Notes from 5/18/09*
General-perhaps we could form a divide-and-conquer system, such as assigning each member a specific topic/topics of special interest/knowledge -come up with, for example, 5 (# will fluctuate) Windows into the Contemporary Phenomenon of Globalization which are illuminated through an understanding of Teilhard's Noosphere ~ for example: Corporate, Environmental, Phenomenon of Globalization, Intelligences, Astrophysics-we need to form specific goals and time lines to follow over the next monthClass Notes-The book will basically cover two themes: Globalization-as it is happening now; contemporary; culturally, etc.; does not need to be proven, only demonstrated Noosphere-this is where we speculate and form our own understanding and solid definitions
NEW LEVEL OF QUESTIONING-What is knowing? What is human knowing? (thought conceived through spirit)-We look at contemporary phenomena; again, this will be presented as factual, not an idea we must support through speculation. The evidence is all around us-WHAT IS THE UNIFYING THREAD? HOW DOES ALL THIS COHERE?-Key: the Noosphere; convergence of phenomena through the Noosphere's synthesis-Thinking: What is the Noosphere?? We cannot presume to know this! We must research and understand. so far, we can say it is: ~Non-localized ~Space/time ~Made up of, but certainly not restricted to, tools and matter-Consider knowledge^2; man knowing that he knows
PHILOSOPHICAL ANTHROPOLOGY-The Sciences of Humanity arose in the 19th century, and this is the time of the birth of philosophical anthropologyTHOUGHT
-We are beings who continually transcend ourselves in acts of knowledge-As the individual progresses, so too does mankind through the sciences-This is known (by Teilhard's definition) as the "Rebound of Evolution"-Self-knowledge is based on self-awareness. Self-knowledge gains new personal awareness; it is not a collective or collaborative effort-The fundamental ingredient of self-knowledge is the dialectical interaction process-One basic component of the Noosphere is this: the ego awareness ("I") evolving into the sphere of the dialectical relationship/process
ADDITION TO NOTES:
An intriguing strategy occurred to me:
Start with one particular phenomenon or cultural artifact and interrogate this phenomenon
asking the question: “what is a ‘x’?” Continuing the investigation until a complete act of understanding occurs. The act of understanding entails a whole host of conditions necessary for a grasp of this ‘entity’.
The attempt to understand the artifact reveals:
a)globalization
b)historical process
For example: let us say that we are asking the question ‘What is a drum?” Pointing to an electronic drumkit, one asks: What is ‘this’?
Answer: It is an electronic drumset.
This answer merely substitutes a name for the entity ‘x’ being interrogated.
We are interested in what the grasp of understanding entails.
Hence: in order to understand what this thing is, we might answer with a history of the evolution of the drum and its history and its use. We are describing the ‘formal’ quality of the drum. This answer is supplemented and imbedded in cultural anthropology, requiring a notion of human culture, written history and so on…
On the other hand, in answer to the ‘what is ‘x’?’ question, we might look at the history of the materials that compose the electronic drumset. We undertake a history of the matter and materials that compose this drumset. The manufacture of an electronic drumkit certainly reveals globalized history of manufacture and technology; whose most recent revolution allowed Yamaha to manufacture a digitally activated drum trigger in a mounted rubber pad, which simulates the function of the acoustic drum.
Both types of knowledge of the drum: a) formal and b) material, require and exploration into human education.
Aristotle identifies four types of answers which suffice to answer the question: What is ‘x”? Where ‘x’ may stand for any entity that can be interrogated. He calls these principles:
Formal cause, material cause, and the other two are ‘end’ or final cause and efficient cause.
The final cause or end of the drum: answers the question: what is ‘x’? by pointing to its use. The drum is something tapped or beaten for musical functions (which are complex cultural artifacts).
If we understand a)the material substance of the drum and its manufacture, b)the essential form or ‘idea’ of the drum. In other words, we call the Yamaha kit “drums” just as well as an Irish Bodhran, a tympani kettle, or a goatskinned Djembe, are also called drums. What allows you to identify the underlying form of the drum is an ‘idea’ or an essential definition of drum, which includes formal, material, efficient and final causes.
Now if we add to this knowledge, its use and the history that composes it in its entirety, we see that Globalization, and evolution (historical process) are implicate in the understanding of this entity!
Hence, the effort to expose the interaction of the noosphere and globalization, what better than to begin with the artifact, work backwards, and explore all that is required for a coherent grasp of this phenomenon as Aristotle did so well in his metaphysics.
In other words, if we begin with any entity ‘x’ and ask back into its essential being: What is ‘x’? We find that Aristotle’s metaphysics provides a wonderful way of opening these doors. By investigating the ‘act of understanding’ (with a science called ‘hermeneutics’) we discover the simultaneous history of the conscious side of the phenomenon (i.e.thought) and the object side of the phenomenon (i.e. the thing).
Let’s clarify and discuss this at our next meeting…
