 15 Jul 2010 @ 22:05
Most people are totally convinced that there is one and only one reality. Unfortunately they also think that this reality should be the same for everybody.
But our picture of the world depends on how we connect our ideas and concepts, the Memes, with each other to form a more or less congruent model with a minimum number of internal contradictions. This could be called a 'reality map'.
Behind the map is however yet another map, let's call it a 'meta-map' for lack of other words. This map is created by the 'why questions' and their collective and individual answers, as 'everybody know', haha.
Many thinkerers don't make that clear destinction. Science, for example, as the modern reality map 'by definition' often forays into the meta-models of philosophies or religion or denounce them as futile and false even though it should be none of their business.
The most interesting feature of these maps and models is that they can contain areas of complete and utter obscurity, illogics, and stupidity, and nobody would complain, of they notice them at all, of course, as long as there is a number of sufficient other areas that have been 'verified' as to be 'logical, sane, clear, obvious, etc etc'. This fact has been used by tricksters since the dawn of human language to take advantage of their fellow men. Today we see the perfection of this art in every aspect of life.
As Frater Otto wrote once: "If Darwinism were right (or what people claim nowadays it should be), humankind would be in dire straits. While aristocrats are incesting itself to extinction, the new clique of global robbery and deceit would create a human tribe with the worst attributes thinkable, of rotten morals and evil intent, destroying every positive value still in existence..."
These harsh words may be very much exaggerated but the principle holds true.
No matter how realistic the reality map, no matter how perfect the logics within the meta-model, WITHOUT a positive intent, 'good will' as Kant would have said, nothing goes. Even the best model, when overlayed with evil intent, produces destructive results.
On the other hand, the worst system of thinking may still yield good fruits, or as Kant pointed to as "good will without any qualifications" being the 'only good'.
Maybe we should rate governments on a 'good will' scale (from minus 10 to plus 10). Maybe some would even be on the 'plus'-side of the scale..
Another fascinating aspect that I witnessed when doing a complete life analysis (for far more than a thousand clients over the years!), is that I never came across just two people sharing a 'reality map' or a 'meta-model'! Everyone truly has their own way to behold the Universe!
The true sage, methinks, recycles his own reality map periodically and swaps his meta-models just for fun and as a spiritual-mental exercise a few times per year, whatever the pantheon, whatever the symbols used, whatever the implications may be.
After all, the peak state of looking at the world without any reality map in one's mind IS FUN!!!!
Perhaps we should add a 'map-clear' to our collection of superman titles? More >
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