When inquiring into aspects of truth and reality, there are limits to the degree of verification we can employ to trace something back to its roots in the grounding of reality. You can only regress back so far to trace something and know it as a valid truth. These root foundations of understanding are called axioms. You can't infinitely regress forever to try to prove everything based on something else. At some point to reach the ground, an axiom of self-evident truth.
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Axioms are self-evident propositions and principles that cannot be further reduced to be proven valid. They become points of authority for understanding reality. These are foundational starting points that are required to build higher order comprehension about reality. We then build up from this axiomatic grounding in reality to construct larger conceptual frameworks, infrastructures and models. Axioms are supposed to be rooted in reality to give us firm grounding in truth and have our perceptions and conceptions aligned with reality, but that does not always happen.
Existence and consciousness are the basic two axioms to start from.
We exist, things exist, and we are aware that things exist, and are aware that we exist. To be consciously aware (verb) of something (noun), requires something to exist for us to be aware of it. A verb requires a noun first. First comes the noun, existent things in existence, then comes the verb, awareness of those existents. First comes existence, then comes consciousness that can possibly be aware of existence.
This is the first axiom, the principle of the Primacy of Existence.
To think otherwise, and imagine consciousness has primacy, is a fallacy, irrational, and objectively unprovable. The etymology of consciousness is: con "with" + scio "knowledge" +ness "action, quality or state". Consciousness is being with knowledge of recognizing one thing from another (the Law of Identity). Consciousness is a quality and faculty which perceives and identifies existents.
Consciousness is conscious of something that exists. You can't have consciousness to acquire knowledge of things in existence without first existence. You can't have awareness that consciousness exists without existence existing. An actions, quality, state or faculty can't operate and not exist at the same time, therefore consciousness must exist for consciousness to function at all, and existence itself is a prerequisite for consciousness to exist within it. Hence the Primacy of Existence axiom, which places consciousness as secondary.
Existence etymologically means to “stand forth, come out, emerge; appear, be visible, come to light; arise, be produced; turn into”.
Existence sets up, places, sets down, makes firm, sets forth and causes to stand forth the extant objects within its framework, model and structure. Existence is reality. Existence is what 'is'. For you to talk about anything presupposes the necessity of existence. For you to talk about anything also presupposes the necessity of the existence of consciousness, yourself, which identifies that which exists, that which 'is'.
Existence is that which 'is'. Synonyms for existence are reality and truth. Another synonym for reality and existence, is the universe which means "turned into one" because we group all of the variability, diversity and multiplicity into one universal concept called the universe, existence, reality, or the universal concept of truth itself. These terms are essentially interchangeable.
Existence and consciousness are the first two basic observational points to start building knowledge from. These two foundational axiomatic points can always be used for grounding in objective reality to derive greater understanding in all our conceptual frameworks. All other thoughts that do not lead back to these foundational axioms, can likely be regarded as pure imagination and fantasy ungrounded belief.
From these two foundational axioms, we can learn more about the objective universe, existence, reality and our world. We can also learn more about consciousness, our subjective "multiverse", inner-existence, inner-reality and inner-world of experience, and not confuse the two or which comes first in the primacy of epistemological knowledge and understanding.
We can proceed to understand various aspects, attributes, properties, characteristics and qualities of truth, of existence and reality. We can progress to understand morality, Moral Truth/Law, objectively, and not fall into the deluded trap of "moral relativism".
The Power of Consciousness can be developed, to evolve and derive greater comprehension of reality and truths therein. Morality is directly and inextricably linked to the term consciousness. Morality can be understood in greater degrees. The etymology of consciousness and conscience are linked. Conscience is our moral comprehension faculty for our behavior and actions, and relates to the Greek words for conscience syneidesis and synderesis.
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Philosophical understanding is directly related to psychological-psyche-mind-consciousness processing of information about reality. This is what the trivium methodology is for, to learn how to learn and how to think more effectively.
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Powerful message. Thanks for the share!
When I was a child, I was wondering what that man will be thinking. regards
Hi
Good and interesting post ...
great information sir @krnel, I always read your posts for the sake of knowledge and always get some thing new from your posts.
thanks for your efforts . Regards
Quality post with detailed info.. Kudos
"We exist, things exist, and we are aware that things exist, and are aware that we exist."
Yes we exist. To me the most important aspect of existence is the fact that we are subjected to existence and exist. We do not get to choose.
"To think otherwise, and imagine consciousness has primacy, is a fallacy, irrational, and objectively unprovable."
In being subjected to reality and not allowed to choose existence creates the idea of objectivity. Not sure that as a principal objectivity can be proved to be anything more than a conscious utopia dream that can never be realized in fact. Thus to me such is very shaky ground on which to depend on for a place for minds to stand.
"Hence the Primacy of Existence axiom, which places consciousness as secondary." All things that exist : exist subjectively.
The order we see in the universe denies the Primacy of Existence axiom. Order requires consciousness and is inexplicable when seen as an accident. Not a chicken and the egg problem at all once it is realized that with subjectivity there must be a agent that is not subjected to reality, but exist in and of its own accord.
"objective universe"
Is not a physical object that exist. It is an idea that is easy to disprove.
Using the scientific method Objectivity cannot be proven nor can anything really be proven. Axioms only have value in so far as they explain reality. The use of imagination to have objectivity is not actually a condition that can be reasoned about. First one must be able to examine a thing to know that it exist. So if objectivity exist lets put it on the table and examine it.
I really enjoyed your post. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Objectivity actually does not exist in the physical world. Thus attempting to use logic or reason is the fallacy of the Primacy of Existence axiom. It projects it's state of existence when it says this
"To think otherwise, and imagine consciousness has primacy, is a fallacy, irrational, and objectively unprovable."
It is a red herring attack on all other attempts to create a place to stand. When studying this in college I asked for the claimant to provide physical evidence that objectivity exist, and was met with silence.
You're confusing things that exist in themselves and words that describe things that exist. Primary and secondary substances. Individual and universal, specific and general categories of being. This is philosophical metaphysics. Color doesn't exist in itself, does that mean there is no such thing as color? Truth does not exist in itself, does that mean there is such thing as truth? Objectivity doesn't exist in and of itself, does that mean there are no objective things? No. These are words to categorize things. You're confusing the issue and invalidating valid descriptions of reality.