Universal Mind Research Articles

Mind, Liangzhi, and Qi in Wang Yangming’s view that “nothing is external to the mind”

Although I agree with Jeeloo Liu that Wang Yangming is not a subjective idealist, this does not rule other possibilities of idealism. Wang Yangming equates the mind to Dao and equates liangzhi to the Dao of Change. This suggests that the mind is not just a subjective mind. It can denote the all-encompassing universal mind. In his “blossoming tree” dialogue about the theme “nothing is external to the mind,” Wang Yangming alludes to the Book of Change. The underlying idea is that there is an undifferentiated unity before the calculative deliberation divides the subject and object. This idea of oneness also underlies Wang Yangming’s view of qi. I have reservations about using “naturalism” and “realism” to categorize Wang Yangming’s philosophy.

BERKELEY'S CRITERION OF A MECHANIST VIEW AND HIS ATTACK ON THE MECHANIST VIEW

An attempt will be made to present the criterion of a mechanist view that Berkeley adopted, as well as his uniqe attack on the mechanist view. According to the criterion of a mechanist view as implied from berkeley's writings, a mechanist view is one that explains the natural phenomena, assuming material causes only. Berkeley claims that the material world as perceived by us is a collection of sensual ideas. These ideas exist in our mind. Berkeley also claims that the ideas are passive. An idea is merely a sign for another idea, and not the cause of the formation of another idea Berkeley claims that the term "Force", which many physicists think that it represents a cause of phenomena as velocity changes, dose not represent a real quality. Berkeley is defined as an empiricist. But in order to preserve scientific achievements and the ability to connect between phenomena and to predict, he claims that we have to use the term "Force" although it dose not represent a real quality. The term "Force" represents in his opinion a mathematical fiction. This view of Berkeley is called " Scientific Instrumentalism". Science does not deal with material causes according to Berkeley's view. The universal mind (God) is the real cause of natural phenomena, "planting" the regular ideas referred to as '' nature''. Still minds and God should be dealt with in metaphysics. Therefore Berkeley's attack on the mechanist view is the result of his view that only in metaphysics we deal with real spiritual causes. Since Berkeley attacks the mechanist view, he is defined as an anti mechanist. In Berkeley's opinion, there is no difference between the picture of the world which follows from his philosophy, and the common sense picture. Moreover, no scientific achievement suffers as a result of his philosophy

The Entangled Imagination: W.B. Yeats’ “Moods” and the Psychologization of Magic

Among modern practitioners of magic, the “psychologization of magic” has become a common strategy to adapt practices such as rituals of invocation to naturalistic thought. In this article, I discuss what was probably the most elaborate attempt to bridge the gap between the magic of the past and magic suited for the present that took place within the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (1888–1903). Approaching the Order’s teachings through the lens of contemporaneous literary discourse, the Irish poet and magician William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) attempted to consolidate supernaturalist and naturalist understandings of magic throughout the 1890s. In 1892, he made the concept of the “immortal moods” a key to both his poetry and his magical practice. Evoked through symbols in a ritual or a poem, these moods would descend “like a faint sigh into people’s minds” and move them to action, causing “all great changes in the world.” Yeats explored this concept in theoretical writings, poetic experiments, and his ritual practice, finding his own imagination entangled with past imaginations. Serving a brief term as the Golden Dawn’s Imperator and Instructor in Mystical Philosophy in 1901, he condensed the insights gained from this work in the doctrines of the “great mind and great memory.” Presenting a study of Yeats’ psychology of the universal mind, this article shows how his amalgamation of literary and folkloristic theorizing paved the way to connect magical and poetic practice to the emerging psychological discourse.

God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning

God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning

Paul Langevin the Scientist

“Summarizing Paul Langevin’s work implies revising the whole history of physics (…), this is a difficult but exciting task” Louis de Broglie said during Langevin’s funeral. Paul Langevin was a universal mind, and he had worked in all branches of physics: gaseous ions, Brownian motion, electromagnetism, dia and para magnetism, birefringence, special relativity, ultrasonic waves, and neutron collisions. Very rare are those who can pretend to such a scientific impact. Yet at the same time, during a time span that included two world wars, Paul Langevin directed an engineering school ESPCI (Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielle), gave courses at collège de France, ENS (Ecole Normale Supérieure), and was actively involved in the Solvay Conferences that he organized when Hendrick Lorentz passed away. The last part of the presentation is devoted to the present Paul Langevin legacy. As illustrations, a membrane wave experiment that revisits the 1919 Eddington observation of Albert Einstein prediction is followed by a walking liquid droplet set-up by Yves Couder. Open questions about the unfinished work that Paul Langevin and his scientific Solvay group left us will conclude this presentation.

Realizing the power of thought and innate mental health:two overlooked ingredients for resolving traumatic memories

ABSTRACT We use the logic of the spiritual Principles of Universal Mind, Consciousness, and Thought to describe two often overlooked ingredients for the resolution of traumatic memories – the power of Thought and innate mental health. We first review the three Principles and use their logic to explain why these two typically unrecognized ingredients can improve and sustain treatment outcomes for people experiencing traumatic memories. Then, we use the logic of the Principles to speculate why the prevailing “gold standard” interventions for resolving traumatic memories – cognitive-behavior therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing – are effective to the degree they are.

Переосмысление средневековых парадигм в эпоху цифровизации на примере общины исмаилитов

The article raises the question of the influence of the Arab-Muslim philosophical paradigm, explicated in the works of medieval Ismaili philosophers, on the choice of the path of development of the Ismaili community in the 21st century. In the first part of the article, the main categorical pairs of the Arab-Muslim dis­course are considered: “explicit – hidden” and “basis – branch”. The creation of the world, according to Ismaili thinkers, is, in fact, the embodiment of “subtle” knowledge into coarse matter. The Universal Soul, the true demiurge of our world, has clothed the knowledge of the Universal Mind in matter both at the level of the physical world and at the level of the world of religion. The task of a person in the picture of the world given by these pairs of metacategories is to “reveal” the hidden knowledge and to know the “truth” of each phenomenon, which is achieved by balancing the hidden and explicit aspects. The second part examines the main activities of the Aga Khan Ismaili Network for development in the 21st century and analyzes the statements of the Ismaili imam that deter­mine the direction of the Ismaili society in our days. The author concludes that the same categorical apparatus remains in the 21st century as in the 11th century, and it has a significant impact on the formation of the concepts of development and direction of the Ismaili community. The category of knowledge remains one of the fundamental categories of the modern Ismaili community and determines the vector of activity of an extensive network of foundations, institutions and or­ganizations. At the same time, in the very structure of the structure of the Aga Khan’s Development Network, one can trace the influence of a pair of meta-cat­egories “basis – branch”, which served as the basis for the formation of the Is­maili state in the 10–11th centuries.

Formation of the Idea of Natural Law in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome

The article analyzes the formation of the idea of natural law, which has an important theoretical and applied significance, as it makes it possible to better understand the essence of law, its connection with egalitarian and humanistic teachings. The research is based on modern philosophical worldview approaches, such general scientific research methods as axiological, anthropological, phenomenological, comparative-historical, comparative-legal, system-structural, hermeneutical, functional, institutional, as well as formal-legal method are used. The article examines the works of representatives of the Milesian school founded by Thales in the first half of the 6th century BC, whose analysis of human consciousness, human ability to create, transform the world, formulate ideas and implement them led to the idea of a universal Logos, a universal divine Mind, and the Law of Nature. The article reveals the contribution of sophists to the development of the idea of the natural law who justified the differences between natural and human law, defended the idea of equality of all people, called for not discriminating against citizens, depending on their origin, and denied slavery. The role of representatives of the stoicism school in substantiating the idea of natural law based on awareness of the fundamental difference between human nature and nature, justifying the existence of the unchangeable law of nature (lex naturale) in the form of common sense, equality of all people, recognition of slavery contrary to human nature, the need for recognition of human rights by law to preserve human dignity is highlighted. The article examines the influence of the ideas of the philosophers of Ancient Greece on the development of Roman law, the role of the Scipio group in this influence, and the essence of the then rational understanding of natural law as a true law, namely, common sense, which, in accordance with nature, concerns all people, is unchangeable and eternal

The Concept of THOUGHT in the Mirror of Cultural Codes (based on the Texts of Fiction)

Modern linguistics, within the framework of the anthropocentric paradigm, tries to solve the fundamental issues of the trichotomy "reality-consciousness-language", therefore, the issues of consideration of various concepts presented in language are of particular relevance. The conceptual analysis of abstract concepts is difficult for researchers, so the problem of reflecting the inner world of a person in the language of concepts is of particular interest. The purpose of this study is not to describe the entire structure of the concept of THOUGHT in its linguistic expression, but only to analyze the cultural codes that this concept, which relates to the mental sphere of the inner world, is represented in language. The study showed that the mental concept of THOUGHT, passing through the prism of metaphorical comparison, is represented through such cultural codes as cosmic, natural, biomorphic and objective. The conclusion is made that in the consciousness of the Russian person there are ideas about the universal mind, about thought as a material, living entity, capable of continuing to live after the death of its bearer and becoming the property of other people.

The Efficacy of Psycho-Spiritual Mental Health Education for Improving the Well-Being and Perceptions of School Climate for Students At-Risk for School Failure

This preliminary study investigates the efficacy of the SPARK Mentoring Program, a mental health education intervention grounded the psycho-spiritual Principles of Universal Mind, Consciousness, and Thought for improving the well-being and perceptions for school climate of students at-risk for school failure. Students at-risk for academic failure were assigned to a treatment group (n= 75), and a waitlist comparison group (n= 34). Pre-and post-intervention, participants in both groups completed the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, the Acceptance component of the Difficulties in Emotional Regulation Scale, and the Social and Emotional Learning, High Expectations, Caring Adults, and Peer Climate components of the Alaska School Climate and Connectedness Survey. Compared to the control group, students receiving this intervention (thirteen 45–60-minute sessions during regular school hours) reported improved mental health evidenced by a significant increase in mental well-being, state of mind, and hope for the future, and improved perceptions of school climate evidenced by a significant increase in conflict resolution, valuing academic success, and relational trust with teachers, peers, and school community.

INTRACTABLE PARADOXES OF EVOLUTION - WITH ALL-ENCOMPASSING GAZE OF A NATURAL PHILOSOPHER

Although Darwin was really ahead of his time on many of the most fundamental issues for science, however, if we talk about the true mechanisms of evolution (as, indeed, about the absence of transitional forms), they still remain the object of sharp, incessant discussions. The same applies to such a fashionable philosophical concept as the noosphere: after all, many people now interpret it in different ways (including as quite real material formations that function, however, according to laws that are not yet completely available to us). Only one thing is clear: these laws are the same for both living and ordinary inert matter. And in addition, in recent years, most modern scientists have begun to tend to the conclusion that the emergence and progressive development of living beings is possible only if there is an appropriate program (plan, project). The article is devoted to the core and most controversial problems of biology. Its main idea is to postulate the individual mental and the collective noosphere derived from it as the leading factors of evolution. After all, one way or another, it is with their interested participation that any dynamic shifts observed in nature are carried out. That is, useful emotional impressions accumulated in ontogenesis by the mental serve as an information base for improving behavioral reflexes in this particular species. And only with some rare saltations (such as, say, the transformation of scales into feathers or forelegs into wings) can we judge the guiding activity of the higher universal mind. Although we are talking about the residual (posthumous) uni-sphere, which is terminologically very little related to the generally accepted, and much more familiar to philosophers,Chardin's. It can be described as a giant biocomputer scattered in space, operating at a slower pace compared to current computers, but still having (through its obedient ubiquitous performers – viruses) so far much more power and influence on the fate of modern world civilizations.

Proof of Universal Consciousness with the Direction of Energy Flow

The concept of a Universal Knowledge Field was previously also framed as Universal Consciousness, Cosmic Consciousness, Universal Mind, Universal Memory, Universal Intelligence which suggests an essence of being and becoming in the universe. As a segment of creative cosmos we too create, self- reflect and come to know creator within. This is one of the best ways to know god, is through the knowing self. Another aspect that Nikola tesla clearly explained that lower the energy lower the operating consciousness .That means operating consciousness directly dependent on energy. The question is how to raise the energy level psychologically, we all know that energy is obtained from food and thoughts, recent neuro-scientific evidence can be interpreted in a way that suggests consciousness is a product of the organization of energetic activity in the brain. The nature of energy itself, though, remains largely mysterious, and we do not fully understand how it contributes to brain function or consciousness. But this paper clearly explains how operating consciousness and energy are synchronised each other. We all know love is the basis for energy healing; the question is up to what extent you can love others? The Vedanta philosophy clearly promotes to love others at highest extent. This paper clearly proofs how universal consciousness (Vedanta philosophy) and energy are synchronized each other.

Экологическое сознание в свете диалектики естественного и искусственного

The article analyses ecological consciousness in the context of dialectics of the natural and the artificial. The authors explore I. Kant’s fourth antinomy and conclude on the necessary existence of “Being”, or Universal Mind. Ecological consciousness should develop on the principles of beauty, harmony of universal and human elements. The study focuses on analysing dialectics of the natural and the artificial with a view to develop the concept “ecological consciousness”, which deals with human habitat. Scientific originality of the paper lies in the fact that ecological consciousness is considered taking into account I. Kant’s fourth antinomy. The conclusion is made that a human being enters the era of artificial intelligence.

Mind as a Behavioral Inhibition Network.

This study aimed to propose to add a new perspective on what may create the impression of “mind” in other beings. The conventional is perspective is that when we observe mental activities in animals, this creates in us the impression that they have a mind. On the other hand, the authors’ proposal is that when we observe unpredictable activities in living beings, this creates in us the impression of mind. This “unpredictability” is a characteristic product of all living things and is not limited to animals. In response to this additional perspective of mind, we assumed that the following questions would arise, “Is mind as the source of unpredictability an imaginary thing? Does it really exist?” To answer this question, a conceptual model of mind was proposed, and its validity was investigated by introducing studies on the relationship between animals’ unpredictability and emergent behavior. In section “Animal Mind as a Behavioral Inhibition Network,” we examined the question from the perspectives of comparative psychology, ethology, and neurophysiology. As a result, we obtained the hypothesis that every animal can have a “behavioral inhibition network” and that this corresponds with the source of unpredictability. The function of the behavioral inhibition network is to create “unpredictable behavior.” It makes an observer facing the animal feel unpredictability of the animal. However, unpredictable behavior may arise from exogenous factors such as congenital malfunction in the mechanism to generate an innately acquired behavior, as well as environmental disturbances. Therefore, in the section “Innate and Emergent Behavior of Animals,” we introduce studies where unpredictable behavior seems to occur endogenously. In these studies, various animal species were examined in unexperienced problem-solving tasks that could not be solved by innately acquired behaviors. As a result, each animal solved the problem by generating unpredictable behaviors with high frequency. Such biologically significant unpredictable behaviors are referred to as “emergent behaviors.” In the section “Discussion,” we investigate whether the behavioral inhibition network matches the mind that one experiences in their daily life. Finally, toward a science of universal mind, we introduce experimental results suggesting the possibility that plants and materials such as stones have a similar structure to a behavioral inhibition network.

The Primordial in the Philosophy of Nasir Khusraw

The article deals with the problem of determining the primordial in the philosophy of Nasir Khusraw, the Isma‘ili thinker of the 11th century. It seems to be an obvious answer that «the primordial is God», but this statement becomes impossible in Isma‘ilism due to the absolute separation of the transcendent incomprehensible God from the world manifested in intelligible and sensuous diversity. The article deals with the origins of the problem of the relationship of the single original and the multiple world, gives a brief overview of solutions to this issue by different schools of Arab Muslim philosophy. Within the framework of Isma‘ilism, two schemes of the process of creation of the universe were proposed, one of which was actively developed by Nasir Khusraw. According to the views of the Isma‘ili philosopher, the basis of all things is the word of God: it has an absolute being and potentially contains all things. The consequence of the word of God is the Universal Mind, which is endowed with the necessary being and has knowledge of all things. The Universal Soul, which emerges from the Universal Mind, has the power to create and thereby materializes the knowledge of the Universal Mind in the diversity of the material world. So, what can be called the initial? God, in fact, is taken out of the field of reasoning, He only speaks His word. The word of God is the cause of all things, but it does not give existence to the world. The world is created by the universal Soul, it is its Creator, but the Universal Soul itself is the creation of the Universal Mind, the consequence of the word of God. In Nasir Khusraw’s doctrine of being it is impossible to distinguish a single primordial, its functions are distributed between the word of God, his inseparable consequence the Universal Mind and the Universal Soul which derived from the Mind.

Cultural Convergence as a Form of Struggle for Global Dominance in the Age of the Crisis of Classical Reason

The article analyzes the current crisis of the world-system, the evidences of which are apparent in various areas of social reality: science, politics, and religion. In this regard, the author argues that all these transformations are associated with a change in the cultural paradigm that can be described as a crisis of the universal mind. Belief in the universal mind, which founded the whole culture of the age of Modernity, is a subject to significant erosion today and it changes the entire landscape of social reality and the meaning of the social practices. Moreover, it affects the functioning of the entire worldsystem by changing cultural priorities themselves. In the past, the theory of modernization assumed a globalization process with the inclusion of all the subjects on the principles of the Western model, but today, due to the belief in the absence of universal truth, the world is segmented into cultural subworlds that are built around particular values and traditions. In our days, there are several civilizational projects (American, Russian, Islamic, Chinese) that are alternative to the classical project of Modernity, based on the the values of Enlightenment. In this regard, the current stage of globalization cannot be considered as the global expansion of the Western (Modernity) project, but there is a competition of civilizational subworlds, challenging the classical Western project. It is obvious that under such conditions the cultural proximity becomes a fundamental resource that allows competitive projects to expand their sphere of influence. When belief in the universal mind and in the existence of the Absolute Truth recedes into the past, it becomes impossible to appeal to universal norms and principles. Therefore, it only remains to appeal to own cultural traditions, putting efforts to make them as attractive as possible for both internal and external “consumers.” Thus, the cultural proximity, which due to the destruction of the universal mind suddenly became a geopolitical value, turns out to be not only a part of an individual’s cultural identity but also a tool for promoting civilizational projects.

The Crisis of Ideology of Universal Mind as a Challenge to the Social Structure of Modernity

The article examines the articulation and clarification of the concept of cultural ideology. According to the author’s position, both for describing of ideal “horizons” of social reality and for clarifying the cultural role of ontological beliefs associated with these horizons, the concept of cultural ideology is more successful than the previously used concepts of “garment of ideas” (Ideenkleid) “social representation,” “dominant worldview.” Unlike Heidegger’s concept of the essence of being that is ruling in history, the concept of cultural ideology claims to describe only the subjective attitudes of individuals, who, by a joint cultural activity, constitute an intersubjective space of meanings and actions. However, these attitudes form the foundations of cultural experience that determine the social structure and social being in each specific historical era. In our days, there are signs of the transformations of the foundations of the cultural ideology that originated in the age of Enlightenment and dominated in the society of Modern Times. The evidence of those transformations is a phenomenon of “post-truth.” The denial of the singularity of truth is an evidence of the crisis of the universal mind that is a justifying and legitimizing foundation of sciences and technologies. Moreover, the crisis of the cultural ideology of universal mind endangers not only the science itself but the entire social order (including its values, universal rights and freedoms) that was formed by the belief in the universality of mind.

Sudbina života i uma u univerzumu u delima Artura Klarka i Olafa Stejpldona

Sudbina života i uma u univerzumu u delima Artura Klarka i Olafa Stejpldona

THE ONTOLOGY OF EXISTENCE: THE NEXT PARADIGM. A review of the book "THE IDEA OF THE WORLD: A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY ARGUMENT FOR THE MENTAL NATURE OF REALITY", by Bernardo Kastrup

In recent decades, attempts to create and argue a new ontology of existence that could provide a robust alternative to the mainstream physicalist metaphysics have been made in science and philosophy. A new book by Bernardo Kastrup (2019, 312 p.), a well-known specialist in the field of philosophy of mind and neuroscience of consciousness, offers the author's conceptually clear and rigorous formulation of the philosophical system. The author proves that appearance and reality in ontology are fundamentally experiential. A universal phenomenal consciousness is the sole ontological primitive, which patterns of excitation constitute existence, and a human being is dissociated mental complexes of this universal consciousness, surrounded like islands by the ocean of its mentation. Kastrup’s idea of the World has an idealist ontological underpinning. The author contrasts his vision of the world with the existing ideas of the world perception, such as physicalism, microexperientialism and cosmopsychism. The quality of the argument, which is given in the book, suggests the revival of the philosophy of idealism as the next paradigm, according to which a form of universal mind will be viewed as nature's sole fundamental entity.

How the formless comes into form: A process by which Universal Mind powers consciousness and thought to create people’s psychological lives

AbstractIn a moment of spiritual enlightenment, Sydney Banks claimed to “see” how three psycho-spiritual principles—Universal Mind, Consciousness and Thought—coalesce to create all psychological ex...