Transcendent Reality Research Articles

Do We Really Need to Ban Scientific Investigations of Other Dimensions of Reality?

The purpose of this article is to offer arguments in favor of doing broad science, which means focusing on the investigation of everything, supported by the elaboration and application of methods that make it possible to objectify reality, which includes the attempt to replicate evidence likely to come from a transcendent reality. We argue that doing broad science depends on adopting the assumption that there are other dimensions of reality since this broadens the horizon of investigation; and to take care that such assumption does not come to be left out due to the influence of intrusive lines of thought of the most diverse. Here we discuss three lines of thought showing fragility in them, which we understand to be well established in current times, especially in the academic environment, and which directly or indirectly advocate the adoption of a materialist vision, namely: the disconnected psychophysical dualism, the myopic pragmatism, and the primacy of epistemology over ontology.

Th eology as the science of existence and philosophy as the science of being in the fundamental ontology of M. Heidegger

The article deals with the project of understanding transcendental reality, undertaken within the framework of phenomenology. It is shown that phenomenological reduction, which leaves beyond the limits of evidence all types of objects of consciousness and all types of existence, if they do not reveal their meaning within the framework of the phenomenal givenness of themselves to experience, fundamentally does not allow us to talk about the transcendent. This circumstance reveals the limitations of phenomenology and the need to supplement it with various ontological and epistemological constructions, such as positive sciences, theology, theory of objects, ontology of ideal objects, etc. The article demonstrates a project for such an addition: the fundamental ontology of Martin Heidegger. Martin Heidegger shows that phenomenology in the format of fundamental ontology Dasein has an advantage over theology, since it is the science of being, and theology is just the science of existence, namely one of its types — historical revelation. It turns out that this project separates phenomenology and theology as the basis for any positive research, including theological, and thus does not allow us to talk about a phenomenological study of the transcendent. Thus, it is shown that phenomenological philosophy and theology are fundamentally incompatible.

Kant’s Importance for European Philosophy. The Perspective of Hermeneutic Philosophy

The article is a short presentation and critical evaluation of the main aspects of Kant’s theoretical and practical philosophy. It focuses on ontological consequences of the so-called Copernican turn that places man in a self-created, phenomenal world, cutting off any hope for his contact with the transcendent reality, independent of man’s cognition. The only escape from this danger of the subjectification of reality is, unjustly criticized, Kant’s acknowledgment of Ding an sich. In the area of practical philosophy, Kant’s ethics of categorical imperative, of good will and the fact of freedom, is an interesting but indefensible project of formal and autonomic ethics that, unfortunately, due to its elitist conclusions cannot fulfil the task of teaching morality. In the light of development in cultural anthropology and hermeneutical philosophy of life, Kant’s position needs to be significantly updated.

Avasthātraya: Deeper insights

The Upaniṣad or Vedānta is certainly the most brilliant expression of Indian wisdom. From time immemorial it has been the driving force behind all intellectual and spiritual pursuits of the seers. The crowning glory of the Upaniṣad lies in its spirit of inquiry into the nature of truth. It has not only impacted the knowledge systems of India but has gained a global recognition for its consistently significant contribution to the development of the science of consciousness, in addition to the value-based knowledge it imparts. It conceives of pure consciousness to be the eternal, all-pervasive and transcendental Reality which is termed Ātman or Brahman. The individual being is the worldly manifestation of the pure consciousness and it is ignorant of its real nature owing to its association with the limiting adjuncts. According to a few principal Upaniṣads, that real nature, as pure consciousness, can be intuited by an individual after transcending three intermediate states Jāgaritasthāna, Svapnasthāna and Suṣuptasthāna. These three consecutive states do not refer only to the ordinary states of sleep and wakefulness but may be regarded as the steps towards the realization of Supreme Reality. In-depth analysis reveals a close correspondence of these three states with the states of Samādhi as mentioned in the Pātañjala Yogasūtra. The paper offers a deeper insight into the nature of these three intermediate states through which the absolute Consciousness can be perfectly realized in its entirety.

Discerning Progress in Schellenberg's Evolutionary Religion

John L. Schellenberg has suggested that the evolution of religion should be guided towards the goal of discovering the truth about transcendent reality. I argue that some way of discerning progress is needed if this project is to be practically feasible. In this article, I explore what discernible progress would require in some possible future scenarios. Focus lies on scenarios involving improved cognitive contact with the transcendent, but I also consider scenarios involving only cultural change and those where no transcendent reality exists. I conclude that whether progress can be discerned varies heavily between different versions of these scenarios and therefore suggest that humanity is currently too ignorant to begin this project.

The invisible divine in the history of art. Is Erwin Panofsky (1892–1968) still relevant for decoding Christian iconography?

References to the divine have been frequent in the history of Christian art. As examples, this article surveys the symbolism of light and gold, the rhetoric of gesture, and the theatricality of the pictorial space. Sacred art is closely linked to biblical, liturgical and theological texts which are full of metaphorical expressions of transcendent realities. Since artists, patrons and viewers considered these texts authoritative, they must be consulted to interpret artworks correctly. This study argues that Catholic theology and the magisterium have constantly called for references to the divine. As a theoretical framework, this image theology helps to interpret the art-historical data with new questions that tourists and communicators today usually do not ask. This is because Christian art mediates the meaning of divine revelation, which is not self-explanatory. It needs to be decoded with a method interested in both images and texts. Erwin Panofsky has presented such a method. His ‘iconology’ consists of three steps for describing, analyzing and interpreting images. This article claims that the interpretation of Christian art is a prime example of the ongoing applicability of Panofsky’s method as a tool for decoding iconography in pastoral, academic and social media communications, and examines a selection of best practices in such communications.

Eidic hierarchy as the basis of vertically oriented aesthetics

The object of this research is the organization of visual culture in a vertically oriented paradigm. The subject of the study is the eidetic hierarchy as the basis for the organization of the visual environment in a vertically oriented paradigm. The purpose of this study is to explicate the eidic hierarchy as the basis of aesthetic representations in a vertically oriented paradigm. Modern culture has come to full aesthetic relativism under the influence of modernism. Today, everything is acceptable in art, so artists and designers are actively being forced out of the profession by neural networks. Neural networks are the product of a horizontally oriented culture in which any objects are recognized as equally valuable, since there is no appeal to the super-object. Therefore, today it becomes relevant to shift the focus of research attention to the opposite organization of culture – vertically oriented, recognizing transcendent reality. Such a culture should have clear criteria of art, determined by the eidic hierarchy. In distinguishing the vertically oriented paradigm, the author relies on A. G. Dugin. The author's main method is semiotic analysis, which makes it possible to see the transcendent signified in culture. The author also relies on Plato's teaching about the eidetic hierarchy of being. The main conclusion of the study is that in the vertical oriented paradigm there is a clear aesthetic hierarchy, which is absent in culture today due to its horizontal orientation. The vertically oriented paradigm is associated with the idea of the eidic hierarchy of being. The canon, which has been developing for centuries, has been a tool for depicting the eidic forms of things, not phenomena, but noumens. Reorientation to the presence of a super-object can be an opportunity to preserve the profession of an artist and art itself from aesthetic relativism.

The Notion of the One in the Light of Lacanian Psychoanalysis

The article concerns on the interpretation of the One in Lacanian psychoanalysis. This notion derived from the Eleatic philosophy and subsequently was developed in a specific way by Plato and the Neoplatonists. This concept also occupies an important place in Lacanian psychoanalysis. In his seminars, Lacan drew attention to the similarity between philosopher’s and narcissist’s discourse when they speak of the total unity. Since the subject never encounters such unity in his experience, there should be an instance producing the idea of totality. According to Lacan, the unconscious is responsible for this, both in philosopher’s and narcissist’s discourse. The narcissistic idea of the One is provoked by the hopes of finding the unity of the self. The narcissist is painfully aware of the fragmentation of the inner experience and tries to reassemble the self through identification with the object of desire, which in Lacanian psychoanalysis is called object a. The ideal for the narcissist is complete autarky, when the total unity is embodied in the figure of the Big Other. Lacan demonstrates that the One in the narcissistic experience is an image of the narcissistic self, idealized and purified from any specific content. Structurally, the same logic is reproduced in philosophical discourse, only the One is described as the highest transcendental reality. Thus, Lacan concludes that the instance that gives impetus to the idea of the One is unconscious fantasy. The driving force behind this process is the combination of desire and pleasure. By examining the position of pleasure, Lacanian psychoanalysis reconstructs the ‘ontology’ and ‘ethics’ of the unconscious that guides it in its constructing the fantasy of the total One.

Українське плекання зерен господньої ниви (погляд крізь простори і часи)

The proposed study contains value-semantic parallels aimed at uncovering hitherto outdated, and therefore under-researched, transcendental realities of domestic life. Since the time of Tripoli, as archaeologist-scientist and historian Dokia Humenna has written about in several analytical studies, the strategy of cultivating Ukrainian farmland has become critical to national identity. The proposed study presents and analyzes several defining concepts from the scientist’s work, which, according to her own philosophy, allow us to understand how Ukrainian Tripoli is “passing into the future”, that is, in our time.

РЕЛИГИОЗНЫЙ СМЫСЛ ТРАНСЦЕНДИРОВАНИЯ

The article is devoted to the consideration of the concept “transcendence” in history of philosophy. The research has led to the idea that transcendence has always had a religious meaning - explicit or implicit. In the Ancient philosophy, this concept denoted the ascent to the Highest Good. Although the Good was synonymous with the “God of philosophers”, which did not require prayerful veneration and cult actions, transcendence itself was considered by philosophers by analogy with a religious cult, since it assumed a carefully prepared and diligently executed system of actions, aimed at establishing a connection with the transcendent reality and related to the transformation of personality. In the Middle Ages, transcendence was also understood as a conscious transformation of a person in order to gain the highest level of being. But among scholastics the idea of the leading role of the intellect in transcendence arose, and in the philosophy of the Renaissance and Modernity it was developed and has found its maximum expression in the philosophy of Kant. In existentialism, which was the antithesis of neothomistic metaphysics, the Christian understanding of transcendence, as the movement of a person to God, became one of the subjects of criticism. However, religious existentialism combined the existentialist search for the true being of man with the Christian understanding of the transcendent as the sphere of absolute being or God and, thereby, returned the concept of “transcendence” to its religious meaning.

The functions of Buddhist practices in the works of L. Yuzefovich

The aim of the research is to analyze the features and functions of L. Yuzefovich's appeal to Buddhist religious practices in the book “The Autocrat of the Desert. Baron R.F. Ungern-Sternberg and the World in Which he Lived", the novel “Prince of the Wind”, the story “The Murderer” and the poem “Burkhan”. This topic has not previously been in the spotlight of Russian literary criticism, which determines the scientific novelty of this study. The Buddhist practices in the works of Yuzefovich within the framework of the concept of the “Buddhist text” of modern literature are comprehended. The results showed that the writer uses the practice of visualizing a dokshit, or Buddhist protector, appearing in the plot as one of the ways to characterize characters who outwardly coincide with the frightening deity, but internally diverge from him in terms of motivation. Buddhist meditation on impurity reveals in Yuzefovich the problem of the opposition of creative and religious intentions: the hero of the novel “Prince of the Wind” chooses the path of asceticism, closing for himself the possibility of literary creation, which inherently multiplies samsaric images. Meditation associated with the figure of the Bodhisattva of compassion allows the writer to designate in his works a transcendent reality that enlightens the landscape and transforms the suffering world, bringing harmony to the plot of life's tragedy and catastrophe.

Design as a cultural phenomenon

The object of the study is culture in terms of its aesthetic component (art and design). The subject of the study is design as a cultural phenomenon. The author suggests that design from a philosophical point of view contains meanings that are not described by the traditional number of aesthetic categories. The author demarcates the categories "design" with the categories "art" and "aesthetic", consistently identifying differences in the following parameters: 1. functional difference; 2. difference of origin; 3. semiotic difference. Having distinguished the design category from the art category, the author reveals the specific semiurgical essence of the design category. Semiurgic design is associated with projective activity, that is, the activity of creating new signs. Design is associated with the design of secondary reality and the gradual doubling of the world. The main conclusion of the study is an attempt to derive the formula of the philosophical content of the category "design". The philosophical category "design" is associated with the aesthetic organization of secondary reality and is characterized by projectivity (orientation to innovation), transitivity (orientation to real application), functionality (orientation to optimal application), immanence (lack of connections with the transcendent) and semiurgicity – the function of creating new signs. The semiurgic nature of design lies in the constant reproduction of itself, since the discourse of design "new" becomes synonymous with design and loses the meaning of the dialectical negation of "old". The design is associated with the symbolic doubling of the world. Moreover, this doubling does not increase the meaning and value of being, but, on the contrary, enhances the illusory nature of being, since design, unlike art, is not associated with pointing to a transcendent reality.

Attempts to Communicate the Transcendent in Contemporary Art: An Artist’s Point of View

The article investigates attempts in contemporary art to convey transcendent realities through the lens of the artist. This study examines three key moments of the artistic creative process: intuition, asceticism, and silence. The article assesses silence or stillness as a specific mental state that enables us to evaluate reality with a heightened awareness of our own length, fragility, and the infinite that awaits us on the other side of existence. In artistic practice, silence is a prerequisite for authenticity, believability, and creativity. The article explores the possibility of uncovering and revealing the transcendent via matter through the author’s own artistic inquiry. It discusses art as a master of transforming material, psychological, and physical facts into shapes that hint at what is beyond what the eye or ear can perceive. Art can lead to the sublime and open the mind, eyes, and heart to that which is beyond. The expression of the transcendent through artistic action is observed by analyzing the relationship between the artist and intuitive knowledge in the artistic practices of contemporary and modern artists. Along with the qualitative method of narrative research, research methodologies specific to the artistic field (visual arts) were predominately used, expanding the boundaries of qualitative research by taking a holistic approach closer to the very nature of the artistic process and allowing for a more complete understanding of the process itself.

Kesatuan Transenden di Tengah Pluralisme Agama: Sebuah Interpretasi Pemikiran Frithjof Schuon

Indonesia, as a country with a high religious diversity, needs a framework of thought that can accommodate this diversity. The purpose of this study is to discuss Frithjof Schuon's thought on transcendental unity and its relevance to the context of religious life in pluralistic Indonesia. In the context of religious pluralism in Indonesia, Schuon argues that all religions and beliefs have the same roots in transcendental unity that transcend doctrinal or dogmatic differences. This concept has important implications for strengthening unity in diversity in Indonesia, but also poses challenges and criticism. This research is a literature review using a philosophical approach that aims to analyze the ideas of the figure. The results show that Schuon's ideas can provide a relevant framework for addressing the challenges of religious pluralism in Indonesia by teaching tolerance, respect for differences, and a deeper understanding of transcendental reality. The application of Schuon's concept of pluralistic reasoning and transcendental unity can be a basis for building a more harmonious and peaceful society in Indonesia.

Leo Schaya Bağlamında Tasavvufta İçsel Dönüşüm

Leo Schaya [Sidi Abdul-Kuddus] (1916-1986), a member of the traditionalist school, is a significant researcher and author of the 20th century who carried out in-depth studies particularly on Islamic Sufism and Jewish mysticism. Born in Switzerland into a non-religious Jewish family, Leo develops a deep interest in Sufism to study Islamic mysticism following his encounter with Frithjof Schuon [Īsā Nūr al-Dīn] (1907-1998), a distinguished representative of Islamic spirituality in the West. He turns to Schuon, whom he values for his spiritual journey and sees as an experienced guide. He converts from his current religious belief and joins the Shadhiliyya order. As a result of his warm and visionary nature, during his travels, he gains knowledge about Islamic tradition and Sufism through his relationships with famous masters of Sufism such as Shaikh Muhammad at-Ta'dīl (d. 1371/1952) and Sufi thinkers like Titus Burckhardt [Sidi İbrahim] (1908-1984), who conducted theoretical studies on eastern doctrine. He perceives mystical teachings as a journey into the depths of the heart and soul in pursuit of a transcendent reality and truth. He sees them as a guide for human spiritual development and getting closer to Allah, representing the internal dimension of Islam. In his theory, overcoming the self or controlling ego-centered thoughts, the process of reaching divine love and truth, discovering one's true potential, killing one's self in this world of multiplicity to bring out the divine light within, and recognizing one's essence are all important. Furthermore, in the studies in which Schaya put his thoughts into writing, he associates certain Sufi concepts with other metaphysical principles and emphasizes the existence of a universal metaphysical understanding. The aim of this study is to analyze Leo Schaya's Sufi thought from a traditionalist perspective, to understand and evaluate the universal dimension he puts forward regarding Islamic tradition and mysticism. In other words, it is to investigate how Schaya's Sufi teachings provide guidance in the inner journey of humans and to delve into the universal dimension of his thoughts. For this purpose, document analysis, one of the qualitative research methods, has been used to examine the author's mystical teachings, and the data related to the subject has been collected. This data, categorized according to specific characteristics or themes, formed the general framework of the text. Schaya's inner teachings offer significant information on topics such as societal dynamics, spiritual interactions, and relationships between universal religious teachings. It is also seen that Schaya, rather than fully adopting the doctrines of traditionalist school pioneers, is in the effort to shape his own spiritual vision in an original way.

Gereformeerde pietisme, neoplatonisme en pre-Romantieke teodisee in die Voortrekkervrou Susanna Smit (1799-1863) se godsdienstige dagboeke

The first half of the eighteenth century witnessed a resurgence of Platonism in literature generally and in theology in Germany en Holland in particular, because of the appeal Plato’s ideas held for the distinction between immanent and transcendental reality, man’s quest for unity with the Good, and the human soul as the vehicle for uniting with God. Because most human beings are preoccupied with material things, Plato believed they need to have their thoughts turned to the immaterial reality behind the material world, and thus to be weaned away from the objects of their passions. To Plato the world is more than a world of appearances. Behind each particular thing is the idea or form of the thing. Moreover, the ideas or forms are all ultimately related to the Form of the Good. Plato believed that the soul is an immaterial entity, which in some ways is like the Forms. Particularly revealing to the emerging trend of Romanticism was Plato’s philosophical transcending of sceptical and materialistic views of reality, the notion that those who know what is good will love and desire it, and that moral virtue is of itself a prerequisite to knowing the good. The problem presented itself as to how sinful man and chaos in the world can be brought in accordance with God’s perfect and sinless nature. Because Plato’s view of human improvement by means of education and salvation through personal virtue is far removed from the Christian message of redemption by a loving, personal God, Pietists reverted to the neo-Platonism legacy of love mysticism to resolve the dualism inherent to the Romantic juxtaposition of the immanent and the transcendent. The Voortrekker woman Susanna Smit reflected these influences in her Reformed Pietistic spirituality and re-interpreted the Christian conviction of the love of God and man’s salvation by relying on neo-Platonism love spirituality in the works of James Hervey, Rutger Schutte, Hieronymus van Alphen, Rhijnvis Feith and other pietistically inclined authors. This research investigates the impact of the idea of experiential numinous love mediating between the Good and the human soul and neo-Platonism love sentimentality in Susanna Smit’s diaries and the effect of these influences in her Reformed Pietistic spirituality from 1843 to 1863.

Interpretation of the Concept of Social Constructivism by L. S. Vygotsky through the Semiotics of Education, the Theory of Transcendence in Education and the Theology of Personality by V. N. Lossky

The subject of the work is the theses of the concept of developmental learning, semiotics of education, theory of transcendence in education, and theology of personality. The aim of the research is to develop a practical pedagogical method based on the discussed concepts. The author demonstrates the key positions of the concept of developmental learning, such as the zone of proximal development and scaffolding; reveals the understanding of education as a semiotic system and the participation of transcendent reality in it; and outlines the main theses of the theology of personality by V.N. Lossky. Then the author combines the aforementioned theories to create a pedagogical method, which he defines as an integration of the developmental learning approach with the position of the theology of personality. The author's special contribution is the generalization of scattered concepts into unified conclusions and the development of a practical pedagogical method, which includes a number of theses, specific components of a case for conducting a lesson as a template, and instructions for implementing the case in accordance with the generally accepted stages of a lesson also in the form of a template. The author concludes that the developed case is universal and can be applied at different levels of education. The author also notes the value of the material based on which the method was developed for further study of each of the presented areas of science. The author emphasizes that the application of the method is not limited to the religious context, as the method was developed based on non-religious research, and the positions of Orthodox theology of personality correspond to the presented theories of modern philosophy of education.

A metaphysics of spiritual experience

AbstractA discussion of the metaphysics of spiritual experience requires that we are clear about the nature of metaphysics, and I take as my starting point the ‘transcendent metaphysics’ described and supposedly eliminated by A. J. Ayer. Most analytic philosophers agree with Ayer (and Kant) that transcendent metaphysics in the relevant sense is deeply problematic, and they associate it with platonism, theism, and religious thinking more generally. Assuming then that spiritual experience takes us into religious territory, and this territory is forbidden, a metaphysics of spiritual experience is going to involve transcendent metaphysics, and it will be similarly problematic. Ayer's conception of transcendent reality is itself deeply problematic, and I shall argue that his metaphysical framework helps to motivate atheistic spirituality by ruling out the possibility of an empirically grounded and hence defensible religious alternative. I shall challenge this framework, set out an alternative with the help of Arthur Schopenhauer, and spell out the implications for a metaphysics of spiritual experience.

A Proposal of an Educational Program Based on Case Analysis of Fashion in the Metaverse

Artificial intelligence(AI), virtual reality(VR), and network technology—the major technologies of the fourth industrial revolution—have ushered in the eras of metaverse of transcendent reality and big data. In these periods, training specialists through creative convergence on metaverse fashion is urgently needed. This study aims to analyze the characteristics of metaverse and cases of metaverse technology convergence in the fashion industry. Furthermore, it proposes a curriculum for fashion education programs using three-dimensional virtual content. Our findings indicate that (1) metaverse technologies, such as data technology, network technology, AI, VR, augmented reality(AR), and mixed reality(MR) technologies, are being used in various industries, including fashion, entertainment, game, electronics, and automobile industries. Hence, the market for metaverse will continue to grow (2) metaverse platforms, such as Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, Animal Crossing, Universe, Zepeto, and ifland, have been introducing virtual worlds, avatars, and products targeting the MZ generation(a mix of two groups—Millennials and Gen Z), their main consumer group, and are collaborating with various fashion brands. Third, the study, based on the case analysis, proposes educational programs on metaverse fashion. These are learner-centered, process-oriented, and execution-centered programs that use creative convergence education methods using design thinking at the learning, ideating, designing, making, and sharing stages. This study presents the applicability of metaverse technology as a medium for fashion education and has the potential to become basic data for creative convergence education of metaverse fashion in future.

Do Psychedelic Trips Open the Door to Messages from God, Spirits, Transcendent Realities, or the Devil? Links with Attitudes About Psychedelics, Opinions About Legalization, and Interest in Personal Use

ABSTRACT Could psychedelic use open the door to messages from supernatural entities, including God, the devil, or human or nature spirits? Might psychedelics allow a glimpse of some transcendent domain, consciousness, or self that exists beyond the material world? We were interested in how people’s answers to these questions would relate to their attitudes about psychedelic use, legalization, and desire to use psychedelics if given a safe opportunity. After preregistering key hypotheses on the Open Science Framework, we recruited U. S. adults (final N = 800) to complete an online survey. Participants expected psychedelics to prompt psychological messages (from the brain or subconscious) more than spiritual messages, which were typically endorsed more than explicitly supernatural messages; however, even supernatural messages received moderate endorsement. As predicted, seeing psychedelics as a doorway to positive spiritual or supernatural messages (from a transcendent spiritual domain, God, human spirits, nature spirits) was linked with more positive attitudes about psychedelics, more favoring of their legalization, and more past use and interest in personal use. As expected, attitudes about psychedelics were less favorable among those who saw them as doorways to negative messages, either from supernatural evil (devil, demons, evil spirits) or from one’s own mind (dark side, shadow self, “inner demons”). Beliefs in supernatural messages via psychedelics were linked with stronger supernatural beliefs, more prior psychedelic use, younger age, self-identifying as spiritual, more past experiences seen as supernatural (in general and involving psychedelics), and greater approval of psychedelics by one’s religious community (where applicable). In summary, many people see psychedelics as potential sources of supernatural messages. These supernatural attributions, in turn, are closely linked with attitudes, behaviors, and past experiences related to psychedelic use.