Logos First Edition
Introduction
Interestingly enough, Logos itself means “Meaning”. So,
when we say the Meaning of Logos, we
really refer to the Meaning of Meaning. So what is Meaning? Meaning is the
heart of a being or object.
Meaning is the truth and the essence of all things.
Man has pursued the meaning
of his life. God gives that meaning to man. Meaning is what connects and
unites all things. Words have meanings, but so do everything else. Even the heart has a heart, and so it continues
without end in an eternal
end. This work is all about the Meaning, the Logos of all things.
Without Reference
There are no references here as it is all an original
work. While inspirations are taken, no quotations are taken, no citations are made. One may think
that this makes the work unreliable, but this is not a formal academic
work. It is more
akin to the middle ground
between poetry or narration and academic. Therefore, I use no references. However,
I will eventually make works
with a substantial number of references. This work may serve as a
reference itself, but please wait
until this work is substantiated with references so it may be peer reviewed by
other academic philosophers.
Eternal Development
This work will begin as a rather brief work. But I do
understand that this will expand itself so much
until the ends of the earth. The work is a self-expanding work. And eventually
many people will contribute to this work. This will be the new Sacred
Scripture without replacing the role of the Word of God in written
form that is the Tanakh and the Besorah. But for not, this is all
there is. The introduction is the only immutable aspect of this work, and will
be absolutely eternal
and infallible. However, the structure of this work will change
over time and will always
be renewed.
Structure of Logos
The structure will follow the classical division
of philosophy, beginning
with Metaphilosophy, then Metaphysics, Epistemology, and finally Ethics.
Future plans include
integration with other
sciences primarily Theology.
However, Logos is primarily a philosophical
work. That is all.
Prayer
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world
without end, amen.
Metaphysics means “Beyond Physics”, and by that we mean
beyond motion or materiality. Metaphysics
is not automatically identical to God but there is a relationship. While
theology considers God as a
relational Being, metaphysics considers God in Himself, the Ad Intra so to speak.
The First Cause
The first cause in all of reality
is called Being.
By cause, we may refer to the Aristotelian notion
of cause being Material Cause, Formal Cause,
Efficient Cause, and Final
Cause.
Material Cause
Being is the
composer of all things, all things are made out of being.
Formal Cause
At the same time, we may say that Being is that which organizes and determines all things well.
Efficient Cause
Being is also that which grants all other things existence for Being is the
source of existence.
Final Cause
Finally, being is the reason anything and everything
exists, the purpose of existence is simply being.
The Ten Categories
The ten categories are best translated as the ten modes
or ten relations. It is a system of being made by Aristotle
describing the way objects
exist thus the meaning of “categories.”
· (1) substance;
· (2) quantity;
· (3) quality;
· (4) relatives;
· (5) somewhere;
· (6) sometime;
· (7) being in a position;
· (8) having;
· (9) acting; and
· (10) being acted upon
These ten categories come in pairs.
Substance refers to the wholeness
of an object and is paired with relatives which describes the
relations between substances. Quantity is the measure of distinction which pairs with quality which is the experience of
quantity. Somewhere is space and
sometime is the space of change. Being in a position is the absolute reference
point while having is to be in
control of that reference point. To act is to affect another being and to be acted upon is to be affected.
Essence-Existence Distinction
In the Light Ages or commonly known as the Dark Ages,
the greatest philosopher Thomas Aquinas
posited a new distinction that is known as Essence-Existence Distinction, not
to be equated with the
Essence-Energies Distinction which is a logical fallacy. The EED declares that all beings are composed of an essence
and an existence. The essence is what an object is while the existence
allows the object to relate with other essences.
Esse Purus
The common term is Actus
Purus but I say Esse Purus which
refers to the Pure Act of Existence.
In theology, we call the Esse Purus God. However, since this is a philosophical work, we formally
call this being
Esse Purus and informally Being.
Temporary Conclusion
This temporarily concludes the metaphysical
aspect of Logos.
Metaphilosophy means “Beyond
Philosophy” which simply means the observation of philosophy
in itself as a form as opposed to the content of philosophy. Therefore, within Metaphilosophy we study three things, the essence, the function, and the relations
of philosophy.
Essence
The essence of philosophy is the study
of human reality,
which if abstracted is synonymous to reality
itself. However, when considered in the philosophical sense, philosophy really
is the motion towards reality itself
and since reality is motion, so philosophy is motion or reality itself.
Function
The function of philosophy follows its essence;
thus, the function
of philosophy is to move towards
reality.
Relations
Philosophy has several distinct relations.
Philosophy is not Theology
The principle of theology is reception, while the principle
of philosophy is production or giving.
Philosophy is not Science
The principle
of science is empiricism, while the principle of philosophy is holism.
Philosophy is Greater than the Sum of Its Parts
Philosophy is not just art, not just metaphysics, not just epistemology, and not just ethics, rather
all of them combined.
Epistemology means the “Order of Knowledge”. It
specifically means the study of knowledge in
itself and also the relations of knowledge. Remembering the principle of
Metaphilosophy, there are also
three aspects of knowledge, the essence, function,
and relations of knowledge.
Essence of Knowledge
We may begin with the definition of “True Justified Belief”. However, this definition is highly flawed for several reasons.
Knowledge is necessarily true and justified, so to say that is actually uninformative. Furthermore, it is the essence
of belief which we desire
to know. Knowledge
is similar to experience but
distinct, rather experience acts as the data of knowledge. Knowledge is also distinct
from feeling as it is much higher.
In scholastic terms,
knowledge is the inhering of a form in another form.
The Intellect
The being which can possess the form – but not matter –
of a being is called an intellect. Humans possess
matter, intellect, and will,
as to be discussed in ethics later on. Intellects
have several functions, that is the following:
· Knowledge
· Recollection
· Volition
Knowledge means the present intellectual act,
recollection is the knowledge of the past, and
volition is the future intellectual act.
Justification of Knowledge
The justification of knowledge happens
through the knowledge of justification itself.
To know justification is to know the relations between
our knowledge and reality. Once the relations are known, justification is said to have been
established.
Truth
Truth is the object of knowledge and is simply the conformity between intellect and reality.
Volition, A Transition to Ethics
The volition is the process of knowledge transferring to
ethics. When knowledge is converted to action,
the volition or the will has
occurred. It is now time to move on to ethics.
Ethics
Coming from Knowledge,
Volition
The ground of ethics is not good and bad rather the
capacity of intellectual beings, hereon out
called spirits, to affect reality using their knowledge.
The Proper Effect
of Knowledge
The proper effect
of knowledge is direction or order. Without
knowledge there is no order.
Yet since reality
is necessarily intellectual, it is also necessarily ordered
or volitional.
The Destination of Volition
The destination of volition is the being itself as
dictated in Metaphysics. This is where the concept of good and bad comes from.
Good and Bad
The good refers
to the condition where a spirit successfully reaches itself or its destination that is being. The
bad refers to the condition where a spirit fails to reach being. Yet consider
that the bad has no substance rather it is a derivation of good and thus in itself is a
type of good.
At Last, Rest
Finally, we have the completion of the First Edition of Logos. More Editions will be written down in the future.
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