, where dust doth not settle.
Wednesday 10 June 2009
Saturday 30 May 2009
The ground of belief
Where lies the foundation of reason? Is it not in something altogether irrational? Reason by itself cannot prove the validity of itself and without itself it cannot prove its validity without undermining it.
Everyday situations can be made extraordinary with the method of excessive examination:
'Where are you going?'
'Upstairs'
'Why?'
'Because I'm going to lie down and rest for a while in my room'
'Why are you going to rest awhile?'
'Because after stressful days like this one I like to have some peace and quiet'
'Why do you like peace and quiet?'
Haven't we hit the wall? Haven't we?!! This method can be applied to the foundation of our beliefs and to something yet more basic and animal- our actions. Aren't political, moral, and social beliefs and actions of this sort?
Imagine the following:
'Abortion is vile and despicable. How could a mother purpose to destroy life- life which she created? Man is lost when he places his cold grip on God's mantle'
'This is powerful and evocative imagery. But where is the argument? Why is abortion wrong?'
'Abortion is wrong because it involves the killing of an innocent human being.'
'Why is it wrong to kill an innocent human being?'
We have hit the foundation, the root, the great rock upon which is built the grand edifice of moral feeling. How can one answer the final question? Should we dare try?
Everyday situations can be made extraordinary with the method of excessive examination:
'Where are you going?'
'Upstairs'
'Why?'
'Because I'm going to lie down and rest for a while in my room'
'Why are you going to rest awhile?'
'Because after stressful days like this one I like to have some peace and quiet'
'Why do you like peace and quiet?'
Haven't we hit the wall? Haven't we?!! This method can be applied to the foundation of our beliefs and to something yet more basic and animal- our actions. Aren't political, moral, and social beliefs and actions of this sort?
Imagine the following:
'Abortion is vile and despicable. How could a mother purpose to destroy life- life which she created? Man is lost when he places his cold grip on God's mantle'
'This is powerful and evocative imagery. But where is the argument? Why is abortion wrong?'
'Abortion is wrong because it involves the killing of an innocent human being.'
'Why is it wrong to kill an innocent human being?'
We have hit the foundation, the root, the great rock upon which is built the grand edifice of moral feeling. How can one answer the final question? Should we dare try?
Paradox of the Day
Socrates is crossing a bridge on his way to the marketplace. A great booming voice is heard from on high and he submits, kneels, and prostrates himself before God. Then God says,
'I have heard great things of you O humble one. Your wisdom is not of this world. However, I have set up for you a delicate challenge. Shall you prove the Oracle of Delphi right once again??
If the next statement that proceeds from your mouth is true I shall let you pass. If the statement is false I shall cast you into the river. What say ye?'
Socrates turns and replies,
'You are going to throw me into the river'
'I have heard great things of you O humble one. Your wisdom is not of this world. However, I have set up for you a delicate challenge. Shall you prove the Oracle of Delphi right once again??
If the next statement that proceeds from your mouth is true I shall let you pass. If the statement is false I shall cast you into the river. What say ye?'
Socrates turns and replies,
'You are going to throw me into the river'
Tuesday 26 May 2009
Cause and Effect
The logical axiom of 'cause and effect' enjoys almost canonical status in Western thought. However, it is a perversion of our logic to regard a part as self-subsistent from the whole necessitating certain events.
We speak of causes as if they are necessary to produce certain effects. In reality they are merely sufficient. Take for example:
(1) Since the match was struck, the candle lit
This suggests that the striking of the match necessitated the lighting of the candle without recourse to other aspects of the causal circumstance. Reality is much more complicated- without the dryness of the match and the high oxygen level in the room the candle would not have lit. It would be more proper to speak of 'causal circumstance and effect' not 'cause and effect.'
We speak of causes as if they are necessary to produce certain effects. In reality they are merely sufficient. Take for example:
(1) Since the match was struck, the candle lit
This suggests that the striking of the match necessitated the lighting of the candle without recourse to other aspects of the causal circumstance. Reality is much more complicated- without the dryness of the match and the high oxygen level in the room the candle would not have lit. It would be more proper to speak of 'causal circumstance and effect' not 'cause and effect.'
Sunday 24 May 2009
The Self
As the self does not become itself; it is potential rather than actual, doesn't that mean that the 'true' self is only as a figment of our imagination? Part of the true self ('I wasn't acting myself yesterday' 'It wasn't me that did it. It was the alcohol/hormones/peer pressure etc') lies in the future and in the past as well as the present. At any given moment in time we deviate from this 'true' self. It therefore cannot exist as part of the space-time continuum. Is this not what we mean by the immortality of the soul? Isn't it!
The Becoming Human
In activity we find rest. In rest we yearn for activity.
The goal of man is not homeostasis- a tensionless state where our desires are overcome or fulfilled- the goal of man is precisely the opposite of a goal. A goal implies something to be actualized. But the self is both an actual and a potential thing, a synthesis of Being and Becoming. The self does not become itself. If it were to become itself then it would no longer be because it would no longer become. The question 'What is the meaning of life?' is a cul-de-sac because it relies on a division between the becoming and being of man. Once man has grasped such meaning what then is to become of him? The meaning of life exists in the hunt, not the capture.
The goal of man is not homeostasis- a tensionless state where our desires are overcome or fulfilled- the goal of man is precisely the opposite of a goal. A goal implies something to be actualized. But the self is both an actual and a potential thing, a synthesis of Being and Becoming. The self does not become itself. If it were to become itself then it would no longer be because it would no longer become. The question 'What is the meaning of life?' is a cul-de-sac because it relies on a division between the becoming and being of man. Once man has grasped such meaning what then is to become of him? The meaning of life exists in the hunt, not the capture.
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