|
THE POWER OF RELATIVE THOUGHT
Philosophy is primarily a human thought process. We have a natural tendency to speculate about the source and the nature of human knowledge. We are all therefore guilty of forming independent systems and values as we develop our own private philosophy. You could say that the word philosopher literally means thinker.
The modern thinker or philosopher, those seeking a doctorate of philosophy tends to study natural phenomena, the sciences and liberal arts, but tends to exclude medicine, law and theology and places them into specialized categories of their own.
This separation bothers me inasmuch as all human thought is much more powerful when the thinker or philosopher teaches himself to think in relative terms. Thoughts feed upon one another and a good philosopher or thinker will always go with the flow. A lazy mind will single them out one by one. The greatest story ever told; the life of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Holy Bible, is the supreme example of the power of relative thought.
This is a learned skill. A young child that learns at an early age to think analogically with the many thoughts coming his way and by weighing the relativity of these thoughts one with other will out think his peers about one hundred to one!
Since I am a thinker and I spend a lot of time trying to figure things out about every known thing in the whole universe, I must therefore be a philosopher. Right? Please remember that I have never been to even one session of philosophical study in my entire life; yet I have formed some social ideas and concepts that have allowed me to live a happy, humorous and useful life. I merely think in relative terms. Please don’t start calling me Doctor just yet; you may determine that I am as nutty as a fruitcake.
I have always maintained that Sigmund Freud (See my Chapter on "Psychotherapy is a Sickness") was a con man and a hoax. He too, was a philosopher of some sort and borrowed enough knowledge from the saints of old and the wisdom of the ages so that he was then able to rename things and present them as original thoughts. He basically found out that man is a fine physical specimen that has a mind, body and soul. He stresses analysis, a separation instead of analogy, a relation of likeness. He forgot about theology and apparently never did learn that God made man in his own image. He and all his disciples have never cured an illness and should never be considered to be a part of the medical profession. They did make a contribution with the renaming process. I like terms like id, ego and libido!
This ego thing is fascinating when dealing with modern day philosophy especially as a school of study. When institutions sub-divides this philosophical study into separate units I ask myself if it is possible then to proceed with a relative thought process that proceeds with a continuous flow. The flow is lazy when dealing with one subject like education but bring in multiple subjects we must then begin to use the power of relative thought in order to be effective to any degree whatsoever. As an unschooled thinker and with the thought in mind that everybody wants to be somebody, the title of Doctor with a PhD in whatever course of chosen and singular study, seems somewhat cheap and lazy. An ego thing, so to speak.
These advanced studies without the benefit of this learned skill is not really so advanced as we are led to believe. In the medical profession alone it is contributory to many illnesses and many deaths. Patients are given prescriptions and doses of medication without a care or a thought to the reactions to the other medication, they might be taking!
The King James version of the Holy Bible both the Old and the New Testaments with its unique prose and poetry reflects the wisdom and power of relative thought of the archaic authors and saints of old, philosophers one and all. Any study of philosophy should include this document. They were the real seekers of truth and the lovers of wisdom.
All human beings, being thinkers to some degree are also philosophers to some degree. The study of philosophy should therefore include all the great thinkers that have ever stamped a foot print upon the pages of human history. There have been many that have applied the power of relative thought, but there is none that can even get close to the power reflected in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. He has no equal!
The book of Job is the most profound thesis of philosophy ever written. It is estimated that this book was written somewhere around the reign of King Soloman with the historical setting of the life of Job being much earlier. This story gets to the nitty-gritty of the cosmic struggle between good and evil.
We learn that man’s only defense against evil is through the recognition that God is the source of our own creation and the answers we are so diligently seeking lies with Him and Him alone!
I’ve often wondered where Jesus Christ got his education. It would be interesting to learn the facts about his life from childhood until he was baptized and began his ministry. Of course these facts are up for grabs in a scramble of speculation. It is apparent that he did read the book of Job in his studies, somewhere and somehow.
The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John contain some of the recorded thoughts of Jesus of Nazareth especially during his short ministry. Take any version at random and "red line" these written thoughts. This will prove my point that there is power in relative thought. He was dealing with the welfare, the very lives and souls, of his fellow human beings.
Unlike the doctor, He could not afford to be so thoughtless and careless when making His prescriptions!
Norman Vincent Peale is renown for his book "The Power of Positive Thinking." It is a wonderful book and I have read some portions of it repeatedly applying it to my own lifestyle. The author falls far short of the power of the totality in relative thought and does not measure up to his full potential. Most thinkers, prone to writing, do this.
I am an unschooled philosopher and I am also a poet, unschooled, unpublished and unafraid. My poetry ranges from fun to fantasy, from lyrics to song and from pathetic to profound. It is all from a mind that thinks in relative terms.
You may now call me Doctor Fruit Cake!
|
