[MD] Arlo's Rant and 3rd levels

[Ham Priday]

Greetings, John -- 


It's refreshing to find a free-thinking individual who is open to new ideas 
but with a critical eye.

> "Believes" might be too strong a word in a metaphysical context.
> Let's just say I'm satisfied to use the idea till I find one more useful.
> From a position of  deeper understanding, "non-human nature"
> is somewhat problematic.  Where does one draw the line?
> The food that goes into and out of my body, the air that flows
> from trees and through my lungs are all part of my humanity
> to a degree.

[Ham]:
> What's wrong with Descartes' own conclusion: "I think,
> therefore I am"?  Simply that it does not acknowledge the
> otherness of which his thought consists.

[John]:
> And even more disturbing, it doesn't acknowledge the
> otherness of which his *I* consists.  This is my main problem
> with Descartes.  In fact, Is this not the static deification of
> SOM?   Taking his isolated self as the grounding for his
> thoughts and then dividing the world up into objects outside
> of himself?
>
> In order to conceptualize  self, the Other is of absolute, logical
> necessity.  The apprehension of difference, contrast, similarity
> and definition is no doubt shaped by culture, language and
> intellect, but I'd say primarily it derives from an interactive
> relationship; first and foremost before language/culture gets
> its greedy paws on it.

You and I are on the same page, John, but not Arlo who has been persuaded 
that human cognizance is derived from biology and the collective society. 
Arlo is upset with me because I refuse to buy into this hierarchical scheme.

Indeed, it's been my point all along that the subjective 'I' is the locus of 
awareness without which there is no otherness.  Existence is a dichotomy in 
which awareness (value-sensibility) and beingness (the other) are divided 
but mutually dependent.  I view this dichotomy as the "negational mode" of 
an absolute source (Essence) whereby Value is made aware by an independent, 
agent.  The individual self (subject) is value-sensibility, and it becomes 
aware experientially by objectivizing Value as an evolving universe of 
finite things and events.  As the antithesis of Absolute Essence, 
subject/object reality is characterized by difference so that relational 
values such as Freedom, Morality, Beauty, Justice, and Compassion can be 
realized.autonomously.

> And a metaphysics that takes human perception of  "time"
> as an absolute given is fraught with difficulty and paradox.
> Or what was that fellow Einstein ranting about?   We can
> place time in its proper place without denying or contradicting it.

Yes, but we must understand that space and time, like sensibility and 
otherness, are differentiated only in actualized existence.  There is no 
"before",  "after", or "other" in the uncreated Essence from which S/O 
existence is derived.

Welcome to the MD, John.  More voices like yours are needed here.

Essentially yours,
Ham