The Power of Precision Thinking
The Power of Precision Thinking
Cognitive Enhancement via the 7 Liberal Arts
“Logic is the source of eloquence, through which the wise who understand the … principal sciences and disciplines may discourse upon them more correctly, truly, and elegantly; more correctly, through Grammar; more truly, through Dialectic; more eloquently, through Rhetoric.” —St. Vincent of Beauvais
Do the Unthinkable – Think!!!
Our modern world is a cacophony of clashing ideas, ideologies, and distractions. In this chaotic landscape, it can be difficult to maintain a clear and rational mind. It is precisely within this environment that we need to think critically and assess reality properly. It is essential we find inner grounding based on proper function.
Unfortunately, anti-intellectualism is on the rise. People are increasingly drawn to group-think identities, simplistic and superficial solutions, rather than taking the time to comprehend complex issues. Being banal and ignorant allows one to meld homogeneously with the crowds.
This dumbing down of society is evident within our schooling and media, where critical thinking is replaced by style and stupidity.
Integral to this decline is the intentional degradation of human culture, through one amongst many methods, inflicting sexual perversions on young children in schools. Parents with children in such indoctrination centers should seriously consider more functional and ethical approaches to educating them, as an essential responsibility and duty.
People are so enamored by their self-centered viewpoints that they are unable to comprehend that other perspectives may offer some validity, even if to properly understand a situation. Information is refused on the basis of source or difference from opinions held. Logical fallacies are taken as fact, allowing one to remain smug in their ignorance.
“Conspiracy theory” is one such convenient tool people use to insulate themselves from the overwhelming truth which stretches far beyond the average status quo human’s educational and conceptual framework; it is a proof of assertion fallacy, a hypnotic command which stifles analytic and acquisitive functions in the neocortex.
Naturally there is hope, there is always a way forward. The answer is always at hand, even if we are unable to see it in our present state.
We all must rise above this trend. We must improve ourselves and not conform to this accelerating decline in consciousness. It is essential we apply the fundamental rules of proper thought to master our grasp of reality and find balance in the cacophony of sensory input our modern world spews forth.
It is imperative we cogitate our way forward into higher states of mind!.
Imagine a world where everyone thought critically. Where people were able to assess information objectively and form their own informed opinions. Where people were able to disagree respectfully and without resorting to personal attacks.
This is the world we can create if we all make a commitment to think critically. It is a world where everyone is empowered to reach their full potential.
Start today. Do the unthinkable and think!
“The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of bigger ideas, never returns to its original size.” —Oliver Wendell Holmes
The 7 Ancient & Noble Liberal Arts
The word ‘liberal’ has many meanings today, in many ways the exact opposite to its inherent implication. Originally it simply meant free, as in liberated. The Liberal Arts were those which a free person required to be an active member of intelligent society.
These Arts consisted of three tools of processing knowledge, i.e. thinking, the Trivium, being:
Grammar,
Logic (Dialectic), and
Rhetoric,
and four fundamental sciences, the Quadrivium, being:
Arithmetic,
Geometry,
Music, and
Astronomy,
as applied through our five senses.
However, these terms must be acknowledged in a much deeper sense than definitions implied by modern word usage.
I’ll propose the thesis that most people don’t really think, they just think they’re thinking because they’re watching their characterological reactions in real time. People are programmed genetically and mimetically from birth, run through indoctrination centers, it’s inevitable we all have a bit of this to one degree or another.
These days more and more people appear to be programmed in the persistent use of logical fallacies to insulate themselves from anything beyond what their bio-structural imprints will allow them to process.
Nonetheless, we can regain our inherent power by taking control of our own minds in precise fashion.
The Trivium: Ancient Framework for Precision Thinking
The Trivium is an age-old system of intellectual refinement. It serves as a set of precision tools that enable individuals to elevate their thinking and engage in a rigorous analysis of the world as perceived through the faculties of the five senses. These three essential tools—Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric—operate in a specific and interconnected order, each contributing to the systematic progression of thought:
Grammar:
This initial stage is acquiring the fundamental building blocks of knowledge—answering the questions of Who, What, Where, and When. However, Grammar goes beyond the mere mechanics of language; it encompasses the proper usage of language to define information and attain factual knowledge about the objects in our sensory experience or the genuine ideations arising within consciousness. Grammar is the foundation of understanding, integral with utilizing language as the foundation of communication.
Logic / Dialectic:
Following Grammar, Logic steps in to provide Understanding, Why things are as they are. It seeks to establish valid relationships between the facts gleaned through the grammatical assessment of reality. This phase involves the meticulous processing of data, the identification of contradictions, and the analysis of conflicting arguments. The product of Logic is proof—a profound comprehension of the factual knowledge regarding objects and occurrences in reality. Logic is the tool utilized to distill truth from the cacophony of competing ideas.
Rhetoric:
As the culmination of the Trivium, Rhetoric represents the application of Knowledge and Understanding, ultimately through Wisdom. It is the art of using language to express one's grasp of reality, to convey intelligence, and to persuade others toward a particular perspective based on logical assessment. Rhetoric explores the "How" of a subject, bridging the gap between internal understanding and external communication. Rhetoric is the vehicle through which wisdom and profound insights are taught to others, as well as shared and debated among intellectuals.
In essence, the Trivium can be likened to a process of Input, where information is gathered through Grammar, followed by Processing, where Logic refines and clarifies this information, and finally, Output, where Rhetoric conveys the refined knowledge and understanding to others.
Input => Processing => Output
This ancient framework continues to offer invaluable guidance in perfecting the art of critical thinking and intellectual expression.
The Quadrivium: Dynamic Measures of Objective Reality
What is objective reality? What is it that we seek to define?
The Quadrivium allows us to delve into the essence of objective reality itself, prompting profound questions in our quest for understanding. Comprising four ancient arts, these disciplines provide a qualitative and quantitative lens through which we can apprehend the world, building upon the foundation laid by the Trivium and our five senses:
Arithmetic - The Numerical Essence:
Arithmetic, while centered on numbers and their fundamental operations, also transcends mere mechanical calculations. It explores the qualitative aspects of numbers, recognizing that each numeral possesses a deeper significance. Take, for example, the number five (5). Beyond counting five fingers or apples, it unveils intricate patterns, like the pentagonal design visible when slicing an apple horizontally.
This same pattern resonates with the orbital dance of Venus and Earth. Such resonance, or the ‘signature’ of Venus, extends to the floral dicotyledons.
This holistic understanding of numbers, intertwined with concepts like the Golden Ratio (Phi), leads to the spelling of ‘Phive’ in the Quadrivium, epitomizing the higher sense of numbers.
Geometry - The Blueprint of Space:
Geometry immerses us in the study of shapes, sizes, and the exploration of spatial properties. Sacred Geometry, an overarching facet of this discipline, delves into the ideas such as the Platonic Solids—polygons with equal sides and faces, of which only five can exist in objective reality. Plato perceived these ideal forms as the foundation of our material world’s elemental structure.
The pursuit of Sacred Geometry unveils the intricate patterns inherent in nature and life, inviting us to contemplate the divine proportions that underpin our universe. The study of sacred geometry will open your mind to the creative intelligence patterning throughout Nature and life.
Music - Harmonies in Time:
In Music, or harmonic analysis, numbers come to life in the dimension of time. This discipline explores the continuous motion of music, revealing its mathematical and harmonic intricacies, including proportions and intervals.
While Platonic solids can nest seamlessly, musical intervals introduce a delightful complexity, giving rise to two distinct tuning systems: just intonation and equal temperament. Just intonation, rooted in natural harmonic progression, unveils a spiral of harmonic relationships, while equal temperament, designed for keyboards and fretted string instruments, standardizes the scale across all instruments. This divergence between precision and adaptability remains a key theme in the world of music.
Cosmology - The Universe's Grand Design:
Cosmology takes us on a journey through the structure, origin, and overall organization of the cosmos. Bridging philosophy and science, it seeks to fathom the universe on geocosmic and celestial scales. This ancient branch of knowledge scrutinizes celestial bodies’ movements, ponders the nature of space and time, and contemplates cosmological principles that shape our perception of the cosmos.
As we explore the field of archeoastronomy, we are uncovering the profound insights possessed by the ancients. Their megalithic ruins around the world offer a window into their knowledge of the universe’s mysteries. The ancients integrated cosmic alignments and geodetic information throughout their temples and megaliths, revealing a depth of knowledge of Earth and Cosmos that we are only beginning to fathom.
How did the ancients know such advanced information, which we are only now learning through geometric analysis of ancient sites and related astronomy? This is a major puzzle. Would they not have been masters of the Quadrivium?
The Quadrivium unveils not only the quantitative but also the qualitative aspects of objective reality, inviting us to appreciate the profound interconnectedness of these ancient disciplines with the fabric of our universe. It encourages us to explore the extraordinary patterns and wisdom left by our forebears, transcending the boundaries of time and knowledge.
Five Senses
Using our Five Senses we may, out of this wholistic process of the Seven Liberal Arts, attain the highest cognizance of reality possible within the framework of our biological hardware and software. Perhaps we can even achieve a grand sense of cosmic orientation, for some even a spiritual proprioceptivity in the realm of liberating knowledge instead of wallowing in enthralling beliefs.
“The senses don’t deceive, the judgment deceives.” —Goethe
One esoteric symbol of the path of the ancient mystery schools is the 3,4,5 triangle theorem of Pythagoras, solvable with the non-linear square roots.
This ancient theorem represents more than a mere arithmetic calculation. It was a symbol or metaphor for higher roots of knowledge beyond the apparent. This linked it to the mystery schools where Pythagoras derived it from. This theorem was known in the first Babylonian Dynasty, some fifteen hundred years before the time of Pythagoras.
The deeper sense of the 3,4,5 triangle is of a relationship between our five senses and how we interpret the world through the Trivium and Quadrivium. The whole of spiritual attainment is available through this pathway.
There is a direct archetypal relationship between the Liberal Arts and the Skandhas (aggregates of consciousness) in the Mandala of the Dhyani Buddhas of Vajrayana Buddhism. Subject for a further article.
Transcending Discursivism
Modern discursive consciousness, places an embedded status quo logic first, before proper Grammar and is therefore, by the ancient codes, incapable of fully assessing reality properly … though the modern materialist will certainly argue they can by rejecting anything which cannot be weighed or measured. But that is intellectually facile.
This is not to discard the great triumphs which the scientific endeavors of the last few centuries have brought us, but rather to place them in a larger sense of being, one that takes Life as the primary force of existence.
One needs to broaden their perspective, for perspective can be the greatest of teachers!
Standard science holds that matter is the ground of reality and consciousness is an epiphenomenon, arisen by pure chance from that. This assumption is a violation of the Trivium.
The modern scientific paradigm assumes that the electrical particles manufactured and manipulated in high energy experiments are the key components of our experiential reality. That is a belief system, and certainly one of arguable validity considering the mass of scientific knowledge gained (including the equipment used to write and read this article), yet one which is unable by its very nature to define the very life and consciousness which drives us to comprehend this manifestation we find ourselves immersed within.
The electrical particles are subsensible, beneath our senses, and thus taken as a base of reality this approach is repugnant to true progress in natural science.
Seeking the supersensible, that which is above the senses, is the true path of natural science, for we cannot rest on the laurels of the orthodox world if we seek to evolve intellectually and spiritually.
“Every process of Nature properly understood creates a new organ of cognition in consciousness.” —Goethe
Goethe’s method of training observation and thought allows us a spiritual understanding of Nature. And this is not a spirit one must believe in, but rather one experiences directly though raising one’s cognitive capacity through observing natural processes.
It is our responsibility and duty as evolving souls inhabiting physical form to continue to learn about this manifestation we find ourselves immersed within. We owe it to our children and to the generations that come after them to strive for a living, natural science upon which to build a wholesome, thriving future.
There are certainly a wide range of approaches to comprehending this all, some based on definable facts, some on beliefs.
Here are some additional ideas and perspectives to facilitate expanding your mind:
Be open-minded. Welcome the consideration of new ideas and perspectives, especially if they challenge your existing beliefs. Seek knowledge over belief.
Be skeptical. Don't accept everything you hear or read at face value. Question everything and search for evidence. Retain a suspended judgment until enough facts are gained to make rational conclusions.
Be curious. Seek out new knowledge and experiences. The more you learn, the better equipped you will be to think critically. Knowledge is power, never stop learning.
Be humble. No one knows everything. Be willing to admit when you're wrong and to learn from others. Perhaps the most essential component!
This is but a brief overview of just one path amongst many. It is however with certainty that by learning and adhering to the techniques of the Seven Liberal Arts one may gain a superior knowledge of reality whilst perfecting their processes of thought and analysis.
To evolve we must be in symbiotic fearless sovereign power and divine intuition with the Stars divine radiance in the void - S7