"What objectivity and the study of philosophy
requires is not an 'open mind,' but an active mind - a mind able and eagerly
willing to examine ideas, but to examine them critically."
- Ayn Rand,
"Philosophical Detection," Philosophy: Who Needs It
“An unflinching determination to take the
whole evidence into account is the only method of preservation against the
fluctuating extremes of fashionable opinion.”
Alfred North Whitehead
"Problem solving is a complex behavior that requires a network of
cortical areas for all types of solving strategies and solutions, so solving
problems with and without insight likely invokes many shared cognitive
processes and neural mechanisms. One critical cognitive process
distinguishing insight solutions from noninsight solutions is that solving
with insight requires solvers to recognize distant or novel semantic (or
associative) relations; hence, insight-specific neural activity should
reflect that process."
Mark Jung-Beeman, Edward M. Bowden, Jason Haberman, Jennifer L. Frymiare,
Stella Arambel-Liu, Richard Greenblatt, Paul J. Reber, John Kounios,
Published April 13, 2004, Neural Activity When People Solve Verbal
Problems with Insight
In this section I provide examples of both the cultural evidence of
enlightenment as well as argue that they demonstrate the same values cross
culturally. The examples span at least 3000 years from ancient Persia
to Stonehenge to the American Indian medicine wheel. I also
explain that the four base cognitive functions have been independently
identified and properly arranged in the creation of the Feng Shui Ba-Gua
and in the circuitry of the Intel Pentium processor.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The cerebral hemisphere forms one
half of a
many other types of animals) have a brain divided into two
hemispheres. Each hemisphere is a mirror image of the other and has an
outer layer of
matter called the
cerebral cortex. ...In most people, the left hemisphere of the human
brain dominates, and specialises (in very broad terms) in speech, writing,
language and calculation. The right hemisphere has equivalent broad
associations with spatial abilities, coherent form recognition, visual
face recognition and some aspects of music perception and production.
The Alphabet Versus the Goddess : The Conflict Between Word and Image
by Leonard Shlain
“Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and
anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally
informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess,
images, and feminine values. Writing drove cultures toward linear
left-brain thinking and this shift upset the balance between men and women,
initiating the decline of the feminine and ushering in patriarchal rule.
Examining the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, and Muslims,
Shlain reinterprets ancient myths and parables in light of his theory.
Provocative and inspiring, this book is a paradigm-shattering work that will
transform your view of history and the mind.”
1--One Brain...or Two?--2
"It is well-known that the right side of the brain controls muscles on
the left side of the body and the left side of the brain controls muscles on
the right side of the body.”
"All things in the world are two. In our mind we are two -- good and evil.
With our eyes we see two things -- things that are fair and things that are
ugly ... We have the right hand that strikes and makes for evil, and the left
hand full of kindness, near the heart. One foot may lead us to an evil way,
the other foot may lead us to a good. So are all things two, all two."
Eagle Chief (Letakots-Lesa) (late 19th century): Pawnee
Gospel of Thomas
Jesus said to them, "When you make the two into one, and when you make
the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like
the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that
the male will not be male nor the female be female, when you make eyes
in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an
image in place of an image, then you will enter [the kingdom]."
“Although we often refer to our brains as a single, solid unit, it is
clear that this is not an accurate description. Rather, our brains consist
of a conglomerate of various sub-brains and sections, all interconnected.
Dr. Paul D. MacLean, a prominent brain researcher, has developed a model of
brain structure which he calls the "triune brain." In other words, humans
have not one brain but three.”
“The Tao gives birth to One.
One gives birth to Two.
Two gives birth to Three.
Three gives birth to all things.
All things have their backs to the female
And stand facing the male.
When male and female combine,
all things achieve harmony.
Ordinary men hate solitude.
But the Master makes use of it,
Embracing his aloneness, realizing
he is one with the whole universe.”
- Lao-tzu ,
Tao-te ching “The Book of the Way and Its Power”
A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell
The Physiology of Jung’s Four Functions & Their Organization
By Katherine Benziger, Ph.D., © March 1998; September 1999
- Jung’s four Functions are rooted in four distinct
areas of the cortex. Thinking is housed in the Left Frontal Lobe. Intuition
is housed in the Right Frontal Lobe. Sensation is housed in the Left
Posterior Convexity. Feeling is housed in the Right Posterior Convexity.
- Jung’s assertion that each of us has one Natural Lead
Function is the result of a neuro-chemical - physiological fact that each
person has one area which is 100 times more efficient
than their remaining three areas.
- Jung’s assertion that each person has two natural
auxiliaries can be understood to be the natural result of the brain’s
structure. Factually speaking, neuronal bridges hardwire a person’s Natural
Lead to their auxiliaries, making communication between their lead and
auxiliaries easy, even though each actual auxiliary is relatively speaking
- Jung’s assertion that once a person’s Natural Lead
Function has been identified, one can confidently calculate the person’s
greatest Natural Weakness, is the result of the simply fact that there are
no diagonal bridges in the human brain.
- The difference between the Feeling Function and
Emotions can be understood more clearly. The Feeling Function is a cortical
capacity to recognize the presence or absence of harmony – between colors,
tones, or human beings. By contrast, emotions are a limbic capacity to
experience delight, anger, fear, grief.
A Review by Vincent J.
Romano: Elaine Pagels on "Jesus and his Message in the Gnostic Gospels"
“The Gnostics believed that by investigating the source of sorrow, joy, love
and hate, one could cultivate insight and discover God as the fountainhead of
all of these states of being. The significance of Jesus is interpreted to be
that of a model, one whose instruction to come and know oneself as he did will
transform human beings into sons (and daughters) of God like him. Consistent
with the scholarly consensus that Jesus' purpose was not to found a new religion
centering its devotion upon him, the Gospel of Philip, a companion text to the
gospel of Thomas, urges followers not to become Christians, but rather new Christs.”
“The word Buddha is a generic term, meaning the Enlightened One. It
refers to a person who has realized the Dhamma and attained enlightenment. This
enlightenment, as we have seen, is open to all, and so is Buddhahood. In line
with the Theravada teachings, Mahayana tradition goes a step further to strongly
assert the universal presence of Buddha-nature in all beings, without exception;
this Buddha-nature is the inherent potential for enlightenment, which can be
cultivated and actualized by each and every individual. This spirit of openness
and tolerance is characteristic of Buddhism.”
Know yourself, the path to enlightenment
The experience variously referred to as Enlightenment, Satori, Prajna, Awakening
and Healing simply stated, is a neural synaptic cascade that integrates and
aligns perceptual and analytical cognitive functions probably at an
engrammatic level. For many people this phenomenon can last for a split
second and offer a ‘flash’ of insight (e.g. the
'eureka' story). My experience
lasted in varying degrees for days and weeks. For further explanation you
could refer to these pages on my site,