Philosophical Mysteries"This is my major thesis. Mystery is inherent in both the nature of things and the nature of rationality. I will sustain this thesis by a review of some of the central issues of philosophy to elucidate their mysterious qualities. More important, however, I will develop in detail an explanation of mystery and trace some of its important ramifications." "I will argue that an ordinal metaphysics, with its associated theory of query, provides an account of mystery that no other theory can provide. "While the theory presented here is a theory of philosophical mystery, it has fundamental implications for all branches of knowledge, including the physical and social sciences. "In short, I speak against a simplistic view of the world and of experience based on a simplistic and narrow conception of understanding and rationality. Mystery calls not for veneration and awe, but for a full and complex activity of mind, broaching all established conditions in its pursuit of answers....Reason is fulfilled as completely in mysteries which persevere throughout our efforts to resolve them as in mysteries which are resolved and dissipated, passing into new questions to which we must find new answers, in an unterminating process of rational interrogation." -- From the Preface by Stephen David Ross |
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
absolutely infinite action active judgment alternatives answers arbitrary argument assertive judgment causal causal determination complex comprehensive comprise constituents constructive judgment cosmological argument define Descartes distinct diverse engendered entails expression forms of query function fundamental gross integrity human experience ical identity indefinite infinitely divisible intermodal interrelated interrogation intrinsic judgment and query knowledge limited manifested ment metaphysics mode of validation modes of determination modes of judgment modes of query moral Nevertheless Non-being novel modes ontological priority order relative ordinal location ordinal pluralism ordinal theory perspective pervasive philosophical mysteries plurality of modes political prevalence and deviance primordial mystery principle question rational reason relatedness relevant religion Religious Pluralism respects sense social source of mystery spheres standpoint subaltern orders superaltern order syndetic judgment teries theory of mystery theory of orders tions totality of things transformed ultimate mystery understanding unintelligible unique mode universe unqualified world order
Popular passages
Page 8 - proof has been uttered, the next notion to enter the mind is 'half-heartedness'. Unless proof has produced selfevidence and thereby rendered itself unnecessary, it has issued in a second-rate state of mind, producing action devoid of understanding.
Page 13 - But the order and connection of ideas is the same as the order and connection of causes (Prop.
References to this book
Illuminations: The Human Becoming Theory in Practice and Research Rosemarie Rizzo Parse Limited preview - 1999 |
The Scandal of Reason: Or Shadow of God David Frederick Haight,Marjorie A. Haight No preview available - 2004 |
Bibliographic information
| Title | Philosophical Mysteries SUNY series in systematic philosophy |
| Author | Stephen David Ross |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | SUNY Press, 1981 |
| ISBN | 0873955242, 9780873955249 |
| Length | 151 pages |
| Subjects | › Philosophy / Metaphysics |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |