It does not matter whether I am speaking of an interplay of the Sun and Moon, the
masculine/feminine principle (yin/yang), the twin pillars, the Tree of Life and
Tree of Knowledge, the vascular system or simply duality, because what these
references have as common ground is an invitation to contemplate the microcosm
and the macrocosm. This is what Steiner was pointing towards, when he
recognised that it is through a capacity to be an instrument of learning and
knowledge, that the mechanism of self-awareness provides an opportunity for
a human to be a cognitive being.
The noun ‘philomath’ is given to describe a scholar or indeed a lover of learning.
Wikipedia discerns that philomathy is similar to, but distinguished from
philosophy, in that “soph”, the latter suffix, specifies “wisdom” or
“knowledge”. So there is a definition of a philomath as one who is a lover of learning and then there is philosophy,
which from ancient Greek literally means love of wisdom.
In the realms of mythology,
there are many personifications of these principles, one of which is the
ancient Egyptian narrative of Osiris and Isis. Another way to view the
relationship that I am speaking of is through contemplation of an eternal exchange
or cosmic dance of polarity, of the Lover and the Beloved, taking place through
the dynamics of the finite and the infinite.
The lover of learning aligns with that sense of the active and masculine expressiveness
of the human will that I have been referring to in previous posts. It is commonly referred to as the Ego. Again, it is
that which is symbolic of an act of becoming and it aspires towards greatness,
recognition and glory. It exudes both enthusiasm and passion although its
implosive aspects are manifest through its detachment/dissociation, hubris,
impatience/frustration and helplessness.
As the Lover within the cosmic dance
of polarity, its nature will be one of desire and it will be driven to consume,
to acquire or to possess that which appears before it and it will endeavour to either
seduce or to control the Beloved. Its arsenal will include the mechanism of
force and/or the subjugation of another’s will. Fundamentally, it is
representative of the finite’s sense of awareness of its own transient nature
and of its choice of response.
In previous posts, I have referred to this active and masculine expression of the
human will as being akin to the vertical aspect of the cross and also to the
white horse of Plato’s allegory of the charioteer. This was to draw attention
to its aspiring nature, wherein it can move through awareness of diversity
and hierarchy in the physical world.
In reality, an inclination of the will is being
represented through both the white horse and the black horse that is being
pulled into synch by the charioteer which is symbolic of Reason. Many esoteric
teachings will reveal that the imagery of the cross itself is a representative
of the masculine principle and of the expressiveness of the human will as it is
being tempered and purified by its experiences of the world.
Such allegories and symbolism serves to give us an image of an alchemy taking place through the
fertile medium of the human will, experience, knowledge and reason and which is allowing of wisdom. Certainly, there is value to be gained through contemplation of the merits
of rationalism and empiricism in how it is that a human being gains knowledge.
A
rationalist would claim that a mechanism of reason provides for those ways in
which a human being’s concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense
experience. Meanwhile, an empiricist, through presenting a complementary line
of thought, would assert that it is experience which provides a foundation of
information being used to build a human being’s concepts and knowledge.
So how is reconciliation arrived at through a love of knowledge and a love of wisdom, for
knowledge of the world is surely not the same as wisdom?
A person can come across as being very knowledgeable about the world and yet it is through the course of their life and of the
nature of their actions that a truth is revealed of whether they are wise.
How is a human being able to determine whether a proposition about the world
is true?
In an earlier post (part 3 of this series), I spoke of how my current
perception is that for the most part, human beings are very receptive to what
can seem to be ready-made packets of data about what is correct about
life. Subsequently, it can appear as if some individuals or groups are slow or are unwilling to open such packets and to examine its contents for themselves.
To know the world, we must think about it. We must test the validity of our truth for ourselves.
We must not only contemplate the microcosm and the macrocosm but allow for ourselves to be energetically
transformed by it as well.
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