Perhaps because Hegel's 'unity' is not of mystical kind, well and truly founded and worked for, really hard, like no one before him, so one can rationally evaluate it etc. etc.
Sure. That's no question. Most German famous philosophers (scientists also) have worked hard and used the thinking intellect....and they have achieved great goals....but discursive thinking itself has a limited range and hence their achievement covers a limited area..... The world becomes exploited in different ways, false ideas of oneself (false gods) become manifest, western Philosophy obviously has no power to take the needed influence on the societies...... When it comes to the absolute you can notice that the pressure of determinism and established ways to think make them to determine the indeterminable.......because of fear that it becomes just a nothingness or shtum... (BTW: Recognizable at your replies as well).... Actually a philosopher would have to evaluate thinking itself to 'determine' its validity. Eastern Philosophy has practical instructions to change focus of awareness of conciousness. Insights obtained from there are beyond individual reason. Misunderstandings and conflicts will exists as long as there is no willing to practise and then to evaluate their use. IMHO Hegel has there some issues......Absolute reason and individual reason. What I mean is not far fetched and the way of approach IMHO is worth to evaluate. Anything happens now and the present has no progress and no time. In the present the 'thinker' thinks of..whatever...but when he does he cannot avoid: -It ever will be individual reason -It ever becomes past. As conclusion there is an illusionary mechanism that creates time as thoughts. Means individual reason relies on the past. Concerning absolute reason it would mean that being itself is the most reasonable 'thing'. Goal for individual reason is to achieve absolute reason in linear progressive time. But being cannot be achieved. You are (already)..... Absolute reason is being and the individual reason is busy with what it could be. Eastern meditation focuses awareness on being itself and one clearly can experience that from this now anything 'reasonable' is abstracted by individual reason..... Since being is self evident individual reason can never disprove the equation absolute reason = being.... If an individual 'acts' by its awareness of being it is absolute reasonable. If it thinks then it acts by individual reason. I have asked: "Are you aware that you are / exist whilst reading at MDL? That is an uncomfortable question for individual reason.....because it would mean its needlessness. Of course I know that I exist!!! What a stupid question! I mean do you know that you exist and you know that any moment? Now and now and now.... I say when you never 'forget' that you exist (btw: all the eastern ways to meditate have this goal) then you are absolute reasonable. From this new focus / awareness absolute reason is spread into the 'world'. Any reader who has now a resistance to what I wrote recognizes individual reason by thoughts. Individual reason does actually not have the goal to become absolute..hence it'll takes endless time in a pseudo future. Individual reason is self-convinced to grasp the absolute. But absolute reasonable means to be...and that is not satisfying to individual reason and thinkers. So products are works of Philosophers and scientists using individual reason.... It is not easy to focus on being. Some evolutionary processes have degenerated individual reason...it becomes aware: -make yourself aware that you exist now..try to keep that focus....check how long it does take until you have forgotten that you exist...with forgotten I mean you have lost awareness on being...not the individual reason that says sure I exist (conclusive thoughts)...... -If individual reason would be your 'tool' and you are the master of that tool you would be able to: -stop thinking of a particular event if the situation cannot be resolved now. (for instance exam anxiety and as effect insomnia) -to become upset with the illusionary idea that to become upset would change the event itself. i.e. Somebody crashed your car. You become upset and angry....you secretly think that to become upset would change the situation to the better. But everybody knows the event is over, the car damaged already. You secretly are identified with your ego which in fact does not want to have a pleasant finish.....why? I even go farer: Current individual reason which results from unawareness of being is responsible for all our atrocities...it is even a shame to speak of 'reason' ATM the nature of the human nature is to rely on individual reason. To glorify thinking as an act of self-adulation of 'reason'. Human reason keeps itself alive with the illusion to find a solution in the future. Human reason is to think about being but is not aware of it. I could count more and more special life situations..all seen through to a gained ability (exercising meditations)...from the view of the awareness of being.... Individual reason (thoughts) cannot evaluate what I post.....it has the mentioned 'degenerations'. Thinkers are the slaves of individual reason. Anything has to be 'reasonable'!!! It has to be categorized, determined, explained valued....... But you are! To be means to be (absolute reasonable).........'already'! I want that people are taking it serious, especially the Philosophy of eastern spiritual meditation. People are claiming to have clue of something before they can debate. Nothing more I am demanding. To practise focus and awareness on the present, there where one can be at all.... I mean what would be to lose for western Phil to evaluate...? I simply say all our ways we treat the world is due to unawareness of being....(careful not to be fooled like: sure I know that I am.....that is good for one moment only, what about the next?) Together they could have a even stronger Philosophy...
Quite the opposite: 'non-discursive' (now what?!?) ... (thinking it isn't - feeling?!?) has quite a limited range... so limited, in fact, that only one person "feels" it, i.e. experiences it... And if you wanna share it - you can't. By deifnition. Full stop. End of. Night-night...
Is an attitude of mind directly a feeling? Isn't the determination of a feeling, thought? Any theory is limited to the one who has studied it...and the Philosophy there doesn't consist of a page on which the word feeling is found and else nothing. It is unfamiliar to one who has studied. I can remember myself after study, I never had the idea to get interested in eastern instructions of meditation. It takes effect when practicing, it is unimaginable when thought about. How to determine the 'reach'? By quantum, because you say only 'one'? In this regard I'd say how many individuals have use of western Philosophy compared to spiritual eastern techniques of meditation? It is 'only' one difference. The 'actions' made directly out of the awareness of being (present) compared to actions made from a thought identity (past). Being itself is unimaginable, it is recognized as unity in anything that IS. The resulted feeling is already a thought of an individual (which is also a thought identity). 'I feel alive, or something'. Both are recognized by comparing with past determinations / identifications. No prob. It would be really interesting to read of somebody who is familiar with both..would be an interesting subject for a dissertation to become doc Phil. ....that's all I wanted to say. And people who have a lack of life concerning questions are more and more practicing spiritual meditations, because other sources are not that attractive / accessible...seemingly....it is exciting how it develops the next decades... Good night.
As per usual, you misunderstood... Perhaps on purpose, as it kills your "argument", so you are trying to sidetrack from the innermost problem such a stance carries with it... Night...
'non-discursive' (now what?!?) I have mentioned it already. It is only ‘understandable’ when practiced. It is only ‘special’ in regard of that it is a purely practical ‘exercise’. And most people have to learn it! I define ‘Meditation’ as a change of awareness which has to be constantly maintained until it becomes common. Focus is deducted from the thinking intellect and moved to the present. Yoga and Vedanta have instructions (spiritual meditations), also Buddhism. One becomes the witness, the presence (of events such as thinking) instead of being involved in ‘drama’. It is not that old fashioned anymore such as Zen traditions where one has to sit (Lotus) countless of hours and the master beats the apprentice with a stick when awareness has been lost…. Any activity where awareness is concentrated on the present itself is Meditation. -Being aware of walking when walking -Being aware of whatever you do when doing. People usually start with exercises to become aware of breathing (Pranayama). At the beginning there must be an intent. And there must be interest / curiosity. Untrained people or people who have no experience with it ask: focus on what? The consequences and the experiences one makes with it are NOT imaginable. One has to practice it or there is never ‘understanding’. The ‘reason’ to start it is the simple fact that anything ever happens now and the ‘experiment’ to focus on the now……many Eastern fighting sports are based on meditative practices. Also Hatha Yoga consists of physical Asanas. If you really want to know what I ‘mean’ then you have to practice. It has nothing to do with ‘feeling’. It is another ‘use’ of consciousness. And it is clear that people who never have dealt with it are biased, because their reason judges about (declare it as unreasonable, artificial…) and even more when they read about ‘statements’ of people who have experiences about they seem to them to be absurd, (fantastic)…..’crazy’……weird… Different individuals all over the world have more or less manners ‘cultivated’ which are meditative. Any action that focuses awareness on the present is meditative. (can be music, dance, ritual dance, handicraft, painting, art…) This is an evolutionary process that can be influenced with intent. More and more people ‘discover’ the now. People who are identified with objects and the ego will accumulate more and more suffer; this is the current condition of ‘the world’. Nations will and have always failed until the identification with ‘appearances’ / objects will stop. Driving force will be the unsatisfying individual fact that one is born, works for others to accumulate objects whilst exploiting the nature which is there to give the one a home, has family and children and loses later anything again and has to die. This life comes along with temporarily ‘happiness’ dependent on success and / or consumed objects which you’ll lose either way later. You don’t have to wait for the future where there will be eventually matureness / knowledge that may make us more satisfying…..one can have evolution ‘now’. The reason why there are two ‘parties’ is simple. One ‘party’ has more awareness of the present; the other is (still) fully busy with thoughts / intellect. Those who are more aware of the present have cultivated more meditational activity. And it is always the same. People who are familiar with meditations are ‘conform’ with each other’s experiences and others demand their usual reason related ‘measures’ to ‘proof’ what they say… Be lost in thoughts is the current state of ‘mind’. I have already posted examples which are evidence for this fact. (Exam anxiety / insomnia) All ‘stress’ related sicknesses are evidences. There is no other way : If one wants to know if there is something to it the one has to get practically involved. Anything else leads to misunderstandings we have here manifest as ‘two parties’. And a final word to quacks. Spirituality is abused by even those who are still there identified where spirituality actually wants the one to become dis-identified, from objects. (money) Sects such as Scientology are really evil and ruin others life. You can become aware of quacks quite easily: They promise to have the absolute and only way. And they promise a future event of ‘superiority’. Real spirituality is now and means to go back to ‘the source’….nobody can give to you or promise ‘something’ what you already are now!!! There is nothing to achieve, there is nothing to promise, nothing to convince, nothing to get. You are already yourself.
Such a need for "inner peace" and "no need to achieve", I think, comes from daily stresses and hence the need for it is great in the Western world... But in a utilitarian fashion and hence I don't consider it Philosophy in any way... We are always "becoming", if we are Human...
A deeper sense unveils when practising...anything else are thoughts about something that one has not practically practised.... (It's like to debate about the 'reality' and 'feeling' of bungee jumping by studying it in the lecture room.) Let me categorize to have it simpler. 'Westerners' observe the 'outside' using the outwards turned 'consciousness'. Instruments are thought, intellect, reason. Even when they research human DNA they research the outside. 'Easterners' observe the 'inside' using the inwards turned 'consciousness'. Instruments are awareness, presence, breath. Very crudely spoken. I am a noob in western Philosophy, but not in Chemistry (representative for western science) and Vedanta / Yoga and meditative practices (representative for 'Eastern' practices). IMHO the great need in the Western world comes from the lack of introspection and the caused identification with objects from outside. "We are always "becoming", if we are Human." Actually it depends very.... We are if we are an individual identified with a separate appearance, usually 'the human body'. Humans can (already) recognize the infinity of space when watching the night sky (width). But most cannot recognize the infinity of body (depth) and cannot recognize ‘both’ as infinite consciousness. For the intellect: If space is infinite, then any object that appears seemingly as finite object must be illusionary finite, because we assign a start and an end to infinite space. The object must be infinite as well. As conclusion if one could extinct / obliterate one atom he'd eliminate / extinct the entire cosmos. Consider an infinite line through space. And cut a 'piece' out of it 'somewhere'. What is left and what have you actually cut out? ‘Where’ is infinity? Or go 'inside' into your body.....from organs to cells, from cells to DNA from DNA to molecules from molecules to atoms from atoms to protons, from protons to quarks from quarks to.....'where' does it end? Or where does space end? (And do not forget your metabolism as another illusionary aspect of human body). --Can you follow me?---- For the curious (curious of the 'inwards'): Infinity of body can clearly be recognized at meditation. And this infinity has no becoming it IS. It even can be recognized as two aspects (inwards and outwards awareness) of the one consciousness, the ‘absolute’. And it even becomes more ‘fantastic’. The observer is not different to this consciousness. ‘You’ can focus ‘there’ ‘where’ being ‘becomes’. So to say all relations eliminate each other’s. But that is a conclusion ‘from the wrong end’. Actually from the now all relations are made ‘any time’. This all exceeds 'feeling' by far. It is real and practised love to wisdom. To judge about their 'use' without to know them both is actually not right. We should all know the attributes of dualism. The higher form of reality of inwards and outwards turned consciousness becomes when transcended ONE higher reality. And becoming 'vanishes' when ONE is the only 'thing' that is 'left' = absolute... There are many many diferent ways to 'go inwards'. This one (spiritual meditation) is just an example.....but if you want to know about, don't believe it, jump yourself!
The only thing I truly understand about the last several posts is that you are both trying to go to sleep! Might I politely point out that we are monkeys with bigger brains and we instinctively do anything to survive. However our bigger brains get in the way and we over think everything with the idiotic view of a greater good, and we die horrific deaths or wallow in dreams of grandeur, which really don't exist. By the way the "we" doesn't refer to me, I am not human.
Are you a follower of a certain Mr Hobbes, the author of the infamous proverb "Homo homini Homeini"?!? Go to sleep, m8, rest your little ape brain and let your big brain dream of better options...
vom Mars or von dem Mars. (German language is hard) Then you understand: ad ad aaaddd ad ad ad ad...... (If not I recommend to watch the great movie Mars Attacks!) ..especially when you 'love' US authorities. Lol. You've mentioned sleep, I have to ask you are you really awake (no offense, though). Actually quite the opposite. To know what sleep really is one must be really awake. Maybe this suspicion is the reason to think of a greater good. The greater good is not to arrive at a dream world, it is to wake up from 'daydream'. That what we call to be awake is not a dream as long as nobody 'finds' a state of higher awareness. One becomes aware of dreaming only then when waken up. And you know nested dreams? To think to have waken up but still dreaming..and so on..and so on... And we always have to speak of dreaming when we are identified (with another object.) When saying I am not human (or whatever) you are identified = dreaming. Living an idea of oneself is dreaming. The idea when 'awake' of oneself is just more self-convincing. To focus awareness uncovers that, it's quite the opposite of sleep / dream. Try it and don't believe what I say, since you cannot 'believe' what it means. Beware of habits they make you stay sleeping. May I politely point out that there is nothing to lose, except not 'finding' a higher grade of awareness? Or are you animal and satisfied? A sleeper does one who is awake always recognize as sleeper because he don't have a higher grade of awareness.
R, Zweistein once mused that he is not much smarter than most, just much more determined to put the hours necessary to solve problems... Yen, have you noticed that the language bit is written so as not to be taken in a German manner???
Have been wondering if we are all really asleep, maybe when you die you wake up to reality or another version of something By the way define good, good is subjective, good for one person is bad for another.
He also said time is relative and exists as space-time continuum. And he mused that he has had his major breakthroughs at rather calm moments... Erm, I don't know what particular German manner you mean, especially when not having cultivated that much of it.... R29k, you can find it out. To wake up to reality one don't have to wait until death. It is an illusion, because if you want to evaluate if you are dreaming then you can do it any time 'now' and wake up. That what prevents you to wake up will prevent you when you die as well...and reality is reality 'already now'... Then it should be clear that one has to make efforts, because habits are keeping the current state, no matter how one names it. Those who are curious enough are practising....that's the only way to 'determine' its value... All those practices have only one goal. To remind you to keep awareness on that what is happening now. Do anything that makes you aware of the present moment...start your own measures, or read there where they are a major cultural aspect to get instructions for you...... To know of dreaming one has to find out if awareness of the moment can be increased. Catch as many details of the present moment as you can. Do that every day..remind yourself of the present... You will encounter difficulties due to habits. And these will be unveiled as evidence of your dreaming. You will forget to be present, you will find it boring and hard. You will catch yourself recognizing that you are not aware anymore of something that happens now. Stories of mind attract you just like the story of a movie...but if you have power enough to overcome your habits you also will recognize that almost all humans are dreaming...all the time.....and anything else that changes is 'unimaginable'....since you have started to become awake. The higher good is beyond dualism. It is the medal itself, not one of its two sides. This knowledge also is gained when being present. This is meant with higher good, to know their reality.