"The Philosophical Pentagram"

A Representation of the Philosophy of the Eternal Generalized Principles

In Five Parts

Metaphysics→Epistemology→Ethics→Politics→Aesthetics

By David Chako
August 31, 2008

Motivation

The common misunderstanding of Philosophy evident today is aptly expressed by the oft-uttered variants of the deprecation 'That's mere theory'. Many assume that abstraction is a free for all, meaning is subjective, and practicality is divorced from, and superior to, conceptual reasoning. In its extreme and, unfortunately, commonly encountered form, this attitude leads to the lazy identification of the practical consequences of creative ideation as elements of perceptual reality in and of themselves. The effect is mistaken for the cause, and this epistemological inversion ensures an attendant conceptual shallowness which short circuits understanding in favor of amoral convenience. The confusion of the role of principles in practice perverts ethics into a tool of control used by opportunistic politicians to frighten individuals into following their dictates, with the sole purpose of perpetuating the somnambulant power structure as it lurches into cultural bankruptcy, cleverly and inexorably pursuing an aesthetic tabula rasa on which to write its nihilistic propaganda. The goal of this inexorable obliteration of philosophical order is to deprive you of free will and the power to create, and the inevitable result of continuing along this path is the eradication of the distinction between human and animal, and the destruction of the means to prosper in society, which is your mind; mass economic poverty and concomitant descent into the darkest age humanity has ever imagined is the logical conclusion.

Eternal Generalized Principles

The antidote to global suicide is the humble reflection, conscious discovery, deliberate application, considerate socialization, and ecstatic communication by individuals of the Eternal Generalized Principles inherent in reality. That such Principles exist to be discovered, but cannot be manufactured, is the essential precondition of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The principles are always in force, always cooperative, independent of time, size, and circumstance; our only freedom with respect to them is the choice to discover, understand, communicate, and apply them more or less accurately. Individual understanding and employment of the Principles is the key to success in all things; popularization of the principles is the anodyne for society's ills. But an individual is not free to selectively choose which Principles to employ, because they cannot be severed from their intrinsic cooperation and pervasive influence. Misuse of the Principles is tantamount to insufficient use of them, and, like the Sword of Damocles, the Principles appear to hang as fearsome Fate over the heads of those who attempt to abuse them. This is why it is not enough to passively exist on this Earth, in whatever society one finds oneself. It is imperative to strive for the greatest understanding and fullest application of the Principles in order to further life and retain freedom. Philosophy is the science of discovering, understanding, communicating and correctly applying the Eternal Generalized Principles, and it is the responsibility of each individual to become a sound philosopher to the best of his or her ability and in harmony with one's specific nature.

The Philosophical Pentagram

A useful representation of the concerns of a philosophy of Principles is the Philosophical Pentagram, which divides the realm of Philosophy into five coordinating domains of Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Politics, and Aesthetics, and integrates the five into a cohesive whole. The boundaries between the primary concerns of the five domains are not necessarily sharp in every case, as the whole is a cooperative gestalt of them all. However, I find that envisioning them as separate vertexes on a pentagram is a useful heuristic for analyzing the distinct concerns and interrelationships among the primary domains.

Metaphysics

Humble reflection of the Principles is the concern of Metaphysics, the branch of Philosophy that asserts that the Eternal Generalized Principles exist and are the fabric of reality, the prepositional predicates on which perception, and hence experience, is based. Metaphysics is the first vertex of the Philosophical Pentagram. The primary Principles are recognized by reference to perceptual primitives and cooperate at the boundary of individual being, which boundary is the admission of that which cannot be controlled. While understanding of the previously unknown does lead to progressively greater control, total control is not available under any circumstance. This is the fundamental predicate of rational individuality: there is always something other than me whose behavior I cannot dictate, pretension notwithstanding. If you are not willing to acknowledge that, then you are lost in arrogance and need not read further.

The first Principle, without which no other could exist, is the Principle of Choice, which implies that there exist alternatives from which to choose, i.e., that reality is a universe rather than an undifferentiated unity. In other words, reality is a composite of mutually impinging identities. Note however that the Principle of Choice is not the first principle that avails itself of discovery, because it cannot exist in a vacuum else it would contradict itself, and principles, in order to be eternal and generalized, must be based on experience and cannot be contradictory of themselves any more than they can contradict one another. Yet, no principle can exist without the Principle of Choice, so even though it is discovered in retrospect, I accord it rightful place as root of the philosophical tree.

Epistemology

Conscious discovery of the Principles is the concern of Epistemology, the vertex of the Philosophical Pentagram that acknowledges that the Eternal Generalized Principles cooperate to form patterns, and seeks to discover and formulate those patterns without prejudice. Epistemology is the science of consciously seeking knowledge of the Principles and their interactions by reflecting on the nature of the Principles as evidenced by their manifestations in reality.

The first Principle that can be discovered by an individual is the basis of perceptual reality, which is the Principle of Awareness. Awareness means awareness of the impingement of otherness on self, i.e., cognitive acknowledgement of that which is not directly controllable, which is tantamount to encapsulating the experiences of impingement of otherness on self as discrete, synchronized perceptual data. Awareness implies self as the container of the individual, bounded by the interface with otherness.

Experience of the Principle of Awareness leads to the discovery by the individual that the process of awareness can be intentionally directed and controlled, that I can choose to focus on, or discount, the objects which I perceive. The Principle of Consciousness is that the individual can invoke the Principle of Choice to control the Principle of Awareness, i.e., the individual can consciously choose what to be aware of, and in what degree to expend effort in becoming perceptually aware of the impingement of otherness on self.

Conscious exploration of the internal boundary of individual awareness allows one to discover the Principle of Conceptuality, which names the power of the individual to discover equivalence relationships and give them shorthand symbolic representation, i.e., create language. First order concepts are rooted in conscious awareness and relate percepts, but the individual can also discover that concepts themselves can be related to form higher order concepts.

Ethics

Deliberate application of the Principles is the concern of Ethics, the vertex of the Philosophical Pentagram that delineates the rights and responsibilities of individuals with respect to the Eternal Generalized Principles. As an alternative complement to the exploration of the internals of self, the individual can examine and experiment with the external boundary of awareness, thereby discovering the Principle of Action, which is the ability of the individual to effect change in the perceptual environment by applying effort in the desired direction of change. Once discovered, the Principle of Action can be seen to apply also in the internal realm, as the individual realizes that application of effort is necessary and sufficient to recognize and evolve one's conscious awareness of relationships among entities, whether perceived or conceptual.

The self is now recognized as such, with the discovery of the Principle of Identity, which observes the self as distinct from other entities, functioning as the discoverer of the nature of self and otherness, accumulator of perceptual experience, container of individual conceptuality, and source of action that can change the internal (conceptual) or external (perceptual) environment. The question then arises: How should I employ my power of action to effect change? This is the central question of Ethics.

The key determinant of the individual's voluntary application of the Principle of Action is the individual's desire to obtain a particular goal, as opposed to simply going with the flow. That is, the individual recognizes the Principle of Value, which means that I will voluntarily act to obtain, and retain, that which I determine to be (most) valuable based on consideration of the known context of my awareness of self and otherness. Note the importance of context in evaluating where to apply action; as my perceptual experience increases, with concomitant evolution of my conceptual framework, my values can, and usually will, change. Nonetheless, at any given moment, within the context of my knowledge, and assuming sufficient time for consideration, I can assess the value to me of that to be received, and cost of that to be given, in any exchange prior to undertaking action to execute, or not, at my option. The Principle of Value gives me an objective basis on which to decide where to apply the Principle of Action.

On consideration of value, I notice that, at times, I do not have sufficient information to make an informed evaluation of the available options for action. Further, I find that even in cases where the value of action is clear to me, others may disagree with my assessment and refuse to cooperate with me. Worse, others may attempt to force me to act against my will. It is at this point that I recognize that the Principle of Awareness has a stronger form, the Principle of Uncertainty, which goes beyond recognizing the temporal limits of control, per se, to state that control cannot be absolute, i.e., the Principle of Uncertainty recognizes that the self is bound irrevocably by others, knowledge is limited, and hence a pristine, static Epistemology is not possible in principle. The certainty of knowledge must be measured in terms of the soundness of its connection to the direct perception of reality, via a filter of conceptual abstraction that accurately represents the truth of the Eternal Generalized Principles. To the degree that the perceptual evidence is flimsy, or the conceptual analysis is inaccurate, certainty is compromised.

Note that the Principle of Uncertainty is the only rational basis for subjectivism. If two individuals had identical awareness they would be expected to respond similarly to the same situation. However, the natural deviations of awareness among individuals, as a consequence of their unique identities, means that no two individuals approach the same situation in the same way. Each individual will make different assumptions about that which they do not know, based on that which they do know. The necessary discrepancy between individual representations of reality is the only rational basis for subjectivism. Subjectivism does not mean whimsy, does not mean an individual is free to ignore or subvert their experience and its relation to that of others via the Principles - that would be an irrational ignorance of the Principles. Rational subjectivism is careful to realize the difference between firm convictions, based on exact computation in reference to reality, versus reasonable induction based on nominal assumptions about future potential. An attitude of humility ensues which motivates a rational individual to continuous re-evaluation of their assumptions in the face of new experience and information. With this process, there need not be lasting contradiction among disparate viewpoints - it simply requires that individuals take the time to listen and convince or be convinced on the merits, without prejudice - and that judgment be held in abeyance in the case of insufficiently convincing evidence.

Recognizing the impossibility of perfect knowledge, and the lack of total control that implies, brings matters into clear ethical focus and refines the central question of Ethics to this: To what degree is the exercise of control of myself and others necessary and appropriate? The answer to this question is discovered in the Principle of Justice, which is experienced directly as the realization that I have the right to defend myself against others who would force me to abrogate my values, and as symmetric corollary, that I do not have the right to force others to go against their will. In other words, force is only appropriate in response to the unsolicited application of force by others against oneself. The initiation of force is never just.

Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way, and even those who acknowledge the Principle of Justice make mistakes in assessment and action as a result of the Principle of Uncertainty at least, if not maliciously, so it is often the case that force is used when it should not be, or is not resisted when it should be. Thus, injustice is a fact of reality, and while the moral imperative is to eradicate injustice, the practical application of the Principle of Justice is difficult, with social stability demanding a measured approach. That is the domain of Politics.

Capitalism, in its pure form, is an ethical system: it is the only system based on individuals voluntarily acting to obtain, and retain, the values that they deem worthy. What is the basis for me to decide whether to exchange something with you? If I am free to choose, it must be because I have deemed myself better off, i.e., happier, as a result of the exchange. If you also act voluntarily, then betterment also accrues to you as a result of the trade. After such a voluntary trade, we are both advantaged relative to before, based on our own judgments of value, and with the caveat that we are both dealing in good faith to deliver what was promised. The etymological root of the word"wealth"is weal, which literally means wellbeing, i.e., happiness. As a result of a free exchange, wealth is created, as the wellbeing of both parties is increased. Truly free trade creates wealth as a function of the number of individuals freely involved in a society, and the growth of wealth, as a function of the number of individuals involved in free trade, is exponential. In a free society, population increases geometrically, but wealth increases exponentially - this is why anyone who preaches any form of euthanasia, including any form of population control beyond the choice of free individuals, as a solution to the problems of global economic hardship, is fundamentally, morally wrong. More people means more chance for better ideas to do more with less, and the wealth created can and will outstrip the growth of the population in a free society.

Politics

Considerate socialization of the Principles is the concern of Politics, the vertex of the Philosophical Pentagram that sheds light on how to police society with the purpose of ensuring that individuals do not violate one another's rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Proper government of society enforces unbiased application of the Principle of Justice according to unambiguous and freely accessible symbolic representation and communication of social laws that are designed to delineate the rights and responsibilities of the individuals that make up the governed society. Politics should not be concerned with economics per se, which is the process of dissemination of value in society and properly in the domain of Ethics, except insofar as economic considerations can be shown to directly impinge on the rights and responsibilities of individuals. For example, the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution begins with the phrase"A well-regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a Free State..."; to the extent that the rights of individuals are not respected except in a Free State, and to the degree that economic resources are required to maintain such a militia, the government of such a state, and hence its politics, must be concerned with economics. On the other hand, the limitation of trade in a commodity such as tobacco and its derivatives, except in defense of individual rights (as opposed to economic privilege, or out of some misguided attempt to impose the will of the many on the will of the few"for their own good") is not properly in scope as a governmental, or political, concern. Capitalism, in its purest form, must be allowed to flourish except in cases where the rights of individuals to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are abrogated. Capitalism as a means for disseminating value in the most efficient fashion without prejudice is an essentially ethical choice, rather than a political system.

In the legislation, codification, enforcement, and adjudication of social laws designed to protect individual rights (rather than the rights of specific individuals), the Principle of Uncertainty cannot be ignored because the Principle of Justice could be contradicted in the face of lack of knowledge. Even as the Principles themselves never fail, our knowledge and application of them is bound by our experience of them and incisiveness in interpreting them. Individuals make mistakes, or worse, intentionally tilt the scales of justice away from their natural equipoise.

In order to prevent the Principle of Justice itself from becoming a tool of tyrants, and in admission of the uncertainty of individual interpretation of reality, the Principle of Mercy must be accorded to fill the gap between the true action of the Principles and our uncertain knowledge of them. The Principal of Mercy states that there exists just action in principle, in every circumstance, irrespective of any particular individual's ability to perceive the correct course, and moreover, that it is the responsibility each of us to judge to what degree our computed course of action may differ from the ideal, and adjust our course accordingly. Proper government policy must be predicated on the Principle of Mercy in order to retain its independence from those who would attempt to use the levers of government to their own ends at the expense of otherwise innocent individuals.

By its nature, Politics and its executive, Government, are about policing individuals, and need only be concerned with legislation, codification, enforcement, and adjudication of social laws designed to protect individual rights. Any other use of government is bound to be economically inefficient at best, politically tyrannical at worst. In this regard, please note that while groups are more powerful than the sum of the power of the individuals within them, groups do not have rights beyond those of the individuals who form them. Much current and historical social foment could have been avoided by truly understanding that while the power of action of a group can grow exponentially as a function of the number of individuals within the group, nonetheless rights are still simply those of the individuals within the group and derive from individuals according to the progression of Metaphysics, to Epistemology, to Ethics, to Politics, to Aesthetics. Politics can only reduce freedom of individual action and thus must be judicious in doing so.

Aesthetics

Ecstatic communication of the Principles is the concern of Aesthetics, the final point in the Philosophical Pentagram, which stands for the unique abilities of individuals to delight in the discernment the Principles, understand what they mean, represent their value in popularly accessible form, and hence create artifacts that make proper use of the Principles in furthering the happiness of themselves and others. Aesthetics is the most fragile yet powerful domain of Philosophy, the one that is suffering the greatest slide backward as a result of the wholesale degradation of the subject in today's world. Aesthetics is the first thing that a confused and subjugated society forgets; but it is the only compass we have, as it has engendered in individuals the psychological wherewithal to produce great works in every era of human history, in every walk of life. Great artists, writers and musicians express wondrously innovative vistas of worlds that we did not know existed, give us inspiration, and help us to remember where we were, where we are, and where we might be going. Brilliant scientists give us frameworks by which can be explained events that would seem to be invocations of holy magic if we did not know better. Prolific inventors give us language and tools by which we are advantaged beyond the wildest dreams of our forebears. Insightful philosophers help us to understand how reality works. All are guided by the Principle of Beauty, which is the divine manifestation of the Principle of Choice, and allows for the fact that not every means is equally sufficient to one's desire. The Principle of Beauty is the basis for differentiating among otherwise equivalent choices.

The overarching Principle, the one that we are all in the process of learning, the one that Aesthetics is most aptly idealized in, the one that has the power to join our efforts into a coherent and sparkling whole, is the Principle of Synergy, which simply states that the whole is always, and ineffably, greater than the sum of its parts. This is the heavenly underscore to the fact that there are Eternal Generalized Principles in the first place, principles which are wholly cooperative in creating a synergetic universe, principles which we can learn and use to live freely and well together. In spite of the misguided and even malignantly evil attempts by many to subvert them, the Principles have and will withstand the onslaught, whether we remain to watch or not. We can choose to discover and employ the Principles, but we cannot break them. That is the gift that we are given as children of this divine cosmos: the Principles and their inherent power as tools for wellbeing, without fear that they can be damaged.

The only risk is our inability to take advantage of the Principles, to understand and use them. And make no mistake: Annihilation will be the cross we shall bear if we do not, each of us, with all our might, move post haste to eliminate the corruption at the root of our philosophical base, the degeneracy and laziness of purpose that seeks to destroy the good, to debase the beautiful, and to give you false hope instead of the synergy and inspiration that you could otherwise find in the Eternal Generalized Principles.