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BOOK-REPORT ON GREGORY WALTERS’ JASPERS AND THE ROLE OF “CONVERSION” [sic] IN THE NUCLEAR AGE—et al. (SECOND CONTINUUM 8-1-07, corrected 8-3-07)

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Refer back to PART ONE and the FIRST CONTINUUM

SECOND CONTINUUM (routed to Website manager 8-1-2007)

PART TWO: RIGHTS, ETHICS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF IMMANENT RELIGIOSITY AND TRANSCENDENCE—ersatz Entwicklung

Table of Contents

1. Approaching humane (health and Justice) rights with genome-insight in sight
1.0. Epistemological criterion tooled for twisting ciphers
1.02. Relevance to my treatment of Sander Gliboff’s award winning publication
1.1. My first and second point in the social-geography survey
1.2. A third point is problematic due to Gregory’s pending publication
2. A fourth-estate information-age enigma
2.1. Another hitch; argumentation can be faster than light
3. Precarious guessing
3.1. Cipher ethics—Gregory’s expression of concern
4. Responding in kind to Gliboff’s bias and belabored effort to thwart Bildung, Entwicklung, and Gesetz—on to Gregory Walters’ philosophy or metaphysic of gene-being
4.2. The book-review that reveals Sander’s bias
5. Extenuating designs to thwart protests in Germany area are more than incidental
6. TO BE CONTINUED: (Waiting for publication of Gregory Walters’ views on the human genome information), Periechonologetical encompassing the encompassing of Sander's unsynchronized shift from hybrid research to hubris infringements into modern genetics…

1. Approaching humane (health and justice) rights with genome information--I’ve decided to do more of a philosophical approach to Gregory’s Human Rights in an Information Age due in part to his approach indicated in the subtitle A Philosophical Analysis. My aim is to aid communication on emotively charged issues, which lend themselves to the employment of questionable ethics when school-like powers are on the defense. Jaspers is applicable because Gregory from his perspective has appropriated and applied Jaspers' works, and because he begins and concludes the rights and ethics work with clear references to Jaspers; he keeps within the bounds of “generic consistency” a principle he commits to throughout the book. A philosophical approach involves a quest for transparency of perspective. He uses a paradigmatic psychopathogist and philosopher, Jaspers, as one pivotal point, another being his authenticity as an individual with relative understanding of Jaspers, and the two brought to bear on current information. Transparency is illuminated by at least a surveying triangularity, and for this reason triangularity will be used in my preparatory considerations. But first an excursion to take a quick look at Gregory’s The Tasks of Truth, for the look will include my purpose that is no less obscure than the purposes I see demonstrated in that book.

1.0. Epistemological criterion tooled for twisting ciphers--Gregory Walters conceivably uses an epistemological method of at least triangularity (leverage and surveying) in approach as editor and contributor to his The Tasks of Truth, Essays on Karl Jaspers’s Idea of the University. It can be seen in the choice to compare Jaspers’ and Newman’s ideas of the university, the third point being the religious factor of Jaspers as the German protestant and Newman as Catholic in England (interesting Gregory properly considers the catholic/protestant influence more or less at Oxford, p. 78). Those three points constitute the spatial content of some objects of history. Time-measurement triangularity too is employed: Jaspers in his time is compared to Newman’s time the latter having priority and a preeminence (including religious institutionalism) being earlier. Then Gregory’s prospective updated perspective (currently 2007 using genome spatial measurements—DNA mapping) is the third time factor. Gregory uses nineteenth century Newman’s “encompassing” italicized word, referring to God and revelation, and of course twentieth century Jaspers’ “Encompassing” [encompassing of encompassing] and any mysterious coincidence is lessened by the time-measuring of events, Newman being prior, Jaspers being later—both expressing a later application of the earlier biblical idea of encompassing. I say that there is no Jaspers\Newman comparison in therapeutic cipher effect, for one includes the transcendental and the other limited to the immanental. The coincidental use of two words (Newman’s encompassing and Jaspers’ encompassing) sharing some significance is comparable to the effects of Sander Gliboff’s effort to do similarly with the Oxford Catholic/Protestant battleground-noises about “evolution” and the Moravian-significant Entwicklung, i.e., synchronizing them to reverberating echoes from Moravian religio-geography (including pietistic reactions to Jesuit influence to stem the tide of protests against Catholicism--the resulting Moravian emphasis on piety having an influence on the Wesley brothers in England and America).

1.01. Kurt Salamun’s approach is from a total idea that Jaspers is outdated—In Tasks of Truth Kurt follows an epistemological triune pattern with a caption about Jaspers “liberality” which proceeds as follows: “1. Jaspers Anti-Dogmatic Attitude” that is quickly reduced to something that can be utilized by Kurt for some purpose, i.e., after the cipher language is shaved from transcendental openings. That delimitation is advanced as prerequisite for the next item: “2. The Anti-Totalistic Attitude”, where he makes a point of associating Jaspers’ method with Karl Popper’s (who incidentally boosted Dawkins’ totalism and image by a complimentary comment during an Oxford visit) suggesting that the evolutionistic-talking Popper and transcendentalist cipher-speaking Jaspers are on the same epistemic ontological plateau seeking popularity. The implication is that they both share a sense of responsibility toward University students' character formation. The ground then is prepared for Kurt’s third point: “3. The Anti-Fundamentalistic Attitude” wherein Jaspers is portrayed as “rejecting” anything religiously fundamental, but Kurt’s choice of wording depicts Jaspers as being normally critical regarding Christian orthodoxy.

1.02. Relevance to my SECOND CONTINUUM’s treatment of Sander Gliboff’s publication--The importance of Kurt’s approach and technique for my Second Continuum is included in his point 2 where he reminds that Jaspers warns against illusionary ideas of progress that can result in a reaction against research if it does not support illusionary totalism (holism). Kurt does include three more points, but “3. The Anti-Fundamentalistic Attitude”, not Jaspers' anti-Orthodoxy, is central to Kurt’s purpose. And Kurt concludes with a presumption: “We must decide which…of Jaspers’s concept[s] are out of date…” Kurt’s conclusion then prepares the way for what is central in the Gregory’s edited work and that is a Jaspers and Newman comparison, and of course Newman is as constant as Catholicity is still extant, that final authority to which Newman assented but Jaspers never did and cannot be made to do so. In other words as long as Catholicity is a power, only Jaspers not Newman can be outdated.

1.1. My first and second point--My one point includes Gregory’s ethics book as a mere starting point to show primarily the place of ethics. Another is the award winning author Sander Gliboff’s paper on Entwicklung (referred to below in item 4.) for it serves to show a deficiency in ethical fourth-estate conduct, and it broadens the scope and appreciation for the subtle academic misuse of terms and points out the need for honest self evaluation and an openness to conceptual conversion by mind renewal. The hoped for result is that at least on a comprehensive academic level a better choice of terms can be used, i.e., a substitute in names, like from Saul the persecuting crusader to Paul the global tolerant missionary, to show a mind renewed by comprehensive in-depth understanding of historic global dynamics, the rational and emotional interconnective dynamic and comprehensive notion of relativity.

1.2. A third point is problematic and ethically and personally sensitive. It involves Gregory Walters’ paper presented at the KJSNA/APA Pacific Division in April 2007. The topic was announced as “Evolutionary Epistemology, Ethics and the Encompassing” and it reportedly addressed the philosophy of gene-being, the current knowledge of the human genome.

2. A fourth estate enigma--The problem with reporting on Gregory’s KJSNA/APA paper is there are particular and momentary constraints to public transparency; it is not to my knowledge available for intended public comsumption. The paper was presented within the bounds and laurels of a Society, and the paper is customarily not made readily available to the fourth-estate’s information-age commonwealth. Although that custom is open to evaluation by objectivity outside the group membership (anyone apparently could pay the fee and attend), it still presents an ethical conflict on a personal level and when individuals rather than group powers meet on level ground. Gregory’s appropriation of Jaspers’ philosophy makes for a kindred spirit of sorts. Fairness then becomes personalized and individualized.

2.1. Another hitch, and argumentation can be faster than light--I was not at the KJSNA-APA meeting to hear what was said firsthand. So I have only unpublicized indications of the more explicit direction Gregory’s thoughts were taking. It would not be fair to interpret something said with some temerity within the atmosphere of an expected ethical Jaspers-linked group-milieu. Perhaps one could take some meaning, but not exemplify today, the publication pattern of Jaspers and Heidegger. It seems that Heidegger’s proposed works were precluded by Jaspers’ publications indicating he had insight as to where Heidegger was going. In a way his General Psychopathology textbook was an intimidating preclusion to anything Heidegger might hope to publicize, and Heidegger was handicapped by some specific notoriety. The situation is different today because the information age was not then as it is now where one’s argument can be argued against with the speed of light. Feedback is also faster than the speed of light if it can be anticipated what another is going to argue before it is argued through the world wide internet—usually that predictability is dependent on shared information regarding one’s group self-preservation dependencies and other existential contingencies.

3. Precarious guessing--I’m anticipating that authoritative announcements, predominant economic biased academia, and popularized trendy talk regarding definitive origins have conditioned the degree of responsibility one might manifest. It would be difficult to present a paper addressing genome-knowledge without in general being interpreted that Jaspers philosophy, philosophical epistemic and analysis, is dated and outdated and that this “scientific knowledge” penetrates to highest heavens and the transcendental core of philosophy. The current historical situation is no less charged with dissent (and ought to be more nuanced-analyzed) then it was in the mid-nineteenth century or even the earliest of time-unites conceivable. One’s epistemology is affected by the limitations ontic-origin presuppositions impose. Having a paternal anthropomorphized viper styled morphological brane-like image influences epistemic cognizing and has since earliest genesis’ account of anthropogenesis, and can strike a healthy balance by emphasizing the invisible and unimaginable source of epistemic cognizing—albeit terms like dust and breath apply and can be elucidated.

3.1. Cipher ethics--Gregory’s expressions of concern over the genetic misuse of genome information constitute a critical continuation of positivisms’ effects on certitude (as expressed in his human rights book). However, “evolutionary” epistemology, ethics and the encompassing can touch the edge of another encompassing ethics and make Karl Jaspers appear complicit to an emphasis and implicate him in having a lack of sensitivity for historical understanding. It could undermine the meaning of cipher-therapeutics in communication, and diminish the function of periechontology, which constrains hubris. The erroneous effect is that genome information now is presumptuously such as to be a greater determining factor modifying cognition (epistemic objectivity) than philosophy and its historical basis. To utilize a form of an undeniably emotively charged “e” word needs more historical critical analysis such as I did in part on the Richard Dawkins Webpage (see my Site Map)—the burning alive of “Heretics” because of similar nominalism. A comparable example of word-misuse is seen when a powerful force confronts terrorism by using the word “crusade”! Not religiously belaboring its significance was a grave-promoting mistake—as either an off-the-cuff or cabinet-prepared speech. In the information age, if one’s limited vocabulary is an “e” or “c” word one best be quiet.

4. Responding in kind to Gliboff’s belabored efforts to thwart “Bildung”, “Entwicklung” “Gesetz”—Jaspers’ Mendel-research comments related—foreward to the anticipated publication of Gregory Walters’ metaphysic of gene-being--

4.1. Sander Gliboff ‘s “Gregor Mendel and the Laws of E…” is a move to elucidate historical interrelatedness from a less than more objective, an objective manifesting itself in his guess that Mendel felt an urgency to establish the “e” movement. For that work he was awarded an Ivan Slade Prize by the British Society for History of Science [my emphasis]. Upon closer scrutiny the coincidental Oxford and Moravian data he ingenuously correlates can easily form a case example that meets Jaspers’ criterion for a view of history that loses cipher status due to “e. Coincidence” (191f PFR). One indicator of a potential correlation/co-deficiency is a biased approach to historical phenomena, such as “the more precious a historic memory, the greater its exposure to coincidence” (Jaspers). It turns out that Sander’s spin to some degree amounts to a subtle effort to impose upon German linguistics a precious anglicized emotively charged sign that participates more in present progression then does the German word Entwicklung. My proposition is that etymologically the latter is far more objective than less, more correct than incorrect whether one’s linguistic analysis utilizes syntactics, semantics, or pragmatics (respectively: signs to signs, signs to things, and signs to user). I see Sanders riding a wave’s crest taking advantage of the vatic induced “title” wave , the “e” test, measured by a one-sided academia move for an ersatz Entwicklung. His position is that Entwicklung can be, and must be transliterated as the “e” word. His “e” effort is comparable to the missionary zeal with which Latin rituals were imposed in Germany where it was most foreign and recalcitrance most pronounced—and with this thought Moravian history can be re-approached in item 5 below. His “award” winning work is considered on this Webpage because a critique and contrast of it will help understand Gregory’s position on the origin of humankind when and if it is publicized.

4.2. The book-review that reveals Sander's bias—Sander's bias manifests itself in a book review he did of Richard Weikart’s From Darwin to Hitler, Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany. The evidence of “e” induced hubris was obvious in the pronounced arrogance. Invited to respond by H-German, Richard Weikart’s resound was more than equal to the review’s criticism. I was not aware of the review or response when reviewing Sander's paper on Entwicklung. Reviewing the review and response gives one a sense of the conduct wanting in Sander's thinking (Indiana University) and the fairness of Richard (California State University, Stanislaus). See Internet to read Sander’s publication in Science History Publications, and also Richard Weikart’s homepage.

5. Some extenuating designs are more than incidentals—There’s historical data justifying objections to this effort to use an anglicized sign to enforce two other words showing up on uniformed placards: “solidarity” and “mutuality”. There was a “solidarity” without meaningful mutuality during the reformation epoch when a sense of urgency to check a protesting of ethics infiltrated ethical objectivity and eventually involved lab and field research, efforts to meet the urgent basic needs of a state’s population though not Catholic. The data, hardly touched by Sander, goes beyond the laboratory or field research or “biogeographical” arena and enters the global dynamics, but still within the unavoidable scope of meaningful empirical human information.

TO BE CONTINUED: (Waiting for publication of Gregory Walters’ views on the human genome information) Periechontologetic encompassing the encompassings of Sander Gliboff’s unsynchronized shift from hybrid research to the hubris infringement into modern genetics--The Eastern Church’s native-tongue mission in Moravia, a bible version, the period of intensified enforced mutuality in the distribution of antagonism, i.e., checking protestant reformational inclinations through University infiltration and education of youth of highest rank in the sixteenth century and the ripples in Moravia; Moravian missionary influence of the Wesleys…

To be continued in the THIRD CONTINUUM.
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(See the third paragraph in Preliminary Remarks at the top of this Webpage)

THE FOLLOWING REFERES TO THE 2002 COMMENT RELATIVE TO GREGORY’S “CONVERSION” BOOK BEFORE I HAD READ ANYTHING MORE THAN THE TITLE.

Introduction: CONVERSION, G. WALTERS, MY MISSION by Glenn C. Wood, 26 July / 5 Dec 2002, posted 10 December 2002 Response 14 (to Rifat, C50 to TA38, and Horgan, C24 to TA 51)

Notation (May 16, 2007): I made some spelling corrections in the piece below today. It appears I also replaced Herbert Müller’s title with my own before adding it to my Website.

Sometime back I brought to your attention a comment (routed July 26, 02) that wasn't posted, and could not be rerouted to you for it seemed it had been deleted from my files. It was found and is attached here as a Response to Petkov's recommended posting of "John Horgan's C24" (which was posted under TA51). (It was one of the last comments to Rifat while assuming he was still alive.)

It seems appropriate here as one of the concluding responses to Comments to TA51. It has to do with questions addressed by Mr. Horgan and involves the salvation of humankind, thus deserving of the "attention" referred to in C24.

By "one of the concluding comments" I mean to keep open addressing certain other heretofore and hereafter TA51 comments, and matters such as a critique of a work done by Gregory J. Walters: Karl Jaspers and the Role of 'Conversion' in the Nuclear Age. Though I've not read the book -- and in principle refuse to buy it (but would accept with gratitude a copy) -- disagreements are easily predictable, e.g. the quotation marks on conversion as though questioning how a "Protestant" could know anything about conversion, suggesting conversion could only be a "Catholic" matter. It's mentioned here now only to show the relevance of the conversion 'constant' and as a reminder that conversion is the essence of TA51.

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1. I'd like here to repeat my mission: Because this forum is captioned as a Karl Jaspers Forum I want to present a fair ... re-presentation ... of Karl Jaspers' views on pertinent matters especially those that seem to differ from his Existenz philosophy. This means I've attempted to appropriate his way of thinking but while being faithful hopefully to the better side of individualized experiences, which of course color or qualify interpretations. Unlike some notables, Jaspers has no heirs or organizations to defend him -- as far as I know -- which stands to reason for he leaned toward anti-institutionalism in many ways, and his works are his heirs, for he and Gertrude had decided against having children for special reasons.

2. If I understand correctly Mr. Rifat supports, by apparent quotes, an apparent conviction that nine keys are needed to open nine doors simultaneously and that it is essential to a "superior" analytical thought -- polythought. It appears Mr. Rifat has left the weathered field of reality and retreated to the doors of an inner sanctum where imagination can take subjective flights and only the sanctus bell's polyringing remains.

3. His comment offers an opportunity to present Karl Jaspers' five keys in answer to an important question from the inclement field of humanity. He doesn't call it a superior way, or the only way, nor does he limit the keys to five, that is, there may be more or less to others. He simply says it's his way of handling the encompassing situation.

4. In his The Future of Mankind (1961 University of Chicago Press, paperback) he gives five answers to one who might ask the question: What can an individual do to assure the future of mankind in view of impending worldwide destruction? "What must I do here and now?" (Ibid. 325)

5. The first of 5 responsible acts, Jaspers says, is to honestly hear the symbols of existence. In this way one becomes aware of the ultimate existential situation.

6. Second, one must actually believe by distrusting the world and self; it means believing in something that is not in need of that which is not possessed. "...[T]ruthfulness calls for distrust, but for a distrust arising from trust in the possibility of freedom." (Ibid. p. 326).

7. Third, one must repent now: "I am to change my life. Without this change I cannot be worthy of trust and capable of unreserved communication." (Ibid.) It is urgent and of universal necessity that this change occur, for, "without this change in countless individuals, mankind cannot be saved either." (Ibid.)

8. Fourth, wherever I stand, says Jaspers, " ... I am to make my own choices." (Ibid.) To decide now -- for eternity is now -- means to shatter self-images and unload a racked conscience. Whole concepts are to be put off, if we are addicted to them. "What must be done is not set in motion by general precepts; it needs a substantial foundation in the historic existence of every individual." (Ibid.) One must be immersed, the Existenz must re-enter, or dare to founder in immanence -- the flux and infinity of the finite -- into the world where self must die through sacrifice, through use. This is a constant immersion; it's the baptism, the total involvement of the great reformers.

9. Five, "... I am to realize that my purpose -- saving the life of mankind -- cannot be attained as a purpose, only as a result." (Ibid.) That is the great commitment to good works, the results of the conversion process. In other words, without confessing the ground and medium of change -- Transcendence and the Encompassing -- we can do nothing. The transformed person is the result, not the purpose. "If those who determine the course of events have changed their lives to accord with the encompassing reason, their activities in the world -- in pursuing material interests, in personal intercourse, in everyday living -- will preclude actions that lead to general ruin and will facilitate actions made for a common human ground." (Ibid. p. 326)

10. Jaspers says that "Jesus told his disciple: 'Behold the kingdom of God is within you' -- it is here." (Ibid. p. 342) "What counts is the reality of the eternal, the way of life and action, as an encompassing immortality" (Ibid.) and for Jaspers the presence of the eternal may result in mankind's salvation.
11. Those could be considered five keys, and of course there's simultaneity, a oneness-like participation, like the five fingers of the one hand.

12. It reminds me of a Scottish preacher named Walter Scott who during the early eighteen hundreds would go to schools and teach -- rather than confuse -- the children these five biblical keys: Hearing, faith, repentance, confession, and immersion as he would point to each finger of one hand. These and Jaspers keys are not ... the ... keys because of some authority that excludes reason. They are simply the simple ways things appear to be best ... handled. Honesty of thought determines the maturity of thought and one experiences the five simultaneously. It is biblical, but what makes it functional is its correctness, its reasonableness.

13, There are five ultimate situations for Jaspers too: the limitation of the mind which is a realization as general as one can get; four particular ultimate situations: death, suffering, struggling, and guilt (there are four ways of approaching guilt: criminal guilt, political guilt, moral guilt, and metaphysical guilt which results in "a transformation of human self-consciousness before God," a modesty before God where arrogance is impossible even for one having a more complex feeling of superiority as a defense: a Gnostic-like cosmological set of keys [see his The Question of German Guilt]). The particular ultimate situations experienced wholly or all together constitute the universal ultimate situation.

By Glenn C. Wood

 
 
 

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