Natural Radicalism

These ideas / words are not mine. They belong to Christian de Quincey and are based on the last chapter in his book Radical Nature.

The central thesis is that 'it is inconceivable that sentient, subjectivity, or consciousness could ever evolve or emerge from wholly insentient, objective, non conscious matter-energy' (p.263).

Let's take a step back to the modern world we live in, whereby there is a dominant assumed ontology of substance (the world is made of components) and an epistemology of sensory empiricism (that all knowledge of the world must come through the senses in the form of physical signals). de Quincey questions this dominant philosophy and proposes an alternative - an ontology of process and an epistemology of presence. By doing this we get a different story about the fundamental nature of reality and our ways of knowing it.

To become this new story we need to cultivate other ways of knowing beyond reason and sensory empiricism.

How do we live (be) the story de Quincey (and others, cf. Berry, Swimme et al) is proposing? By placing our attention on the following processes:

1. Complementarity rather than dualism
2. Organicism rather than mechanism
3. Holism complementing reductionism
4. Interconnectedness rather than separateness
5. Process rather than components/objects/outcomes
6. Synchronicity as well as causality
7. Creativity rather than certainty
8. Participation and engagement rather than objectivity
9. Recognising all matter-energy is sentient (all the way down)
10. Nature, matter, the cosmos is inherently and thoroughly meaningful, purposeful and valuable in and of itself

Matter-energy is itself the bearer of consciousness, it has the intrinsic capacity to feel; it is therefore intrinsically experiential and subjective. Thus entities/bodies embedded in the creative matrix of matter are equally embodiment of the creative matrix of mind.

If we accept natural radicalism, where all matter-energy is subjective and sentient and where the being of other bodies is literally incorporated into ones own being, then we can know the presence of others directly.

Radical naturalism implies an epistemology of shared feeling. Nature from this perspective is viewed as sacred. With this new story comes an ontology where the basic ingredients of the world are not substantial things, but experiential events or processes. Natural radicalism is a process ontology where all parts of the cosmos feel the being and presence of other organisms. Cosmic feeling is extra sensory, it is beyond that of the known human five senses. We must therefore begin to explore our ouwn extra-sensory abilities in order to be the new story.

All nature 'the cosmic organism' is at least potentially in mutual communication with all its constituents. All the multitudes of moments of experience that constitute each body can feel the presence of every other body in the universe. Meaning becomes the connection between matter-energy. The cosmos as a whole resonates to he creative meaning of its own never-ending story, a narrative of ensouled matter and embodied experience, embracing the sublime paradox of 'subjective objects' of multiplicity in unity.

consciousness and matter
mind and body
li and c'hi

always go together, they are unity, a non dual duality.

The paradox is that we speak of is in dualistic terms. The singular nature of the ground of being is, ultimately , unrepresentable and ungraspable. We hint at it with words, but once words are conceived they block out the light of being itself. Our language can only point like fingers at the moon. The 'what is' does not stand still anymore than the 'now' has any meaning beyond the momentary flow of experience. Yet it is all we have an are.

My own questions are - Is the cosmic joke about the ego? If we can transcent the ego will we step into unity consciousness?

My favourite line is - OUR LANGUAGE CAN ONLY POINT LIKE FINGERS AT THE MOON.