Hi Ed, and also hi to Steve and At,
thank you for your mail.
I sent my ideas on "truth" yesterday to the list as a comment on the
discussion between At and Steve. I think it has been distributed when you
see this.
I am tempted to say: Yes Ed, your perspective is mine. I am wondering
whether this will become clear from my mail (not being native english
speaker and not so eloquent as At as well). If you see differences between
your perspective and mine, I am looking forward to your comment.
I am sure you know Platos "Hoehlengleichnis", where people sit in a cave
and see truth only as shadows at the wall. In my opinion, seeing truth as
shadows is the situation where truth is seen via mental models. I
understand Plato the way, that he is saying, one can go out and see truth
directly, but one better do not go back to tell the others. In best case,
they ignore you, in worst case, they will kill you. Anyhow, they have no
chance to understand you.
Is this just another parable (Steves position I assume) or another
profound truth?
There are influencial schools telling, that truth can be seen directly
including teaching ways out, namely the mystic traditions form Plotin,
Meister Eckhard, Hildegard von Bingen et. al. on christian side to the
schools of Zen, Yoga, Tantra, Shick etc. Leibniz called this "Philosophia
perennis" as I learned from Ken Wilber. When people claim that they have
been out, there is no chance to proove their statement as long as you
haven't gone the same way. But among this (elite) community (mystical
community in analogy to scientific community) statements can be accepted
or rejected. And also among them evolution of thruth will and does occur.
Not so different from the evolution of physics which also deals with
truth, just on another level.
I tend to believe that Plato is writing about truth. When thinking about,
I feel how my entropy production rises, as At may say, and I can feel a
good deal of creative tension (may be the Creator behind?). But a new
emergent (being out)? Not yet. Something is missing or it is just too much
fear. This is why I am so interested in, even thrilled by At's
essentialities - not as a concept, but what they feel like and how the
impair of any feel like. This is why I love the story of the blue dog.
Are you familiar with "Faust" by Goethe? I see myself in this drama as
Faust in the middle of At as God and Steve as Mephisto.
It's an adventure.
Winfried
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