Reading "The Secrets of Wise People" - ⑥ Substance and Meaning
Well, it's Saturday.
On Saturdays, I plan to explore the principles of the metaphysical world—such as the spirit, society, and life—from a philosophical perspective.
Currently, I am reading Craig Adams' "The Secrets of Wise People" and writing down the inspirations I have received, putting them into words.
I would appreciate it if those who are interested would join me.
Substance
Without humans, "ideas" would not exist.
"Ideas" exist only within the human mind.
Justice and goodness exist in the way ideas are manifested.
Ideas are not physical objects...
That is the first step in thinking about "substance."
Jittai (Substance)
1. The true form of something. Essence. The real identity.
2. That which is persistent and self-identical at the root of things that change in various ways. In Aristotle, it refers to concrete individual objects; in Descartes, it refers to that which exists by itself and requires nothing else for its existence; in Kant, it was considered merely a category for perceiving phenomena.
To discern substance, one must ask, "What is it that I am trying to know?" When discussing ideas, one must not be misled by decorative words like "that is the truth" or "as a matter of fact."
One should ask whether the idea being discussed is scientific (highly reproducible and with clear causal relationships).
Meaning
If substance is a physical object, then simply explaining the physical world of that object would likely conclude the discussion.
However, most of the world in which people live is made up of ideas.
Therefore, one cannot speak about justice, equality, racism, freedom, democracy, etc., using scientific thinking. This is because it is impossible to ensure impartiality regarding ideas.
When that happens, one must think about the meaning of the ideas.
For example, when we use the word "good," it carries many nuances, such as "high quality," "large quantity," "good appearance," "good relationship," "good timing," "healthy," "high status," "beneficial," "effective," "desirable," "reasonable," "likable," "lacking nothing," "acceptable," or "smooth." In short, the word "good" is an ambiguous, abbreviated expression.
However, one should not label people who use the word "good" as insincere or intellectually lazy. When people talk about ideas, they cannot clarify the meaning of every single word as they speak. Therefore, we should explain those meanings at the appropriate time when necessary, and the person who takes the initiative in that explanation is the one who will be considered a "wise person."
However, many ambiguous words are emotionally stirring.
For example, words like "glorious," "joyful," "terrible," or "frightening" are like that. If you can move emotions, it becomes easier to gain agreement. That is why many religious leaders and politicians frequently use ambiguous words that appeal to emotions.
Both avoiding ambiguity and creating ambiguity can be weapons in a debate.
(To be continued next week)
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Thank you for reading until the end.
I have listed the articles I have written so far in a sitemap.
Please take a look.
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