My Critics

My critics, who are legion, contend that I am a reductionist.  The "and", the "or" and matter cannot adequately describe the richness or complexity of reality.  Oh, so the full spectrum of colors cannot be derived from different combinations of the three primary colors?  And is the full spectrum of colors any less rich or capable of dazzlingly complex combinations of colors because it is thus reduce-able?  Is a bouquet of flowers any less beautiful because there are three primary colors?  Even if we were to take the purely scientific view that all "stuff" is in fact composed of different combinations of the elements in the periodic table, it is clear that there are hundreds and thousands of molecular combinations of these elements, some of them organic.  Infinite diversity and complexity can be derived from a finite, and incredibly small number of elements. Thus my critics are clearly incorrect.

Orandian View of Consciousness

It is said, at least by some, that consciousness is a collection of processes occurring all at once.  When I am conscious, processes such as seeing, feeling, thinking, hearing etc. are all occurring, and the ego is the director, trying to arrange all these processes. (Daniel Dennett)  We can call the "I" the "and", as it is trying to tie all these processes together, into a single experience, and to arrange them, so that some are more at the forefront than others.  If the "and" is part of the self, it is only a part, and the "or" plays just as great a role.  For the "or" says that I am more than the sum of all these processes.  I am apart from them, distinct from them.  They may be part of me, but they are not me.  I am more than them.  Thus, the "and" is attempting to tie these processes together and to incorporate them into consciousness, while the "I" is trying to stand above it, to retain its sense of self. For the sense of self results in large part from the actions of the "or".

(A socio-biological or evolutionary view of consciousness , or at least human consciousness,would say the "I" may be a fiction, but it is a fiction that evolved, that came into being as a result of evolution, i.e. it was more successful at surviving than consciousness (that of other animals) that doesn't involve thinking and didn't contain the sense of an "I".  In order for a being with all these processes, i.e. feeling, hearing, touching etc. to be more successful than other beings, it needed to have the sense it was in control, it was above these processes, it was directing them.  It may not really have been more than these processes, but a species with these processes would be more successful at surviving if it had the sense of control, of being above, apart from and in control of all these processes.)

Depression, Mania

Beginning where I left off with my last post, we can thus see that depression , or at least some forms, occurs when there is a disruption of this and/or cycle.  Mental health requires a certain connection with the outside world, which is made possible by the "or", getting outside one's self, to make a connection with other people and other possibilities, i.e. the "and".  When you can't get outside yourself or connect with other people, things etc., self absorption and depression occurs.  So depression occurs when the first link of the  and/or progression is severed.   With mania, it is easy to see how the major disruption occurs at the second link.  The self may get outside itself, but it can't form a sufficient connection to any people, or possibilities of being, on the outside world, and jumps from possibility to possibility. However, the "or"'s connection to the self is also damaged.  We have seen, in the post "Deities" how the "and" follows the "or" when the "or" attempts to escape it.  In mania, the "and" connecting the "or" to the self, has difficulty following the "or" or keeping it connected to the self.  Thus, we have a completely unmoored "or", neither connected to the world, or the possibilities of being in the world or possible courses of action, nor connected to the self.

If God is within us

Relating to my post "Deities". If God is a divided self, the self within us is its microcosm.  The "and" want it to be completely self contained, completely calm and at rest.  The "or" wants to escape from the self, to be more than the self, to be other than the self.  The "and" feels it is authentic, and says that being true to the self is being authentic.  And this is true.  But we also always want what we don't have.  We want to be better than we are.  We want to see things from different perspectives, even if it is only to destroy them.  And this urge to escape boundaries, this bit of the "or" that is within us, is also authentic.

In point of fact, the "or" is/" a precondition for human relations, a precondition for the "and" in this sense.  For it is necessary to escape the self, to get outside the self, in order to bond with another.  Thus, the "or" makes possible the "and", and we see a repetition of the "and"/"or" cycle, or shall we say the "or"/"and" cycle.  So we can call this andorian philosophy, or orandian philosophy.

Speculations on the place of the "and" and the "or" in string theory

String theory holds that everything is composed of miniscule strings, loops.  Assuming arguendo that the fundamental particles of matter, leptons, electrons, gravitons, what have you, are in fact loops, what makes them different is that each type comes in its own shape.  And how do they acquire their shape?

 The "or", trapped inside, stretches them out trying to escape, while the "and", desiring unity with itself, while the "and", desiring oneness and self containment, tries to pull itself in.  And if different leptons, say gravitons, are attracted to each other, or make things come together, it is because the shapes fit together, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.  And the greater the attraction, the tighter the fit.  And if other particles or waves repel each other, it is because there is no ways these shapes can ever fit.   

The "and" and the "or" also determine the shapes of these strings by working on them from the outside.  Strings are shaped by the "and" bringing them together with, or trying to bring them together with, other strings and the "or" trying to free them from other strings. 

And we may say that strings take their final shape when a symmetry is reached between the "and" and "or" forces acting on them from the inside, and the same forces acting on them from the outside.

Deities

The "and" and the "or" are deities.  If they're separate, I'm a polytheist. Opposites in an extremely complicated relationship, sometimes friends, sometimes partners, sometimes at odds.

If they are one, God is a divided self.  (But aren't we all?)  The "and" wants the self to be one.  But the "or" won't allow it.  The "or" wants to be free.  But the "and" won't allow it.  The "or" breaks away, but the "and" follows it.  So this divided self goes everywhere and is everywhere.  It is in all things, all ideas, everywhere.  So this is a God in turmoil.  But a tormented genius it is, giving birth to more beauty than any artist could hope for; the universe in all its grandeur and complexity, life in all its greenness.