Hangovers with Hegel

I woke up this morning with a hangover, and decided to continue reading my book on the philosopher, Hegel (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831)

Hegel definitely put together a voluminous master system. And of course, there is danger behind such attempts at being all-encompassing. Marx picked up and used his philosophy.

Hegel was a German philosopher in the tradition of Idealism. The mind is the only reality. It's opposite would be materialism, matter is the only reality. I don't quite understand how Marxism involves materialism when Hegel is an idealist.

I am generally against anything that further divorces the unity of mind and body, even against dualism. Hegel is definitely of value and interesting, however, and probably serves to counterbalance materialism.

My favorite parts are from the Phenomenology of mind (or spirit depending on translation). There are references to the "universal mind," reminiscent of the lyrics of the doors song, which makes me think Morrison read Hegel. During Hegel's journey tracing the history of consciousness, he finds that individual minds must realize they are part of the universal mind, and are not free insofar as they are dominated by desire and other coercion. This was reminiscent of William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) and the doors of perception. "When the doors of perception are cleansed, man will see things as they truly are, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern."

My reading and commenting on Hegel is not to say that I am particularly aligned with his beliefs or ideas. In fact, the only reason I am even reading Hegel is to understand Kierkegaard's frequent references to him.

One potentially positive product of Hegel's thought would be the idea that people, or at least minds, are intimately connected. Which reminds me of Heidegger's being-with-others, and would seem to lead to corollaries with modern new age ideas of intention and visualization. But far from being mystical, Hegel is touting the virtues of reason.

On an interesting and related note, through watching Ken Burn's PBS special on the Brooklyn Bridge (completed in 1883 can you believe it?) I learned that Roebling, the German born designer of the bridge, "...studied under famous German philosopher George Hegel. Roebling became Hegel's protege, and completed a 2000 page treatise on his concept of the universe."
quote from Wikipedia entry on John Roebling.

Profluence, Synchronicity

Two words I'm hard pressed to find exact definitions for. Profluence, I've lifted from the novelist and teacher John Gardner, used to describe the unfolding-in-time, causal chain of events that needs to be demonstrated in good fiction.

Synchronicity, I've lifted from Carl Jung. It ties in with Wayne Dyer's philosophy as well.
And, I assume it is fairly self-evident what it means, so I won't even attempt to define it.

I had just completed reading the first novel I've read by John Gardner, Nickel Mountain, after having completed Gardner's Becoming a Novelist, and being halfway-through his The Art of Fiction. All of these comments by Gardner regarding fiction, and what makes for interesting fiction (maintaining the "vivid and continuous dream" in the reader's mind), had got me thinking about fiction and life.

So many things, big and small, in my life have made their appearance at the exact right time. As if we are prepared for things to come. Probably everyone has had the experience of learning something new, and then days, or seconds later, coming across an example of what they just learned about. Part of this, no doubt, can be explained by the fact that we do not notice what we do not know.

But then again, there is a deeper sense of strangeness, that often attends these events. Perhaps a Heideggerian spirit of the times moves over a period, or a place and things congregate. At any rate, here is one of the small Synchronous stories that happened to me this afternoon.


Having taken pictures of an old Mission in San Diego, I had decided to send them via US mail to my Aunt. After digging around
for a proper envelope to send the CD and some papers in, I resigned myself to not having what I needed. Then, going into my room, on the top of my trash can, was an shipping envelope, of just the right size. It was padded like I needed, and then I noticed that it had two uncancelled stamps on it. Lo and behold, the postage scale in my house confirmed it had the exact postage. Synchronicity.

...but back to the idea of profluence in fiction. Is this a case of life imitating fiction, or fiction imitating life? Often the events in my life are lived out like a novel. We are prepared beforehand for events later to come, as if the author was preparing the reader for events in a later chapter.

And a vague, dreamlike idea on this note as well - if life is novel-like, I had the distinct sense that life is like free-falling from a great height - in the sense that you probably do not know the answers, cannot fully plumb the depths of meaning - until the last few moments before impacting the ground. Like reviewing one's life upon a deathbed, looking back, weighing it in the scales. You cannot judge a book by its cover, but you have to read clear through the last chapter before closing the cover and contemplating the meaning.

Even though witnessing strange events like I describe can make one see that things are meaningful - that is - not by chance, they cannot reveal what their meaning is at this point in time.

(For anyone interested in for more explanation of profluence in fiction, read more here. A webpage from some unknown (to me), fellow blogger.

Big Sur - Hurricane Point

"In grappling with the mystery of 'chance' we may be unable to render suitable explanation but we cannot deny that we are made aware of laws beyond the reach of human understanding. The more aware we become the more we perceive that there is a relation between right living and good fortune. If we probe deep enough we come to realize that fortune is neither good nor bad, that what matters is the way we take our (good or bad) fortune. The common saying runs: 'To make the most of one's lot.' Implicit in this adage is the idea that we are not equally favored or disfavored by the gods.

The point I wish to stress is that in accepting our fate we are not to think that things were destined thus or that we were singled out for special attention, but that by responding to the best in ourselves we may put ourselves in rythm with higher laws, the inscrutable laws of the universe, which have nothing to do with good or bad, you and me.

This was the test which the great Jehova put to Job." (Miller 226-227).

Miller, Henry. Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymous Bosch. New York: New Directions Publishing Corporation, 1957.

Harmony

I'm currently reading from Paul Tillich's The Meaning of Health, and it has pulled together some various ideas I've had floating around in my head over the years. First of all, the introduction, by Paul Lee, draws the comparison between immunology and the mental. To me, the immune system is a clear area where the "mental" and the "physical" interact. Not to say that I believe these respective categories are even valid, but given our scientific medical times, I would venture a guess that this will be the most vital and interesting area of study in the next 50 years or so.

As regards the title of this post, Harmony, I would like to leave you with a few points. (Also related to Tillich's book). Viewing health in terms of a wholeness, we can see that it is of vital importance to have harmony in our existence, in our lives. I think of this in terms of "vectors," like in physics. We can multiply the power of our efforts if they are harmonius, or we can negate our own efforts if they are conflicting.

The point is, to align our energies; align our "will" and the even more inclusive term "Intention."

The same energies that are vital to mankind; the energies (some have called libido) that push us out into the world to live our lives, can propel us toward fulfillment, or consume us if turned against each other. Are we able to live our lives under the Sun in one consistent arrow --> ?

If so, it is a life of integrity.