Grown in shady doubt
Amid prickly thorns of gloom,
Sanguine roses bloom.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
THE REALITY OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS
Truer words were never written than when Jean Paul Sartre wrote that: "All consciousness is consciousness of something." Every individual "something" of which consciousness can be conscious must be real because they all have proven to be useful to consciousness. Even "nothing" is useful to consciousness as an idea. Every object and every idea is useful and real to consciousness.
Should anyone doubt the reality of these statements, one can perform an experiment which will tend to show that they are true. If one reads any page of a dictionary one will find that every word on that page never fails to indicate something useful. Even words that equal nothing such as "aether" or "ghost" prove useful as an indicator of that which is useless and should thus be discarded.
All real "somethings" can be combined into false combinations that effect "nothing" and are therefore useless. The idea of "nothing" is a useful "something" that indicates where uselessness resides. This makes the idea of "nothing" and "uselessness" equal to each other and this knowledge is useful.
In addition, "uselessness" and "nothing" also point to an unreality of which consciousness cannot be conscious. This happens because if one mentally subtracts all of the useful "somethings" from any false combination, including the idea of "nothing," then one is left with only a kind of "absolute nothingness" which seems to be nowhere and at no time. Thus, consciousness can only be conscious of the useful "somethings," including the idea of "nothing" being "something" as a useful idea, that constitute reality. Consciousness can never be conscious of unreality except to the extent that it is indicated by the idea of "nothing." Therefore, all of the "somethings" of which consciousness can be conscious, whether abstract or concrete, must of necessity be real. In fact, it is impossible for consciousness to be directly conscious of unreality. Consciousness can only be conscious of reality.
When one examines consciousness itself, one finds that consciousness always directs itself toward its object, whether abstract or concrete. An abstract idea is just as much an object of consciousness as is a solid object that is felt. This fact makes all abstract ideas real because they all are useful.
The materialists maintain that consciousness is nothing more than brain activity. Yet, this consciousness can direct itself toward a consciousness of this brain activity. Since consciousness always directs itself toward its object, then brain activity can be an object of consciousness. This indicates that consciousness itself holds a useful power that can direct itself toward that very object that produces it. Consciousness is a useful and real separate power within itself.
The materialists may counter this argument by asserting that brain activity can be conscious of itself. Yet, by this argument they unconsciously admit that brain activity produces a consciousness which holds the power within itself to be conscious of brain activity.
So what exactly is this consciousness? All we seem to know about it is that it is a kind of invisible vapor that holds a useful power within itself to be aware of all reality. If consciousness can only be conscious of reality, then the usefulness of this invisible vapor must prove that it holds a separate reality. In addition, this separate reality also holds the power within itself to be conscious of consciousness itself. But this fact, in turn, only proves that consciousness can be conscious of itself being conscious of itself. This process could go on to infinity except that finite consciousness finds it impossible to carry this effort to infinity.
This self-consciousness that tends to reach toward infinity may show that humans possess a "spirit" that yearns to be reconnected to infinity. The usefulness of the idea of "infinity" tends to indicate the real existence of an Infinite Consciousness because a reality had to have existed prior to human reality. Humans possess a spirit that yearns to be reconnected to God. God Himself has provided the possibility of such a reconnection through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son.
Should anyone doubt the reality of these statements, one can perform an experiment which will tend to show that they are true. If one reads any page of a dictionary one will find that every word on that page never fails to indicate something useful. Even words that equal nothing such as "aether" or "ghost" prove useful as an indicator of that which is useless and should thus be discarded.
All real "somethings" can be combined into false combinations that effect "nothing" and are therefore useless. The idea of "nothing" is a useful "something" that indicates where uselessness resides. This makes the idea of "nothing" and "uselessness" equal to each other and this knowledge is useful.
In addition, "uselessness" and "nothing" also point to an unreality of which consciousness cannot be conscious. This happens because if one mentally subtracts all of the useful "somethings" from any false combination, including the idea of "nothing," then one is left with only a kind of "absolute nothingness" which seems to be nowhere and at no time. Thus, consciousness can only be conscious of the useful "somethings," including the idea of "nothing" being "something" as a useful idea, that constitute reality. Consciousness can never be conscious of unreality except to the extent that it is indicated by the idea of "nothing." Therefore, all of the "somethings" of which consciousness can be conscious, whether abstract or concrete, must of necessity be real. In fact, it is impossible for consciousness to be directly conscious of unreality. Consciousness can only be conscious of reality.
When one examines consciousness itself, one finds that consciousness always directs itself toward its object, whether abstract or concrete. An abstract idea is just as much an object of consciousness as is a solid object that is felt. This fact makes all abstract ideas real because they all are useful.
The materialists maintain that consciousness is nothing more than brain activity. Yet, this consciousness can direct itself toward a consciousness of this brain activity. Since consciousness always directs itself toward its object, then brain activity can be an object of consciousness. This indicates that consciousness itself holds a useful power that can direct itself toward that very object that produces it. Consciousness is a useful and real separate power within itself.
The materialists may counter this argument by asserting that brain activity can be conscious of itself. Yet, by this argument they unconsciously admit that brain activity produces a consciousness which holds the power within itself to be conscious of brain activity.
So what exactly is this consciousness? All we seem to know about it is that it is a kind of invisible vapor that holds a useful power within itself to be aware of all reality. If consciousness can only be conscious of reality, then the usefulness of this invisible vapor must prove that it holds a separate reality. In addition, this separate reality also holds the power within itself to be conscious of consciousness itself. But this fact, in turn, only proves that consciousness can be conscious of itself being conscious of itself. This process could go on to infinity except that finite consciousness finds it impossible to carry this effort to infinity.
This self-consciousness that tends to reach toward infinity may show that humans possess a "spirit" that yearns to be reconnected to infinity. The usefulness of the idea of "infinity" tends to indicate the real existence of an Infinite Consciousness because a reality had to have existed prior to human reality. Humans possess a spirit that yearns to be reconnected to God. God Himself has provided the possibility of such a reconnection through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Friday, December 30, 2011
THE USES OF NOTHING
Parmenides maintained that reality is such that the "All is one," by which he meant that the "All" is a kind of homogeneous sphere. By this he concluded that all appearances to consciousness such as change, motion and nothing are mere illusions. Even though he used good logic to arrive at these conclusions, for all intents and purposes his conclusion was useless and meaningless.
The practical truth is that man lives in a world of appearances, change, motion and nothingness. Even if all this were an illusion, this world, nevertheless, is the only one we know and as such becomes indistinguishable from reality itself.
Therefore, nothing must be real to the mind. Nothing can be no appearance, and yet it is real. Nothingness can only be real as an idea in the mind. How consciousness acquired this singular idea of nothing when it never appears remains a real mystery. Man's finite mind is just too small to ever figure this out on his own.
Yet, this fact reminds us of other ideas that could not have been acquired by direct experience even though they are real. Their usefulness to consciousness makes them real. "Infinity" is a real idea even though it has never been seen, felt or smelt. "Justice" has proven itself to be a useful concept even though no one has ever directly seen it. One suspects that these kinds of ideas could only have been given to the mind by an infinity being the possibility of everything. But this means that the Infinite must know everything; consciousness being one of its possibilities. If this is true, then there must exist an Infinite Consciousness that we call God.
The first use of nothingness is that it is space. We move through it and we observe motion in it. Space separates objects and thereby contributes to their recognition as individual objects. In addition, something and nothing together unify the world into a whole. How we humans can outwardly move through a mere idea in our minds is another real mystery. One possible explanation ( with due credit to Bishop Berkeley) is that space is a perception in the mind of God.
The second use of the idea of nothing is that it separates ideas in the mind into individual, recognizable ideas. By use of the idea of nothing, the mind can separate general ideas such as "roundness" or "redness" and recognize that they apply to all things round or red. If one imagines two objects in one's mind, one round and the other red, one will notice that they are separated by a space which is the idea of nothing. Also, one thought follows another in moments of time, but that which divides one moment from another is the idea of nothing.
The mind holds the power to create or invent different systems, selecting those ideas that compose each system from all of the ideas that we know. The creations of these systems has been a continuous process throughout the history of mankind. Some of these systems are most useful because they benefit the most people. Others are far less useful because they benefit only a small number of people while being detrimental to the rest. Some systems benefit no one. They are simply destructive. Many such systems have been invented and created by man such as: systems of law and government, education, religion, science and technology, roads and many others.
The word "nothing" has two basic meanings. The first meaning is simply "emptiness" or the "void." In the second meaning, "nothing" should really be two words; "no thing." In this case, the "thing" means any object of consciousness, and "no" means to equate the "thing" with the negative. The objects of consciousness can never be negated by nothingness, but consciousness can use the idea of the negative to equate a particular object or idea with the negative in order to exclude that object or idea from inclusion in a system which consciousness is in the process of creating, inventing or considering. For example, when one considers the simple system called: "a straight line," one will always keep "no curves" out of this system.
Whenever man creates a particular system, whether beneficial or destructive, he always includes those ideas that fit in with the other ideas, or those ideas that he desires to be in his system, and excludes all others by using the idea of nothing. The third use of the idea of nothing is that of a principle or rule that excludes all unwanted or unuseable ideas from any system under consideration.
One of the laws of the universe is that information cannot be destroyed. True ideas cannot be destroyed, but they can be considered to be equal to nothing as far as their inclusion in any particular system is concerned. False ideas cannot be destroyed either, but the difference between these two ideas is that false ideas are actually equal to nothing whereas true ideas can only be considered as equal to nothing in order to exclude them from a system. For example, when an idealistic philosopher contends that certain materialistic ideas are "not real," he does not mean that they can be destroyed. He only means that they are equal to the idea of nothing as far as his idealistic system is concerned. He also may believe they are false. For another example, the false theory that produced the false idea of "aether" in space, can never be destroyed as ideas, but the false idea "aether" actually means nothing in the sense of "empty."
True and false systems alike always comprise true and useful ideas, but false systems always produce false ideas. False ideas are real as ideas, but because of their equality with the idea of nothing, they always indicate an absolute nothingness hidden by the idea of nothing. Thus, the fourth use of the idea of nothing is that it indicates an absolute nothingness that lies outside of human experience. As a simple example of this truth, consider the false system called a "mermaid." A mermaid comprises two true systems called a "fish" and a "female." If one subtracts these two true ideas from the false system, one is left with the idea of nothing as a product of this system. But the true idea of nothing actually indicates the nonexistence of the mermaid. So, if one then subtracts even this true idea from the false system, one is left with an absolute nothingness which constitutes the actual nonexistence of the mermaid. Nonexistence constitutes the only unreality. Humans never experience it except as it is indicated by the idea of nothing. Nonexistence seems to be nowhere and at no time.
If humans never experience unreality then all appearances must be real whether given to the mind or coming into the mind through the senses. The whole of reality appears as something, the idea of nothing, or as ideas equivalent to nothing.
The practical truth is that man lives in a world of appearances, change, motion and nothingness. Even if all this were an illusion, this world, nevertheless, is the only one we know and as such becomes indistinguishable from reality itself.
Therefore, nothing must be real to the mind. Nothing can be no appearance, and yet it is real. Nothingness can only be real as an idea in the mind. How consciousness acquired this singular idea of nothing when it never appears remains a real mystery. Man's finite mind is just too small to ever figure this out on his own.
Yet, this fact reminds us of other ideas that could not have been acquired by direct experience even though they are real. Their usefulness to consciousness makes them real. "Infinity" is a real idea even though it has never been seen, felt or smelt. "Justice" has proven itself to be a useful concept even though no one has ever directly seen it. One suspects that these kinds of ideas could only have been given to the mind by an infinity being the possibility of everything. But this means that the Infinite must know everything; consciousness being one of its possibilities. If this is true, then there must exist an Infinite Consciousness that we call God.
The first use of nothingness is that it is space. We move through it and we observe motion in it. Space separates objects and thereby contributes to their recognition as individual objects. In addition, something and nothing together unify the world into a whole. How we humans can outwardly move through a mere idea in our minds is another real mystery. One possible explanation ( with due credit to Bishop Berkeley) is that space is a perception in the mind of God.
The second use of the idea of nothing is that it separates ideas in the mind into individual, recognizable ideas. By use of the idea of nothing, the mind can separate general ideas such as "roundness" or "redness" and recognize that they apply to all things round or red. If one imagines two objects in one's mind, one round and the other red, one will notice that they are separated by a space which is the idea of nothing. Also, one thought follows another in moments of time, but that which divides one moment from another is the idea of nothing.
The mind holds the power to create or invent different systems, selecting those ideas that compose each system from all of the ideas that we know. The creations of these systems has been a continuous process throughout the history of mankind. Some of these systems are most useful because they benefit the most people. Others are far less useful because they benefit only a small number of people while being detrimental to the rest. Some systems benefit no one. They are simply destructive. Many such systems have been invented and created by man such as: systems of law and government, education, religion, science and technology, roads and many others.
The word "nothing" has two basic meanings. The first meaning is simply "emptiness" or the "void." In the second meaning, "nothing" should really be two words; "no thing." In this case, the "thing" means any object of consciousness, and "no" means to equate the "thing" with the negative. The objects of consciousness can never be negated by nothingness, but consciousness can use the idea of the negative to equate a particular object or idea with the negative in order to exclude that object or idea from inclusion in a system which consciousness is in the process of creating, inventing or considering. For example, when one considers the simple system called: "a straight line," one will always keep "no curves" out of this system.
Whenever man creates a particular system, whether beneficial or destructive, he always includes those ideas that fit in with the other ideas, or those ideas that he desires to be in his system, and excludes all others by using the idea of nothing. The third use of the idea of nothing is that of a principle or rule that excludes all unwanted or unuseable ideas from any system under consideration.
One of the laws of the universe is that information cannot be destroyed. True ideas cannot be destroyed, but they can be considered to be equal to nothing as far as their inclusion in any particular system is concerned. False ideas cannot be destroyed either, but the difference between these two ideas is that false ideas are actually equal to nothing whereas true ideas can only be considered as equal to nothing in order to exclude them from a system. For example, when an idealistic philosopher contends that certain materialistic ideas are "not real," he does not mean that they can be destroyed. He only means that they are equal to the idea of nothing as far as his idealistic system is concerned. He also may believe they are false. For another example, the false theory that produced the false idea of "aether" in space, can never be destroyed as ideas, but the false idea "aether" actually means nothing in the sense of "empty."
True and false systems alike always comprise true and useful ideas, but false systems always produce false ideas. False ideas are real as ideas, but because of their equality with the idea of nothing, they always indicate an absolute nothingness hidden by the idea of nothing. Thus, the fourth use of the idea of nothing is that it indicates an absolute nothingness that lies outside of human experience. As a simple example of this truth, consider the false system called a "mermaid." A mermaid comprises two true systems called a "fish" and a "female." If one subtracts these two true ideas from the false system, one is left with the idea of nothing as a product of this system. But the true idea of nothing actually indicates the nonexistence of the mermaid. So, if one then subtracts even this true idea from the false system, one is left with an absolute nothingness which constitutes the actual nonexistence of the mermaid. Nonexistence constitutes the only unreality. Humans never experience it except as it is indicated by the idea of nothing. Nonexistence seems to be nowhere and at no time.
If humans never experience unreality then all appearances must be real whether given to the mind or coming into the mind through the senses. The whole of reality appears as something, the idea of nothing, or as ideas equivalent to nothing.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
THE CHRISTMAS ROMANCE a short story
The ladies of our church had well decorated the fellowship hall for our annual Christmas party. Resplendently adorned with green and red ornaments; gold and silver tinsel, an enormous Christmas tree stood at one end of the spacious hall. Stolid statues in a manger scene, with Mary holding baby Jesus while Joseph, sheperds, and sheep looked on, lent an air of purity and holiness to this festive occasion.
Every year, each child got a small present from the church. Pastor Hadley played Santa Claus, calling out the children's names and handing out the presents. Every child crowded around the tree eagerly waiting for his or her name to be called.
I hopped from one foot to the other with excitement.
"Joey Harper," Pastor Hadley finally called, waving my green-wrapped present above his head and looking around as if he hadn't seen me.
"Here I am," I hollered.
"Oh, there you are." Pastor Hadley grinned. "I might have known that you would be right up front."
He handed my present to me. I plopped to the floor right there and ripped it open at once. It was a shiny blue yo-yo. Oh no, I thought, a little disappointed. I'm not very good with one of these things. I stood and slipped the loop at the end of the string onto the middle finger of my right hand. I flipped the yo-yo toward the floor, but instead of spinning and coming back to my hand, it merely flopped around at the end of the string.
Pastor Hadley noticed my problem. "Here," he said, "let me show you how to do that." He slipped the loop onto his finger and wound up the string. Then, he quickly spun the yo-yo, making it barely touch the hardwood floor. The toy creeped away from him across the floor. "That's called walking the dog," he informed me. Then, with a bare twitch of his middle finger, the yo-yo jumped back into his hand.
Pastor Hadley put the toy back into my hand and gently rubbed my head. "Practice, Joey," he instructed. "You have to practice every day."
After a scrumptious buffet dinner supplied by covered dishes brought by most of the ladies, Pastor Hadley stood before the Christmas tree and held up his hands to draw attention. "Can I have everyone's attention?" he announced. "Bess, come here please."
My mother nudged through the crowd and to Pastor Hadley's side. They each put an arm around each other's back. They gazed at each other with sparkling eyes.
"Bess and I have decided to make this announcement at this party," Pastor Hadley excitedly exclaimed. "Thanks to what we believe to be the will of God, we plan to get married in June."
This did not really surprise me since I had seen Pastor Hadley come to our house almost every day since Thanksgiving.
For a moment, the crowd tittered. Then, everyone broke into smiles and began to shake Pastor Hadley's hand, congratulating him. Most of the ladies hugged my mother.
Everyone seemed to be happy except my other mother. She was my mother's mother, but instead of Grandmother, she insisted I call her Other Mother. She caught my mother by the arm at a moment when she was standing alone. "I would like to speak with you alone," Other Mother whispered through clenched teeth.
"Drop by the house later," Mom answered, moving away to talk to some of the ladies.
Later that evening, Mother sat in her favorite chair in the living room, knitting, and talking with Pastor Hadley while we children; my cousin Darlene, my sister Sarah and I, sat cross-legged on the floor playing Chinese checkers.
I was glad to see my Mom feeling so content. She had been sad for a long time after my Dad had not come home from the war.
Suddenly, the front door swung open and, unannounced, Other Mother stomped into the room. While holding her lips firmly pressed together, she quickly began to jerk off her white gloves, one finger at a time. "I would like to know," she spat, "how you two could embarras me the way you did."
"What do you mean, Mother dear?" Mom rejoined.
Other Mother's narrowed eyes widened a little with pretended shock. "You know perfectly well what I mean," she thundered. "How can you two get married? It's scandalous."
"Everyone seemed to be happy about it," Pastor Hadley replied.
"They put on a good front," Other Mother snapped. "They were actually quite shocked. For heaven's sake Bess, you're nine years older than him."
"So, I like younger men," Mom replied, suppressing an impish grin.
"Bess!" Other Mother exploded. She gazed upward in mock prayer. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. "Lord, help me," she gasped. She crossed her arms and stared at Mom. "Well, I just talked to Sister Hitchcock on the phone, and she agrees with me."
"That toady," Pastor Hadley replied, laughing. "She's never been known to disagree with you about anything."
"All right," Other Mother sighed. She wiped an invisible tear from the corner of one eye. "A mother can only try to do her duty, but if you two insist on going through with this travesty, I won't be coming to the wedding."
"Suit yourself," Mother retorted, this time with a look of boredom.
Other Mother slowly began to pull her gloves on. "I've done all that a mother can do," she moaned. She trudged toward the door, glanced back and slightly shook her head. She slipped through the door and quietly closed it behind her.
Pastor Hadley sipped his coffee and then peeked at Mom. He chuckled.
Mom looked back at him over her knitting and smiled.
Every year, each child got a small present from the church. Pastor Hadley played Santa Claus, calling out the children's names and handing out the presents. Every child crowded around the tree eagerly waiting for his or her name to be called.
I hopped from one foot to the other with excitement.
"Joey Harper," Pastor Hadley finally called, waving my green-wrapped present above his head and looking around as if he hadn't seen me.
"Here I am," I hollered.
"Oh, there you are." Pastor Hadley grinned. "I might have known that you would be right up front."
He handed my present to me. I plopped to the floor right there and ripped it open at once. It was a shiny blue yo-yo. Oh no, I thought, a little disappointed. I'm not very good with one of these things. I stood and slipped the loop at the end of the string onto the middle finger of my right hand. I flipped the yo-yo toward the floor, but instead of spinning and coming back to my hand, it merely flopped around at the end of the string.
Pastor Hadley noticed my problem. "Here," he said, "let me show you how to do that." He slipped the loop onto his finger and wound up the string. Then, he quickly spun the yo-yo, making it barely touch the hardwood floor. The toy creeped away from him across the floor. "That's called walking the dog," he informed me. Then, with a bare twitch of his middle finger, the yo-yo jumped back into his hand.
Pastor Hadley put the toy back into my hand and gently rubbed my head. "Practice, Joey," he instructed. "You have to practice every day."
After a scrumptious buffet dinner supplied by covered dishes brought by most of the ladies, Pastor Hadley stood before the Christmas tree and held up his hands to draw attention. "Can I have everyone's attention?" he announced. "Bess, come here please."
My mother nudged through the crowd and to Pastor Hadley's side. They each put an arm around each other's back. They gazed at each other with sparkling eyes.
"Bess and I have decided to make this announcement at this party," Pastor Hadley excitedly exclaimed. "Thanks to what we believe to be the will of God, we plan to get married in June."
This did not really surprise me since I had seen Pastor Hadley come to our house almost every day since Thanksgiving.
For a moment, the crowd tittered. Then, everyone broke into smiles and began to shake Pastor Hadley's hand, congratulating him. Most of the ladies hugged my mother.
Everyone seemed to be happy except my other mother. She was my mother's mother, but instead of Grandmother, she insisted I call her Other Mother. She caught my mother by the arm at a moment when she was standing alone. "I would like to speak with you alone," Other Mother whispered through clenched teeth.
"Drop by the house later," Mom answered, moving away to talk to some of the ladies.
Later that evening, Mother sat in her favorite chair in the living room, knitting, and talking with Pastor Hadley while we children; my cousin Darlene, my sister Sarah and I, sat cross-legged on the floor playing Chinese checkers.
I was glad to see my Mom feeling so content. She had been sad for a long time after my Dad had not come home from the war.
Suddenly, the front door swung open and, unannounced, Other Mother stomped into the room. While holding her lips firmly pressed together, she quickly began to jerk off her white gloves, one finger at a time. "I would like to know," she spat, "how you two could embarras me the way you did."
"What do you mean, Mother dear?" Mom rejoined.
Other Mother's narrowed eyes widened a little with pretended shock. "You know perfectly well what I mean," she thundered. "How can you two get married? It's scandalous."
"Everyone seemed to be happy about it," Pastor Hadley replied.
"They put on a good front," Other Mother snapped. "They were actually quite shocked. For heaven's sake Bess, you're nine years older than him."
"So, I like younger men," Mom replied, suppressing an impish grin.
"Bess!" Other Mother exploded. She gazed upward in mock prayer. She closed her eyes and bit her lip. "Lord, help me," she gasped. She crossed her arms and stared at Mom. "Well, I just talked to Sister Hitchcock on the phone, and she agrees with me."
"That toady," Pastor Hadley replied, laughing. "She's never been known to disagree with you about anything."
"All right," Other Mother sighed. She wiped an invisible tear from the corner of one eye. "A mother can only try to do her duty, but if you two insist on going through with this travesty, I won't be coming to the wedding."
"Suit yourself," Mother retorted, this time with a look of boredom.
Other Mother slowly began to pull her gloves on. "I've done all that a mother can do," she moaned. She trudged toward the door, glanced back and slightly shook her head. She slipped through the door and quietly closed it behind her.
Pastor Hadley sipped his coffee and then peeked at Mom. He chuckled.
Mom looked back at him over her knitting and smiled.
Monday, December 19, 2011
COMMENTARY ON EMPIRICISM
David Hume and the empiricists maintain that all that man can know for certain is that which we attain through our physical senses. All the rest that we know is uncertain because we obtain it merely through belief and habit. This philosophy suggests that only knowledge that comes through the senses can be real, whereas knowledge that comes from belief or habit is always suspect, and therefore, less than real.
However by experience, beliefs and habits have proven to be useful or useless depending on how they are employed. If a belief or habit improves a person's life, causing them to be healthier in mind or body, then that effect would seem to be just as real as feeling any solid object. Even more real in some respects because beliefs and habits can improve lives whereas the feeling of a solid object is mainly neutral in this effect. It is difficult to understand how anything that is useful cannot also be real.
In fact, if one examines all sensory feelings and their ideas and all abstract feelings and their ideas in their simplest forms, one will find that they all are useful in one way or another. This rule is a universal fact. If all sensory and abstract feelings and ideas prove themselves useful, then they all must be real. Thus all of the objects of consciousness must be true and real in their simplest forms.
Habits and beliefs are useful or useless combinations of these basic realities. Whether habits and beliefs are useful or useless, the basic realities that compose both are always true and real.
A habit always combines basic realities. If a habit, such as regular exercise, improves one's health, then the effect of that habit can only be true and real. If a habit, such as smoking cigarettes, tends to destroy one's health then the effect of that habit is destructive, reducing one's health toward nothingness and to that effect proves not true and not real. Thus, the habit of smoking cigarettes constitutes a false combination of basic realities that is real as an experienced habit, but its effect is a tendency toward an absolute nothingness which is not true or real; that is, a complete loss of health.
Falsity itself is real since it is a name that identifies combinations that produce useless, empty or destructive effect. Nothingness is also real, but only as an idea . One of the uses of the idea of nothingness is that it identifies the effects of false combinations that reduce reality towards absolute nothingness. Unreality always equals absolute nothingness. A mermaid is a false combination of the realities of "fish" and "female." Yet, the effect of the mermaid is a real nothingness which as a real idea, in turn, identifies an absolute emptiness which is the nonexistence and only unreality of the mermaid.
The false combination of basic realities called: " the theory of aether in space" proved useless because the effect of this false theory revealed that "aether" does not exist. Thus, the idea of "aether" equals the idea of nothing. The real idea of nothing proves useful because it identifies the nonexistence of "aether." The absolute nonexistence of the "aether" is the only unreality of the false combination.
Thus, reality appears in five forms: basic realities, real combinations of basic realities, false combinations of basic realities, names for the effects of false combinations , and the idea of nothing and all terms that equal nothing. The basic realities and their true combinations are always real. False combinations and their effects are also true and real in the sense that they indicate the unreality that should be discarded, avoided, or left behind. The idea of nothing is useful in many ways with no room to explain here. One of the main uses of the idea of nothing is that it points to the absolute nothingness inherent in all false combinations which is the only unreality in human experience. Actually though, humans never experience absolute nothingness because it does not exist in any place or at any time. Unreality is never experienced.
As an experiment, if one should read any page in a dictionary one will find that every word will fit into one or more of the five categories of reality. One must use some thought though.
As for the reality of habit, by habit we expect the sun to rise every morning. The empiricists maintain that this habit is less than real because the sun may not rise one morning. While the empiricists are right that the sun may not rise in the morning, they are wrong to aver that habit cannot be certain. If the sun does not rise in the morning, we humans can be certain that that true and real combination of basic realities called "the sun rising every morning" has drastically changed. Perhaps that basic reality called "gravity" has been subtracted from this real combination. Perhaps that basic reality called an "explosion" of the sun has been added to this real combination. Of course, an "explosion" can be a true or false combination depending on how it is used, but if added to a macro reality like "the rising of the sun every morning," then an "explosion" can be considered a macro basic reality. In any case, if the "sun rising every morning" fails to happen one morning, then we humans can be certain that some basic reality has been added to, or subtracted from, this real combination. We humans can also be certain, by a real habit, that as long as that true combination called "the sun rising every morning" holds exactly as is, then this reality will never fail.
As for the reality of belief, this basic reality proves useful in such combinations as: "confidence that a particular unproven system will prove useful." If such a system is tested and proves to be useful and real, then one's "faith" in that system has also been proven to be real. However, if such a tested system proves to be useless, then one's "faith" becomes equal to the idea of nothing which, in turn, indicates an unreality that should be usefully discarded.
If a Christian has "faith" in that system called: "the sacrifice of Christ that saves one from sin and destruction," and this system proves to be useful and real, then that Christian gains the effect of that system which is "everlasting life."
However by experience, beliefs and habits have proven to be useful or useless depending on how they are employed. If a belief or habit improves a person's life, causing them to be healthier in mind or body, then that effect would seem to be just as real as feeling any solid object. Even more real in some respects because beliefs and habits can improve lives whereas the feeling of a solid object is mainly neutral in this effect. It is difficult to understand how anything that is useful cannot also be real.
In fact, if one examines all sensory feelings and their ideas and all abstract feelings and their ideas in their simplest forms, one will find that they all are useful in one way or another. This rule is a universal fact. If all sensory and abstract feelings and ideas prove themselves useful, then they all must be real. Thus all of the objects of consciousness must be true and real in their simplest forms.
Habits and beliefs are useful or useless combinations of these basic realities. Whether habits and beliefs are useful or useless, the basic realities that compose both are always true and real.
A habit always combines basic realities. If a habit, such as regular exercise, improves one's health, then the effect of that habit can only be true and real. If a habit, such as smoking cigarettes, tends to destroy one's health then the effect of that habit is destructive, reducing one's health toward nothingness and to that effect proves not true and not real. Thus, the habit of smoking cigarettes constitutes a false combination of basic realities that is real as an experienced habit, but its effect is a tendency toward an absolute nothingness which is not true or real; that is, a complete loss of health.
Falsity itself is real since it is a name that identifies combinations that produce useless, empty or destructive effect. Nothingness is also real, but only as an idea . One of the uses of the idea of nothingness is that it identifies the effects of false combinations that reduce reality towards absolute nothingness. Unreality always equals absolute nothingness. A mermaid is a false combination of the realities of "fish" and "female." Yet, the effect of the mermaid is a real nothingness which as a real idea, in turn, identifies an absolute emptiness which is the nonexistence and only unreality of the mermaid.
The false combination of basic realities called: " the theory of aether in space" proved useless because the effect of this false theory revealed that "aether" does not exist. Thus, the idea of "aether" equals the idea of nothing. The real idea of nothing proves useful because it identifies the nonexistence of "aether." The absolute nonexistence of the "aether" is the only unreality of the false combination.
Thus, reality appears in five forms: basic realities, real combinations of basic realities, false combinations of basic realities, names for the effects of false combinations , and the idea of nothing and all terms that equal nothing. The basic realities and their true combinations are always real. False combinations and their effects are also true and real in the sense that they indicate the unreality that should be discarded, avoided, or left behind. The idea of nothing is useful in many ways with no room to explain here. One of the main uses of the idea of nothing is that it points to the absolute nothingness inherent in all false combinations which is the only unreality in human experience. Actually though, humans never experience absolute nothingness because it does not exist in any place or at any time. Unreality is never experienced.
As an experiment, if one should read any page in a dictionary one will find that every word will fit into one or more of the five categories of reality. One must use some thought though.
As for the reality of habit, by habit we expect the sun to rise every morning. The empiricists maintain that this habit is less than real because the sun may not rise one morning. While the empiricists are right that the sun may not rise in the morning, they are wrong to aver that habit cannot be certain. If the sun does not rise in the morning, we humans can be certain that that true and real combination of basic realities called "the sun rising every morning" has drastically changed. Perhaps that basic reality called "gravity" has been subtracted from this real combination. Perhaps that basic reality called an "explosion" of the sun has been added to this real combination. Of course, an "explosion" can be a true or false combination depending on how it is used, but if added to a macro reality like "the rising of the sun every morning," then an "explosion" can be considered a macro basic reality. In any case, if the "sun rising every morning" fails to happen one morning, then we humans can be certain that some basic reality has been added to, or subtracted from, this real combination. We humans can also be certain, by a real habit, that as long as that true combination called "the sun rising every morning" holds exactly as is, then this reality will never fail.
As for the reality of belief, this basic reality proves useful in such combinations as: "confidence that a particular unproven system will prove useful." If such a system is tested and proves to be useful and real, then one's "faith" in that system has also been proven to be real. However, if such a tested system proves to be useless, then one's "faith" becomes equal to the idea of nothing which, in turn, indicates an unreality that should be usefully discarded.
If a Christian has "faith" in that system called: "the sacrifice of Christ that saves one from sin and destruction," and this system proves to be useful and real, then that Christian gains the effect of that system which is "everlasting life."
Monday, December 12, 2011
ON THE NATURE OF REALITY chapter 18
CONCLUSION
Whenever the simple true ideas appear, there is creativity. Whenever absolute nothingness does not appear, there is total disorder.
Let those who claim that reality does not have to appear in order to be real take this into consideration. An object which does not appear has been separated from space and in time. Where is it in space and time? Such an object exists nowhere and at no time, even if it has potential real existence. Reality must appear in order to be real. Those who claim otherwise have slyly admitted that their kind of reality is really equal to nothingness.
What allows them to aver that reality does not have to appear in order to be real? Is it not their dualities to which these objects have appeared, therefore isolating them in space and time? In order for them to convince us that reality need not appear, let them describe objects of which they have had no experience. Let them merely tell us when and where they are? In order for them to do so, they must first use their minds to make the objects real in outer or inner duality, and that is precisely the necessary task of duality in any universe.
Materialists do not prove the reality of unexperienced objects by saying: "If they are there, then they are really there." This is merely to utter the first half of tautology. One can not prove that it is raining outside by saying: "If it is raining, then it is really raining." One must look outside to see if it is raining.
However, there is a tautological truth in saying: "Either it is raining or it is not." Similarly, the same truth must be said about unexperienced objects. "Either an unexperienced object is there or it is not." However, this simple fact points out the truth that while an unexperienced object may possess potential real existence, as long as it remains unexperienced, its existence is equal to its non-existence, and chaos prevails. Only duality can establish reality.
Furthermore, when duality establishes reality, only that which is real can appear to duality because unreality never appears. Unreality merely distorts reality within false combinations which, in turn, always comprise simple true ideas.
To the skeptics, materialists, and atheists who doubt the existence of reality, a believer in Christ can only respond: Relax, all objects, ideas, and feelings are real when reduced to their simplest forms, and no matter how weak they may appear to be.
Falsity hides behind the idea of nothingness as a kind of vicious cycle. Absolute nothingness affects reality by causing false combinations to arise in the world and in the mind. Sin, decay, disorder, impractical systems, and even optical illusions, to name but a few examples, demonstrate the destructive effects of absolute nothingness on reality. In turn, the ineffectiveness inherent in false combinations cause absolute nothingness to mar reality.
Even so, absolute nothingness can not diminish the infinite set of simple true ideas by one whit, because even every false combination comprises simple true ideas. Infinite Duality can not be diminished or limited by absolute nothingness because Infinite Duality is also the infinite set of simple true ideas; that is, the Living Word of God. Absolute nothingness exists nowhere and at no time, and therefore, it can not diminish or limit Infinite Duality. The non-existence of a mermaid is nowhere and at no time. The effectiveness of a broken down automobile is nothing. It gets one nowhere and at no time. Yet at all times and places, mermaids and broken automobiles and all other false combinations, comprise simple true ideas.
Skeptics, evolutionists, and atheists have produced the philosophy of nihilism. Nothing could be more logical to them. They believe that everything came from nothing and will return to nothing. To them, nothingness is all-powerful. No wonder they believe that everything is relative; for example, that there is no real difference between good and evil, or that any differences are only temporary. True to God’s description of them in Proverbs 8:36, they hate God and they love sin and death.
Suppose our universe and all other universes had been, and forever would be, void of all duality. Would it really matter whether they existed or not? The only way that something can matter is if it matters to duality. The nihilists and evolutionists merely think in terms of existence being equal to non-existence. To them, values have always been equal to nothing, and even sensory perception becomes equal to nothing at death. The strange thing is, if they had no minds, they would be right. However, they do have minds, and those minds should be committed to trying to discover the absolute difference between truth and falsity.
Today, scientists speculate about the possible existence of other universes. Yet, the most they can say is that these universes may exist, or they may not. Is this not an admission that they think in terms of existence and nonexistence being equal?
If one despairs, one might well consider throwing oneself into the void of nihilism and evolutionary theory. Existential courage can not save in such a case because it would be swallowed by the void as well. Firepower beats willpower every time. If there is no God, then absolute nothingness holds all the firepower.
To those who despair, believers can say: Believe that God is real, and so are His creations. The recreation of man’s fallen spirit has been made real through the vicarious sacrifice, burial, and resurrection of God’s Son. God himself has provided the way for repentant sinners to escape the destructive effects of absolute nothingness.
God is love, self-sacrifice, beauty, joy, righteousness, and all of the infinite true simple ideas united in Infinite Duality. The infinite set of true simple ideas are united in the Living Word of God who is the Lord Jesus Christ. The infinity of the Word is the Spirit of God who is in every possible place at every possible time. The Infinite Consciousness of the Word is the Father. The being of God constitutes an Infinite Reality.
Man possesses a limited set of true simple ideas that can be reduced or expanded. Yet, man is incapable of expanding his knowledge to the extent that he can save himself. Through the revelation of His Word, both written and living, God has provided the necessary information for man’s salvation.
Faith can not be obtained through self-effort. It must be given to man by God. As Hebrews 11:1 teaches, faith consists of those substances and evidences that man can not see but which God has provided. Even the eyewitnesses of Jesus’ death on the cross could not fully see what Jesus was actually doing. For a time, the eyewitnesses of his resurrection did not realize what it really meant.
However, they could remember what Jesus had told them that it would mean, and they did receive the Holy Spirit to teach them what it all meant, as Jesus had said they would.To repent of one’s sins and to receive this revelation from the Holy Spirit as to what Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection actually means, is to have faith. God made it easier for the eyewitnesses to believe, as Jesus pointed out to Thomas in John 20:29. Nevertheless, they had to receive God’s revelation of the reality of salvation, exactly as one must do today.
To anyone who desires to escape the eventual destruction caused by absolute nothingness, and to obtain everlasting life, the believer can point to John 14:6 where Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth , and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
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