Existence itself is threeness.
1. The ontological reality of the things we know of in the ordinary sense are not simple things, rather they are contingent things or contingent realities.
2. The things we know are composites and their ontological reality is thus complex.
3. These composites can be studied by examining their types, their structures, and their relationships.
Metaphysics today we now call the social sciences and all social scientists are metaphysicians.
4. Thus metaphysics is the study of type, structure, and relationship, and other similar methods of processing data, and our consideration of the way these various dynamic processes create both our existence and our reality. Post-modern ontology is most likely constructivist in outlook and does not depend on any form of realism.
5. Thus one can formulate a postmodern Thomism built upon the study of these three processes which form a Trinitarian or tri-nominal ontological reality, just as traditional Thomism does.
Type, Structure, Relationship.
6. A human being or person, then, is a complex composite based upon these three inter-related processes of type, structure, and relationship, processes which operate at all levels of reality.
For example, a person, for the sake of argument, is comprised of a body, a mind and a soul. Each aspect can then also be seen to be part of a tri-nominal composition: a body has type, structure, and relations, a mind has type, structure, and relations, etc.
Thus each of the three traditional Thomistic levels of reality (existence, activity and essence) have a tri-nominal composition.
7. Basically, then, the ontological reality of a human consists of an individuality or rational soul, a physical body and a spiritual nature (infinite divine qualities). In Thomistic terms, these can be referred to as being, action, and potency or existence, activity and essence, or even as type, structure and relationship.
8. Individuality may be equated with passive existence, while the activity of the physical nature and the spiritual nature combine to create a dualistic or complementary continuum of constant dynamic activity or flux (like yang and yin) around the passive core. In Thomistic terms, being, act and potency.
9. However, at different times each aspect of the tri-nominal composite of the human person or being may be placed in the active or passive role. This positive, negative, and neutral organization forms the essential process of these aspects and in that sense this dynamic process is at the heart of the formation of reality and existence.
10. Each of these three aspects has both an essential and independent type, structure, and relationship which interlinks to the other aspects. Thus types, structures, and relationships are often open ended and capable of almost infinite variation.
11. Individuality then is a particularly unique structure with certain typological features and with certain dispositions of relationships to others. Individuality then is one real aspect of the human composite in existence and we can label the other two aspects in a similar manner.
12. These fundamental natures thus always have a tri-nominal basis. For example, individuality can be seen to be comprised of self, ego, & persona, etc, and again each aspect can be further subdivided by concentrating on the types, structures, and relationships involved.
13. Three-ness is the prerequisite for existence. All structures then are based on three-ness, they are created or emerge from three-ness, all types and relations are based on three-ness. Three-ness is the minimum requirement of our reality.
14. As in Thomism, things which are not three can not be said to exist in our world or in an ontologically real sense.
15. It is axiomatic that all things in a three dimensional universe must have this minimum of three-ness in order to exist. This does not preclude more dimensions.
16. However, assume for this argument that all physical reality is based on this three-ness principle, all individuality the same and all spiritual reality the same.
17. It must be understood that all types of things have this same three-ness, that is they have type, structure, and relationship. Also all structures are the same, that is they have type, structure, and relationship, and the same with all relations.
Constructivist Reality grid:
---------------------TYPE-----------STRUCTURE-------RELATIONS
Physical nature-
Bodies
Active nature-
Individual
Potential nature-
spirit
18. Ontologically real simple or non-contingent objects do not exist because all realities are composed of types, structures, and relationships (composites) as per our current understanding of science (physical) and metaphysics (ie social sciences). Such philosophies as materialism are not sophisticated enough to explain common human reality in an adequate manner.
19. On the other hand all individuals have a true uniqueness which is special, each individual being is somewhat different from every other. Baha'is view this individuality as being unique in conception and also in its adaptation and development during the persons lifetime and this uniqueness is eternal after conception.
20. This basic tri-nominal ontology can be established in a congruent manner with a postmodern form of Thomism.
Rburns 12/23/2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
BAHA'I ONTOLOGY
A look at a Baha'i Ontology.
Existence itself is three-ness.
1. Nothing that exists is simple, there are no simple objects or substances per se which exist in a non or unconditional way. All things have a fundamental nature which is structural and can be described as trinitarian in principle. All things by necessity have three aspects consisting of an individuality, a natural physical existence, and a spiritual (emergent or social-cultural) existence, the last of which acts in a teleological (or emergence of properties or processes) manner for the whole. Individuality may be equated with passive existence, while the activity of the physical nature and the spiritual nature create a dualistic or complementary continuum of constant dynamic activity or flux (like yin and yang). The three may be generally described as simply positive, negative and neutral, but no particular aspect is solely any one of these, each is capable in the right circumstances of changing its manner from postive to neutral to negative.
2. Each of these three aspects has an essential, independent structure, and thus can be described as -structures- per se. Thus if one asks what is individuality, the response is that it is a particular structure which is part of the existence of every thing or object or substance and this structure we label - individuality -. The same with the - physical - aspect (or body, form, etc.) and with the - spiritual - aspect (or content, meaning, etc.).
3. It should be further noted that each aspect of existence can also be further divided into three components and so on, ad infinitum. In other words, individuality can be further subdivided into three aspects (self, ego, persona for example). Thus three-ness is a prerequisite for existence. Things that exist are three in their fundamental or ontological nature. Structures are created or emerge from this three-ness. No three-ness, no structure; no structure, no - thing - to exist. For this reason substances, things or objects do not exist in any non or unconditional (ontologically real) sense, rather structures exist, and these structures are perceived to be substances, things or objects. Physical nature is a certain structure, individuality is a certain structure and spirit is a certain structure; the whole may also be within a structure encompassing the other structures. Nothing else can be said to exist as we think of existence.
4. Man is not a single ontological reality either, rather man, like all things and objects (everything that exists), has a reality based on the three-ness of all his real characteristics, and thus all realities consist of three-nesses, ad infinitum. Thus man is not just individuality, or a physical body, or a spiritual being, rather man must be seen as a whole per se, but this whole is also simply a structure consisting of components which are structures. Since unconditional objects do not exist, neither does an ontologically real single substance exist. This does not mean that there is nothing unique about a person, since obviously each and every person has an individuality (that is a personal structure) which is totally unique at conception and in adaptation and development during the persons lifetime.
5. This principle of three-ness or trinitarianism is the top-level or foundation ontology of the Baha'i teachings. For example this three-ness principle is found in the basic Baha'i concept of the Cosmos as being comprised of the following: (1.) God, (2.) The Prophetic World, and (3.) The World of Man (or the physical cosmos).
As Abdu'l-Baha comments in Some Answered Questions (SAQ):
Know that the conditions of existence are limited to the conditions of servitude, of prophethood and of Deity… (SAQ, Chapter LXII).
Also from SAQ:
We said that the Manifestations have three planes. First, the physical reality, which depends upon the body; secondly, the individual reality, that is to say, the rational soul; thirdly, the divine appearance, which is the divine perfections…(Chapter XXXIX.)
Also:
Know that the Holy Manifestations, though they have the degrees of endless perfections, yet, speaking generally, have only three stations. The first station is the physical; the second station is the human, which is that of the rational soul; the third is that of the divine appearance and the heavenly splendor. (Chapter XXXVIII.)
LVII
[Man] has the innate character, the inherited character, and the acquired character which is gained by education.
With regard to the innate character, although the divine creation is purely good, yet the varieties of natural qualities in man come from the difference of degree; all are excellent but they are more or less so, according to the degree. So all mankind possess intelligence and capacities, the intelligence, the capacity, and the worthiness of men differ. This is evident. [Individuality or the innate character is what is given to the individual by God and each individual has differing qualities and capacities.]
The variety of inherited qualities comes from strength and weakness of constitution [i.e. the body is the result of genetic, ie physical, inheritance and other physical factors].
…the difference of the qualities with regard to culture is very great; for education has great influence. Through education the ignorant become learned, the cowardly become valiant; through cultivation the crooked branch becomes straight…
Education must be considered as most important; for as diseases in the world of bodies are extremely contagious, so, in the same way, qualities of spirit and heart are extremely contagious. Education has a universal influence, and the differences caused by it are very great.
(Chapter LVII).
Existence itself is three-ness.
1. Nothing that exists is simple, there are no simple objects or substances per se which exist in a non or unconditional way. All things have a fundamental nature which is structural and can be described as trinitarian in principle. All things by necessity have three aspects consisting of an individuality, a natural physical existence, and a spiritual (emergent or social-cultural) existence, the last of which acts in a teleological (or emergence of properties or processes) manner for the whole. Individuality may be equated with passive existence, while the activity of the physical nature and the spiritual nature create a dualistic or complementary continuum of constant dynamic activity or flux (like yin and yang). The three may be generally described as simply positive, negative and neutral, but no particular aspect is solely any one of these, each is capable in the right circumstances of changing its manner from postive to neutral to negative.
2. Each of these three aspects has an essential, independent structure, and thus can be described as -structures- per se. Thus if one asks what is individuality, the response is that it is a particular structure which is part of the existence of every thing or object or substance and this structure we label - individuality -. The same with the - physical - aspect (or body, form, etc.) and with the - spiritual - aspect (or content, meaning, etc.).
3. It should be further noted that each aspect of existence can also be further divided into three components and so on, ad infinitum. In other words, individuality can be further subdivided into three aspects (self, ego, persona for example). Thus three-ness is a prerequisite for existence. Things that exist are three in their fundamental or ontological nature. Structures are created or emerge from this three-ness. No three-ness, no structure; no structure, no - thing - to exist. For this reason substances, things or objects do not exist in any non or unconditional (ontologically real) sense, rather structures exist, and these structures are perceived to be substances, things or objects. Physical nature is a certain structure, individuality is a certain structure and spirit is a certain structure; the whole may also be within a structure encompassing the other structures. Nothing else can be said to exist as we think of existence.
4. Man is not a single ontological reality either, rather man, like all things and objects (everything that exists), has a reality based on the three-ness of all his real characteristics, and thus all realities consist of three-nesses, ad infinitum. Thus man is not just individuality, or a physical body, or a spiritual being, rather man must be seen as a whole per se, but this whole is also simply a structure consisting of components which are structures. Since unconditional objects do not exist, neither does an ontologically real single substance exist. This does not mean that there is nothing unique about a person, since obviously each and every person has an individuality (that is a personal structure) which is totally unique at conception and in adaptation and development during the persons lifetime.
5. This principle of three-ness or trinitarianism is the top-level or foundation ontology of the Baha'i teachings. For example this three-ness principle is found in the basic Baha'i concept of the Cosmos as being comprised of the following: (1.) God, (2.) The Prophetic World, and (3.) The World of Man (or the physical cosmos).
As Abdu'l-Baha comments in Some Answered Questions (SAQ):
Know that the conditions of existence are limited to the conditions of servitude, of prophethood and of Deity… (SAQ, Chapter LXII).
Also from SAQ:
We said that the Manifestations have three planes. First, the physical reality, which depends upon the body; secondly, the individual reality, that is to say, the rational soul; thirdly, the divine appearance, which is the divine perfections…(Chapter XXXIX.)
Also:
Know that the Holy Manifestations, though they have the degrees of endless perfections, yet, speaking generally, have only three stations. The first station is the physical; the second station is the human, which is that of the rational soul; the third is that of the divine appearance and the heavenly splendor. (Chapter XXXVIII.)
LVII
[Man] has the innate character, the inherited character, and the acquired character which is gained by education.
With regard to the innate character, although the divine creation is purely good, yet the varieties of natural qualities in man come from the difference of degree; all are excellent but they are more or less so, according to the degree. So all mankind possess intelligence and capacities, the intelligence, the capacity, and the worthiness of men differ. This is evident. [Individuality or the innate character is what is given to the individual by God and each individual has differing qualities and capacities.]
The variety of inherited qualities comes from strength and weakness of constitution [i.e. the body is the result of genetic, ie physical, inheritance and other physical factors].
…the difference of the qualities with regard to culture is very great; for education has great influence. Through education the ignorant become learned, the cowardly become valiant; through cultivation the crooked branch becomes straight…
Education must be considered as most important; for as diseases in the world of bodies are extremely contagious, so, in the same way, qualities of spirit and heart are extremely contagious. Education has a universal influence, and the differences caused by it are very great.
(Chapter LVII).
Thursday, June 24, 2010
BAHAI APOCALYPSE: UNVEILING THE HIDDEN TEACHINGS OF BAHA’U’LLAH
Revision date: June 23, 2010.
Baha'u'llah's book Kitab'i'Iqan (The Book of Certitude) is his apocalyptic masterwork.
The topical subject of the Iqan is the reader himself, that person who changes and transforms as he/she works to understand the various themes and sub-themes of this book. The reader is always the subject of apocalyptic texts, as it is the reader him/her self who is being "revealed" by the text (it is this [self] revelation-airy condition by virtue of which a text can be described as being apocalyptic). This unveiling reveals the Self to be both the originator and the end product of the process of life (the alpha and the omega).
The Iqan is written as a treatise on past religious scriptures, an exegetical work according to Dr. Christopher Buck, and the text works to unveil the hidden foundations of those various historical religious entities which have been founded upon such texts. Such foundations are invariably hidden, just as the physical foundation of a large building is generally hidden, and can only be uncovered through an effort of great mental imagination and vision.
Baha'u'llah's book Kitab'i'Iqan (The Book of Certitude) is his apocalyptic masterwork.
The topical subject of the Iqan is the reader himself, that person who changes and transforms as he/she works to understand the various themes and sub-themes of this book. The reader is always the subject of apocalyptic texts, as it is the reader him/her self who is being "revealed" by the text (it is this [self] revelation-airy condition by virtue of which a text can be described as being apocalyptic). This unveiling reveals the Self to be both the originator and the end product of the process of life (the alpha and the omega).
The Iqan is written as a treatise on past religious scriptures, an exegetical work according to Dr. Christopher Buck, and the text works to unveil the hidden foundations of those various historical religious entities which have been founded upon such texts. Such foundations are invariably hidden, just as the physical foundation of a large building is generally hidden, and can only be uncovered through an effort of great mental imagination and vision.
[Imagine how much violence is needed to create "peace."]
Baha'u'llah accomplishes this feat by deconstructing the religious scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all of which have been written in a highly symbolic and codified form of writing which can be described as an apocalyptic grammar. Baha'u'llah's text introduces the reader to a fully functional form of such a grammar with a nearly complete syllabary and lexicon included.
This functional apocalyptic grammar allows us to view the hidden under-structure of the world's major religions, or rather it allows it (the foundation) to become unveiled-within-understanding within the reader's consciousness as a part of mankind's continuing apocalyptic odyssey towards our ultimate self-understanding which is essentially the same as our self-becoming.
Thus Baha'u'llah makes his claim to be the revelator of our day, revealing all those things that had previously been hidden in human affairs, human destiny and in human be-comingness and helping us to engage our current moment in history.
Bahai Apocalyptic Intentions.
Any Baha'i attempt at creating a hermeneutic technique or techniques (hermeneutic: theory or theories of interpretation) of textual interpretation must be apocalyptic in nature. This is required because the common ground of all religions is apocalypse, the unveiling of or revealing of God in the world.
Baha'is cannot discuss their own religious texts without referencing other religious traditions, nor should we want to try to create any hermeneutic that would be free of the influence of those other major religions.
One suspects that such an attempt would be impossible in any event, if only because the major purpose of Baha'i theologically-oriented texts is to interrogate and elicit an understanding from the religious scriptures of those other religions of their primary teachings within the context of their essentially apocalyptic natures (the oceanic current or stream of unveiling or revelation-al nature of existence and being/becoming). As a consequence, Baha'i must come to understand itself within the context of the whole living-tradition of religious movements in the world, and thus come to accept all those religions within their apocalyptic context (as adjuncts to unveiling and revelation, etc.) as one.
While we stand at the (current) end of those traditions, Baha'is view recent scriptural sources as being only the alpha-omega touchstone for all such scriptures, a contemporary beginning and simultaneous end of these scriptures, and for that reason to be uniquely useful for interrogative purposes, yet at the same time our scriptures can be only a small part of the whole corpus of religiously oriented texts.
As the Baha'i writings make their way into the world of religious thought they should have just as much influence on the way other religious traditions interpret their texts as those traditions will have on our interpretation of our own texts. In this sense, then, basic Baha'i hermeneutics involves the depiction of Baha'i texts and theories within that larger religious framework, and that framework should primarily be based upon an apocalyptic form of understanding.
Consequently all Baha'i understanding of its own religious scriptures is also necessarily indirectly derived from the backgrounds of those other religions, and thus will need to rely on a reconciliation process (cross-interrogation) in determining the success or failure of our current hermeneutical understanding of both our own scriptures and our scriptures relationship to the scriptures of other religions.
BAHA'I APOCALYPTIC INTERROGATIVE TECHNIQUES.
Baha'i apocalyptic interrogation techniques concern the various ways that texts interrogate other texts, readers interrogate texts, and texts interrogate readers.
Much of Baha'i apocalyptic literature consists of interrogation of the scriptures of Islam and Christianity, and to a lesser extent that of Judaism and other religious thematic texts such as mystical/Sufi traditional material. This is a case of texts interrogating other texts. This interrogation is conducted through a readers interaction with these texts and attempting to understand one set of texts interactions with the other sets of texts, i.e. Baha'i with Islamic.
Readers also must interrogate texts. The reader of the Baha'i text needs to interrogate the manner in which the Baha'i text interrogates the texts of other religions (what is this the Spanish inquisition?) in order to gain any understanding at all of the meaning in the text. A failure of interrogation by the reader will leave all texts opaque and closed to human understanding and usefulness, mere objects subject to the manipulation of elites in search of personal or group power.
What Baha'u'llah discovers in his writings is that without interrogation all religious texts are opaque and essentially meaningless. To make such texts transparent requires interrogation, text to text, reader to text, text to reader. Only with the process of interrogation can the texts be understood and seen to have meaning to modern human social conditions. Without interrogation all that religious texts can do is give rise to fantasy and superstition, cultic worship of idols.
When individual readers compare their interrogation results with the results of other individual readers we have texts interrogating readers. These interrogations are essential to creating even a small amount of transparency in the texts. And only with transparency can religious texts become relevant to modern lives and be said to live with us in our daily lives.
Monday, May 24, 2010
BAHA'I APOCALYPSE: UNVEILING THE HIDDEN TEACHINGS OF BAHA'U'LLAH
Baha'u'llah's book Kitab'i'Iqan (The Book of Certitude) is his apocalyptic masterwork.
The topical subject of the Iqan is the reader himself, that person who changes and transforms as he/she works to understand the various themes and sub-themes of this book.
Written as a treatise on past religious scriptures, the text works to unveil the hidden foundations of those various historical religious entities which are founded upon those texts. Such foundations are invariably hidden, just as the physical foundation of a large building is generally hidden, and can only be uncovered through an effort of great mental imagination and vision.
Baha'u'llah accomplishes this feat by deconstructing the religious scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all of which have been written in a highly symbolic form of apocalyptic grammar, thus allowing the hidden under-structure to be viewed by his readers, or rather to become unveiled-within-understanding within their consciousness as a part of mankind's continuing apocalyptic odyssey towards their ultimate self-becoming.
Thus Baha'u'llah makes his claim to be the revelator of our day, revealing all those things that had previously been hidden in human affairs and in human destiny.
The topical subject of the Iqan is the reader himself, that person who changes and transforms as he/she works to understand the various themes and sub-themes of this book.
Written as a treatise on past religious scriptures, the text works to unveil the hidden foundations of those various historical religious entities which are founded upon those texts. Such foundations are invariably hidden, just as the physical foundation of a large building is generally hidden, and can only be uncovered through an effort of great mental imagination and vision.
Baha'u'llah accomplishes this feat by deconstructing the religious scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all of which have been written in a highly symbolic form of apocalyptic grammar, thus allowing the hidden under-structure to be viewed by his readers, or rather to become unveiled-within-understanding within their consciousness as a part of mankind's continuing apocalyptic odyssey towards their ultimate self-becoming.
Thus Baha'u'llah makes his claim to be the revelator of our day, revealing all those things that had previously been hidden in human affairs and in human destiny.
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