How Things Work – A Brief History of Reality
Book I – Dualism (Eastern & Western Dualism)
Be A Part of the Conversation!
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” – Aldous Huxley
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
The philosophical foundations of Western thought are no longer taught in Western systems of education. Therefore, the fundamental principles of Western thinking are no longer understood. These arcane examples of early Western reasoning now seem disconnected from our more sophisticated understanding of reality. However, the truth is, they are the essence of it.
“The Socratic method involves a dialogue in which a teacher guides the student through a series of self-generated questions…”
The first step in this reasoning process is the “Socratic” method of finding truth and understanding. The Socratic method involves a dialogue in which a teacher guides the student through a series of self-generated questions in order to help lead the student to self-discovery regarding the problem or challenge being probed.
Developed by the Greek philosopher, Socrates, the Socratic Method is a dialogue between teacher and students, instigated by the continual probing questions of the teacher, in a concerted effort to explore the underlying beliefs that shape the students views and opinions. Though often misunderstood, most Western pedagogical tradition, from Plato on, is based on this dialectical method of questioning…
The Socratic Method says Reich, “is better used to demonstrate complexity, difficulty, and uncertainty than to elicit facts about the world.” The aim of the questioning is to probe the underlying beliefs upon which each participant’s statements, arguments and assumptions are built.
– Sandy Chapman, The Socratic Method: Fostering Critical Thinking
“Plato, used this method of inquiry to explore specific areas of importance and form a model for exploring the world…”
Socrates’ student, Plato, used this method of inquiry to explore specific areas of importance and form a model for exploring the world that would lead to the establishment of the first Western University known as “The Academy,” founded in 387 B.C.E.
The Platonic Academy was not an educational institution as we know it in modern times, but because it had the characteristics of a school and covered a wide variety of topics such as philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, politics, physics and more, it is considered to be the first university in the entire world.
– Nick Kampouris – The Platonic Academy of Athens: The World’s First University
“Aristotle was considered to be “the mind of the school” by Plato himself.”
Aristotle entered The Academy at the age of eighteen and became Plato’s top student. Aristotle was considered to be “the mind of the school” by Plato himself. After leaving the Academy, Aristotle taught Alexander the Great and later returned to Athens to open his own school, the Lyceum. Here, Aristotle established the foundation for Western thought and education.
A concept that was popularized by Aristotle was “the scientific outlook and the strictly scientific method” (Dϋring, Lynch, 1972,94). These concepts are still used today in one’s everyday education…
Aristotle moved away from dialect because he does not believe that those who are being educated can have a logical argument and formulate broad generalizations. Arguing a point without having all the facts can lead to false conclusions, which would put out wrong information to scholars. Rather than dialectical relations, Aristotle “recommended to his students to go out and seek information from people such as hunters and fishermen who had experience in the natural world. He also advised them to follow the procedure of collecting information, classifying it, and adding further material as one goes along.” – BriAnne Pauley, The Academy Versus the Lyceum
“Aristotle’s influence on Western education goes well beyond the content and style of instruction…”
Aristotle’s influence on Western education goes well beyond the content and style of instruction to the very essence of how instruction should be tailored to meet the needs of the individual student, which continues to be a major focus in education even today. Aristotle was truly ahead of his time.
Although Aristotle moved away from the Socratic Method, he made his teaching more understandable by using visual aids. Even in Ancient Greece, there were different types of learners, those who can learn by reading, those who can learn by listening, and those who learn by seeing and doing. One of the methods of learning is the use of visual aids. Seeing what is being taught creates a visual connection, causing some learners to have an easier time understanding the concept. This method has been significant to the education system since Aristotle first used it.
– BriAnne Pauley, The Academy Versus the Lyceum
Aristotle, and his founding of the Lyceum, represent a codified system of learning and teaching through practical and logical means that leads to a system of Western education that eventually results in the scientific revolution.
The Lyceum was a school of unprecedented organized scientific inquiry and, In a sense, the first major centre to put forward the modern scientific method. It was from here, too, that Aristotle wrote extensively on a wide range of subjects including politics, metaphysics, ethics and logic.
– Corinne Chandler, Aristotle’s Lyceum
“Their idea of education as a way of becoming a better human being is a critical factor in the development of Western society and civilization.”
The key take-away is not that these philosophers developed a Western form of education based on logic, reason, and empiricism, but more importantly, on the emphasis they placed on education itself. Their idea of education as a way of becoming a better human being is a critical factor in the development of Western society and civilization.
"Do not take what I say as if I were merely playing, for you see the subject of our discussion – and on what subject should even a man of slight intelligence be more serious? – namely, what kind of life should one live . . ."
– Socrates
Balancing the benefits of both the dialectical and empirical models of education, Aristotle essentially sets the course for the development of Western science and civilization. Aristotle is also the source for Catholicism’s interpretation and development of Christian theology.
CONSIDERATION #6: Aristotle and the Soul
Chapter 2 – Eastern & Western Dualism
“Human beings began to do philosophy, even as they do now, because of wonder, at first because they wondered about the strange things right in front of them, and then later, advancing little by little, because they came to find greater things puzzling.”
Aristotle – Metaphysics
Aristotle lays the foundation for Western Civilization and impacts its development in several critical ways. He separates reality into two distinct categories, establishes the natural sciences, recognizes the possibility of abstract thinking as a uniquely human quality, and differentiates between the mind and the brain. In addition, his consideration of the soul would become the essential metaphysics of Christianity and the Judeo-Christian tradition. All Western tradition hinges on Aristotle. Here is how it works.
“Aristotle considered the soul, or anima, a non-physical force that joined with the physical body to animate it and give it purpose and potential.”
Aristotle attempts to improve upon his teacher’s (Plato) concept of Forms by arguing that although there is a non-physical aspect to objects, animals, and human beings, they don’t reside fully perfect and unchanging in their own Realm of Forms. Aristotle considered the soul, or anima, a non-physical force that joined with the physical body to animate it and give it purpose and potential. The Soul, or form, of all living things coexists interdependently with its physical counterpart, the body. Together, the nonphysical form, or soul, merges with matter or substance, or the body, to form a single manifestation composed of both, now inseparable qualities.
While all living things have some aspects of a soul, particularly perception, only human beings are capable of manifesting the highest level of the soul: reason. Despite Aristotle’s attempt at unifying the seemingly opposite qualities of the physical and non-physical world into one unique manifestation, which he called “Hylomorphism,” all the arguments supporting it are quite dualistic. Although arguing against Plato’s concept of an eternal abstract world of perfect Forms generating our physical reality, Aristotle did agree that some form of a priori, or innate, knowledge existed outside of the physical dimension. This unique form of knowledge could not be gained though physical perception or experience; it could only be exploited through the abstraction of reason. As we will discuss in more detail later in the next chapter, it was this realization that eventually led to modern mathematics and science.
“Aristotle distinguishes “mind” as the part of the soul that not only recognizes, understands, and knows abstract reality, but initiates inquiry about its nature…”
Aristotle distinguishes “mind” as the part of the soul that not only recognizes, understands, and knows abstract reality, but initiates inquiry about its nature in the first place. Aristotle suggests that the mind is not the same thing as the brain. The brain is a physical organ designed to interpret physical objects through perception, whereas the “Practical,” “Theoretical,” or “Analytical” intellect is responsible for investigating, contemplating, and understanding the non-physical and abstract qualities of reality and existence. It is what makes us human and capable of experiencing abstract possibilities beyond the five senses, such as mathematics. This becomes the fundamental building block of Western Civilization, and directly leads to the recognition of “self-evident truths” which becomes the foundation of the Declaration of Independence – it also establishes inalienable human rights that are beyond physicality and therefore not subject to the perceptions and understanding of human beings because they are endowed by natural law.
Eventually, Aristotle divided knowledge and experience into two distinct categories: Physics and Metaphysics.Physics dealt with all knowledge based on experience that could be known through the five senses. Metaphysics essentially serves as Aristotle’s improvement on Plato’s original Realm of Forms. It formulates a faculty possessed by human beings, called the mind, that allows for the “intellectual perception” of the abstract, non-physical, qualities of existence not obtainable through the five senses. In Aristotle’s metaphysics all substances are perishable, or physical, except two: motion and time.
“Aristotle argued that all movement was circular and generated from a single ultimate cause of the entire universe, or reality, which he defines as ‘The Unmoved Mover.’”
Aristotle argued that if time were “created” then there must have been “no time” prior to its creation. However, the concept of “prior” presupposes the concept of time to be considered in the first place. Therefore, time is eternal. In terms of motion, Aristotle argued that all movement was circular and generated from a single ultimate cause of the entire universe, or reality, which he defines as “The Unmoved Mover.” Aristotle names this Unmoved Mover “God.” Aristotle’s God was not the God of the Old Testament. Although God, as the Unmoved Mover, is the ultimate cause of all reality and existence, It remains completely detached from that existence once created.
For Aristotle, once the universe was put into motion by the Unmoved Mover, It no longer had any attachment to existence. God did not actively participate or interfere with the reality that It had created. Once set into motion, God functioned as the reservoir and resource for pure abstract knowledge and understanding. Aristotle’s God was essentially knowledge reflecting upon itself, which was available to us through reason and abstraction. Many of the original founders of the United States, known as Deists, held this same belief.
“Aristotle’s philosophical work and influence became codified in two books known as Physics and Metaphysics.”
Aristotle’s philosophical work and influence became codified in two books known as Physics and Metaphysics. Physics became the foundation for the physical sciences such as physics, biology, chemistry, and medicine. Metaphysics became the foundation of logic, mathematics, and quantum theory. In addition, Aristotle’s Metaphysics also became the underlying metaphysics for the religion that would eventually dominate Western Culture and thought Christianity.
POSTSCRIPT
The importance of Aristotle in Western history and tradition cannot be overestimated. Western dualism is in itself a manifestation of universal dualism. Physics recognizes the practical, tangible, empirical aspects of human potential and understanding. Whereas Metaphysics exploits the rational, logical, abstract possibility of human imagination. In this sense, the application of this Western approach to reality is used in both educational and social models of human behavior. The abstractions of mathematics and logic became the foundation of science, while the dualism of experience became the basis for Western Virtues.
Next week we will consider how dualism represents the quintessence of Western Virtues and morality, and how similar it is to the Eastern concept of Taoism.
Complete versions of this book, and Part II “The Power of Three” are Now Available Exclusively from BooksNotOnAmazon.com.
