Journey in being

1. Journey in being Anil Mitra

2. Preliminary

3. A journey in Ideas and Identity • Ideas as the place of appreciation of being—of our being, of the world… • Ideas as the instrument of negotiation • Incompleteness of ideas as expression of possibilities and potentials of being • Identity. Transformation of being—of identity—completes realization

4. ...in the finite and the infinite • The finite, the here-now is important—in itself and instrumentally • In the finite there are Normal but not ultimate limits • The boundary between the finite and the infinite is not absolute • The Journey is in and bridges the finite and the infinite or ultimate

5. A journey in being • We are already in and remain in being… • The outer reach of a journey in being • Possibility. What is possible for human being, for the individual? • The Good. What ends are desirable, aesthetic, ethical? • Feasibility. What is feasible? • Paths. What ways may we conceive, choose?

6. Presentation version • First emphasis—introduction and overview for ‘Journey in being’ • Secondary emphasis—ideas that enhance and channel or derive from the journey • Designed to be accompanied by narrative andor notes • Other versions and details • http://www.horizons-2000.org

7. Presentation

8. Outline of topics • Audience and influence • Introduction • Ideas • Journey • Objections and counterarguments • Further contributions to the History of ideas

9. The story begins… • Audience and influence • Introduction • Ideas • Journey • Objections and counterarguments • Further contributions to the History of ideas

10. Audience and influence Who I would reach The influence that I would have

11. Audience • General—understanding and significance; transformation of being and identity; state of the world, values, choice, action • Technical—the sciences; technology, art, history, religion; philosophy and its nature, metaphysics, theory of transformation; logic, mathematics; choice and change

12. Influence What kind of influence do I want to have? • The influence of resonance—not of copying or repetition • Listening, understanding, criticism, and selective use

13. Next in the story… • Audience and influence • Introduction • Ideas • Journey • Objections and counterarguments • Further contributions to the History of ideas

14. Introduction The essential ideasNew ideas and contributionsIssues: understanding and reason

15. Introduction—outline • Journey • Being • A new view of the world • Universal metaphysics / Metaphysics of immanence • An objection from science and common sense • The concept of the Normal • A note on meaning. Important concepts

16. Journey • In the immediate and the ultimate • From this world to the ultimate … • Discovery in ideas • Contingent or Normal and necessary limits • Transformation in being—in identity

17. Being • That which is or exists—whatever exists has being • When properly understood being is the central concept of understanding and transformation… of a ‘new’ and ultimate view of the Universe

18. A new view of the world • Metaphysics of immanence… or The Universal metaphysics • The one Law of the Universe is Logic • The metaphysics is ultimate in breadth and depth

19. A new view—continued A potential problem of understanding • There is an apparent clash with common—limited—and scientific views of the Universe • However the truth of the view is demonstrated • The nature of ‘demonstration’ is clarified, grounded and advanced

20. The concept of the Normal • The apparent clash with common views is resolved via the concept of the ‘Normal’ • This Normal world is required by the view • This resolves the further concern that the present view, though ultimate, is removed from the immediate

21. The narrative argument It is convenient to defer some details of the arguments to a separate section Therefore, the argument and its problems of reason are taken up in • The main discussion—Ideas and Journey • Objections and counterarguments

22. A note on lexical meaning • The world view or metaphysics is larger than any other—this is demonstrated • It is significantly new and larger than the common views—day-to-day or technical • Therefore, although the terms used are common their meanings are significantly altered andor enhanced relative to previous use—this, too, is demonstrated

23. Some important concepts I Some terms with enhanced meaning—important concepts are bold • being, journey, existence, idea, transformation, foundation, intuition, object, experience, concept, percept, reason, reference, abstraction, universe, possibility, actuality, necessity, logic, substance, determinism, metaphysics, philosophy, rationality

24. Some important concepts II • … depth and breadth of understanding, method, form, particular object, abstract object, grammar, meaning, mechanism, causation, human being, society, culture, institution, civilization, faith, religion, science, knowledge, ideational form, and dynamics of being

25. Next in the story… • Audience and influence • Introduction • Ideas • Journey • Objections and counterarguments • Further contributions to the History of ideas

26. Ideas …Are essential to appreciating and negotiating the world ...A significant part of the journey

27. Ideas—outline • Intuition • Metaphysics • Objects • Cosmology • Normal worlds • Method • Contributions to the history of ideas

28. Intuition • Introduction • Being • Existence • Intuition and Object • Experience, concept and reference

29. Intuition I • How we experience the world, e.g. in terms of space and time and cause and properties, occurs outside experience • Why we see in certain terms—space and time, red versus blue and so on—may be explained by adaptation • That we see in such terms has been labeled ‘Intuition’

30. Intuition II • This sense of Intuition was used by Immanuel Kant (philosopher, 1724-1804) • In this sense, Intuition is the ability to perceive and concerns subjective experience of and is ‘bound’ to things • Reasoning regarding things involves free images and symbols

31. Intuition III • Here the meaning of Intuition is extended to cover perception and reasoning • Conception—having mental content—is perception and reasoning. Then: • Intuition is the ‘faculty of conception’ or, in modern terms, ‘the ability to have conceptions’

32. Intuition IV • Perception—the empirical side of Intuition—is perfect for the simple objects being, all being, and absence of being • The reasoning or thought side of Intuition has been held perfect for logic. However, logic itself is experimental • A new concept ‘Logic’ will be found to be perfect logic—non-empty and powerful

33. Unity of Intuition I • Thus far Intuition is the dual that is roughly perception and reason • Perception is bound to the Object; reason is free and occurs via recollection as icons and symbols • Alternately expressed, reason is remotely or loosely bound—even pure experience has a remote and a potential Object

34. Unity of Intuition II • The origin of—the capacity—reason is in perception • Though Normally bound, even perception has freedom—this freedom lies in the nature of being • Perception and reason constitute an original unity • This unity also lies within Experience

35. Intuition and metaphysics • The necessary aspects of Intuition—perfect perception of the simple objects and Logic are the two pillars of an ultimate metaphysics… that lies within intuition • This metaphysics is foundation for the depth and variety of being and, with particular disciplines—e.g. the sciences, understanding of specific areas of being

36. Metaphysics • Necessary Objects • Existence or being, ‘all,’ ‘part,’ ‘absence’ • Universe • Domain • Void • The Universal metaphysics or Metaphysics of immanence

37. Metaphysics—conclusions I The universe is all being. Therefore… • There is exactly one Universe • The Universe contains all Objects, all Law, all Form, all kinds, all Creators… the Universe itself can have no creator • The Actual and the Possible are identical …these and the following conclusions are a representative sample

38. Metaphysics—conclusions II Domain • One part of the universe can create another • A limited God makes actual and explanatory sense • This, however, gives little support to any predefined God of this cosmos

39. Metaphysics—conclusions III The Void • The concept of the Void is fundamental in showing the nature of the Universe (all being) which is its complement • The concepts of Universe, Domain and the Void are instrumental in developing a ‘Universal metaphysics’ or ‘Metaphysics of immanence’ which is now taken up

40. The Fundamental principle • The Fundamental principle of the ‘Universal metaphysics’ states that The only restriction on actual states is that of Logic—the capitalization is explained later • This principle is the central and foundational theorem of the metaphysics • We now demonstrate the Fundamental principle

41. Fundamental principle—proof I • The Universe is all being • Therefore the Universe exists and contains all Entities and other Objects—Laws, Forms… • The Void is the complement of the Universe relative to itself • Therefore the Void exists and contains no Entities, Laws, or Forms…

42. …Proof II • If from the Void a state whose description involved no contradiction, no violation of logic, could not manifest—that would constitute a law of the void • Therefore the only restriction on actual states is that of logic • This defines ideal logic—Logic, non-empty since it is approximated by the logics

43. …Proof—Objections I • Because of its significance, it is essential to criticize the Fundamental principle… by • (1) Criticism of the given proof and, if it is wanting, provision of alternate proof. (2) Questioning the principle itself… whether the principle and its consequences violate what we already know—science, common sense…

44. …Proof—Objections II • Science and common sense are addressed via the idea of the Normal • A Normal state or world is one, such as our world, in which only a limited number of states is feasibly or normally accessible • The Fundamental principle requires the existence of Normal worlds

45. …Proof—Objections III • An objection to the given proof of existence of the Void. Whereas complements of ‘proper’ sub-domains exist, it does not follow that the complement of the Universe itself exists • An alternate proof is given next • Slide Objections and counterarguments has alternate demonstrations

46. An alternate proof • There is no distinction between existence and non-existence of the Void • Therefore the Void may be taken to exist • This in turn implies existence of the Void • Details of proof are in notes to the Objections and counterarguments slides

47. An objection from physics • Objection. The quantum mechanical ‘vacuum’ is a place of vast energy and activity. Therefore the Void cannot be the absence of being • Counterargument. Quantum theory is local. It is not the Law of the Universe. Science allows this possibility which is here demonstrated

48. …Proof—Objections IV • Objection. The variety of being in the Universe is defined by Logic. However, as noted, Logic is a defined concept. Therefore, ‘Logic as Law’ shows nothing • Counterargument. Logic as Law derives from logic as Law which is not empty. The problem of Logic is not that it is empty but of the degree of infinity of variety permitted

49. …Proof—comments I • Identification of Logic and Metaphysics has been considered by Gottlob Frege (logician, 1848-1925) and Ludwig Wittgenstein (philosopher, 1888-1951)… and of Metaphysics and Intuition by Kant • Here, powerful forms of these concepts culminate in the identity of the rational Intuition, Logic, and Metaphysics

50. …Proof—comments II • It has been noted that the Fundamental principle is the keystone of the powerful ‘Universal metaphysics’ • Among various objections to the principle and its demonstration is the fact that ‘so much appears to come from so little’ • See slide Objections and counterarguments for responses