My Philosophy

The doctrine of Pluralism espoused especially by the post-modernist school has been in such favour over the past half-decade, that it has become cliché, almost ridiculous.  Certainly, the way in which Pluralist views are held by most does not fit with the basics of logical thought.  This mode of thought, simply expressed, is as follows: that there is no objective truth and all truth is subjective and personal.  I am sure all are immediately familiar with the logical contradiction inherent in this statement (most Pluralists choose to ignore this logical deficiency).  I, as a proponent of Pluralism's effect, if not its current form, shall endeavour to seek a way in which there is objective truth that in itself allows, nay requires, the complete acceptance of all reasonable subjective viewpoints.  I shall illustrate this by taking in to consideration that age-old problem which has, and does, bring about more debate than any other; that is, of course, the problem of religious variation.  

In Philosophy, unlike literature, it is generally unwise to begin in the middle of things.  Therefore I shall start with the beginning.  Some time ago I had a singular vision in which it seemed to me that a revelation took place; and the consequences of this epiphany were that I was made aware of the miracle of existence (henceforth I may use the term "isness", borrowed from Huxley, who borrowed it himself from Eckhart), not only of myself and my complexity in all aspects but of the very nature in which isness is so entirely ridiculous as a concept, so preposterously far-fetched, that one can do nothing but laugh that it occurred at all.  Simultaneously, there occurred to me the sense that everything in this world, and indeed beyond it, was locked together in this property of isness so inseparably, that all other properties, shape, mass, and so forth, were as nothing next to the property of isness, which everything conceivable has in some aspect.  In this way all thought, matter, spirit, et al. Are bound together in a supreme oneness regardless of what, on the surface, appear to be inherent differences.  All that is, is of the same inherent substance, which is existence or isness.  So, the two aspects that struck me, in this moment of epiphany, were of the miracle of isness, and of how this acted to bind the existent world into a signal whole (interconnectedness).  

When, on later reflection, I considered carefully, I came to the following idea regarding the place of God in this vision of mine.  At first, I considered that perhaps God was isness itself, but that struck me as somehow wrong.  I came, rather, to the thought that isness was the emanation of God, that is, being is the physical manifestation of God, who (or rather I should say 'which', for God in this case is not a 'being' per se) is the indefinable, incomprehensible, and utterly inconsiderable force, the Spark of Being, if you will, a prime mover only in that God is that which first existed and therefore, must be the concept of isness.  To clarify: God is not existence; God is the concept of existence (which was the first thing that existed).  From this concept emanated the existent universe, and so God (the concept of existence) is the insentient creator and source of all being.  This source cannot be comprehended by the living human mind, its nature is indescribable save through its effects, it can only be conversed about in the most infuriatingly abstract of terms (as I have attempted to do here).  

This revelation deserves recounting once more, therefore: What Humans have for millenia called God, is Entitas ipsa, Being itself, the first existence that emerged from the void of non-existence.  There is no way to actually describe this 'existence' without experiencing its presence; as Shelley says, "The Deep Truth [God/Being] is Imageless."  God is not the Prime Mover, as so often expostulated, but the Prime Be-er, the original existence (NOT the original BEING).  

Now, this realization stirred inside me a worldview based on fundamentally different principles than I had believed in before.  My cosmic beliefs were shattered and rebuilt from the ground up, beginning with Prime Existence.  Now, Prime Existence is imageless and utterly immeasurable, but it also (in the 'beginning', which temporally, there might in fact have been), was unable to exist solely within itself.  Thus, at the very moment when Prime Existence realized itself (that would be the Big Bang, or Creation, or for Pantheists, Prime Existence has simply always been), there sprang as Its emanation the Universe in all its totality!  I say nothing at all of the nature of the Universe, but suffice to say that one thing can be known: as Prime Existence is immeasurable and infinite, so the Universe, as its emanation, must likewise be so (by Universe, I mean all physical existence in all dimensions and, perhaps, the hypothesized multiverses).  To say quite plainly as I experienced in several moments of great enlightenment, "It Never Ends."  

One of the most important things to note about this theory of being is that it encompasses and explains the myriad beliefs of the religious systems, pagan, pantheist, and monotheist, which have existed!  All of these faiths, existent throughout Human history, are the result of some revelation of Prime Existence, and an attempt to explain it (as I likewise do here!).  Now as religions all refer to a common source, it is self-evident that the truly Enlightened believer will NEVER attempt to pull another away from a positive and constructive belief stemming in some way from Prime Existence!  

Now the most important aspect of any belief system is, what are its effects on the individual?  Obviously my hope in recounting and explaining my believe here is that I will bring others to a point where they realize that conflicts with others stemming from personal faiths are actually negative mutations of that faith; they are resultant from a misinterpretation of that essential truth which the particular faiths attempt to grasp.  

This is far from the only consequence of this belief!  An important consideration is the insight which I have gained into the nature of the body and soul, and of death.  Here, then I will go deeper into those ideas which arise from my revelation.  Body is part of the universe, the material emanation of Prime Existence.  Now as we know from science, material cannot be destroyed but it does change forms.  The body is animated by the Soul, which is a part of Prime Existence, briefly separated from its immeasurable source.  Mind, or Consciousness, is identical to what we call Soul.  During life, body and soul are intermingled, but after a short time they part (death) and the Soul rejoins the whole of Prime Existence.  

To conclude, I will ask, what does this theory tell us, in general?  Really, only the following: That we, as Humans, are a part of everything that has been, is, and shall ever be.  There can be no real distinction made between anything and anything else; all is at essence one.  

~*~

Since here I state that which must form the basis upon which I form my entire critique, I shall endeavour to be as plain as possible.  

Too often in philosophy we attempt to make claims based upon the evidence of sensation, not taking into account that which is evident from the briefest consideration: our sense is inherently flawed.  I need undertake no proofs of this, it is self-evident and confirmed by both science and by common sense.  What we sense is not what is, but merely our individual sensation of what is.  

The age-old question, then: what, exactly, is?  Evidently external things exist, as shown countless times before and attributed to by common sense.  Reality, then, is a concept that must be redefined.  No one has ever experienced Reality.  It is beyond human sensation.  Reality is what truly is.  There are many veils between ourselves and Reality, including sensation, perception, language.  From this core idea, that Reality is what is and that we can never experience it (and should we do so, could not adequately describe it in present language), we can and ought to attempt a deep and thorough reappraisal of our thought.  

~*~

"The Human Condition", as it has been called, is implicitly present where soul and body are mingled producing the unique state of human consciousness.  It is from our self-consciousness, Ego in its purest sense, that our dissatisfaction arises.  The development of consciousness ("consciousness is being conscious of consciousness", William James) led to two major human developmental areas.  Firstly, we became creatures of what is called reason, thinking and reasoning and making cultural advances.  Secondly, we became cut off from the natural world of instinct, we became a new creature, dissociated from nature by our Ego.  These two results of our self-consciousness have led us to our present state, notably, the more advanced we become as a culture and a species, the more we feel there is something missing.  What is it?  

Quite simply, we have lost the bond with the primal universe, on a deeply spiritual level.  For myself, God is intractably intermingled with the universe itself: timeless, eternal, all-powerful through sheer scope.  This Universe-God after the Panentheist sense is not conscious per se, but rather a benevolent presence in all places.  It is the concept of self, the Ego, which prevents our souls, which are a portion of the divine essence, from reattaining unity with God.  

Now clearly at death, the soul, the divine spark, flees the Ego (which must be dissociated from the body) and rejoins the mind-at-large, God.  The fear of death, then, results from the Ego's fear at its impending dissolution, as is only natural.  Now, if reason and Ego were unqualified ills, we would have every reason to kill ourselves right now.  But it is not so.  Elevated reason is what separates us from the natural world and form ideas such as the ones I am forming right now.  Through coming to the conclusion that the Ego prevents our unity with God until our deaths, and coming to that conclusion through reason, we complete a cycle which instils in us the desire not of death, but of a deeper understanding of the forces at work here.  For such an understanding, reason, and thus the Ego, are necessary.  The solution to the "Human Condition" then, is this: to attain an understanding of the forces which bring about the condition, and the means by which it can be alleviated (to put it concisely, in Socratic terms "Philosophy is the study of death").  Thinking on these matters puts us in a frame of mind to welcome the eventuality of death.  

Most importantly of all, we must realize that Ego and God are not mutually exclusive to the living rational being!  It is entirely possible to temporarily suspend the Ego through a variety of techniques, spiritual, physical, and chemical, practiced throughout human history.  Only by transcending the Ego, accomplished by utilizing these techniques we can garner a deeper understanding of the Objective Universe, the Mind-at-Large which is God, during our lifetimes.