Metaphysical causes and postmetaphysical differances

Layman Pascal has responded to some of Mark Edwards' criticisms in an IPS thread on the latter's work. My response starts in this post and follows. See above that for Layman's comments.

The kennilinguists, led of course by the Lingam, have proven time and again their totalitarian organizational structure via I-I, as well as their self-righteous indignation toward so-called lower levels and rampant group aggrandizement via their marketing strategy. Do you really doubt this?

As for vertical co-dependency, of course a student needs the teacher to train them and must submit to the teacher's expertise to learn a skill. But when we're talking about enlightenment it's not just a particular skill one learns but it's about one's entire being in the world. Every aspect of that being comes under control of the master. And this is of course what's wrong with enlightenment so framed in this all consuming, all subsuming manner as Master of Reality. If meditative state training were viewed postmetaphysically as just learning a skill that would be acceptable, but that's not what's going on.


Which is of course the same criticism of the metaphysical AQAL model based on set theory. It lays claim to knowing Reality as it is via direct experience with Causal consciousness* beyond relative space-time, aka the metaphysics of presence. Therefore it can lay claim to transcend and include every other paradigm into its really Real. Again it's not just about learning a skill but about what is real and true and good, and sets up THE standard by which all other models and states and stages much be judged.

* Consciousness per se is the expression favored in Integral Spirituality. As proven, it is a Yogacara idea and much in dispute even within Prasangika, the supposed best brand. Lingam is still selling it in his aggrandized Fourth Turning.

As to the lack of Vygotsky, it's not just about including other quadrants. It's about how quadrants (and zones) interrelate. And most importantly, how the so-called UL quadrant, the I, even comes into existence via the interaction of its neurological base with cultural inculcation. Even said neurological base, and its correlated states/stages of consciousness, were formed over aeons through interaction with environment and culture. It's more about how the inner/outer and individual/culture interact via mereological assemblages which have both intensional and extensional relations, aka endo- and exo-relations per Bryant.

If we accept this distinction, and if the likes of Luhmann, Varela and others are right, then even within individuals the levels of body-emotion-mind-spirit are not transcended via subsuming (intensional or endo-relations) but each remains an autonomous suobject that structurally couples with the others via extensional or exo-relations. It is even more significant with individual/social assemblages, where if we accept the intensional relationship then as individuals we're doomed to the hegemony of capitalism. Granted the Lingam addresses this actually using Luhmann to differentiate individual/social relations, but he doesn't go far enough into the kind of analysis explored by Varela or Bryant. And all of which is critical in how we formulate even so-called integral consciousness based on mereological relations. See the states/stages/fold thread for more detail.

Responding to Layman's comment that the Causal is pivotal I replied: As you are likely aware, I've spent a lot of words on what this excess or the withdrawn is, aka differance. And how it differs from the Lingam's Causal. It is indeed a core/khora issue. And how we come to know or speculate its existence. I explored this in the "what 'is' the differance" thread, as well as numerous other places since that have expanded on my earlier ideas in that thread. Like in the fold thread, pp. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 11. But particularly this post, which relates to the in/out, one/many relations noted above pre-figured in differance. And expressed in those pre-rational, differential image schema in humans.

It's also important though in our theory as to how we relate the in/out, one/many based on idealistic or metaphysical distinctions like the Causal or based on postmetaphysical distinctions like differance and image schema.