Hierarchy Index Cards - C
Carr
Card-C-18-01. Unity of Mind and Body.
Card-C-18-07. DH: Philosophy, mysticism, religion, art are different sorts of victory over C.S. Life is a battle against C.S. — which is necessary as an obstacle to be overcome. But in so far as a man is deep and real he has vanquished C.S. The fact that C.S.endorses a notion should put us on our guard against it.
Reading Wildon Carr: Theory of Monads
Card-C-18-12. DEH: …awareness of what (the other) monad is in itself increases from nil at centre to complete at circumference… gradually we are developing the power to probe the thing-in-itself; despite the fact that its aspect for us is, more ‘of-us’ than ‘of-it’, we are gradually eliminating the ‘of-us’ character in favour of the ‘of it’ character?
Yes. Evolution is increasing awareness of the independently given, increasing elimination of the subjective factor. The known aspect of the thing becomes more ‘like-the-thing-as-it-is in-itself’. Thus the sub-e being completely empty and simple, embraces no aspects of things, and the Whole can embrace only itself. It is there completely conscious of thing-in-itself because it is that thing-in-itself. God as thing-in-itself knows himself.
The way we can pass from knowledge of the aspect to knowledge of the thing is only by, like God, becoming that thing. This we do to some extent in sympathy, putting oneself in the other man’s shoes.
Later: You know perfectly what it is to be yourself. This is a completely objective view — self-consciousness. You are your experience and experience is perfectly known. You know yourself — at your level — completely.
You imagine what other men are to themselves by sympathy. This is necessary for social intercourse. Putting yourself in his shoes.
But to grow to perfect knowledge you must love — achieve a more perfect sympathy — and go on to include, to make the object part of yourself. You must give it status in you.
God knows you perfectly because his love and sympathy for you have taken the extreme form of being you.
We are first concerned with others’ effects on us. Next we achieve more objectivity, forgetting ourselves and concentrating on the appearance of the object. Next we infer from the object’s behaviour (actually knowledge of other minds doesn’t genetically arise thus; See Hocking) that it is a mind, like us. This inference necessary practically.
Next, by sympathy, we put ourselves in object’s shoes. We try to see the world through his eyes. Finally, and this is love’s climax, we include the object’s experience in our experience. We suffer and rejoice with the object. To be — become. Identification with the object.
Evolution proceeds by this process of passing from selfishness to love. The atom is an atom because it is able to incorporate the experience of electrons — and no longer thinks of how its electrons affect it. ’Tis love, ’tis love…
Note how the process is 1. Self consciousness (narrow self). 2. Other consciousness (of object for its own sake). 3 Self-consciousness (including consciousness of the object, now part of oneself.
Macmurray is only half right. 1. Must give way to 2. — but must go on to 3. This he overlooks.
But there are 2 kinds of self-consciousness. 1. The ‘bad’ kind — not real self consciousness but only concern about effect of others on you and you on others. 2. The good or real kind — objectification of your experience. Mabel. This is externalisation. Most men are content with experience. We must experience experience! This is the perfect love wherewith God loves himself of Spinoza.
Self-con of bad kind consists in resting on your oars. You should always be at the stage (2) of contemplating some object — with a view to future incorporation. To be self-con in bad sense is not-to-be-growing, not to be in the process of incorporating any object.
Index Card C-18
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