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19 Feb 2007 @ 12:54, by John Grieve
Hegel was partly right, as was Marx, as was Edward Carpenter, and also Gandhi and indeed any exponent of ideas that belong to that body of common wisdom and knowledge known as the Perennial Philosophy. These more intellectualised, formalized teachings of these thinkers are just individual facets of a universal, shared wisdom that belongs to all people and all times.
It is more useful to focus on where Hegel, Marx, Carpenter and Gandhi and indeed all the other individual thinkers got it right and were sometimes in agreement, rather than where they were clearly wrong and contradicted one another. It is easy to point out glaring mistakes in all their efforts, but if we concentrate on their positive contributions it is possible to pick’n’mix our own personal theory, ideology, call it what you will, which will be unique to each one of us. We are all entitled to believe what we like and have our own world-view; no one can force their beliefs on us. This does not mean however, that all theories reflect reality to the same extent or account for all the facts equally satisfactorily.
Hegel said that “ History is the higher and higher evolution of the spirit of Freedom” which is, I believe, an accurate reflection of what has occurred in the past and is still happening. He has said elsewhere, in one of his famous triads, that Spirit (that is God, the Absolute, the Source) “alienates” itself into Matter and then returns in the development of consciousness and history in the form of Mind. You will recall that a special feature of Hegel’s philosophy was his belief in the development of Categories in three stages proceeding from Thesis by way of negation to Antithesis and then by way of union to Synthesis.
Thus,
Spirit ---------------------------Matter----------------------------------Mind
Some people say that Hegel’s triads are sometimes arbitrary and clumsy and also wrong. In this case I believe that Hegel is right and that this particular triad is both useful and relevant.
Elsewhere, I have put forward my assertion that there are levels to spiritual and social existence and that these levels came into being when undifferentiated tribal/clan society stratified with the onset of civilization. Furthermore, I believe, because all these levels come from the same source, they are analogous and that statements from one level can be “translated” into equivalent statements at the other levels. I will now attempt to translate Hegel’s philosophical statements into equivalent scientific ones. It is worth bearing in mind that just as Hegel’s philosophy is of the mystical kind, so is my science.
If we are to give a scientific account of God or the Absolute, then I find it easiest to believe that the Source is a form of energy. Some may not agree with this view, but it is certainly a commonly held belief and it is the one I am putting forward here.
Thus, the Thesis of the triad becomes:
Thesis
Spirit
Energy
The second term, the Antithesis, is very easy because Matter is both a scientific and a philosophical category. Thus:
Antithesis
Matter
Matter
Indeed, this term supports the original choice of the category “energy” because as we know from the formula of Einstein E = Mc2 energy and matter are different forms of the same thing. Also, the alienation of energy into matter, in the scientific sense, is similar to a “cooling” or “freezing”, which are akin to alienation.
Finally, the third term of the series, the Synthesis, which in the philosophical account Hegel states is Mind becomes in our scientific “translation” the very topical and seemingly unexpected term “Information”:
Synthesis
Mind
Information
Why do I assert that Hegel’s term Mind is in fact equivalent to what we use so casually in everyday life as Information.
Firstly, if we go by the dictionary, Mind means the same as intelligence, knowledge, wisdom and these words can certainly be replaced by the term information.
On a deeper level, do you remember the remarkable mystical, science-fiction film “The Matrix”. At various points in this movie we see reality dissolve into a series of flowing numbers, first on the screen of a computer, then finally in the eyes of the hero, Neo, who by this sign is in some sort of higher state. This film is clearly showing reality as a form of Mind, which in its turn can be represented firstly by information in/on a computer and finally as pure information itself.
There are other arguments which I could present in favour of this contention but I will not do so at the present moment.
Conclusion:
This present age that has recently dawned and is still dawning is variously called Post-modern, Post-industrial, the Information Age, Computer Age etc. I will now suggest a couple of more terms to describe it based on my previous analysis.
Identity
Our identity is something, not strictly material, but based on our materiality. It bridges the material and the spiritual. It connects all the different facets of our being, including ethnicity, religious beliefs and sexuality. I believe that this new age can truly also be called “The Age of Identity” It is now, in its alienated form of ID cards, bank details, biographical data, that identities are being stolen. In its alienated form identity is clearly a form of information and also, increasingly, a commodity which can be bought and sold, created and even stolen. But the real meaning of this term “Age of Identity” is that something, an identity, is about to be revealed in the process of history and its development. The Quakers say that there is “that of God in all of us”. Buddhists say that we all possess Buddha=nature. That is, we can all attain enlightenment. All major religions, in their higher forms, accept that each and every one of us is of God. This is what I believe will be revealed in this age. Universal enlightenment based on the revealing of our partaking in the divine nature of the Godhead.
Age of Mind
Hegel was right, I believe, when he asserted that spirit would return to itself, after imprisonment in materiality, in the form of Mind. Indeed many native peoples have beliefs which amount to the same thing, as well as previous philosophical traditions such as Neo-Platonism. This is the age when this is happening. It is the age of Mind/Spirit. But the fact that it is connected with computers, networks, information, identity will surprise some people.
In the past I naively assumed that this process of the “higher and higher evolution of the spirit of freedom” would happen, with God’s grace, more or less automatically. However, we all know that where there is an action there is also a reaction. Also, that every conceivable advent of freedom by the people has been vigorously resisted by various individuals and groups. This will probably be no different. We have a fight on our hands.
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Category: Articles
2 comments
19 Feb 2007 @ 16:57 by swanny : Genuine
Interesting
So if Identity bridges the gap between the material and spiritual... then identity must have some kind of substance. Is it a more essential substance or genuine substance than ordinary substance or material. A "refined" material perhaps. A refined "identity"? Identity sort of stands out in isolation though. It must refer "back" to something and possibly refering "forward" to something as well as simply being.
Ah this ties into my thoughts that we are not nouns or Pronouns but "verbs" or "Proverbs"? of a sort, or we were meant to be verbs.
sir swan
29 Jul 2007 @ 12:23 by istvan : Beingness
It is refreshing to notice that at this network actually more than one or two people are are not only capable,but actually,are willing to succumb to thinking/ness.
Yes perhaps God is ready to reveal true identity as BEING/NESS. As in: Loch/ness emerging from the murky depths of forgetful/ness.
Things might even end up fulfilling some virtual promises of new civilizations manifesting as RELIGIOUSNESS.
Good place to hang out [ [link] ]
As one werb to another: good luck chaps.
I agree with you John: "Hegel was partly right, as was Marx, as was Edward Carpenter, and also Gandhi and indeed any exponent of ideas that belong to that body of common wisdom and knowledge known as the Perennial Philosophy. These more intellectualized, formalized teachings of these thinkers are just individual facets of a universal, shared wisdom that belongs to all people and all times."
Other entries in Articles
27 Aug 2008 @ 08:32: Theology of the Other
24 Aug 2008 @ 15:14: Grieve''s Twin Prime Conjecture
12 Aug 2008 @ 09:13: Truth, Denial and Fascism
4 Aug 2008 @ 09:07: Why is Dialectic Important
1 Aug 2008 @ 09:10: Dual Nature as applied to Personality
14 Jul 2008 @ 09:06: My Philosophy in a Nutshell ---- Part 1
3 Jun 2008 @ 09:12: Phi, the Pentagon and Self-Similarity
23 Apr 2008 @ 09:25: Pascal's Triangle, Self-similarity and Phi
13 Apr 2008 @ 09:47: Phi is the constant of Self-Similarity
9 Apr 2008 @ 09:25: CyberEnlightenment, "Political Correctness" and Fascism
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