Today in Colombia...
The original post is part of a thread in the Poor but Happy Web site which among other things, disusses Colombia. The post was created by Plátano and with his permission, I'm using it here.
Today in Colombia, and elsewhere, there is an increase of a kind of postmodern relative pluralism (there is no absolute truth) which I think must ultimately be transcended to arrive at a worldview more akin to integral universalism (there is both relative and absolute truth). This transition allows for moving beyond the clash of worldviews into a healthier embrace that honors the entire spectrum of human development.
There is no violation of scientific method in this approach and no sacrifice of human reason. On the contrary, human rationality is honored and respected for what it is: a necessary and important stage in human development. I am using a broad view of science that results in knowledge accumulation in various realms.
Here I am in accordance with the epistemological pluralism of Saint Bonaventure (who lived 1221-1274, I really am a traditionalist at heart!) in addressing three aspects of human beings: body, mind, and spirit. This also corresponds to modern theorists such as Aurobindo, Maslow, Baldwin, Assagioli, etc.) who posit human development as going from prepersonal to personal to transpersonal (They all may use slightly different terminology but the idea is the same).
Pure reason (at the personal-egoic stage) is simply incapable of grasping transcendent realities (both Kant and Nagarjuna demonstrated this), and when it tries it only generates dualistic incompatibilities.
This is kind of getting long so I'll try to sum up here. With an epistemological pluralism we can scientifically determine truths in the different data realms: sensibilia, intelligibilia, and transcendelia. Sensibilia is sensory data gathered by using our senses. Intelligibilia is mental data that is grounded in one's present, given, immediate mental experience. Transcendelia involves transcendental data directly perceived or intuited by the eye of contemplation.
So truths exist for each realm. In the lower realms they pertain to somatic processes, instincts, simple sensations. In the intermediate realms they are mental-egoic processes including concrete operational and formal operational thinking (after Piaget). The higher realms involve subtle, psychic, and ultimate unity consciousness (meditation being the method of evolution in that trans-rational realm).
So, I would argue that absolute truth does exist but in a realm beyond mind (what the Zen people call No-Mind). The developing self identifies with an emergent structure, then differentiates and transcends that structure, allowing each suceeding stage to operate on the previous level until the final transformation happens (different traditions use different names for this experience).
This happens for all human beings, including Colombians. And I meet people wherever I go in Colombia who are at these various stages of human development all with their own truths and we all will eventually arrive at the absolute truth. Meanwhile, everyone has some truth. No human mind is capable of 100% error!
Plátano, el banano verde
Today in Colombia, and elsewhere, there is an increase of a kind of postmodern relative pluralism (there is no absolute truth) which I think must ultimately be transcended to arrive at a worldview more akin to integral universalism (there is both relative and absolute truth). This transition allows for moving beyond the clash of worldviews into a healthier embrace that honors the entire spectrum of human development.
There is no violation of scientific method in this approach and no sacrifice of human reason. On the contrary, human rationality is honored and respected for what it is: a necessary and important stage in human development. I am using a broad view of science that results in knowledge accumulation in various realms.
Here I am in accordance with the epistemological pluralism of Saint Bonaventure (who lived 1221-1274, I really am a traditionalist at heart!) in addressing three aspects of human beings: body, mind, and spirit. This also corresponds to modern theorists such as Aurobindo, Maslow, Baldwin, Assagioli, etc.) who posit human development as going from prepersonal to personal to transpersonal (They all may use slightly different terminology but the idea is the same).
Pure reason (at the personal-egoic stage) is simply incapable of grasping transcendent realities (both Kant and Nagarjuna demonstrated this), and when it tries it only generates dualistic incompatibilities.
This is kind of getting long so I'll try to sum up here. With an epistemological pluralism we can scientifically determine truths in the different data realms: sensibilia, intelligibilia, and transcendelia. Sensibilia is sensory data gathered by using our senses. Intelligibilia is mental data that is grounded in one's present, given, immediate mental experience. Transcendelia involves transcendental data directly perceived or intuited by the eye of contemplation.
So truths exist for each realm. In the lower realms they pertain to somatic processes, instincts, simple sensations. In the intermediate realms they are mental-egoic processes including concrete operational and formal operational thinking (after Piaget). The higher realms involve subtle, psychic, and ultimate unity consciousness (meditation being the method of evolution in that trans-rational realm).
So, I would argue that absolute truth does exist but in a realm beyond mind (what the Zen people call No-Mind). The developing self identifies with an emergent structure, then differentiates and transcends that structure, allowing each suceeding stage to operate on the previous level until the final transformation happens (different traditions use different names for this experience).
This happens for all human beings, including Colombians. And I meet people wherever I go in Colombia who are at these various stages of human development all with their own truths and we all will eventually arrive at the absolute truth. Meanwhile, everyone has some truth. No human mind is capable of 100% error!
Plátano, el banano verde
posted by Neonovo at 9:32 PM
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