|
In the positive development domain we explore the concepts of truth, of love, of soul, of being. Soul relates to self-identification, but also to beauty. It has been said of a person that she or he is a "beautiful soul." Thus, the concept embraces all that relates to beauty, such as art, music, architecture, literature, and so on.
Being, is also a relative concept related to the nature of the absolute. It has been said by some that there is nothing precious about human existence, or life in general. This is the empirical concept. Whoever holds this perception is grossly unjust to himself, or herself, which reflects itself also as injustice to others. From a fundamental standpoint, this injustice towards oneself and human existence is a reflection of the emptiness that the limits of empiricism impose upon the scene of living. True 'being,' thus, should be high on the agenda, to be discovered as one moves away from empiricist standpoints.
When one explores this interrelationship shown in Appendix A, Figure 3, it becomes apparent that the pursuit of reality that manifests itself naturally as justice, is the same as that which is fundamental to establishing an infinite economy. Likewise, the injustices that are associated with empiricism manifest the same type of mythological fantasies as those that move the world-financial system ever closer to its point of disintegration. The disintegration of civilization, like the impending financial disintegration, opens the scene to terror, anarchy, and bestiality. The painter, Francisco Goya: in his series: Capricho, had a lot to say about the outcome of empiricism. Indeed, the world had tasted of this poison to the full in the early 14th century when the financial insanities of the Venetian and Florentine bankers destroyed the economies of Europe, which caused the entire financial system to collapse in 1345. The economic and financial collapse, together, devastated the biological strength of the population. This biological disintegration, then, became superimposed with the importation of the Black Death plaques from China where they had developed over a ten year period behind the ravishing impact of the Mongol Kahn's numerous wars on the Chinese population.
The effect on Europe was indescribably devastating. On average, half the population died as the result of the three devastating factors overlaid upon another. In Paris alone, 800 people died each single day. It didn't take long until the manpower could no longer be found to bury them, or otherwise dispose of the bodies. Most died alone and remained where the perished. People became so numbed by the devastation that death brought no sadness, and marriage no joy. Superimposed on that, a powerful earthquake shook Germany and Greece and added to the devastation, in which church towers toppled and entire villages disappeared. People believed that the end of the world had come.*(How Aesthetical Education Determines the Moral Character - Helga Zepp LaRouche - Address to the Schiller Institute conference, August 31, 1997)
A boundary: Empiricism, the dividing line.
The dividing line that has been indicated in Appendix A, Figure 1, and in all subsequent figures, goes right through the middle of the domain of "Christianity." The line represents the empirical limit. Empiricism turns reality upside down. It takes sensory experiences and derives from it a definition for truth. It presents a terminal limit.
Scientific thought, in contrast, explores the unseen. It builds on reason that expands observations and develops technologies to demonstrate the hitherto unseen. It embraces the infinite. Empiricism embraces the finite.
The glorification of sensual sexuality, for instance, establishes a high point which is also a finite limit. It presents a boundary beyond which nothing is deemed to be real. By this boundary the corresponding gratification becomes empty. Goethe's "Faust" has experienced this type of emptiness. In the end, however, he has also experienced what lies beyond the presumed limit, the higher domain, the domain where joy is derived from a substance that can neither be touched nor be seen, but is real, and is in fact more substantial. It unfolds with intelligence, creativity, and love.
Next Page
|| - page index -
|| - chapter index -
|| - Exit -
||
|
