Beyond Nothing – The Beginning of My Metaphysics

But, Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
– Robert Burns from ‘To a Mouse’

The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow’r,
         And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike th’ inevitable hour.
         The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
– Thomas Gray from ‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard‘

As I’ve mentioned in past posts, I’ve been working hard at outlining and constructing the specifics to my metaphysics so that I may, in some small way, put to words, reasoning, and some form of concreteness exactly what is creation, what is God, who are we, and where do we exist. I am of the firm conviction that there are legitimate, significant, and profound answers to these questions that exist beyond the limited scope of one’s personal experience, faith, or opinion. Admittedly it has been no small task to answer my own rigorous questioning and lines of attack. In fact it has surprised me to no small degree just how much of my own “knowledge” of God, creation, and who I am seemed to be founded on very little substance, reality, or measurable basis at all. Of course before I began questioning all of this I never once considered that to be the case! I knew what I knew and never once thought to question that. But upon further inspection it isn’t very difficult nor does it take a very long time, once you ask the proper questions, to realize that much of what we know or claim to know amounts to almost mere opinion, preference, repetitive habit, or circumstantial feeling. For God or Truth translation is not required. God and Truth simply are. We must find ways to consider it rightly and then utter it appropriately.

As I’ve said before in previous posts, I thought that this site was not the proper venue for sharing my metaphysics and that a book would be more appropriate for such a task. However the best laid plans go oft awry do they not? Such is the case it would appear with my writing a book rather than continue my musings here. I do have much to report and to share regarding my metaphysics, and as I have gone to write them down, it would appear that the material prefers this site over a book. Go figure! So here I am before you poised with whatever arrows I have in my quiver. We can only hope my shot may be straight and true.

Ever since I was in college I always had great ambitions with my works. I always sought to apply the due rigor to any of my ideas, and I would consistently refuse to write an essay based upon incomplete or inadequate arguments. Thoughts take time to fully congeal themselves, and often there are multiple mechanisms or moving parts related to even just one thought. A clear thought is like a pristine habitat, some lost and hidden lagoon with crystal blue waters, lush, green ferns overshadowed with the sky above and bright. Such environs do not form immediately. They take time to evolve and arrange themselves into a beautiful, natural landscape. Nature is an activity that is simultaneously always complete in its own being while also somehow ever inching towards a greater purpose, a more beautiful image, design, and form of itself. A tree is always a tree, even as a sapling, but for whatever reason it is more completely a tree when it is fully grown. Thoughts can behave in similar fashion, and I hope here to organize mine in such a manner that they can hold this dual function. Each part is interwoven into the next, and so there is a progression here, though to me each singular aspect also has its own crescendo. All along this journey to Truth, each thought has brought awareness, revelation, and powerful purpose and clarity to me. It alone has been its own reward, and now I can share and hope that perhaps with a little luck the communication will transmit, the circle will wind itself back, and we can discover what more is still yet available.

Very likely this series, for it will be a series, on my metaphysics could be fashioned into a proper book. But for now I wish to address it in serialized parts. Perhaps this helps me with my own thoughts and to gather more precisely where in fact I do stand with them, and what in fact I do know at all. I don’t really consider there to be a beginning with this, any entry point can do, so perhaps what I shall do is report what the beginning was for me on this expedition and guide you through step by step the waypoints I discovered and found to be noteworthy and of value. If anything is true it is that each answer suffers a new question, likewise so it shall be with this metaphysics.

Beginnings – An Introduction

My search for a metaphysics began in perhaps the most 21st century way – on YouTube. For whatever reason I noticed in my YouTube feed a video on the philosophy of Aristotle. Immediately intrigued, I clicked on it. The video couldn’t have been more interesting to me. It was a simple recording of a classroom lecture by a college professor. From there I was hooked. Looking further at the channel I discovered there were over 80 videos all over an hour or longer that went chronologically from the ancient pre-Socratic Greek philosophers all the way up to the 20th century logical positivists and beyond. For the next number of months I devoured each lecture series. I have since watched every one of them and some multiple times not to mention other videos and books as well to get more formally acquainted with the history of philosophy in the West. This private course study coupled very well with my knowledge and understanding of the history of Western literature and on many occasions dove-tailed seamlessly with my further research into science and physics.

My recent post regarding our modern dilemma with metaphysics was largely inspired by this first lecture I watched on Aristotle. What immediately struck me when learning more about Aristotle’s philosophy was how holistic, universal, and grounded it was. Aristotle was not religious per say, but was quite focused on the nature of the divine, the human, and the world around him. It was obvious to Aristotle that at the very least there must be legitimate answers to the most basic and fundamental questions of life, and that those answers must be logical, reasonable, communicable, and cohesive. There is an order, a Logos, to the universe, and we are in some sense endeared and indebted, obligated even, to report, understand, and pursue that order, that Logos, that Word. What struck me was how many other Greek philosophers grounded their works in that same Logos, that larger framework of order, beauty, and reason. And what struck me even further was how far removed our society is today from that very same Logos. Sometimes it is only through a relative comparison that we can realize just what we’ve been normalizing. Like when you see an old friend again for too long a time, and you realize in that moment all the joy you’ve been living without. We don’t notice what we no longer have, until we once again experience it and then we are amazed we could have ever lived without it. I believe our society is very much in this state with philosophy today, and so begins my journey!

Ever since those philosophy lectures on YouTube, and the ideas which germinated and took root therefrom, have I been determined to forge a new metaphysics in the spirit of the great Ancient Greeks and to have it fitted for our modern time. One that is able to incorporate all that we now know regarding quantum physics, relativity, and sub-atomic space. In due time I also suspect this metaphysics can fashion itself harmoniously around our modern sense of religion and theology. In short then my work is on the nature of being. It seeks to not just answer but resolve the mind-body dualism controversy that has been ongoing since at least the time of Descartes. It also seeks to further a metaphysics of being which incorporates the science and physics of our time while still maintaining the classic form and function of the Logos. And finally my work seeks to define, describe, and physically prove the existence of God while also recognizing the current philosophical views towards consciousness and being today. The types of questions that my work revolves around and seeks to answer are primarily the following, “Is there physical proof for the existence of God?”, “What is consciousness and where is it located?”, “What is being and how does it relate to physics?”, and “What is God and how does it relate to being?” The most difficult obstacles to answering these questions lie in the justified demands from empirical science, the “Copernican Revolution” which Kant ignited in the history of philosophy and metaphysics, and the more generalized materialistic, subjective, and nihilistic tendencies our culture prefers today. And of course let us not forget to mention the genuine humility and glaring inadequacy of this journeyman, seeker, and writer before you here, namely yours truly. Many could conceive of one with a more apt let alone prestigious intellectual pedigree than mine own for such a venture, but nevertheless here I am regardless for all to see and judge accordingly. Please spare no pain or cruelty in your assessments.

In the next post I’ll seek to discuss the mind-body dualism debate and share the first realization I came to with my metaphysics and how that impacted my further research and inquiry. All along the way I hope these posts are enjoyable and digestible for you as much as they are assisting me in both simply writing down the ideas I already have as well as organizing them clearly. Your patience, interest, and inquisitiveness are always welcomed and likely necessary so please feel free to share, comment, or question as tenaciously as you wish. From this side of nothing and beyond!