Tuesday 6 August 2019

The unit of existence is individuals or communities?



The recent massacres occurred in USA (Auguest, 2019) by the mass shooting in Texas and Ohio have created a big debate in social media as to what caused the shooters to indulge in such a cruel act? Was it the now widely spread phenomenon of 'white supremacism', a racial prejudice? Was it a case of a misplaced sense of masculinity? Or were the shooters suffering from some kind of mental disorders?


We know, even Islamic terrorism was the subject of such widespread debate. No firm answer was found yet.


Can we end such debates without any trace of sensible answers?


Perhaps we could say, violence can be only of two types; first, the kind the powerful or the aggressor impose upon the ones under him, or the lesser powerful or the marginalized. Then the second type, unleashed by the victims of the above violence against their aggressors. Power or institutionalized authority of some over others is the chief social cause here. The following paper delves into this analysis: http://understandinginflationinanewlight.blogspot.com/2015/04/how-exceptionally-one-could-be-free.html


In the recent mass murders occurred in USA, we could easily judge what category of violence out of the above two types had happened there. Were the shooters suffering from a deep despise of the victims or were they, victims of some kind of aggressive, humiliating behavior from some powerful?


Perhaps such incidents bring to surface a crucial metaphysical question: what is ideal; man remaining individual-centric or a collectivist?


What these two terms mean? Are they socially definable terms or shall we also involve metaphysics; questions of how existence or Nature wants humans to be?


Many times media describe such shooters and massacres as loners, means without any proven affiliation to any organized groups.


The purpose of this inquiry is to seek to know, whether existence wants humans to be loners/individual-centric or collectivists/group dwellers. It is a very difficult question to answer as it involves the very meaning of life.


In this difficult inquiry, let us delve into the following questions/areas:


1. What is the target units of existence; individuals or communities?


2.As it is the individual who goes to hell or paradise depending on their deeds on earth, or salvation of the individual per Hindu scripts, why humans always pray/stay in communities such as church groups, temple/mosque groups? Can a whole community ever go to paradise/hell together in groups or attain salvation together in groups?


3. What might be the exact nature of metaphysical tie between individual and communities, whether a family, friends groups, a village community, residents societies in cities, States, the biggest of all, mankind, etc? Are humans expected to love each other and live on helping each other as advocated by every religion?


4. This question naturally should touch the metaphysical relation between components in a whole and the whole itself, whether human self, rocks, and the universe itself? Is the approach of science to gain knowledge of existence by studying atoms and particles makes sense?


5. What might be the end goal of existence?


6. Perhaps this question has a deep link with SUBJECTIVITY and OBJECTIVITY; objective realities are realities of human communities especially for the community of scientists.


1. What is the target units of existence; individuals or communities?

This question perhaps has no relevance today because the majority believes in the view of science, that existence can have no such targets and goals as she is a physical whole with no mind and intentions.

This is an urgent call to science to rethink her said fanatic belief, as has created a think wall in front of the progress of human knowledge. Under such a world view, there is nothing left to be invented at the social front of man, except new laws to control his moral behavior. But can a mechanical man learn hard morals as he is, according to scientific explanation, a brain-controlled machine?


If we consider existence a LIVE phenomenon, with unfailing intentions, goal, and sense, there is only pure sense in concluding that, individual human is her target. A mass, in every respect, mean only to give humans their sense of self, his sense of entity. This is a new physics of man-society tie, wherein urgent, serious interest and attention of science is needed. Following paper link might throw a good light on this theory: http://unrecognizedobjectsofthemind.blogspot.com/


If communities (religious, racial or political communities, ie, nations) were the target of nature, our 'survival of the fittest' theory perhaps would have had to be altered as 'survival' of the fittest community But the theory is, the survival of the fittest individual unit. A lot of logical confusion is there!


Collectives, especially political collectives, are some individual's smart, cunning product!


The new physics on the relation between individual and his collective notions has a central player in the picture, the conceptual product of the WORLD. The following paper gives a full picture of this conceptual product: http://selfandworldblogs.blogspot.com/2015/03/is-world-absolute-object-or-relative.html


The fact of our world being a manufactured object needs no more evidence. Modern politics, industry, and media are the chief culprits.


Then we have our religious institutions and educational institutions and agencies, who too often join the lots of the above two agencies in coloring our world with their ideologies, images, and slogans.


2.As it is the individual who goes to hell or paradise depending on their deeds on earth, or salvation of the individual per Hindu scripts, why humans always pray/stay in communities such as church groups, temple/mosque groups? Can a whole community ever go to paradise/hell together in groups or attain salvation together in groups?


Religious believers form at least half of the world population. They believe in individual salvation after death. So, community life during lifetime offers them merely a necessary 'space' to live in, doing good. Communities can't be the target of existence or God, as entire communities have no existence as such. Wholesale salvation is not heard of.


3. What might be the exact nature of metaphysical tie between individual and communities, whether a family, friends groups, a village community, residents societies in cities, States, the biggest of all, mankind, etc? Are humans expected to love each other and live on helping each other as advocated by every religion and even all moral laws of scientific-minded?


What we are going to analyze here is the unrecognized PHYSICS of individual and community relation.


Can we go, eyes shut, by the story of science that individuals have born SELF-CENTERED, SELF INTERESTED, and it is in the ultimate interest of this born nature of humans, that he invent smart social and economic systems so that these individuals live together peacefully? Such peaceful communities will serve the purpose of better survival of all. Western societies with their firm belief in the survival theory of Darwin, thus invented capitalism, democracy, etc for human communities so that humans could live together peacefully, with a sense of equality, enjoying overall prosperity.


Though the West doesn't believe in any live, intelligent existence but in the reign of autonomy of human intelligence, can any basic SENSE ever accept such a stand? Can't we ignore a different kind of PHYSICS that determine and rule the 'sense of self' mechanism as might have schemed by Nature? What if the sense of autonomy of 'self'' as blindly believed by the West and her science, a folly? Why can't this sense of autonomy, one of the important features of the plan of Nature?


There is no way now to make the West and ger science to rethink her own theory and consider any other fact, as she, with her superior material prosperity compared to the rest of the world, will continue to believe in her folly till minds become broadly open one day!


The following paper delves into such physics of existence, emphasizing, that selves can easily fall for the folly of the sense of autonomy: http://unrecognizedobjectsofthemind.blogspot.com/2019/06/concepts-of-self-realization-and.html


Above paper clearly explains, that the existential purpose of human communities is exclusively for originating self-identities of humans. A self-identity or 'sense of self' is very essential for humans to own 'selves' and its experiences. The theory that Brains provides the 'sense of self' to humans can't withstand the test of Reason. Science may not be able to answer the question, what precedes what; human experience or neuron firing? The brain only registers thoughts and experiences but it doesn't originate it.


Sense of self of humans exhibits ceratin essential features like its fierce sense of independence. It won't bear hegemony of anyone beyond a limited period. It will resist it and at the earliest opportunity, will retaliate against it. If the sense of self has been accustomed to ruling over others or having a sense of superiority of others, then disobedience or even sense of independence exhibited by those were supposed to blindly obey, also will act like the sense of breach of independence in the earlier case. Both parties will unleash violence even at the cost of losing own lives. History has abundant examples of both cases.


French revolution might be the best example of the violence of the oppressed human beings. The violence unleashed by the Western colonizers upon the natives, violence often unleashed upon the lower castes by the higher castes in India prior to her independence from the British, etc are the other examples.


The recent violence and mass shooting that occurred in USA could be the first type; the reaction of the ones who felt oppressed by the presence of migrants and non-whites in their territory.


Central lesson here is, humans shouldn't be put to any kind of oppression, ill-treatment, inequality, etc under any circumstance. It will produce violence if not today, tomorrow.


It is generally found, that humans when their sense of dignity is well accepted and sense of selves is well respected, they tend to be law-abiding, caring for others' rights and dignity too. If systematic human societies should take care of any singular law, it will the above.


But having such mutually loving and caring mass societies may not the end goal of nature or existence as we are going to see in the next part of this paper.



4. This question naturally should touch the metaphysical relation between components in a whole and the whole itself, whether human self, rocks, and the universe itself? Is the approach of science to gain knowledge of existence by studying atoms and particles makes sense?



The clash between components vs the wholes are very vital in the human knowledge system. Will a study of the components reveal the truth or reality of the whole they constitute?


At least our Science appears believing so. She, instead of analyzing why wholes are so, concentrates studying the wholes at the component level. Individuals are components in societies, hence the relevance of this kind of analysis.


As the cosmos is so huge and beyond the vision and imagination of humans, science adopted the method of studying the base component that constitutes the whole, here cosmos. She reached the stage of atoms once. Then she started breaking it to analyze reality at the subatomic particle level. Though she met a bit of theoretical wall at Quantum reality, that is, the impossibility of having OBJECTIVE REALITY sans the presence of a subject with his particular 'sense' faculties, she still lingers on with her obsessive belief in objective realities!


Can science reach our town architects, their creative minds, etc by studying bricks? Or an airplane or a spacecraft by studying aluminum and other materials used in the manufacturing of those gadgets? Perhaps these could be crude examples to show the folly of science. The wholes like humans, his creative mind and intelligence, etc may not be revealed in the study of atomic particles, energy systems or string and information theories of physics. Brains may register this individual creativity, but perhaps not create it. If she really does, what can explain the great individual differences?


We now realize that 'black matter' consists the physical reality up to 96% of the universe. ( see the following link: https://www.space.com/11642-dark-matter-dark-energy-4-percent-universe-panek.html)


Some other accounts claim the dark matter is only 5% of the physical world. No one knows the final truth.


But the most pressing reality for you and me is our 'being in life' with our intellectual, moral and metaphysical anxieties, questions, ecstacies, and doubts!. We are some 'wholes' despite our component level chemistries say many different stories.


Perhaps beyond the chemistry and physics of components and wholes, the story of existence could be a third one, now not at all in the knowledge or even in the imagination of science and religions. This author has provided a link on such a possible goal of life in one of his work, in a forthcoming section of this paper.


5. What might be the end goal of existence?


If not the wholes and components in existence, what could be the purpose of existence? Once again, it is impossible to ignore the world view of science, she being the most prestigious opinion leader of today with her stunning discoveries and technological wonders. But discovering the truth of existence based on all available evidence, and putting them to the ultimate test- our yet unaccepted faculty of assessing and judging SENSE, our FACULTY OF REASON- is the responsibility of every human being! This author has a number of blogs at his blogger pages on this new role of REASON.

After this exercise, whatever is revealed, it becomes his irresistible responsibility towards his existence to share it with the world and his age. This is what this author doing now.


He loves to share his paper with all open-minded humans, wherein he attempted to explain the WHY question of existence and life. Existence is not interested in individuals growing in great heights in morals, and societies growing in great heights in civilization, the survival of the fittest, or material progress. She perhaps looks for the development of humans into great heights of pure INTELLIGENCE, intelligence that makes them realize their exact ontology, and the kind of relation with the whole, EXISTENCE herself!

The paper in question is shared herewith: http://newphilosophyoflife.blogspot.com/2018/05/why-life-why-existence.html


The principle of Nature seems simple; I gain my sense of self when I am perceived by you. I perceive myself in the form I am in your mind, or in the minds of central people in my circle. It means nothing can exist without having others to perceive it. This is not what Bishop Berkely had believed; objects can exist even without having perceiving subjects but such existence gains no brand of reality.


I believe my paper above will explain the rest. Existence is so eager to establish her reality firmly and she can do it meaningfully only when she could have some subjects capable of, intelligent and enlightened enough to do the job! She gains nothing when we achieve material prosperity, moral heights or survives in our fight for it!

6. Perhaps this question has a deep link with SUBJECTIVITY and OBJECTIVITY; objective realities are realities of human communities especially for the community of scientists.

The concept of 'objective knowledge' on things, people, etc is perhaps the most fallacious one of science. In the hard problem of 'consciousness', perhaps philosophy has accepted it. We can have various speculations on the minds of the USA mass shooters, but what exactly caused them to take the assault weapon perhaps not known even to them too! We are victims of ceratin existential drives the same way typical physical objects are victims of natural forces like gravity etc.


The following paper explains what are such existential drives: http://unrecognizedobjectsofthemind.blogspot.com/2013/07/existential-drives-of-man.html


When we are moved by certain existential drives, we give them our own subjective meaning and explanation. Who kills and who gets killed is a very difficult issue, perhaps beyond the wisdom of blind men. After exactly realizing who we are and knowing our tie with the existence, perhaps a communication link opens up like that is the case of two lovers. They were two strangers prior to their Love tie, but the life of both changes after both fall in Love. It is really bit tough for ordinary minds to grasp.

Let us try to establish our Love tie with existence, our source of origin, the abode of life and the destination we vanish to, after our death.


Monday 5 August 2019


The metaphysical relevance of the 'notion' of the world for man, and his individual and social life?

(This portion is a part of the main post on WORLD', at the link: http://selfandworldblogs.blogspot.com/2015/03/is-world-absolute-object-or-relative.html)

The mere physical entity of man would be a piece of dead-wood if the mind mechanism is not within. To understand mind ( or consciousness) as a mere manifestation of the body ( the physical) would be equal to belittling the equally complex, but real, parallel system of the conceptual. It makes much greater sense to understand the physical system as mere 'means' and structural system to carry the former, the more real end theme of existence.

An excessively projected 'conceptual world', at the cost of ignoring man's yet the un-revealed and un-solved metaphysical root of existence, would be similar to uprooting all vegetation from the soil and planting them at artificial platforms above earth surface, for better productivity or whatsoever. The more the 'world' concept move-away from the root reality of the integrated relation between man and nature, and man and existence, it becomes more and more difficult for the individual man to cope-up with such life. He will always have to nurture a sense of uprooted-ness or spiritual emptiness. This is what causes an increasing tendency of suicides, depressions, and strained human-relations. Any institution, value, myth, conventions, and traditions unrelated to the root reality of human-emotions, universal aspirations, and similar mind-needs would end-up in synthetic models of life. ( Those interested can share a blog on what 'integrity with existence' means, at the link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/spiritual-integrity-man-possible-existence-abraham-j-palakudy?trk=mp-author-card)

Our all defining institution of present-day- POLITICS-ridden State-, a means that evolved to achieve certain collective objectives of human-communities, has, unfortunately, reigned the world as an end in itself. Human life has become a means for modern politics-ridden democracies to enact their ends. Emotional and metaphysical relevance of human-life has almost got extinct from human-societies. Man has turned a domesticated political animal reared by States for their own sake. That burdensome and heavy world-image is something that an individual will find it extremely difficult to get rid-off and save himself from.

The conceptual world has turned a tool, or a commercial commodity that could be used by those who has selfish interests, like say the reigning political players, the Media, and the industry. Their thoughtless and unprincipled moves, acts and strategies have transformed the modern world into a wild-jungle, where plain reason and even common-sense has lost centrality. Its empty corpulence is increasingly making individuals tiny and irrelevant; reason being, where the canvas gets bigger, the object in the canvas looks smaller. Canvas gains more relevance than the object in it.


The peril of simple reason is the most unfortunate result of the above. There is no rational direction to guide human-thought and behavior. What indirectly and silently rule the modern world is the dangerous values depicted at the blog:http://leadingdogmasthatruletheworld.blogspot.in/ 

There exists no central agency to mind for the overall moral, or rational direction of the world, leaving it an orphaned place. No doubt, the conceptual world has become a specific product, a tool in the hands of any well-organized groups, class, or ideology merchants to exploit it for selfish ends.

For the ordinary folk, the world-image thus imposed becomes a great conceptual burden that is most difficult to off-load his shoulders and brain.

h) The science of Hypnotism is based predominantly on the power of 'suggestions'. Is the category of the world a collective illusion formed by the power of suggestion of contemporary norms and values of society?

This writer was into practice of Hypnotism as a hobby during his college days. Whatever is suggested to the experimental 'subject'/patient when he/she is under hypnotic trance, he/she experience it as real. Effects of powerful suggestions of health and well-being given under trance sustain even weeks and months after the experiment. Therefore, it could be reliably assumed that the category of 'world' is the direct result of the powerful suggestions naturally internalized by human-beings from their social, economic, political and cultural surrounding. After all, what is man's reality other than what he collectively believes, and following the values that naturally derive out of such beliefs?

 Hence, social change could be definitely brought-forth by altering our collective values, myths, and norms of society, the job of every responsible establishment.


An indispensable asset that modern world must strive to have is a universal life-and-freedom supportive, healthy, positive and long-sustainable conceptual model of the world.

Meaning and 'sense' about life and existence could definitely be altered if mankind recognizes the centrality of keeping and propagating more sensible concepts about our collective realities, concepts, and notions. Our agencies who are even minutely responsible for pumping collective notions, ideas and concepts about the world must take utmost care in what they create and pump into the world. Exactly like the violation and abuse of physical nature would certainly result in serious atmospheric and environmental pollution and disasters, un-thoughtful and careless production of collective ideas, notions and concepts also would seriously damage man's collective 'space' of the spirit, ( or the 'environment' of the mind) and affect lives of human beings and their emotional habitats.


Authored by; Abraham J. Palakudy
He is an independent researcher/seeker in fields like Philosophy, metaphysics, mind, Reason, polity, human society, etc.
His Twitter account: Voice of philosophy@jopan1
His other blogs and brief biography: https://www.blogger.com/profile/14249415589712707293