Map and Terrain confusion
Oct. 21st, 2018 11:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
causticusHere's some notes I've been jotting down regarding the confusion many people might have regarding the superficial conflict between scientific knowledge and old metaphysical ways of framing reality. It seems this confusion is most prevalent among both the ardent Scientific Materialist and the literal-minded religious fundamentalist. IMHO, these two mentalities are merely two sides of the same coin.
Any mature seeker of higher (metaphysical) knowledge should arrive at the idea that from an esoteric perspective, cosmological maps are not necessarily to be conflated with physical reality. I like the simple adage, "the map is not the terrain." And by extension, we can fully understand that words themselves are only symbols used to convey concepts, they are NOT the concepts themselves. IMHO, it's a supremely a modern mentality that DEMANDS that the way we explain physical reality has to conform literally to the verbiage and semantics used in whatever one's traditional metaphysical cosmology of choice might be. Thus we get people today embracing abject delusions like young earth creationism.
The mature seeker will see these old cosmological schemes as simply a way for framing metaphysical concepts for the seeker, in other words its simply a mechanism for focusing your consciousness in a manner that's conducive for spiritual growth and attainment. The mature seeker has absolutely zero problem accepting the validity of science AND utilizing the knowledge found within ancient metaphysical teachings.
And finally, the mature seeker understands that exoteric teachings are not immutable truths but rather provisional doctrines loaded with temporal Doxa that function as a means of explaining higher truths in a way that's fitting for a particular culture in a particular place and time. Outer teachings change over time to adapt to changing conditions. Worshiping dead letters of the past is itself a crass form of idolatry. It's simply one of many ways of not seeing the forest for the trees. And this is precisely why all ancient societies had designated priestly classes, or at least guild-like priestly professions; the layperson or simpleton is more often than not, unable to grasp nuanced concepts, much less higher truth. Only according to the delusions of modernity is knowledge seen as something democratic, in other words something that any person without any significant degree of training can quickly grasp. When it comes to knowledge today we are very much in "the Age of Anti-Guru."
Any mature seeker of higher (metaphysical) knowledge should arrive at the idea that from an esoteric perspective, cosmological maps are not necessarily to be conflated with physical reality. I like the simple adage, "the map is not the terrain." And by extension, we can fully understand that words themselves are only symbols used to convey concepts, they are NOT the concepts themselves. IMHO, it's a supremely a modern mentality that DEMANDS that the way we explain physical reality has to conform literally to the verbiage and semantics used in whatever one's traditional metaphysical cosmology of choice might be. Thus we get people today embracing abject delusions like young earth creationism.
The mature seeker will see these old cosmological schemes as simply a way for framing metaphysical concepts for the seeker, in other words its simply a mechanism for focusing your consciousness in a manner that's conducive for spiritual growth and attainment. The mature seeker has absolutely zero problem accepting the validity of science AND utilizing the knowledge found within ancient metaphysical teachings.
And finally, the mature seeker understands that exoteric teachings are not immutable truths but rather provisional doctrines loaded with temporal Doxa that function as a means of explaining higher truths in a way that's fitting for a particular culture in a particular place and time. Outer teachings change over time to adapt to changing conditions. Worshiping dead letters of the past is itself a crass form of idolatry. It's simply one of many ways of not seeing the forest for the trees. And this is precisely why all ancient societies had designated priestly classes, or at least guild-like priestly professions; the layperson or simpleton is more often than not, unable to grasp nuanced concepts, much less higher truth. Only according to the delusions of modernity is knowledge seen as something democratic, in other words something that any person without any significant degree of training can quickly grasp. When it comes to knowledge today we are very much in "the Age of Anti-Guru."
