LOOK TO YOUR GARDEN

(by Dlanorrenrag*)

LOOK TO YOUR GARDEN:

I advocate neither stagnant apologism nor progress in meliorism. Rather, I advocate creative, ever-progressive gardening; that is, ever-empathetic and sustaining pursuit of music and beauty over noise and decay.

I advocate no final goal. As process, Change is constant; in effect, Change is continuous. Purpose is in expanding appreciation of one’s empathetic circle of “I-ness,” by pursuing, not achieving, fulfillment of “I-ness.”

Such I call “Civilized Progressive Realism” (or Preolism), even though the “progress” is only in continuing to live and create well. The spiritual aspect is in expanding empathy in respect of experience, thereby applying inspiration, insight, intuition, and empathy to value well-being for others within one’s circle of concern for oneself.

Alternatively, one may call such Enlightened Empathy, Enlightened Altruism, or Enlightened Selfishness. Whatever may distinguish among such forms of Enlightenment may make no practical difference. All that matters is that Enlightenment is availed us by a common Source. But, it is up to each of us to look to IT.

GHOST IN THE MACHINE:

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytic_philosophy . In respect of God, soul, I-ness, and/or spirituality, I am hardly concerned with any dualistic or Cartesian “ghost in a machine.” Rather, I am concerned that each of us is a particular (holographic?) expression of “Something Irreducible and Incomplete to Rational Access by Mortal, Particular Perspectives.”

IT may be analogous to Leipniz’s notion of organic interconnection; Reinhold Niebuhr’s notion of interpenetrativeness of God, good, and evil; or Godel’s notion of incompleteness.

Whatever, IT is beyond empirical or logical measure or proof, but not necessarily beyond intuitive experience and faith. IT seems a source for inspiring enlightened empathy and notions of civilizing morality.

To suppose it shown or provable by empiricism, logic, or analytic philosophy that civilization can do well enough without IT, from historical perspective, seems quite silly.