@Reconstructo,
Reconstructo;150671 wrote:The unity! Yes. I was walking w a friend in this cemetary, and some theologian's stone had some Greek on it. My friend used his I-phone or the like to look up the quote in revelation. Holy Holy Holy. Which is perfection = wholeness in the context of he who is, and was, and shall be. Now neither of us is religious in the crude sense, but God as a symbol as the intelligible unity of things is nice. And I thought it was a tasteful quote for a stone. I wonder how it sounds in Greek.
---------- Post added 04-11-2010 at 10:22 PM ----------
This reminds me of a recent math discovery. In trig, angles are measured in relation to pi. Of course pi cannot be written algebraically. But the symbol is both accurate and useful if taken for the mystery it is. It's the same with the lemniscate. (lazy eight). If we are careful with our words, and humble before our pseudo-infinities, we can live better. This is why I love negative theology. It's all about what we don't know and can't know about the infinite. It's essentially humble. It circles around the mystery. Cusanus used the metaphor of a polygon with infinite sides for knowledge of god. But all of us mortals have a finite number of sides, which means partial knowledge of something that transcends us. And yet to know what we can and can't know is worthwhile knowledge, yes? So the subject is worth investigation, to say the least.
I think a lot of confusion comes from mistaking the math infinite, which is usable, with the philosophical or ethical infinite, which is more complicated.
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---------- Post added 04-11-2010 at 10:23 PM ----------
Can we also add the notion of not only surviving but living a better life? Wisdom as an increase in quality and satisfaction?
I guess I am a very minimal thinker. For me wisdom is defined by the ability to survive as an individual and as a species. Increases in quality and satifaction can be very primal. Sometimes moving into the sun gives you satisfaction when your on the beach, in other cases you want shade. I don't see wisdom as a rational thing only, but as a mix of experience, intuition & knowledge.
As soon as you mention a 'better' life I doubt if we agree on things like satisfaction and increase in quality. I think these notions are very differnt from person to person. Also the differ over Time. Personally my priorities changed. Now I like spending 2 1/2 hours to baked bread and prepare lunch; I get up early and just do it in my own pace. At 10 I am done and can do my other things for the day. A few years back I would have been stressed from the moment the alarm would go of, till my first drink at 7 during happy hour... I like to live slower, more relaxed. I had to economize to realize it, but it works for mee.