Consciousness, Literature and the Arts
Archive
Volume 2 Number 1, April 2001
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The
Three Caves of European Identity: From
Critical to Creative Thinking
by
Abstract
The
European identity evolved around three “cave” encounters of acquiring
knowledge that eventually shaped the condition of universal mind. It related
firstly to reflective and critical thinking, secondly to imaginative and
projective spirituality, and thirdly to innovative and creative vision. The art
of reasoning, the pursuit of passion, and the craft of technology embodied the
mythology, the mystery, and the magic of human inventiveness. Universal values,
divine purpose and ethical means were sought in quest for a sensible destiny for
humankind.
Introduction
The
philosophical discourses on existence and essence advanced various realms of
human reasoning, among them idealism, moralism, and realism -- to name a few.
The challenge has been how to harmonize novel ideas avoiding conflicts, devise
honorable plans embodying society’s aspirations and appropriate creative minds
respecting everything living. The inalienable human rights for shelter,
nutrition, and productive work are juxtaposed against the responsibilities of
authorities regarding how to exercise control in order to achieve a balance
between human needs, social aspirations and professional duties.
The
three “Caves”
Existentialism
was the modus operandi of Pre-tech society on the Aegean shores until 5th
century BC. The absence of choice negated decision-making and, hence, tradition
dictated the reasoning. More of the same was the rhythm of social, cultural, and
professional life. Mythology glorified itself as the imaginative realm of human
endeavor. And science in abstraction resorted to reductive thinking; its attempt
to understand nature was zeroing on the atomic structure of matter.
But essence of life and its surrounding ethical and political issues were
deemed irrelevant.
Then,
Greek philosophy changed focus. It provoked debate on human logic. From analysis
to synthesis it adopted deductive and inductive reasoning. Mind was challenged
regarding thought provoking and thoughtful making of art, architecture and city
planning. It questioned man’s ideas about himself regarding his belief system,
social order and political agenda. Human
logic impacted on society’s ways of critical thinking and means of creative
dwelling; it attempted to define the realm of being.
From
critical reflection and imaginative spirituality to creative vision the European
condition evolved in three “cave” experiences that characterized the
continent’s identity. These
experiences questioned the human value judgment, revealed man’s innate
aspiration for immortality, and exposed humanity’s most cherished dreams for
infinite creativity. Thus, the first “cave” -- defined by Plato and which
embodied his idealism -- aspired to invent a new code of conduct. It challenged humanity to construct universal links with the
cosmos. It attempted to establish an ideal social relationship by enacting the
rule of law for the common good. And it pursued to appropriate ethical means for
the desired ends. It debated the schism between human perception and reality,
form and matter, and image and representation. It defied pre-Socratic
existentialism. It sought freedom of choice and eternal values. This “cave”
was a fictional invention -- a reflection on mind, a product of reason, and an
abstract notion critical to prevailing ideas -- favoring mind over body and man
over nature.
The
Platonic view of cosmos was indeed manifested in the “cave.” It narrated a
scenario where a shared world-view -- an “ideal” human community, with
common values and understanding -- was presumed established among the chained
prisoners of the “cave” who faced the wall as the immutable board of
knowledge. (The wall reflected images of visitors, projected by light source
coming from the entry door behind.) Their vision was limited to the wall screen
and blurred because of proximity. For them shadows were the only “reality”
to debate in attempting to comprehend the larger whole outside. Indeed, the
prisoners made “sense” among themselves; they offered critical commentary on
ghostly presence of the visitors and linked the audible whispers to shadow
movements. They engaged in interpretation. Then, when a prisoner was released on
a limited time pass to see the wonderful, to experience the glorious and to
witness the brave world outside, on his return to his former chained status he
felt transformed into an outcast. He could no longer make “sense” with the
rest of his comrade prisoners. The shared world-view had vanished. Now he knew
about the real world outside, and the rest knew only its shadows; hence, they
did not measure up. This Platonic pursuit of universal truth has aspired many to
view cosmos as the ultimate destiny of humankind. Higher order, cosmic beauty
and divine harmony were what man had to seek in this “cave” beyond human
desires and value system. Accordingly, even though man had to aspire for a
meaningful role in society, find his own individual place in the state setting
and pursue fulfillment of his dreams with the help of the city establishment --
he should never abandon the search for the universal truth. Indeed, man had to
seek asymmetrical solution in design, in a subdued form, to enhance freedom of
self-expression in art, architecture and urban planning. Plato’s idealism
attempted to prevent the corruption of human soul. The eternal future with its
values and relationships was deemed more important for humanity than earthly
achievements.
If
Socratic moralism had to prevail in this “cave” then individual goals,
objectives and aspirations had to become suspect. The pursuit of happiness
through earthy possessions had to be ultimately questioned. The end state of
mind had to be challenged in advance since man always aspired to seek power to
subjugate the weak for personal gains, tended to accumulate wealth to control
minds for political advantage, and attempted to build fame to dictate his terms
of reference. The Socratic moralism had dwelled on the notion that every human
end-goal was eventually attainable, but argued about human sacrifice, resources
commitment, and environmental cost. In advance the end value had to be
critically tested against its perceived worthiness. Indeed, if the past had any
message to humankind, it revealed the fact that man never knew how to govern
himself -- man neither understood how to satisfy his desires without inflicting
suffering, nor he controlled his instincts without causing pain. And man’s
tools and inventions were always used inhumanely, causing demise of individual
rights, decline of moral responsibilities and decay of professional respects.
If
Aristotelian realism had to exercise its reasoning in the “cave” then
man’s present situation regarding possibilities thinking had to prevail. It
had to advance tasks for the establishment to provide health care, education and
employment for the citizens, and maintain law and order in the country. The
state had “god given” mandate to protect itself against the “enemies”
within and without, and the responsibility to enhance safety for all.
Eventually, the state needed the citizens for her “defense” -- hence city
planning and architectural solutions had adopted symmetry in design for ease of
access and control. Buildings had embodied monumental scale in form and
expression to command authority.
Indeed, the trials and tribulations of the dwellers of
this “cave” embodied, first of all, the Platonic vision of universal truths
and ideal relationships; secondly, they advanced Socratic reflection on human
intentions and moral aspirations; and, thirdly, they articulated Aristotelian
ethical mission for the realism of goals and objectives. The ideal, the moral
and the ethical values were defined through the abductive, inductive and
deductive reasoning -- a prescription for the “perfect man” to carry
responsible tasks for the citizenship, with genuine authority and sincere
commitment. This “cave” was the manifest triumph of mind over mythology. Man
aspired to be in control of his situation.
The
second “cave” is defined by Holy Sepulcher and articulated in early
Christian existential narratives pertaining to eternity. It enhanced individual
spirituality and advanced metaphysical aspirations. It dictated its own code of
conduct where reason was suspended to absolute authority. It filled the gap
between wonder and doubt -- advanced a surreal spiritual entity devoid of human
critical thought and self-awareness. Paradoxically, submission of self to the
will of God-almighty brought man to the centerfold of divine interest, ignoring
the existence of nature and the world outside. God-man-earth cosmology was
emulating a mystery from this “cave” where spirit triumphed over body. This
“cave” was real, not fictional, but inaccessible to human inquiry and
incomprehensible to human mind. Man could not offer critical commentary on the
“transfiguration.” Hence the schism between mind and belief evolved,
expanding into the realm of existence and experience. Man became numb --
senseless and emotionless. He was gazing at the skies with imaginative
spirituality to connect, for the messages yet to come.
When
the gates of the last Platonic School of antiquity were closed in Athens by a
decree of Byzantine Emperor Justinian, the Christ “cave” then was the only
option available for the pursuit of knowledge. From 5th to 15th century this
“cave” was the ultimate challenge for academic curiosity. To dwell in
God’s mind was the purpose of “visiting” there. Many attempted to reflect
on and project through this “mystery box” without success.
Deciphering the puzzle that God could enter the “cave” physically
“dead” and leave spiritually “alive” defied human imagination of the
era. Could man use the model for himself? Man was faced with an unprecedented
dilemma: to believe in what “happened” in the Christ “cave” -- as a
manifestation of divine intervention -- or not to believe in. Was there any
recourse for “may be” interpretation regarding the mystery inside?
Amongst
the notable “visitors” of the “cave” of this millennium were St.
Augustine, St. Gregory of Narek and Dante. Indeed, in the City of God St.
Augustine distinguishes man’s divine aspirations as the forum for spiritual
dwelling, as opposed to in the City of Man mind-body inhabiting man’s
consciousness. This advanced a duality between man’s existential experience
and essence. The philosophical question stipulated was not why mind-body should
be enduring finite suffering on earth for the “promise” of eternal spiritual
existence in the “heaven”, but how mind-body could be enduring suffering. In
contrast to Buddhist manifesto that life is suffering on earth and man’s
desires were the prime cause for it, in the Christian belief there were promises
of more suffering in the “hell” yet to come if man pursued worldly
aspirations here and now. This debate on “hell” and “heaven”, now and
then – referring to earth and cosmos -- led nowhere. St. Gregory of Narek,
10th Century Armenian Church philosopher, in his Conversations with God asks for
an audience with divine wisdom and attempts to engage in a dialogue. Up front he
accepts man’s imperfection, but argues whether it was man’s making. If the
divine code of conduct for man after 10 centuries of preaching couldn’t be put
in practice, then what’s the point? May be God’s expectations were too high
for man to deliver. Man needed help but not hurt, guide but not guilt, and lead
but not let. Christ, the Son of God, couldn’t dwell in this “cave” for
more than three days, but man feels trapped in it for a millennium and can’t
find a way out.
Humanity’s
ongoing conflict with divinity stemmed from the description of the latter
regarding the “perfect man” as God’s agent, defined by the metaphor of
this “cave.” It requested man’s conscious denial of his worldly
experiences during his temporary existence on earth. In lieu, through the
fellowship of the Sacred Book, the pretentious spiritual “training” was
mandated for his “immortal” mission to cosmos. This conflict, regarding the
character instruction of man on earth for a cosmic endeavor thereafter, is the
very theme that Dante entertains in his Divine Comedy. His visionary visits to
“heaven” and “hell” aspire to reconcile the differences among the
dwellers of both camps and, in doing so, attempt to establish a “genuine”
understanding between universe and earth, including God and man.
In 15th century, it was Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible from Latin and, subsequently, Gutenberg’s spread through the invention of his printing machine that the truth about divinity was revealed at last. Man’s “immortality” was assured through God’s grace alone, not by good deeds as stipulated before. Now man was free to read and interpret the holy texts, work for himself and reclaim the knowledge that was left off at the close of antiquity about a millennium ago. This heralded the opening of the third “cave” and the beginning of a new time and space for man to rethink his position on issues pertaining to the physical world around, experience reality independent of preconceived ideas, and question the essence of being. Science and technology, rekindled by works of Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael and Michelangelo, once again promoted trust in self-knowing. Newton advanced the foundation of mechanics from cogs and clocks to steam machines. The industrial revolution reshaped the global landscape from countryside to city-ports. Maxwell’s theories on electromagnetism were utilized in the design of the dynamo and the electric light bulb; they transformed the night inhabitation and work ethics. From Einstein’s imaginative theories on space, time, light and gravity to studies of sub-atomic particles, man evolved to tab nuclear power. Man was thinking holistically. From unity of cosmos to the structure of matter man was articulating theory of everything. Matter transforming into wave-motion was under intense study. Chaos theory was unfolding into predictable orders. And man was able to fly and land on the moon; space settlements were in the works.
Man’s
reasoning has evolved, too. Cartesian space devised by Descartes became the
technical space for measurement. In it everything had a relative value, as
opposed to absolute. His analytical problem-solving methods, in particular, his
“divide and sub-divide until one understands” rule, became one of the bases
of scientific reasoning. Copernicus and Galileo redefined the earth’s relative
position regarding the sun and cosmos. Darwin placed man in nature relative to
other species. And Freud redefined human psyche as being instinctive and
irrational. Marx envisioned classless society, Nietzsche declared “God was
dead” and hence man was in charge, and Pierce formulated American ideals in
pragmatism.
Architecture
as the embodiment of human aspirations transformed itself from the medieval,
mystical and introverted spatial experiences to more open, utilitarian and
life-sustaining narratives. Man now was building for himself, expanding for
progress and appropriating new technologies.
Architecture negated ornamentation and styles of the past and became in
tune with human social and basic needs. Functional determinism, pattern language
and spatial behavior were the metaphors for the designers. Reinforce concrete,
steel and glass, and plastics brought new sensibilities to the experiential
dimension and the expressive essence of architecture. New building typologies
and city morphologies evolved that shaped the scope of modern built environment.
New government buildings and transportation structures, education and health
institutions, sports and arts centers, shopping malls and theater complexes,
office towers and production plants and, lastly, housing units -- defined the
modern life-space.
The 20th century “civilized” man brought upon himself terrible calamities. World Wars I and II devastated Europe, staging the forum for genocide and holocaust. Science and technology as tools of design and construction became means of destruction and ethnic cleansing. Displacement and dislocation, loss of history and memory, and distorted culture and obfuscated facts resulted in upheavals in social structures and discontinuities in man’s life. People in governments had yet to learn how to become human in restoring global justice by not resorting to sovereignty as shield for hiding crimes against humanity. Forced inaction on the disoriented prolonged the memory of suffering and the agony of injustice.
Cybernetic
control, artificial intelligence and systems thinking define now the realm of
the third “cave” at the threshold of the new millennium. Indeed, this
“cave” is evolving to become everybody’s place. It is global, universal
and omnipresent. There, man is the creator of his virtual reality and the
inventor of his cyberspace. In it novel ideas not only exist, but they are in
action. And man appears to be in control of his situation. In this “cave”
man created a new illusive reality outside his existence. So far this reality is
experiential -- what you feel is what you get. There, “self” is a relative
thing, which is in the domain of flux -- constantly transforming itself from
being to becoming. It embodies man’s creative vision to connect with all, at
will and at all times, to make sense. This aspect of the “cave” is evolving
to project itself as the magical realm of infinite possibilities. This open
dwelling is considered fundamental to the notion of human rights, respects and
responsibilities; it will shape the future human condition.
Using
the millennium life cycle of the previous two “cave” models, man at this
point could assume that he is exactly half way through in this third “cave”
dwelling experiences. Accordingly, there remains indeed another full five
centuries of life span to evolve, during which man will have many survival
challenges to confront. Global man will have to raise serious questions about
his mode of innovative thinking, ways of intelligent planning, and means of
creative making. Will man eventually devise a global economic union whose
government will advance global education, bring social justice and mediate
amongst nations to cooperate on issues of pollution and waste, natural
environment and industrial development, management of renewable and
non-renewable resources, preservation of agricultural land, and controlling
overpopulation? Will man be in control of the earth to enhance his survival?
Will he be able to bring order, harmony and balance to his mind, spirit and
body? Will man be part of nature healing and healthy environment building? What
will his value system be regarding priorities?
If man’s history will continue to be a history of selfish competition,
inflicting suffering and cruelty on masses, then social, economic and ethnic
conflicts will propagate further global tension. Humanity will further lose its
dignity. Man’s tools of advancement will become tools of utter disintegration,
subjugation and manipulation. Controlled misery will prevail globally.
Eventually, earth will become a dumping site for the ones who could flee
and settle in outer space. The rest will falter around, in cyclical disarray,
and eventually perish. Then, man will question, in his final moments of
reflection, whether he has ever learned anything from the three “caves”
experiences.
Concluding
Reflections
The
European condition of mind, embodied in three “cave” scenarios, posits
criticality on experiences and exposures of contemporary hi-tech in constructing
a plausible global civilizational identity. Attempts of first “cave”
visionaries to devise a politically astute, socially cohesive and individually
competent “perfect intellectual man” -- on grounds of idealism, moralism and
realism -- did not materialize. Democracy lost its essence to Roman Imperial
Court as model for human condition. Mind failed humanity. Man could not solve
his challenges intellectually. In the second “cave” God revealed his code of
conduct for the salvation of the “perfect spiritual man” reserved for the
heavens. Divinity lost its essence to dogma as model for human condition.
Religious strife failed humanity. Man could not handle his earthy miseries
spiritually. And, lastly, in this transitional third “cave” advances in
science and technology hold the promise of defining the “perfect hi-tech
man” as the product of prosthetics; it attempts to prepare human beings for
future productive work, social interaction and creative entertainment. If
instrumental reasoning will dictate the condition of mind as it relates to being
and becoming, then man will seek technological solutions for his genetic
defects, spiritual emptiness and intellectual ineptness. Where mind’s reason
and God’s passion “failed” humanity, will hi-tech succeed in assuring a
sensible destiny for humankind?
References
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Bertol, Daniela, 1997, Designing Digital Space: An Architects Guide to VR. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Coyne, Richard, 1995, Designing IT in the Postmodern Age: From Method to Metaphor. The MIT Press
Kaku, Michio, 1994, Hyperspace. Oxford University Press
McGee, Bryan, 1998, The Story of Philosophy. A DK Publishing Book
McLuhan, Marshall, 1988, Laws of Media: the new science. UofT Press
Mitchell, William J., 1995, City of Bits. The MIT Press
Negroponte, Nocholas, 1995, Being Digital. Alfred A. Knopf
Oliver, Martin, 1999, History of Philosophy. Prospero Books
Van Doren, Charles, 1991, A History of Knowledge. Ballantine Books