Nature Within Reality and Home To Reason
Triadic Philosophy has few hard and fast understandings. It recognizes a realm of mystery, a point at which reality escapes us. It sees a realm of discourse, a Babel Tower of terms. categories, formulae and disciplines which hobbles communication. And it acknowledges a huge province of thoughtlessness where never an effort is made to do more than share opinions.
The understandings of Triadic Philosophy lie in these three terms:
Reality
Ethics and
Aesthetics
These are seen as what enables conscious thought.
Tolerance, helpfulness, democracy and non-idolatry are Ethics’ index.
The meeting of Reality and Ethics and the movement of that encounter toward truth and beauty creates
conscious expressions and actions.
The Triadic Philosopher proceeds on this understanding. She aims toward a life that seeks reduction of harm and the amplification of goodness.
Reality denotes all, everything, the entirety,
Terms like reason, nature, will, conscience, impulse and power are regarded as utilities of the mind.
Some terms are recast.
Nature, for example, is no longer seen as separate from us.
Nature and we are one and the same. What we do is nature. Its effects reflect our freedom to do good or ill.
Virtues are no longer seen as ethics. Values are.
Aesthetics is no longer associated with art but with existence itself.
We are actors. Our stage is reality itself.
Hence our title.
Nature is within Reality and is home to reason, a utility which enables us to arrive at conclusions that may be reasonable and logical.
Is there a difference between reason and logic?
We contend that everything tends to the good. As we should do individually.
What is reasonable may tend that way, but not always.
What is logical is only good if it is in fact the case that it is.
In other words, neither logic nor reason are inherently good or “light” or anything else. They all depend on their context or referent and on the tendency of that meeting.
If the sign is hate the logic may become genocide and the aesthetic outcome may be the ugliness of slaughter.
Both reason and logic are subject to the tests implied in the ontological universalities of Triadic Philosophy.
Everything within reality achieves its status in relationship to values which can stand apart but which can also impart to expression and action its negative or positive character.
If one chooses democracy and extends a hand to someone to register at a polling place then beauty and truth are in the process of materializing.
If someone joins in taunting someone we we a progress of ganging up leading to hurt and harm. All acts and expression are redolent of values whether we are aware of it or not.
So reason in Triadic Philosophy is not a shining light. It, no less than logic, is a utility whose outcome within the spectrum of value choices determines its status.
Peirce: CP 2.23 Cross-Ref:††
23. …that logical principles are known by an inward light of reason, called the “light of nature” to distinguish it from the “light of grace” which comes by revelation, has been the opinion entertained by the majority of careful logicians.
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