Complementarity and Synthesis

 Today main tradition of thinking in the West has concentrated attention on distinct things of fixed nature which are separable from each other. From this, basic science has grown. But there has been a less well-recognised philosophical tradition which has concentrated on the relations between things, and how these relations produce changes in things and in their relations which I will term as synthesis approach to human knowledge.

One of the earliest manifestations of the influence of synthesis appeared in the brilliant circle associated with the Medici court in Florence where what is known as Renaissance neoplatonism was developed. This was a synthetic product of ancient wisdom and modern insight which incorporated both hermetic and Kabalistic teaching. The great German humanist, Johannes Reuchlin (1455-1522), also known as Capnion, travelled in Italy as a young man and absorbed this teaching, developing it in his most famous work, De arte cabalistica (1517), the first full cabalist treatise by a non-Jew. It takes the form of a conversation between a Pythagorean, Philolaus, a Moslem, Marranus, and a cabalist, Simon ben Elieser, who meet in an inn in Frankfurt. From their discussion emerges a synthesis of cabalistic numerology, Pythagorean mathematics, and Moslem mysticism, a structure allowing the discovery of all that can be known which aids the cooperative transformation of mind and nature.

The ideas of synthesis were developed into a philosophical system by Hegel. He argued that if one thought about opposed concepts, for example being and not-being, one was led to think of their unity in the concept of becoming. To define being one has to refer to not-being, and vice-versa; logically the two concepts are interdependent, inseparable and, in many respects, the same. But to say that being and not-being are the same is a contradiction. To avoid this, thought makes a leap and resolves the contradiction by thinking of the higher-order concept of becoming, which contains and unites both being and not-being. This type of argument - thesis, antithesis and then synthesis - is embedded in his philosphical system.

Many thinkers, in line with a long tradition, have claimed that all innovation derives from complementarity. C. G. lung, the analytical psychologist, has used somewhat similar ideas about the unity of opposites in describing processes which take place during psychoanalysis; a destructive opposition between mental functions may, as a result of psychoanalytical work, be replaced by positive healthy complementarity. Jung wrote 'every creative person is a duality or a synthesis of opposite or contradictory attitudes', and Coleridge saw that the power of the poet 'reveals itself in the balance or reconciliation of opposite or discordant qualities'. Similarly it has been claimed that the basis of poetry is in paradox, and that metaphor is based on verbal opposition. Recent studies by psychologists of creativity often refer to dualities of some kind being involved in creativity, and sometimes these are complementarities, for example the duality of convergent and divergent thinking.

On the one hand, the mind works like a machine, and we need that, e.g. when we drive a car or, rather differently, when we engage in simple logical thought. But, on the other hand, life is full of situations where a mechanical, robot-like response is quite inappropriate - we need a non-mechanical, creative response which not only includes thinking but also emotion, feeling, intuition and sensation. The robot and non-robot mental activities can be regarded as complementary, each being dependent on the other. Jung saw the activities of the mind as consisting of the conscious and unconscious parts which, in the healthy integrated psyche formed a complementary synthesis; additionally, the mutually exclusive complementary functions of thought and feeling, and of intuition and sensation, were fused together in balanced relationship and activity.

Psychologists who believe that creativity is based on comple- mentarity agree that it involves, on the one hand, the intellect, which corresponds to activities in the cortex of the brain and, on the other hand, mental functions such as intuition, emotion and instinct, which correspond to activities in parts of the brain which are sometimes regarded as developmentally more primitive and animal-like. Henri Bergson believed that the mental function which complemented the intellect was intuition, which could provide knowledge by direct im- mediate perception independent of reasoning. Intuition, somewhat instinctive and empathic, gave a broad, rather unspecific, overall im- pression or feeling which would then be refined and articulated by the intellect. This idea is supported by Einstein's impression that he was guided by his 'nose' (like an animal) 18, and that he became aware of a solution to a scientific problem at first in the form of visual or muscular images 19 which he then had to transform into mathematics. Many scientists seem, like Einstein, to be guided by hunches. 

The rapidly developing new science of molecular biology exhibits many complementary features. The great challenge - to make a synthesis of the physical and biological sciences - required uniting the seeming opposites of the non-living and the living. For example, this science has revealed structures which combine the properties of crystals, which epitomise static non-living matter, with the properties of micro-organisms which, of all living things, proliferate with the greatest rapidity. Evolution involved the relation of the opposite prop- erties of inheritance of defined characteristics and the capacity of these characteristics to be modified.

Some of the seeds of synthesis especially combining consciousness with matter as per my intuition so far -

Synthesis of mathematics - Category theory (Grothendieck, Saunders Maclane)

Synthesis of religions - Theosophy (Helena Blavatsky) (A mathematical expression of the law of Karma or cause and effect is in my thesis)

Synthesis through Seven Rays - A treatise on seven rays (24 Books of Djwal Khul and Alice Bailey)

Synthesis in Pyschology - Psychosynthesis (Roberto Assagioli), Humanistic astrology and soul-centred psychology (Dane Rudhyar)

Synthesis of ancient systems of Yoga - Synthesis of Yoga (Sri Aurobindo), Auroville (Experiment of a synthesis city), Agni Yoga (Nicholas and Helena Roerich)

Synthesis of agriculture - Permaculture and Natural farming (Masanobu Fukuoka)

Synthesis of signal representation - Functorial Signal Representation (My thesis)

Synthesis in Biology - Morphic Resonance and Morphic Fields (Rupert Sheldrake)

Synthesis in Physics (Unified Field Theory). David Bohm theory is a step in that direction. This remains unresolved as on today. There is a NOE theory by Madonna-Megara Holloway which takes a different view of physics especially from occultism and esotericism. How much of that is correct remains to be worked out by myself but at least its interesting.  

I end today's blog by reproducing a part of conversation between Quantum physicist David Bohm and Renee Weber where, Bohm indicates that through synthesis the way could be opened for a world view in which consciousness and reality would not be fragmented from each other.

Meaning as being in the implicate order philosophy of David Bohm: a conversation with Renee Weber Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

....

Weber In your earlier implicate order philosophy you proposed terms like intelligence, order and compassion when applied to the universe as a whole. Would those be a part of the meaning of the universe as it unfolds itself?

Bohm Yes, intelligence is part of this process of the perception of meaning. In fact when you say 'I understand' you really say 'I see the whole meaning of this.'

Weber You say that if meaning changes, being changes. Does this mean that as we understand., as this holomovement understands itself more deeply and more in detail through history, its being becomes clearer or fuller?

Bohm Yes. A change of order. Any change of understanding is a change of being, at least of the creatures who are doing it and of all that they affect.

Weber Isn't this analogous to Hegel?

Bohm Yes, I think the point Hegel made was that analysis doesn't necessarily mean breaking things into bits, but rather unfolding the meaning. He made the interesting point that analysis is at the same time synthesis, because when you have unfolded the meaning, the being has changed and something has been added to it. It unfolds a meaning which is another order of being.

Weber That's the synthesis.

Bohm Yes, the analysis is at the same time a synthesis.

Weber It also unifies things.

Bohm There is a larger being which includes the analysis and the material analyzed. Instead of saying that the analysis is just about the thing analyzed, the analysis is a change in the thing analyzed. Weber So this links change, permanence, development and signifi- cance, all in one?

Bohm Yes.

...

Attached image is from one of the dialogues which were held by Krishnamurti, Bohm, Sheldrake (attempting towards synthesis between philosophy, physics and biology which can be found on youtube.