It is true that Plato was Aristotle's teacher, but it is also true that the Western tradition divides with these two and the tradition of Aristotle leads to the Western world view, whereas the Platonic world view continues in the neo-Platonists, the gnostics, and the mystics. There is a straight line, for example, between Plato, Eckhart, and Blake. But this "Platonic" tradition is marginalized especially with the advent of empiricism. So from the point of view of the mystics, it was Aristotle that needed to be brought home, not Plato. The dualism you speak of is the norm, but if you want to learn to read Blake and Eckhart, for instance, you would not find dualism. You would also find that Eckhart was excommunicated (posthumously--he was too smart for the Inquisition while he lived) BECAUSE he refused to give up philosophical monism. This excommunication is an extreme form of the attitude the Church has fostered in Western letters consistently to this day. And so you have to do some looking beyond the standard teachings to find it.
We can talk freely in our world, but only if our talk won't make much difference. Try talking freely in grad school and see if your work will be accepted. ----- Original Message ---- From: Stu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 7:37:32 PM Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: Description of mantra?? : D Angela, I am a little unclear here. I understand there are difference between Plato and Aristotle but effectively they are the same tradition. One was the other one's teacher. Plato was a bit lost, Aristotle brought him home. I agree that these guys do form the basis of a rich western philosophical tradition. This is a tradition the managed to stay vibrant despite the influence of monotheism. There is no monotheistic tradition in the west. I am thinking you are pointing to non-dualism. The sort of mysticism where the individual sees their interconnection with the kosmos as a unified whole. The sort of mysticism where infinity and nothingness live together. The three monotheisms have glimpses of this sort, but they never commit to non-dualism. Even the most ardent of the mystics fall short of merger between themselves and the paternalistic supreme being. To go further would be heresy. For the most part the big 3 spend make sure a priestly class keeps a secret knowledge that the most fervent followers can only dream of. This priestly class dangles visions of heaven in front of their followers in exchange for tidings. What is amazing is how long this has been going on without anyone complaining. Then again, any complaints a few years ago meant being burnt at the stake or going through the sort of thing Spinoza had to bear. What a pleasure to live in a world were we can talk freely now. s. --- In FairfieldLife@ yahoogroups. com, Angela Mailander <mailander111@ ...> wrote: > > Of course, there's a tradition. It just tends to get obscured in the West > since we have systematically suppressed this kind of knowledge and burned > people at the stake for it. But there definitely is a tradition. Normally > we look to the the Platonic tradition rather than the Aristotelian tradition > to find it. > Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com
