Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The rationale of 'being' : The existentially inevitable principle of 'duality' explained.

The rationale behind the well evident DUALITY in existence ( that between God and knowing beings, objects and observer etc.) 


Note:  This post is an extract from author's book,titled, " Is reason a sense-organ? A super-mind above the known-mind?' available at Amazon.com link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=book+%27is+reason+a+sense+organ%2F, section-2, page 46, 47, 48

Quote:


In order to achieve momentum of existence, perceiving entities (subjects) and plethora of objects were inevitable existential necessities.  Similar to the physical laws that Science recognize, she ( science) has not yet focused her attention into this field; as to what could have been the system, or nature's basic 'organization-principle' behind the emergence of knowing entities in the world ! If she at least recognize this area or realm as a real, and another independent area of nature's plan and organization, half the battle of understanding life and existence would have been won !

The original existential ONENESS could have been got separated into independent synthetic ENTITIES, who formed the perceiving entities (or SUBJECTS)  like man, was possible only through the above seen scheme of every subject turning into natural 'objects' too, before the similarly ordained ‘other’ subjects ! Of course this proposition might demand a good-amount of abstract imagination, to grasp its basis principle... 




This drama of DUALITY was an inevitable essential of the scheme of existence. Devising the scheme of the 'Phenomenal' world was a highly imaginative ( creative) choice of nature, for the purpose of the emergence of SYNTHETIC entities, like man, animals and plants.


The original existential unity might have been a suffocating dead SILENCE ! A unity of that sort is not capable of knowing of itself. To attain the very status of BEING, and its momentum and life, that primordial UNITY ( or oneness) had to be transformed into a DUALITY. The greatest existential urge, the hidden universal emotion, it seems, was that of letting itself known!

How could the primordial unity, or the 'oneness' be divided for meeting such an existential purpose? The scheme of PHENOMENA was the answer. Phenomena could produce synthetic entities, which could perceive each other as entities different from them, and give birth to INDEPENDENCE of the ENTITIES, though SYNTHETIC. (meaning, without any core substance, but entities evolving on the principle of INTERSUBJECTIVITY).

The duality principle of existence more explained 

We have seen above that DUALITY was nature's scheme for the emergence of ENTITIES, because, entities were the first necessity for knowing. We have seen above that an object gains status of an ENTITY only when a subject perceives it. It is a mutually provided status, and a central aspect of the scheme of existence.


Here, a keen observer could see some truth in what the great philosopher Bishop Berkeley had claimed: matter cannot exist without a perceiving entity. What he might have meant was the inevitability of the DUALITY in existence ! But world did not understand him properly, and laughed at him citing the reality of every object int the world irrespective of the need of any observer or perceiving entity. Dr. Johnson famously kicked a milestone and showed his badly hurt foot in proof of the opposite reality ! He and the world took the serious existential law in its laughably naive sense. 



A somewhat naive example for the truthfulness of this proposition is the sure and certain existence of millions of stars, and even galaxies of stars, at unknown, remote corners of our universe! Their existence is equal to NON-EXISTENCE for us, as we do know them in real terms! 


Many present unknown mysteries about our universe are equal to NON-EXISTENT for us, on the same principle. Something gains the status of an object or reality only when some-other perceiving entities give them their meaning by the virtue, or type of their relation to it.



Such attributing a status of reality does not mean that the observer has known the object in its noumenal reality.( the 'in-itself' category of Kant) Such category of knowing, by the pre-set knowing mechanism of such beings was called by Kant as 'phenomena'.   

Nature has used this scheme as the working principle for the phenomenal world. The mind organ was schemed for the emergence of ENTITIES, so that they perceive phenomena. As we have seen above, in the example of new born babies that their EGO takes birth as and when they start having their own experiences. It is not the other way; ego born first, and then he starts experiencing objects and events. The objects and experiences give birth to one’s entity. 


A physical body was the first essentiality for the emergence of such entities, for achieving tangibility.



Drives like hunger, thirst, sexual urge for procreation, automatic urges for excretion etc. were devised to ensure its automatic working. The next essentiality was the emergence of the BODY of the SPIRIT, as the ‘knower’.Ego’s emergence was devised to achieve this end. We have seen how ego emerges on the principle of the OWNERSHIP of one’s sense experiences.


Thus, when a complete entity is born, his SPIRITUAL or noumenal urges originates to take the entity to the higher realms. His sense of Reason urges the entity to look for higher realities to link him with his IN ITSELF source, thus achieving the ‘ends’ of the scheme of existence. It is equal to ‘nothingness’ in the absence of ‘knowing’ entities in existence.


Obviously, our science’s attempt to know about the physical universe without some insight into such possible schemes of existence would be like an attempt by monkeys to understand an air-craft’s spare part that landed in the jungle; without first knowing about the existence of an aircraft, whatever speculative theories they make will not help them to really KNOW the object.  


From the above examples and arguments, we have no way but to conclude that the emergence of KNOWING entities was the essence of existential purpose, because, reality is a mutually provided state, between subjects and objects. 



We find it difficult to accept the truth of this existential scheme because the observer here is not the single ego of you and me, but the impersonal SPIRIT of the scientific community that we represent. Such spirits are capable of possessing man, and altering his thoughts, stand and behaviour.

For example, it was such an impersonal spirit that had possessed German citizens during Hitler's regime, and made them join the mission of their leader, in annihilating the Jewish community! Ego is habitual of both being self-possessed, as well as getting trans-migrated in others, as alien SPIRITS.This feature of Ego could alter the identity of objects and realities of man as an individual, and that of the world, as larger communities. 




Posted by: Abraham J. Palakudy

He is an ardent seeker&researcher, in areas like Mind,Reason,philosophy,Spirituality and Polity
contact him at:or; ajoseph1@rediffmail.com

Twitter: Voice of philosophy@jopan1
His profile and other blogs at:https://www.blogger.com/profile/14249415589712707293


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