[MD] The Edge 2006 Annual Question

[Scott Roberts]

Joe,

Scott said:
What do you mean by "internal"? That is, I am aware of various seven-ordered
schemes, like the evolutionary cosmology of Rudolf Steiner, and the
developmental stages of Arthur M. Young, but then there are the 10 sefirot,
the nine psychological types of the Enneagram, etc. So while with thirds,
there is a logic behind the threeness, what sort of logic do you see behind
the seven-ness?

Joe said:

The truth of the threeness of a manifestation, like the L of CI for example,
depends upon a mystical acceptance. The acceptance of threeness is an
internal something, mystical.

Scott:
I don't see it as mystical, just logical. The meaning of 'meaning' requires 
a triadic relation: something means something else to someone. Similarly 
with the meaning of "give": someone gives something to someone else. One 
can't have meaning or giving if one is restricted to dyadic relations.

Joe said:
IMO Quality, morality, evolution indicate order. The acceptance of
Seven-ness is an internal something, mystical, of order. A logic of
seven-ness is exemplified in the octave of sound. As a chorus member I know
that it is not unusual when singing a- capella in a large group (over forty
members) to move to a different tonic scale while keeping the intervals true
between the sopranos, altos, tenors, and bases. In one of our performances
the low F on the written score became a low E in tone at the end. I was
surprised when someone from the audience complimented me on the resonance of
the low E. The logic of the octave is a logic of the need for a shock or
some other force entering to keep the vibration going in a straight
development. The deviation occurs when a shock is not given especially at
the half-tone intervals Mi-Fa, or Ti-Do. The Russian mystic George Gurdjieff
in his book 'All and Everything' devotes a chapter, The Law of
Heptaparaparshinokh, to the logic of a need for a law of shock, or observing
intervals to discover the need for more input. Cosmic evolution, and the
evolution of consciousness and morality emerge from energy expended.
Quality!

You mentioned the Enneagram. As far as I know this was the symbol Gurdjieff
used to give a visual representation to how a law of three interacts with a
law of seven.

Scott:
This may well be (that "the acceptance of Seven-ness is an internal 
something, mystical, of order"). But, see above, that is a different sort of 
thing than the threeness I am talking about. Of course, there may also be 
something internal and mystical about three-ness, but that's a different 
topic. (Because I don't *know* about such a thing is why I don't try to 
relate the triadic nature of meaning with the Trinity.)

- Scott