Martin LeFevre: Aristotle’s Gridlock

Aristotle laid out the grid for the Western mind. And with the ending of a distinctly different Eastern mind in the last two decades, it has become, for better but mostly worse, the world mind.

Modern science is the zenith of Aristotle’s framework, and of the Western mind; but a pervasive and globalizing meaninglessness is its nadir. Though they may not know it, at bottom al Qaeda is raging against the Western mind, not the Christian world.

The crisis facing humankind is total and unprecedented however. Not only are beliefs, traditions, rules, and institutions incapable of meeting it, but the crisis goes beyond these expressions of different cultures to human consciousness itself.

The task before philosophy now is to erase the Western grid without diminishing the scientific enterprise, and thereby bring about a new mind. That begins within the individual, through right observation of the movement of thought/emotion, which opens new space in the mind of the undivided human being.

The most surprising revelation from the explosion of scientific knowledge is that knowledge does not bring about wisdom. Furthermore, scientific knowledge does not satisfy humankind’s sense of wonder; it often diminishes it.

I am not making the usual distinction between scientific and other types of knowledge. There are of course rational and irrational forms of knowledge. However insight, understanding, and wisdom are not a function of knowledge of any kind.

Pursuing knowledge for its own sake, or for the betterment of humanity, is a good thing, and an end in itself. Making knowledge the highest good however, means heading in the wrong direction, the direction that Aristotle set. So while Aristotle made modern science possible, he was mistaken to give knowledge the highest priority.

The idea that scientific knowledge, or any other kind of knowledge, can answer all questions and solve all problems is hubris of the highest sort. A fully rational explanation of the origin of things is a desirable, if never attainable, goal. That includes ‘man’ and our contradiction with the movement of nature and fragmentation of the earth as a whole, producing the mass extinction of other species.

Therefore, while we should always seek rational explanations, we must never be satisfied with them. Knowledge can never be complete, and the wonder, mystery, and reverence for life flows from a different source.

About a dozen vultures are circling lazily in a gentle breeze over the gorge and canyon in the relatively unspoiled Upper Park. They are graceful searchers for gruesome remains. Without the associations that go with the name and knowledge of vultures, they are seen as they are, and are beautiful creatures.

A quarter mile from the parking lot, I pass a couple sitting in large lawn chairs, complete with drink holders, books, and other paraphernalia. It’s an unseasonably warm January afternoon, even in northern California.

It’s also the third year of drought, and while the grass along the slopes is green, it is not lush. The first wildflowers have appeared a few weeks early—a smattering of blue lilies, and a single trio of California poppies along a few miles of trails.

The hour-long hike is wondrous, with grand views of the cliffs on both sides of the canyon, and of gentle slopes stretching toward the horizon. A few vultures glide down the gorge below eye level, only a few meters away. Then I can see their vigilant eyes in their red heads, and the long feathers that protrude from the ends of their wings looking like delicate fingers.

Sitting on the ground at the lip of the gorge for over an hour, I don’t see another soul. The vertical slabs are stained with ochre, and subtle shades of yellow and red run down many of their faces. As the mind completely quiets and meditation deepens, the sight of the angular, colored rocks evokes not merely centuries, but millennia, including the long and tortuous history of man.

What is a human being? A human being is a person who is capable of having a brain that is completely, effortlessly quiet, one who has a mind that can totally set aside the movement of thought and knowledge, and so is alight with insight.

Such a human being is realizing cosmic intent, an intent that is without a deity, plan, or pre-design. It is an intent that is intrinsic to evolution, inherent in the development of galaxies, stars, planets, and life forms.

- Martin LeFevre is a contemplative, and non-academic religious and political philosopher. He has been publishing in North America, Latin America, Africa, and Europe (and now New Zealand) for 20 years. Email: martinlefevre@sbcglobal.net. The author welcomes comments.

© Scoop Media