This is new territory for me -- an idea that has been perculating in the back of mind for a while and slowly gathering steam in a particular direction. An integration of sorts between Hegel's dialectical theory, Spinoza's wholism, romanticism, spiritualism, and pantheism, and my humanistic-existential values and beliefs. Thus, I am going to call this evolving idea -- 'Dialectical Humanistic-Existential Pantheism.
This is not the first time that I have integrated Spinoza and Hegel. The idea of dialectical wholism comes partly from Anaxamander and Heraclitus, it comes partly and very romantically from Plato in The Symposium (the only part of Plato that I really like), but mainly it come from an integration of Spinoza and Hegel -- two opposite perspectives, polarities, lifestyles, impulses, people... coming together to integrate into a more 'complete whole'. This is what I am calling dialectical wholism. You see the development of the idea of dialectical wholism (without it being called that) in Freud and Psychoanalysis (our 'id' and our 'superego' needing to integrate together into a more 'harmonious dialectical whole'), in Jung and Jungian Therapy (our 'personna' and our 'shadow' needing to get it together into a more harmonious dialectical whole), in Perls and Gestalt Therapy (our 'topdog' and 'underdog' needing to integrate into a more harmonious dialectical whole) -- in each case here, the goal of psychotherapy is basically to 'heal alienated dialectical splits in the personality by bringing them together into a more harmonious, integrative dialectical whole'. I would argue that all forms of social or cultural psychotherapy should be aiming to do the same -- political psychotherapy, business psychotherapy, medical psychotherapy, legal psychotherapy, philosophical psychotherapy -- in every case, the social goal should be to harmoniously integrate opposing social perspectives. Every area of human culture should be continually looking to evolve into a better dialectical whole within the particular domain of its existence and functioning. Partly, for example, you see this happening in the field of medicine as Western and Eastern medicine, orthodox Western medicine and natural health medicine more and more start to blend into one -- ideally a better dialectical whole than what we had before when orthodox Western pharmaceutial medicine (and all its 'unmentioned' side effects) ruled the roost without any impediment from rebellious, outside paradigms of medicine (i.e., Eastern, nutritional, natural health medicine, and other alternative therapies...). Thus, in very much the way that Hegel theorized, the dialectic has been very active between orthodox and alternative medicine over the last 10 years or so, acting as 'self-correcting' mechanism that is helping in the ongoing evolution of medicine -- helping it to evolve into something better than it was ten years ago due to the outside critiques of an opposing medical paradigm that is now in the process of becoming integrated with the medical paradigm that it was critiquing. This is what I am calling 'dialectical evolution' and opposing paradigms coming together -- integrating -- into a better 'dialectical whole'. It is only one step -- or maybe one leap -- further from dialectical psychotherapy, dialectical social therapy, and dialectical humanistic-existentialism -- to dialectical humanistic-existential pantheism.
Here we introduce the concept of God in a Spinozian, pantheistic fashion. You can also see where I am going with this idea if you read my poem, God Is The Bridge. I had an email friend of mine say that I have a 'pretty expansive' view of God. Yes, I do. I believe that Spinoza was a more religious, spiritual, humanistic person, than the orthodox religious people who 'ex-communicated' him (beheadings were not uncommon back in his time and he was tredding close to this territory as well).
Pantheism is sometimes viewed as being a 'sneaky form of atheism' -- there is still talk of 'God' but God is no longer our Creator -- rather He (or She) is all of Creation. God is in you, God is in me, God is in Nature, God is in everything in the Universe...So how do we get from Pantheism to Dialectical Humanistic-Existential Pantheism? Allow me to introduce my own brand of metaphysics -- 'epistemologically unprovable' but still potentially meaningful and valuable. It is, my opinion, way better than Hegel's metaphysics. I don't buy into his metaphysics built around his concept of 'The Absolute'. Better knowledge -- and especially anything that might come anywhere close to being construed as 'Absolute Knowledge' or 'Absolute Consciousness' (how would we know when this is? -- the answer is, we wouldn't) is only as good and only as valuable as the extent to which it leads us to better living, better contact, better communion with ourselves, who we are, and who we are capable of becoming -- and more importantly getting there; better communion with other people, especially with the one's who are, or who are supposed to be, closest to us, most important to us, better communion with Nature, and in all of these similar but different ways -- better communion with God.
This is where dialectical humanistic-existentialism meets dialectical pantheism. We can all think back to our 'greatest moments in life', our 'greatest moments of contact' -- it could have been a most intimate moment with another person or even a group of people, with nature, or with our self, relative to one of our greatest achievements. Think back to maybe a special speech at a wedding (or a funeral) that made you cry. I call these greatest moments of contact -- these extra special moments in our life -- not only communions with the special person or people we are having the special contact with -- but also communions with God.
I am calling dialectical, humanistic-existential pantheism. God is the bridge between you and me -- in that special moment of contact, when the dialectic is working to bring people together and unite them harmoniously -- black and white, Muslim and Christian, Lebanese and Israeli, U.S. and Iraq -- not working narcissistically, righteously, in 'either/or' fashion to alienate, enrage, and tear people apart. This is my humanistic-existiential ideal -- democratic-dialectical evolution, democratic-dialectical wholism, democratic-dialectical humanistic-existentialism, and democratic-dialectical pantheism. The essays I will write in this philosophical journal will be aimed at striving for and meeting these dialectical ideals.
I guess maybe I have destroyed the mystery of the story here, because I have given you the end of the story -- at the beginning. Everything else is, and/or will be -- meat and fat filling up these bones.
dgb
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