Hey, Mark --
You have provided some fundamentals of the scientific method.
That is conjecture (hypothesis), objective experimental design,
and measurement as support for the conjecture. I do not want to
get into the metaphysics on how no measurements are objective,
since they fall into subjective criteria. What I wanted to explore
was the process of measurement in metaphysics.
I will start with Quality since it has scientific underpinnings, but I
think the same would apply for Essence. Understanding of Quality,
results from the compilation of relevant information which ties
together to form a theory.
In metaphysics we employ thought experiments, but in the end
have to tie them to some observable phenomenon. The appropriate
logical strings are attached much in the same way as science.
From that we develop a world view which is consistent within our
frame of reference.
There is no right way to construct this view, provided it imparts
understanding.
Quality is expressed in levels which are measurable. While we
cannot measure Quality itself, we can measure its result. Therefore
the way to measure this phenomenon is not directly, but indirectly.
Why do you say we can't measure Quality? We measure it all the time, not in
inches or pounds but in its power to attract us. That attraction (i.e.,
desire, wanting) doesn't need to be a numbered measurement; we realize it
immanently as a state of conscious awareness relative to everything else.
If I asked you to rate your preference for an apple versus a prune or a
pear, would you not have an answer? Likewise, you'd probably have no
trouble selecting the most beautiful girl from a gallery of photos, a
favorite song from a list of titles, or your choice of sporting event from a
list of categories. The "measurement" of quality (i.e., "positive Value")
is the degree of interest, enjoyment, or fulfillment realized from the
particular object of your experience. Value is what attracts you. It's the
impact or "drawing power" that a given stimulus or phenomenon has on the
observer relative to other stimuli. In the absence of a cognitive agent
Value doesn't exist.
From the impact of Quality, we are able to make certain statements.
This is of course what MoQ is all about. So because we relate a
metaphysical
concept to real things, it is indeed measurable, again, not directly but
indirectly.
In the same way, we cannot see a black hole, but we can measure it
indirectly
through its effect on neighboring stars.
Again, you are trying to apply scientific criteria to conscious experience.
I thought we agreed that
objective measurements are incompatible with subjective sensibility.
From my reading of your website, I understand the negation of
essence to be what I would call awareness.
The way you describe it, I would assume the negation which
you speak of to be a process. All processes are measurable.
We may not know how at this time, but that does not mean it is
not possible. By determining the methods by which Essence is
negated, we can get an objective idea what Essence is.
Of course I assume that by negation you mean that there is something
to be negated, even if that thing is Nothingness. Such negation
must be dependent on the Nature of essence in order to be
successful. By measuring how essence is negated, we get an
indirect measurement of Essence.
I do not know for a fact that "all processes are measurable". But even if
this were true, Essence itself is not measurable. We can only measure what
exists -- objects, mechanisms, systems, etc., that is, "things" in relation
to each other. Our measure of "nothingness" is actually a barometric index
of vacuum pressure.
Negation is not a process; only the resulting experience is. The primary
negation is what MoQers would call the "static mode" of the ultimate source,
but which I think is best understood as the potentiality of a "negational"
Essence. Process does not begin until the nothingness (negate) gains the
value-sensibility of an indivdual human being. From then on, its
life-experience is an interractive process involving a series of events
perceived in time and space.
We live in a physical world which walks hand in hand with the
non-physical.
I would say that we generate the physical world by acquiring the value of
otherness: Essence minus Sensibility.
Anyway, enough about science for now.
(Amen to that.)
Cheers,
Ham
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