Brief Notes on Various Topics -- 24

11 May 2024

Brief Notes on Various Topics – 24

1.  The world of materiality is, I think, more encompassing than is generally thought.  The distinguishing feature of the ‘world’ is becoming and begoning, also known as samsara and genesis.  When looked at in this way any aspect of existence that has this distinguishing feature of becoming and begoning is part of the ‘world.’  This would include between-lives dimensions of existence which is where becoming and begoning plays itself out in important respects.  The ‘world’ would also include those realities that lie beyond our particular sense experiences such as sounds we can’t hear and sights we can’t see due to the structure of our sensory apparatus.  The ‘world’ also includes dimensions where other beings, such as deities, Gods, and Goddesses, dwell because they are all part of becoming and begoning; they are born and pass away.  That is why deities are so frequently depicted as mingling with those of us who dwell on earth; deities can do this because the realm they live in, and the realm humanity lives in, are the same realm.  It’s like walking from one room to another.

Only when we reach the Noetic do we move beyond becoming and begoning and enter the realm of eternity.  The Noetic is not eternity as such, that is to say Noetic realities are not eternal by nature as a defining feature of their existence.  The eternity of the Noetic is due to the metaphysical closeness of the Noetic to the One; it is the One, the ultimately transcendent, that is eternity as such, that is unity as such, that is the Good as such.

2.  David J. Yount, the contemporary philosopher and scholar of Platonism, argues strongly in his book Plato and Plotinus on Mysticism, Epistemology, and Ethics that Plato was a mystic.  Yount made a survey of philosophers and how they regard this issue.  Among those Yount surveyed, 33 said Plato is a mystic, and 18 said Plato was not a mystic.  Comparing this to Plotinus, 48 said Plotinus is a mystic and 1 said Plotinus was not a mystic.  (Yount let people define mysticism on their own terms so there was no shared definition.)

What’s interesting is that those surveyed overwhelming regard Plotinus as a mystic, while, in contrast, a significant portion regard Plato as not a mystic.  This is the result of the conjuring of the category ‘Neoplatonism’ which sought to separate Plotinus and Plato by regarding Plato as a proto-modernist and Plotinus as a throwback to an earlier, pre-philosophical, way of thinking.  In many respects this distinction has been successfully implanted in modernity.  That is why Yount’s previous book, Plotinus the Platonist was written; to demonstrate that the two philosophers are both participants in an ancient tradition and that this ancient tradition was mystical in nature.

3.  When we practice silent contemplation or meditation, such a practice does not mean that there are no sounds.  Suppose we are on retreat at a remote hermitage.  We set aside time for silent contemplation and during that period of silent contemplation there is the sound of the wind, perhaps the sound of a bird singing, perhaps the sound of a coyote strolling through the long grass, and so forth.  In silent contemplation we simply let those sounds appear and disappear without lingering on those sounds, or grasping them.  When the sounds subside, they simply subside.  This is how we transcend becoming and begoning of the sensory realm; we simply allow it to subside.

The practice of interior silence is the same procedure applied to mental formations such as hopes, emotions, fears, fantasies, plans, memories, and so forth.  We simply allow them to subside.  This is how we transcend mental formations.

I think this is what Plotinus meant by ‘take away everything.’ 

4.  It’s interesting to speculate as to whether or not robots and forms of AI (artificial intelligence) could practice contemplation, and whether or not such things could live what Platonists refer to as a ‘spiritual life.’  I recall many years ago, when my parents came to visit, some friends of mine hosted a dinner for them.  It was a wonderful evening.  Very convivial.  At one point during the conversation someone said that they had no problem with the idea that computers could become conscious.  My mother looked aghast, maybe disgusted is closer.  She rejected the idea outright.

I see consciousness, or Mind, as a reality that pervades existence; in a sense I would say that all things are conscious, even those things that most people would consider inanimate.  So for me the question isn’t if a particular thing is conscious; rather the question is if we humans could recognize the mode of consciousness of that thing; whether we could interact with that thing in a way that resembles how we interact with beings whom we think of as conscious such as human beings and animals. 

Because robots and AI were created by human beings it seems possible to me that they would mimic modes of human consciousness, at least enough for us humans to recognize that we are interacting with a conscious being.  I don’t know if such beings could enter into a spiritual path, whether they could transcend material existence, but I don’t inherently rule it out.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

5.  Many years ago I hiked past the moon and stars.  I feared I was lost.  But a bridge of golden light appeared which crossed the void.  After reaching the other side of the bridge, I continued on my way.  It is a long journey, but the path is clear.  And the journey becomes easier as I become more familiar with the lay of the land.  Sometimes I think about how far I have come and how far I have left to go.  This does not discourage me; with every step I sense the Presence of Eternity and the grace that guides me. 

Now and then I find a message from those who have walked this path before; words of encouragement and insight, words of assurance, nourishment for the soul.