THE GENERAL LAWS OF NATURE AND THE TECHNICAL SYSTEM OF THOUGHT

(An excerpt from the original work, Real World Views, Book 2,  by Professor Dr. Tan Man-Ho entitled "Biocosmic Nervo-Reflectant, the Theory of Material Reflection in Man, Inner Development and Social Upheavals," July1973 - September 1974 Discourses, Chapter 4, Section A & B : "The General Laws of Nature and the Technical System of Thought," pp.90 ~ 99)

 

Unity of Opposites & Contradictions

Quantitative changes to Qualitative Changes

Negation of Negation

Elementary Particles with Psychic and  Cosmic Properties

Octaves

 

A.   THE GENERAL LAWS OF NATURE

 

1   General Laws of Nature (part of it):   Every new state of matter is a continuation of the development of the “battle” of contradictories in the old state of matter.  The contradictories always exist, eternal to material development …… this contradictions in material development is the essence of the material development of states of matter, and also in states of human matter human being.  When Newton formulated his third law of actions and reactions in his “Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica” he is actually “referring” to the contradictions of matter in natural mechanical motion and hence the development or formation of material beings by such natural mechanical motion - a unique aspect of a very much complex motion.

 

2   Sometimes, in certain communities, the material condition of oppression appears ripe for a drastic sociocosmic transformation but the idea, feelings, beliefs of the communities or in general the culture severely retards any prospect of sociocosmic transformation.  There exists this brutal oppression in reality which can be verified from the various facts, and there is no mistaking in the observation.  The oppressor accused the oppressed.  Therefore, the oppressed must have felt an injustice.  The oppressed accused the oppressor (the capitalists, lords) therefore the oppressed feels it is just – he is in the right.  This vice-versa relationship is quite common everywhere there is oppression in any community.  Practical solution involves the careful re-direction of the people’s mind.  Know your friends and know your enemies.  There is no reconciliation between enemies but struggles leading to new synthesis.  This is in accordance with the law of unity of opposites – the irreconcilability of opposites which unite in opposition even into the synthesis.

 

3   Today I have decided to tell you something about the dialectics of pure and quantitative science instead of just starting off with pure and quantitative science contents.  Mathematics is one of the quantitative sciences.  It is called in this way because it does not deal with qualitative changes.  It only deals with fix quality-monads and changing quantities.

In physics and physical chemistry, symbols are used to represents various qualitatively different elements, and descriptive explanations are the qualitative complementary of the whole compendium.

In biology, Darwin dealt with the quantitative changes in organic species but the bulk of description and explanation is most qualitative.

 

4   To interpret physics and physical chemistry and everything in a mathematical way is to be tautological and many mathematicians are not objective as they journey in the pure realm.  The cause of phenomenon to them lies in the variation of their graphs and mathematical equations for which their inner gymnastics are trained.  It is tautology of tautology.  It is objective of the non-objective.  After looking at the pure numbers, measures, algebraic symbols, graphs and equations, the owner of this potpourri of being psyche hydrogens must move out to the outer world and return to re-discover himself in the inner world.

 

5   Dialectics is very important for logical integration of the mentating activities.  It can be used to combine all fragmented pieces of concepts into an understandable pattern.  Especially with the advance of modern science and the discovery of electron & positron, proton and anti-proton, neutrino and anti-neutrino, in recent years, the laws of unity of opposite is gaining strong support.  Process such as pain-annihilation (ie + ie = y) is an interesting phenomenon.

Without the ability to see nature holistically its generality or so to say without philosophy, it is impossible to discover or grasp the understanding of the general laws of nature.

 

6   The Law of Proton-Neutron Transformation in the nucleus after reading through G. I. Brown, pg 144 – 145, a “law” can be postulated:

The law states that the stability of a nucleus also depends on the degree of the difference between neutron and proton masses besides being dependent on the charges and its magnetic fields.

However, the psyche quantum and quality of the elementary particles also influence the behavior of the nucleus.

 

7   Problems are solved one by one.  Nature is for us to question.  We have yet to learn how to question nature and seeking answers from her.

 

8   The essence is produced by the brained organs.  Each type of essence is different from the organism to organism, and the higher organism has those essences of the lower.

 

9   We must not try to make facts suit theory, but theory suits facts.  We only use theory to look for some missing facts hidden in nature (and in 'god')

 

10   Now I realized that I am just an organism on earth.  I am a developing material organism, and have a material being.  I have life now, and until a certain stage of my development, my life (the thesis) will soon give way to death (antithesis).  Surely death is the antithesis of life.  The most astonishing principle that I wish to bring forth in this: All developing bodies – cells, tissues, organs and systems must in inevitably follow the laws of dialectics or the law of trialectics if you like.  They must undergo the process of thesis, antithesis and synthesis.  This is dialectics in one sense – as a unity of opposites in struggle and trialectics in another when synthesis has already formed and is attracting a new opposite.  All mechanical motions are interpretations at this unity of opposites within the organ (system) in its various forms and in its complex structure.  What scientists study are these forms and structures which apparently follow definite immutable laws.

There is always the opposite of life and death.  While I am still developing a stage is reached where new pole is coming into existence – the existence of the formation of the reproductive sperm cells.  While in the case of females another pole is developing – although their nature is quite different from mine.  The existence of this new pole only shows that the old system is giving way for a new one.  When death comes to the old system the new usually has the same nature (not different nature!!) from the old.

The old gives way to the new ones – I give way to the new ones; all mankind give way to new ones; all developing systems give way to new ones – this is history.  Therefore, the real determining element of history of mankind is the production and reproduction of real life.  Therefore, this statement is justified.

 

11   Forms of natural appearance and structures are mobile part of nature, operated by essential immutable laws.  The scientists have discovered many of these laws.  They have tried to use these laws to explain the ever changing appearance of nature, its historical process, restructuring, etc., properly and historically.  To do this is not an easy task.  The scientists have even isolated ‘part’ of the universal process of nature and to trace how the well-established laws have played their role in that minute part of nature.  It is often hard for a scientist to understand their subject well by isolating branches of the giant tree of the universe for analysis and do it in great detail.  Often in the course of his research, he loses his orientation and forgets that he is in the parts and not the whole.  He often neglects the importance of the “whole” and emphasizes the importance at the parts ignoring the whole.

Until a certain stage of development of nature, as can be explained by physics, where at this stage, there is water, the sun’s radiation, certain polymer coming into existence, etc. therein its development and hereby constitutes what we are today, after many million years of evolution, enter into social relations, through history.  It is nature that makes organism, organism that makes events over time that makes history – something makes man to give a history.  But we also recognized that man (including organism) possesses defensive capability.

Does God (an Absolute) make the first organism?  Oh no, the first organism has also its precious history. There is no beginning and no end in nature.  Therefore, matter can neither be created nor destroyed.  The important laws discovered by scientists are immutable laws.  It is through the operation of these laws that the various appearances and forms of matter comes into existence.  The most challenging types of matter for study is the matter called psyche which is in the finest group of matter smaller than the atomic and the subatomic particle world.  I say finest because it is the most powerful, most uncontrollable (by spaces and even time) and the most penetrating of all matters.  This psyche is present not just in man or the organic world but in the whole universe as well, in all the cosmoses in various degree of density.

 

12   In order really to understand a society well, the beginning does not lie on theology, defined terms, metaphysics, religion, etc., it does not lie on descending from heaves to Earth, instead, it is the direct opposite, from earth to Heaven and then from heaven to earth. Analogically, god is created and then the god descends to earth in the form of messengers and their godly missions of producing church, temple, mosque, religious books and trainings.  The responding agent is certainly the modern man.

 

13   The current teleology of nature is nothing more than an internal development of nature. The teleology of nature is a result of internal conflict.  The internal conflict of nature is eternal; it has always being and it will always be.

 

14   I have learnt that even the authors of most of my science text books are never sure of their facts.  We must never forget that science is one of the only few good knowledge weapons available for man to fight for his survival and for his possibility of higher development.  We have learnt that elementary particles are found to be the basic matter (matter with cosmic and psychic properties) of the universe make–up.  The constituents of each element, the atoms (with their fundamental particles including their cosmic and psychic properties) move from one place to another in time and cause changes in the nature of parts of the universe, including the biological nature.  If it does not move then it moves in time or it is just in eternal existence.  The sole existence of man lies in the struggle for his survival and as a being.  The tracing of the relations, the motion and the concatenation of all the elementary particles in relation to man’s existence is of paramount importance.  If the universe evolves then the processes follow the theory of development, the materialist dialectics.  The above statement is very important.

 

15   The forms of modern classification of sciences must show certain definite lines or thought categories and octaves, namely,

1) the science of matter (covered by physics and metaphysics)

2) the science of ‘animated’ matter (covered by chemistry)

3)  the science of biology and biochemistry (the relation of life and chemistry)

4)  the science of biological reflections

5)  the science of social biological species

6)  the science of human society or social organism (the history of mankind)

7)  the science of Earth (covered by geography)

8) the science of Celestial bodies (covered by astronomy or cosmology)

9) the science of vital energies and universal consciousness (covered by physiology, psychology, psychophilosophy and astrology)

10) Etc.

 

However, when “cosmic” concepts are introduced into our thoughts as ‘Views from the Real World’ narrated in as oral and written presentation to other three-brained being similar to ourselves, we would be narrating as if everything is from and within the framework of the most general laws of everything so far known in man, namely:

 

1. The Law of Conservation of Matter and Energy

2. The Law of Unity of Opposites

3. The Law of the Transition of Quantitative changes to Qualitative Changes and Vice Versa

4. The Law of Negation of Negation

5. The Law of Triads

6. The Law of Octaves/Law of Periodicity

 

And on idea materials that have been discovered, derived and narrated in fragments from the history human application to nature in the process of man’s productive struggle with the material conditions of living as a human being, that is his primary source-consciousness and his secondary derived-consciousness in the form of:

The models of the enneagrams, the hexagrams, the pentagrams, the trigrams, the diagrams, the geometries and trigonometries and other esoteric models including the formalogical, formatory scientific non-dialectical, non-trialectical and non-octave models and symbols, and etcetera.

All these laws and models are man-discovered narrated (scientific or non-scientific) derived from deep and careful observation, analysis and experimentation of Great Nature - their general cosmic, geocosmic, biocosmic, sociocosmic, technocosmic and etcetera aspects and their detailed or specifics cosmological, geological, biological, sociological, psychological, technological, and etcetera aspects of the same Great Nature.  These laws and models are what we humans thought She follows and uses them to keep her living and moving, and the same laws and models are not operating in Her all the time, here and there - they are all of supreme intelligence including ourselves.  Do not impose or force these laws and models unto Great Nature when She did not use them and not using these laws and models to understand Her when She did use them - causing you to be the opt always in a state of misunderstanding, contradiction and living in discord with Her most of the time as a cosmic rascal.  Let Her tell you that She is using them now and then, here and there to create and grow Herself - and you need just to reflect from her and be part of Her general harmonious motion.

The law of triad is also called the law of three.  A triadic process can be a process between antagonistic opposite forces on the same level to produce the synthesized third or a triadic process between a higher level (of an octave note or otherwise) on or over a lower level (of an octave note or otherwise) to synthesize the middle third.  The middle third so formed is a middle level between the higher and the lower levels whereby it will appear lower to the higher level and higher to the lower level.  The former triadic process is horizontal motion of forces and the latter is vertical.  Note that both can be antagonistic and non-antagonistic in essence.  Gurdjieff called this vertical triadic process ‘Harnelmaitznel.’

 

B.   THE TECHNICAL SYSTEM OF THOUGHT

 

1   To my disappointment, the science which I study is too technical and dry in taste because the faculties of the mind use in creating the technical writing is mechanistic and uses a limited set of rules to produce them.  By technical is meant also rich in well-defined terminology of our time, which is exact and professional but still not touching reality.  Therefore much memorization is required for pouring them out like parrots for satisfying the passing of an exam.  Last year and early this year, I have pictures, imagine, reflect and meditate almost most of the sentences I have read.  I still see this as a very good way to grow innerly, and to venture beyond this technical boundary so as to home this technical system of thoughts in my inner world properly.

 

2   The non-technical system of thoughts is even worse but only that it triggers other centers in our body making them active.  These writings are not originated entirely on thoughts.

 

3   Writing long story is useless ‑ if you want to write, write precisely to the point and not roughly or beating around the bush, the only exception is it is written with a definite purpose – to help you to sleep faster.

 

4   The sociotechnocosmic octave is the law regulating the technical system of thought.  The force that moves it is the law of three – active, passive and neutralizing.

 

5   The technical system of thought is formatory (Gurdjieffian) and due to nature of the inner and outer world relationship.