Replies

Thank you so much for the heads up on your post!

Having had several engaging conversations with you on other threads, and having perused the links you’ve posted to The Autonomist, your reaction is not at all surprising to me. The self lies at the heart of the doctrine and is the power, domain and the end of it:

The Autonomist Notebook

"No man is an island," is a lie. An island is exactly what a man is, what every man is. When someone uses this quote as an argument, be sure he is preparing to invade your island, and if he is successful, the bells will surely toll for thee.

It simply would not do, under that doctrine, for the self to be in subordination.

Nevertheless, there are many of us who know the self to be an extreme subordination of all that there is. To us, it is a joy to free the mind and explore that which cannot be expressed by language. Many times, the journey is spiritual. But also many times the journey is theoretical, such as in math, geometry and physics.

I strongly suggest this ability to leap beyond language is what empowered the likes of Einstein. That view is substantiated by his own remark:

"These thoughts did not come in any verbal formulation. I rarely think in words at all. A thought comes, and I may try to express it in words afterward."

Certainly there are many analytical scientists who work with that which is already known, i.e. has been expressed by language. And many of them open new doors and build onto that which known. But the astonishing leaps in science, IMHO, occur when the scientist is not “grounded” by his language.

Likewise, your endearment of knowledge - and besmirching of imaginings - is not surprising based the Autonomist doctrine. But again, it runs counter to the greatest mind known to me. Einstein said:

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”

You are certainly welcome your views of man as an island, the supremacy of self and the elevation of knowledge, logic and reason. But I strongly suggest that labeling the thought disciplines of Einstein as insane does not reflect favorably on your doctrine:

To promote a non-linguistic form of consciousness is to promote a kind of insanity. A non-linguistic consciousness is appropriate to the irrational animals, in human beings, it is sickness.

You are certainly welcome to your views of man as an island, the supremacy of self and the elevation of knowledge, logic and reason.

Thank you for allowing me to have my views.

The insistance that the uniqueness of human consciousness is the ability to choose and reason conceptually in no way limits or repudiates the volitional use of conscious imaging called imagination. While all animals apparently re-image (may kitties dream), what they are not able to do, is by use of rationally directed choice, control that imaging to invent a light bulb, a steam engine, a theory of quantum mechanics, or, in my kitty's case, a nice trap for catching tasty birds. This kind of "imagination," is only possible to a rational intellect.

It is frequently the case that people use their intellect without understanding what they are doing. This is especially true of those with highly but narrowly developed intellects, such as Einstein, who was, outside his specialty, often not far from an idiot.

But I strongly suggest that labeling the thought disciplines of Einstein as insane does not reflect favorably on your doctrine.

Doctrine?

You are a trip.

In any case, you must know by now, an autonomist considers how anything "reflects" on what he believes is totally irrelavent and inconsequential. The arbiter of truth is not others opinions or how things "reflect" on ideas. The only arbiter of truth is reality. It will not matter a fig if the entire world laughs at and repudiates what one believes if it is the truth.

Hank

And thank you A-G for exploring the critical process of the imagination --and providing a fuller context of the Einstein quote I 'found' across from the mens room wall when it came time to consider imagination* a few weeks ago: “I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” ;-`

And it follows, the most creative mentality of all is one which intentionally forms imaginings and processes of thought, resorting to neither what we call "matter," nor symbols gained by it.
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* http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/844288/posts?page=1001#1016
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/844288/posts?page=1237#1237