CONCEPTS OF REALITY

By Romana Annette, 06/18/2007

Psychology can only be used to describe how people (or animals) act, using axiomatic baselines of personalities and related behaviors, in an attempt to define what is normal.  To describe reality itself, one must turn to philosophy.

I have always been very critical of subjective ideas, especially those concerning religion, that are pushed as absolute truths.  I see a different reality from most persons for two reasons:

·      I have Asperger’s Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, that makes me more objectively focused, and

·      I am a transwoman with an Ojibwa ancestry, which would make me an Egwakwe, or native holy person.

Within this essay, I will touch on the concept of objective versus subjective, the immanence of God, paradoxes, metaphysics, dualism, Evolution, and the relevance of Jesus Christ.

Objective versus Subjective:

Reality as we know it has two components: Objective Reality and Subjective Reality.  Philosophically, the concepts of what is objective and what is subjective are often used relatively.  For instance, one often hears such distinctions in comparisons, such as when classical music is said to be more objective than modern music.  All music is strictly subjective.

So, in Objective Reality, everything is strictly objective; but in Subjective Reality, distinctions may be either objective or subjective, depending upon their context and the point of view of an observer.

Our lives are far more subjective than most of us want to believe.  Since I have Asperger’s Syndrome, I can be more objective, because I am not influenced as much by touchy-feely situations.

While many of the ideas in this essay are my own, I freely integrate the ideas of well-known Process Theologians, such as Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947,), Charles Hartshorne (1897-2000), John B. Cobb, (1925- ,) and John F. Haught (1942- .)

Whitehead’s concise definition is, “Philosophy is the self-correction by consciousness of its own initial excesses of subjectivity.”

Process Philosophy and Theology seek to balance objective and subjective elements of reality, without resorting to any supernatural explanations.  For this reason, Process Philosophy and Theology are often described as extreme rationality.  This is well-suited for someone such as myself, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome.

In writing this essay, I draw heavily upon the five commonly-accepted principles of Process Theology, which, rather than attempting to define reality and God, plainly state what God is NOT:

·      God is not a cosmic moralist.

·      God is not unchanging, and not passionlessly absolute.

·      God is not a controlling power.

·      God is not a Sanctioner of the status quo.

·      God is not male.

Objective Reality:

Objective Reality provides the scientifically consistent framework for the existence and operation of all processes over very long periods of time.  Measurements of Objective reality are called facts.  Objective Reality itself can supply no means of self-description; however, it is sometimes referred to as the Transcendent aspect of God, despite the fact that it cannot be used to prove or disprove any notions of God or any other philosophical principles.  This, in turn, leads to the notion that God does not, or cannot, exhibit any objective powers.

Objective Reality includes all matter and energy, and the physical and chemical laws that bind matter and energy together. Objective Reality includes all the DNA and RNA, the building blocks of life as we know it. While it has been aptly noted that there are no two of anything exactly alike in the Universe, we are able, for the sake of convenience, to ignore infinitesimal differences and to group many like objects as being exactly the same.

Objective Reality operates at two scales: microscopic and macroscopic. 

The visible Universe is the macroscopic, or macrocosmic, reality that we see.  It can all seem so predictable and straight forward; however, it all originates from a microscopic reality that we cannot see, which is not linearly predicable, because it follows very complex rules based upon uncertainty and probability, leading to foundations for a non-deterministic Universe.

[Note: non-determinism, in this context, does not mean the total lack of predictability.  Non-determinism means there can be nodes in processes that will randomly branch into one of two or more potential outcomes.  However, once the branching has taken place, the selected path may have consequences that are extremely determined.]

While non-determinism can be mathematically inconvenient, it is important, because it makes variation and diversity possible.  Without this variation and diversity, Subjective Reality would be impossible.

Many things that are part of Objective Reality are interpreted subjectively.  These include created objects, such as cities, television sets, books, and so forth.  Such objects cannot occur as part of natural objective processes; it is we who bestow special meaning to them in Subjective Reality.

Subjective Reality:

Subjective Reality can only be described using philosophy, especially when it pertains to living organisms.  It is layers of harmonics applied on top of Objective Reality. Subjective Reality is an envelope effect, driven by energy, information, and relationships. The very nature of Subjective Reality makes it impossible to deconstruct it to its objective components without the loss of all the subjectivity.
Some say Subjective Reality comes directly from the love of God, which is why Subjective Reality is often referred to as the Immanent aspect of God.

Subjective Reality is all about opinions that cannot be proven; in fact, values associated with Subjective Reality are emotional states, not physical states, though it should not be forgotten that physical states are at the basis of all processes.  Abstractions are the processes that have been developed to describe other processes, both objective and subjective, that may be real; however, abstractions, by their nature, are not themselves real.

Subjective Reality has no bounds, and many of its rules could be called circumstantially relative, meaning that its rules have been developed in evolving situations by trial and error, and so can in no way be construed as absolute.

The Evolution of biological processes is a case in point.  DNA, the building blocks of life as we know it, occurs in over-defined conglomerations, consisting of recent DNA and fragments of ancestral DNA dating back millions or even billions of years.  Developing organisms are derived, rather than being copied.  While our personal judgments might say otherwise, no particular organism is more correct than any other.

Mating and reproduction are an important part of our lives, and this activity is very important for the evolution of our species.  However, the amount of energy that we and other animals devote to mating and reproductive activity is considered to be Messy and Wasteful.  Despite the fact that, philosophers have long been saying, the purpose of all life situations is personal enjoyment. This is a kind of creeping materialistic objectification of subjective experience.  Many want to reduce all our life experience to simple binary logic, because the resultant state diagrams are not overwhelmed with subjective possibility.

Binary logic is just a mathematical convenience, which makes computers possible; it does not occur in Nature, and it certainly has no application in Subjective Reality.  If organisms develop or behave in ways that offend our sensibilities, we have simply failed to comprehend the larger scope of processes of which we are a part.

The Immanent God

Philosophy seeks to describe a God free of Paradox and obvious problems.  A God who is all-powerful and who can change any objective situation is actually scary, because Objective Reality is hazardous enough to our lives without someone skewing the laws of Nature.  There is no evidence for a God who objectively interferes with our lives, and it would severely limit the bounds of our free will and personal lives in a non-deterministic Universe.

Process theologians favor a subjective God who is the basis of Love; however, many discourses have been written about this type of Love, which has to do with an appreciation for the way things are and become, rather than phony, saccharine compassion.

A subjective God creates a lot fewer problems, because such a God can suggest all manner of possibilities, none of which we have to carry out.  Some philosophers speak of God trying to lure us to greatness, by noting which decisions are better than others.

Whitehead speaks of God supplying objective immortality which then becomes the primary interface with God.  The idea is that all the subjective moments in animate lives become part of an objective cosmic record.  This record would be more emotion-oriented, than event-oriented.  Whitehead further speculates that we interact with this record at every moment of our lives, so there is no moment at which God is not somehow active in our lives.

[Note: objective immortality is still subjective, but it is called objective to distinguish it from subjective immortality, which has to do with getting one’s body back in a celestial paradise.]

Similarly, Hartshorne speaks of a panenthesitic God (God is in All,) rather than a pantheistic God (God is All.)  There is a problem having a pantheistic God in a non-deterministic Universe.  If God is all, then how do new objects and ideas come into existence?  How can anyone or anything enjoy life if they cannot have free will and embrace new experiences?

In panentheism, God is not all there is after all.  The subjective, immanent aspect of God is always being enhanced, while the transcendent aspect of God never changes.  This raises the specter of God being imperfect, because reality, as we know it, is extremely imperfect.  However, in a process-oriented reality, the outcomes are always imperfect, while the processes are perfect, since they have been running for billions of years without a pause.

Some philosophers have speculated, if the processes are able to run a long enough time, there might eventually be a more perfect reality in the distant future.

METAPHYSICS

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the reality, specifically the nature of the world and the Universe as it impacts and includes human beings.  Therefore, metaphysics has often been the study of Subjective Reality.  While metaphysics has often been discounted in post-modern versions of philosophy, it has been extremely evident in religious circles.  There are many versions of religious metaphysics that are so extreme, that they totally discount the relevance of Objective Reality.

Process Philosophy and Theology has been extremely concerned with metaphysics, though no particular version of metaphysics can be said to represent the views of all Process Philosophers and Theologians.  Also, Process Philosophy and Theology never discounts the relevance of Objective Reality; all of creation is expected to fit into the same rational model.

The term metaphysical refers things that are part of systems of metaphysics, but it can also refer to a method of interpretation of scripture.  Metaphysical interpretation of scripture can be said to be a non-literal, non-fundamentalist examination, where linguistic conventions, coded text, and metaphorical connotations become very important.  Of course, this works much better in older texts, such as Aramaic versions, than in more modern versions, such as the King James Bible, where the original philosophical content has been somewhat scrambled.

Process Philosophers and Theologians often reference scripture in such a metaphysical manner.

PARADOXES

Reality-based philosophy, such as Process Philosophy and Theology, will seek to reduce the occurrence of paradoxes.  Science seeks to explain all apparent paradoxes found in Objective Reality, because there should be no paradoxes in a totally objective system.  Paradoxes seem to be either objective or subjective in nature, and some are also dualisms

The Big Bang Theory of creation contains an objective paradox, since it introduces a discontinuity between the creation of the Universe and any events that preceded that creation.  The uncertainty principle of physics, as well as quantum mechanics, create potentially more paradoxes, since sub-atomic reality is not linear; rather, it can only be described using a system of probability based on wave mechanics.

Objective paradoxes are a sure sign that we have not interpreted Objective Reality correctly.  So long as we are stuck with a four-dimensional model for the Universe, the paradoxes simply will not go away.  Superstring theory, and its child M-Theory, created in the 1990’s, attempt to eliminate all objective paradoxes.  In M-Theory, the Universe was created when two three-dimensional (mem-)’branes collided.  There is no discontinuity, and there is a before and an after.  Also, in order to unify all observed forces and structures in the Universe, superstring theory requires that there be at least seven more dimensions, in addition to the three that we see plus time.

Subjective paradoxes are more difficult to deal with, and many of these often have to do with the nature of reality and God.  The five principles of Process Theology attempt to define a baseline that can reduce the effect of paradoxes.  The majority of people hold personal beliefs about reality that are paradoxical and violate philosophical principles; however, such people do not suffer any particular stress or penalties for doing so.

Typical paradoxes are:

·      Human Dominion: If the Universe was truly made just for human beings, why did so much time pass before we appeared, and why is so much of the Universe uninhabitable?

·      Transcendence versus Immanence: How can God be separate, but totally involved at the same time?

·      Plan of Salvation: How can we be following absolutely-established plans, but have free will at the same time?  Or, how can we be totally obedient to God’s will, but enjoy our life adventures at the same time?

·      Ultimate Reality: If an absolute meaning of life is already known, what use is life in the first place?

·      Intelligent Design: How can the Universe be truly non-deterministic, if there is a supreme being who can interfere at any time?

·      Saved versus Unsaved: If there are sub-groups of people who are said to offend God by their very nature, how did they come into being in the first place?

·      Evil: If God is objectively supreme, why does He allow bad things to happen to good people, and why does He allow evil to coexist with good?

·      Satan: How can God truly be omnipotent, but be troubled by the existence of a second powerful being, called the Devil?

POLARITY AND DUALISM

We often seek to eliminate all conflict from our lives; however, all reality contains a certain amount of chaos, and it is simply not possible to filter out the chaos without destroying subjectivity.  Our daily lives are subject the endless external influences, both objective and subjective.  Attempts to eliminate conflict end up being a kind of isolationism.  If people try to live in isolation from the rest of reality, the end result can be problems such as Global Warming.  Again, as already mentioned, this can be a religious influence, such as when the consequences of Objective Reality are purposely ignored.

In the modern world, we are used to a lot of objective situations that can be solved.  Examples are what to wear, what to eat, where to eat, and what to buy are examples.  Our materialistic bents have deceived us into thinking that we can extend the same methodology to subjective situations.  We end up being astonished that, when we get groups of people together for some kind of consensus, we leave thinking that we got agreements that never actually occurred, because we failed to manage all the conflicts.

This is called subjective polarity.  These polarities are interdependent conflicts that cannot be solved, because the subjective model cannot exist without the tensions generated by these polarities.

An example is the idea of self versus the relationship in a marriage.  Of course, when the selves are eliminated, the marriage collapses.

All objective paradoxes seem to be the same as objective dualisms, and all are false.  Some of these are:

·      War versus Peace: These are not interdependent, and war is not necessary to have peace.

·      Love versus Hate: These also are not interdependent, and hate is certainly not necessary for love to exist.

Dualisms abound in religion, but they literally overwhelm politics.  Dualisms set up dividing lines that set things or ideas apart from each other, often favoring one group, while deriding all other groups.

All dualisms are considered to be conceptually false, except possibly the transcendent versus the immanent nature of God; however, this may be a true subjective polarity, not a dualism after all.

Examples of dualisms are:

·      Good versus Evil

·      Believers versus Non-believers

·      Republicans versus Democrats

·      Liberals versus Conservatives

·      Humans versus Animals

·      Science versus Religion

·      Mind versus Matter

·      Ethics versus Aesthetics

·      Man versus God

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

Charles Darwin marvelously crafted the process-oriented theory of Evolution; then he saddled it with a kind of materialistic isolationism, which is why many people do not believe that it is plausible.

Organisms exist in a complex, interrelated world and Universe.  There is no such thing as any organism that evolves based on its own fortitude and personal dynamics.  Human beings are the only organisms on our planet that devote significant amounts of energy to eliminate or control biological diversity.

Process Philosophy and Theology supports a more realistic model, where organisms seek to maximize pleasure and diversity.  Evolution is actually about the survival of the most diverse, which has allowed life to evolve on our planet, as well as to survive various geological changes and convulsions.

JESUS CHRIST

Fundamentalist’s often think that Process Philosophy and Theology are a form of atheism disguised as religion, while atheists think they are a form of religion disguised as philosophy.  In addition, since Jesus Christ is not mentioned in every paragraph, they seem to have nothing in common with the founder of the Christian religion.

Texts such as found in the King James Bible have confounded the situation, since they attempt to turn Jesus’ teachings into preachy sermons.  When one returns to the original Aramaic, if it is correctly translated, Jesus becomes a profound philosopher, easily holding his place with all history’s great philosophers.  However, unlike the philosophers who came before Jesus, Jesus’ philosophy seemed as reality-based as possible for his time, since he spoke of personal rights for everyone, including women, enjoying life, and connecting to a greater reality.  Because of this, many Process Philosophers and Theologians consider Jesus to be the founder of the movement.