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OPEN INDIVIDUALISM / NEOMONOPSYCHISM Iacopo Vettori
1 OPEN INDIVIDUALISM / NEOMONOPSYCHISM Iacopo Vettori This paper summarizes my personal experience in discovering the Open Individualism. Because I found it by my own way, occasionally in the paper I refer to it as “my proposal”, but it would be intended as “the Open Individualism proposal”. By the way, because some issues represent only my personal opinion, and can be evaluated differently from other authors, I left the references as they were. This text can be considered a summary of what I wrote in my personal website dedicated to this subject, that I completed before knowing the book "I Am You" by Daniel Kolak and the other persons who collaborate in this research. The original content of the site was collected in a file in PDF format that can be downloaded at http://www.iacopovettori.it/laterzaipotesi/eng/TheThirdHypothesisSite.pdf I hope that my considerations may be useful when compared with those of people that had the same inspiration, or anyway share our persuasion, to reinforce or develop some aspects of our new vision of the life. INTRODUCTION The problem that has been the occasion to the considerations that I suggest, is expressed by the question "Why I do exist?" or rather, from its more disturbing version: "could I not exist?". As long as you continue to think about our lives in terms of individual minds or souls, you cannot find very compelling reasons that lead to a not elusive answer, that does not resort to subterfuges such as "there is a superior will that wanted me to exist" or the equivalent "I was the recipient -
Atheism AO2 Handout Part 1
Philosophy Of Religion / Atheism AO2 Atheism AO2 Handout Part 1 New Atheism successfully shows the incompatibility of science and religion. Evaluate this view. 1. New Atheists seem to argue that scientific theories are based only on evidence, whilst religion runs away from evidence. The claim is that atheism is rational and scientific while religion is irrational and superstitious. Faith is not an element of science since evidence for a correct conviction compels us to accept its truth. As Dawkins says “Faith is a state of mind that leads people to believe something – it doesn’t matter what – in the total absence of supporting evidence. If there were good supporting evidence, then faith would be superfluous…” However, Alister McGrath points out that such a view “fails to make the critical distinction between the ‘total absence of supporting evidence’ and the ‘absence of totally supporting evidence’.” It is true that some facts about the world have been proved (e.g. the chemical formula for water) but the bigger scientific questions such as is there a Grand Unified Theory that explains everything rely on answers based on the best evidence available but they are not certainties. In future years they may well change as new evidence is considered. As Gauch concluded “Science rests on faith”. Dawkins in his book “The God Delusion” does argue that the existence of God is a testable hypothesis and concludes that the hypothesis is falsifiable. Therefore the hypothesis is open to the scientific method. So here is a New Atheist proponent arguing that that the existence of God is a meaningful hypothesis. -
Kant's Theoretical Conception Of
KANT’S THEORETICAL CONCEPTION OF GOD Yaron Noam Hoffer Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, September 2017 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral Committee _________________________________________ Allen W. Wood, Ph.D. (Chair) _________________________________________ Sandra L. Shapshay, Ph.D. _________________________________________ Timothy O'Connor, Ph.D. _________________________________________ Michel Chaouli, Ph.D 15 September, 2017 ii Copyright © 2017 Yaron Noam Hoffer iii To Mor, who let me make her ends mine and made my ends hers iv Acknowledgments God has never been an important part of my life, growing up in a secular environment. Ironically, only through Kant, the ‘all-destroyer’ of rational theology and champion of enlightenment, I developed an interest in God. I was drawn to Kant’s philosophy since the beginning of my undergraduate studies, thinking that he got something right in many topics, or at least introduced fruitful ways of dealing with them. Early in my Graduate studies I was struck by Kant’s moral argument justifying belief in God’s existence. While I can’t say I was convinced, it somehow resonated with my cautious but inextricable optimism. My appreciation for this argument led me to have a closer look at Kant’s discussion of rational theology and especially his pre-critical writings. From there it was a short step to rediscover early modern metaphysics in general and embark upon the current project. This journey could not have been completed without the intellectual, emotional, and material support I was very fortunate to receive from my teachers, colleagues, friends, and family. -
Eternity and Immortality in Spinoza's Ethics
Midwest Studies in Philosophy, XXVI (2002) Eternity and Immortality in Spinoza’s Ethics STEVEN NADLER I Descartes famously prided himself on the felicitous consequences of his philoso- phy for religion. In particular, he believed that by so separating the mind from the corruptible body, his radical substance dualism offered the best possible defense of and explanation for the immortality of the soul. “Our natural knowledge tells us that the mind is distinct from the body, and that it is a substance...And this entitles us to conclude that the mind, insofar as it can be known by natural phi- losophy, is immortal.”1 Though he cannot with certainty rule out the possibility that God has miraculously endowed the soul with “such a nature that its duration will come to an end simultaneously with the end of the body,” nonetheless, because the soul (unlike the human body, which is merely a collection of material parts) is a substance in its own right, and is not subject to the kind of decomposition to which the body is subject, it is by its nature immortal. When the body dies, the soul—which was only temporarily united with it—is to enjoy a separate existence. By contrast, Spinoza’s views on the immortality of the soul—like his views on many issues—are, at least in the eyes of most readers, notoriously difficult to fathom. One prominent scholar, in what seems to be a cry of frustration after having wrestled with the relevant propositions in Part Five of Ethics,claims that this part of the work is an “unmitigated and seemingly unmotivated disaster.. -
Does Reasonable Nonbelief Exist?
Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers Volume 18 Issue 1 Article 6 1-1-2001 Does Reasonable Nonbelief Exist? Douglas V. Henry Follow this and additional works at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy Recommended Citation Henry, Douglas V. (2001) "Does Reasonable Nonbelief Exist?," Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers: Vol. 18 : Iss. 1 , Article 6. DOI: 10.5840/faithphil200118114 Available at: https://place.asburyseminary.edu/faithandphilosophy/vol18/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers by an authorized editor of ePLACE: preserving, learning, and creative exchange. DOES REASONABLE NONBELIEF EXIST? Douglas V. Henry J. L. Schellenberg's Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason claims that the exis tence of reflective persons who long to solve the problem of God's existence but cannot do so constitutes an evil rendering God's existence in1probable. In this essay, I present Schellenberg's argument and argue that the kind of reasonable nonbelief Schellenberg needs for his argument to succeed is unlikely to exist. Since Schellenberg's argument is an inductive-style version of the problem of evil, the empirical improbability of the premise Ichallenge renders the conclusions derived fron1 it empirically improbable as well. 1. Introduction In Divine Hiddenness and Human Reason, J. L. Schellenberg presents a special version of the problem of evil, one that is an interesting, significant, and genuinely new contribution to the scholarship. -
APA Newsletter on Asian and Asian-American Philosophers And
NEWSLETTER | The American Philosophical Association Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies FALL 2018 VOLUME 18 | NUMBER 1 Prasanta Bandyopadhyay and R. Venkata FROM THE EDITOR Raghavan Prasanta S. Bandyopadhyay Some Critical Remarks on Kisor SUBMISSION GUIDELINES AND Chakrabarti’s Idea of “Observational INFORMATION Credibility” and Its Role in Solving the Problem of Induction BUDDHISM Kisor K. Chakrabarti Madhumita Chattopadhyay Some Thoughts on the Problem of Locating Early Buddhist Logic in Pāli Induction Literature PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE Rafal Stepien AND GRAMMAR Do Good Philosophers Argue? A Buddhist Approach to Philosophy and Philosophy Sanjit Chakraborty Prizes Remnants of Words in Indian Grammar ONTOLOGY, LOGIC, AND APA PANEL ON DIVERSITY EPISTEMOLOGY Ethan Mills Pradeep P. Gokhale Report on an APA Panel: Diversity in Īśvaravāda: A Critique Philosophy Palash Sarkar BOOK REVIEW Cārvākism Redivivus Minds without Fear: Philosophy in the Indian Renaissance Reviewed by Brian A. Hatcher VOLUME 18 | NUMBER 1 FALL 2018 © 2018 BY THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL ASSOCIATION ISSN 2155-9708 APA NEWSLETTER ON Asian and Asian-American Philosophy and Philosophers PRASANTA BANDYOPADHYAY, EDITOR VOLUME 18 | NUMBER 1 | FALL 2018 opponent equally. He pleads for the need for this sort of FROM THE EDITOR role of humanism to be incorporated into Western analytic philosophy. This incorporation, he contends, has a far- Prasanta S. Bandyopadhyay reaching impact on both private and public lives of human MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY beings where the love of wisdom should go together with care and love for fellow human beings. The fall 2018 issue of the newsletter is animated by the goal of reaching a wider audience. Papers deal with issues SECTION 2: ONTOLOGY, LOGIC, AND mostly from classical Indian philosophy, with the exception EPISTEMOLOGY of a report on the 2018 APA Eastern Division meeting panel on “Diversity in Philosophy” and a review of a book about This is the longest part of this issue. -
Monism and Monotheism in Al-Ghaz Lı's Mishk T Al-Anw R
Monism and Monotheism in al-Ghaz�lı’s Mishk�t al-anw�r Alexander Treiger YALE UNIVERSITY It is appropriate to begin a study on the problem of Monism versus Monotheism in Abü ˘�mid al-Ghaz�lı’s (d. 505/1111) thought by juxtaposing two passages from his famous treatise Mishk�t al-anw�r (‘The Niche of Lights’) which is devoted to an interpretation of the Light Verse (Q. 24:35) and of the Veils ˘adıth (to be discussed below).1 As I will try to show, the two passages represent monistic and monotheistic perspectives respectively. For the purposes of the present study, the term ‘monism’ refers to the theory, put forward by al-Ghaz�lı in a number of contexts, that God is the only existent in existence and the world, considered in itself, is ‘sheer non-existence’ (fiadam ma˛∂); while ‘monotheism’ refers to the view that God is the one of the totality of existents which is the source of existence for the rest of existents. The fundamental difference between the two views lies in their respective assessments of God’s granting existence to what is other than He: the monistic paradigm views the granting of existence as essentially virtual so that in the last analysis God alone exists, whereas the monotheistic paradigm sees the granting of existence as real.2 Let us now turn to the passages in question. Passage A: Mishk�t, Part 1, §§52–43 [§52] The entire world is permeated by external visual and internal intellectual lights … Lower [lights] emanate from one another the way light emanates from a lamp [sir�j, cf. -
Monopsychism , Mysticism , Metaconsciousness
MONOPSYCHISM, MYSTICISM, METACONSCIOUSNESS - aícuov- has a father; ahd by ground Plato means intelligence or the 'mixer' demiurge, who is the of the soul) and the Republic (by 'father' Plato means that which is good and transcendsintelligence ancl being) as well as Plato in general ("in many placeshe calls that which is and the intelligence idea"). He does so to prove that Plato knew that the II THREE NEOARISTOTELIAN AND NEOPLATONIC soul stems from intelligence, and intelligence from that which is one. CONCEPTS:MONOPSYCHISM, MYSTICISM, He, therefore, continues by saying: what I said here is nothing new. METACONSCIOUSNESS It was said not recently but a long time ago, though not explicitly. My present discoursesare interpretations of those ancient ones. That they are old is proven by writings of Plato hirnself. Even the historic Parmenides, Plotinus continues, already equated being and intelligence. True, he called this intelligence also one, (r) I u flepi tdiv rptóv dpXuxóvúrcooróoeav (Enn. V r) Plotinus unrler- whereas it is many. Plato's Parmenides avoíds this statement. He takes to remind the souls which have forgotten their father-god, of discerns a first from a second, and a secondfrom a third. Thus here their true origin and nature. First, every soul should contemplate the again we find the doctrine of the three realms (9úoer,6). 'enlivens' action of the universal soul as she the cosmosand rules it. Anaxagoras calls his intelligence pure and unmixed. He also posits By so doing she will becomemore aware of her own worth. Afterwards that which is first as being simple and the One as being transcendent she should realize that she is a kind of word pronouncedby intelligence (Xc,rpr,oróv). -
To Serve God... Religious Recognitions Created by the Faith Communities for Their Members Who Are Girl Scouts
TO SERVE GOD... RELIGIOUS RECOGNITIONS CREATED BY THE FAITH COMMUNITIES FOR THEIR MEMBERS WHO ARE GIRL SCOUTS African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Anglican Church in North America Baha’i God and Me God and Family God and Church God and Life God and Service God and Me God and Family God and Church God and Life St. George Cross Unity of Mankind Unity of Mankind Unity of Mankind Service to Humanity Baptist Buddhist Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) God and Me God and Family God and Church God and Life Good Shepherd Padma Padma God and Me God and Family God and Church God and Life God and Service Christian Methodist Episcopal (C.M.E.) Christian Science Churches of Christ God and Me God and Family God and Church God and Life God and Service God and Country God and Country Loving Servant Joyful Servant Good Servant Giving Servant Faithful Servant Church of the Nazarene Community of Christ Eastern Orthodox God and Me God and Family God and Church God and Life God and Service Light of Path of Exploring Community World Community St. George Chi-Rho Alpha Omega Prophet Elias the World the Disciple Together International Youth Service Episcopal Hindu Islamic God and Me God and Family God and Church God and Life St. George Dharma Karma Bismillah In the Name of Allah Quratula’in Muslimeen Jewish Lutheran (Mormon) Church of Jesus Polish National Catholic Church Lehavah Bat Or Menorah Or Emunah Ora God and Me God and Family God and Church God and Life Lamb Christ of Latter-day Saints Love of God God and Community Bishop Thaddeus F. -
Statement of the Problem 1
Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF OPEN THEISM WITH THE DOCTRINE OF INERRANCY A Report Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Theology by Stuart M. Mattfield 29 December 2014 Copyright © 2015 by Stuart M. Mattfield All Rights Reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As with all things, the first-fruits of my praise goes to God: Father, Son and Spirit. I pray this work brings Him glory and honor. To my love and wife, Heidi Ann: You have been my calm, my sanity, my helpful critic, and my biggest support. Thank you and I love you. To my kids: Madison, Samantha, and Nick: Thank you for your patience, your humor, and your love. Thank you to Dr. Kevin King and Dr. Dan Mitchell. I greatly appreciate your mentorship and patience through this process. iii ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this thesis is to show that the doctrine of open theism denies the doctrine of inerrancy. Specifically open theism falsely interprets Scriptural references to God’s Divine omniscience and sovereignty, and conversely ignores the weighty Scriptural references to those two attributes which attribute perfection and completeness in a manner which open theism explicitly denies. While the doctrine of inerrancy has been hotly debated since the Enlightenment, and mostly so through the modern and postmodern eras, it may be argued that there has been a traditional understanding of the Bible’s inerrancy that is drawn from Scripture, and has been held since the early church fathers up to today’s conservative theologians. This view was codified in October, 1978 in the form of the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy. -
The Heritage of Non-Theistic Belief in China
The Heritage of Non-theistic Belief in China Joseph A. Adler Kenyon College Presented to the international conference, "Toward a Reasonable World: The Heritage of Western Humanism, Skepticism, and Freethought" (San Diego, September 2011) Naturalism and humanism have long histories in China, side-by-side with a long history of theistic belief. In this paper I will first sketch the early naturalistic and humanistic traditions in Chinese thought. I will then focus on the synthesis of these perspectives in Neo-Confucian religious thought. I will argue that these forms of non-theistic belief should be considered aspects of Chinese religion, not a separate realm of philosophy. Confucianism, in other words, is a fully religious humanism, not a "secular humanism." The religion of China has traditionally been characterized as having three major strands, the "three religions" (literally "three teachings" or san jiao) of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Buddhism, of course, originated in India in the 5th century BCE and first began to take root in China in the 1st century CE, so in terms of early Chinese thought it is something of a latecomer. Confucianism and Daoism began to take shape between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE. But these traditions developed in the context of Chinese "popular religion" (also called folk religion or local religion), which may be considered a fourth strand of Chinese religion. And until the early 20th century there was yet a fifth: state religion, or the "state cult," which had close relations very early with both Daoism and Confucianism, but after the 2nd century BCE became associated primarily (but loosely) with Confucianism. -
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch Spinoza Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) Baruch Spinoza was one of the great philosophers of the age of Rationalism and a major influence thereafter, as on, paradoxically, both of the bitter enemies Arthur Schopenhauer and G.W. F. Hegel. From a Portuguese Jewish family that had fled to the relative tolerance of the Netherlands, one of the most famous things about Spinoza was his expulsion from the Dutch Jewish community. This is often called an "excommunication," though, as I used to have a high school teacher protest, there is really no such thing as "excommunication" in Judaism. Nevertheless, Spinoza was expelled from the Jewish community and anathematized. Although he is today recognized as one of the greatest Jewish philosophers ever, and the chief Rabbis of Israel have been petitioned to formally lift the curse upon him, this has not happened: Spinoza remains a controversial person in Judaism, for very much the same reasons that led to his expulsion in the first place. Spinoza's God is not the God of Abraham and Isaac, not a personal God at all, and his system provides no reason for the revelatory status of the Bible or the practice of Judaism, or of any religion, for that matter. Spinoza's alienation from his community is reflected in an alternative version of his name. "Baruch" in Hebrew (bârûkh) means "Blessed"; but Spinoza began using the name "Benedict," which in Latin (Benedictus) would mean "spoken well of" or "praised." This reflects the circumstance that Spinoza, with whom Jews were forbidden to associate, inevitably found friendship with Christians instead.