Chinese Philosophy also focusses on Voidness "Voidness" is
a complex object of study in philosophy because while it
forms one key philosophy, it has been used by many
philosophers and metaphysicians on various levels, utilizing
many different terms. To gain a firm understanding of it,
ideally it should be handled fearlessly by anyone who looks
for truth, as well as by those seeking to explore humanity
and what constitutes the individual, in order to discover
who and what these concepts constitute. Here are some ways
to explore voidness and to live beyond it.
!! Steps !!
Consider what is actually the boldest theory for starters, namely
that voidness or emptiness occurs because that's primarily what is
there. This statement is made because what we normally consider as
"us" or "me" is a built-up and accumulated collective of memories,
knowledge, habits, culture and beliefs (etc.) but the original
foundation is, in fact, empty.
* Consider what you knew as a baby (which would have been virtually
nothing, for you wouldn't even have had a name or have known what
day it was), seeing everything for the first time, then consider
the knowledge and experience that has created all the layers that
makes you as a person say "this is me and mine". Would it be
unreasonable to conclude that if there was inherent complete
knowledge, we would know it already as an infant, or have to
"download" it from another source?
* If you were to remove all your memories, habits and all the mental
things you identify as you, consider what would be left behind.
And you thought traffic was just a human invention... Examine
further this voidness in other living things. Just as animals react
to similar things that we do (such as reacting to hunger, or
feelings, or temperature, or to being confronted by an attacker),
animals can also plan and remember (such as ants following a trail to
food and returning to their nest, or predators hunting, etc). Would
it be unreasonable to consider that they too have some similar
characteristics and functional abilities as humans?
There are vastly more animals and insects than humans, but if humans
are the only ones that can think, plan or feel, then something is
amiss. We could pinpoint language as a unique trait, but then dogs
bark and howl, birds twitter and squawk and there is a wide range of
animal body language such as baring teeth, tensing and "puffing up"
which some animals (including humans) use to seem bigger and
stronger, etc. If animals have no language capability, it would be
logical to consider that if these characteristics have a means and
purpose to communicate, then they form a kind of common language.
* Consider the biology of living things. Cells change every few
years, so how many cells would a 20, 40, 60 or 80 year old have in
common with themselves as an infant?
What do you see? Does our imagination make things appear
to be more than a mere selection of various sized rocks?
Consider non-living things. Is there entity in stones,
water, or even the world? Probe deeply into the issue to
unfold its complexity and the vast scale of what might
be.
* Is where rain falls planned, random, or just dependent on
plain old physics? At any single given point on earth, there are
places that are hot or frozen, day or night, fine weather or
stormy. This supports the notion of voidness – there is just
weather (which is void of an entity or plan). But look to find
evidence of someone managing a storm here and a sunny day there,
as well as day here and night there simultaneously, in order to
prove it or disprove it in your thinking.
* If the night and day shown on the moon is a "designed" or
a "made" effect, then there is a lot of multi-tasking happening
constantly or things would stop. Consider the other planets in
the solar system which also have day and night, as well as varied
weather (and if they have an atmosphere such as Jupiter, storms,
etc.). Consider how these planets are racing though space around
the Sun. If you keep expanding this perspective to take the stars
into account and any planets they may have, is there evidence or
not of someone planning or making those stars and planets turn all
simultaneously?
Look for evidence of a beginning which shows the mark of a
scheduled plan or the alternative of "voidness". If it was
possible to set things in motion such as starting a spinning top
and then letting it go, are there any signs of of a plan to see
where they are intended to end up? Or are these signs not there?:
* This spinning top needs adequate energy behind it to
spin, but when those forces run out it stops and the next force
(gravity) takes over, it stops spinning. It might be possible for
the universe to be set in motion then left to its own devices,
much like a spinning top, but then it might be possible for a
controlled hand needed to keep it going. The third option is there
is just physics, which is void of plan or controller from
beginning to end.
* Try to find out which approach you consider most apt, by studying
the scale of the universe and looking for a pattern, development
or any evidence to support any of these theories.
* Keep exploring until you can decide whether voidness exists in
various levels or ultimately in part, or not at all. Your own
evaluations matter in your search for the truth, not other
people's. Philosophy is about the process of thinking and not
about absolute certainty.
* Work out what your feelings are in relation to the idea of void,
such as whether you find the idea of voidness scary, comforting,
or strange, and so forth. If you feel anything at all, find out
what and why, as well as how it influences your perception of all
other things in life.
Let go of the feelings and look beyond them. Look at the same thing
to see if that changes anything. You might find that if you feel
uncomfortable, it might because you're handling a new idea, but
that's a good thing – allow yourself to be stretched
intellectually. And then ask yourself whether those feelings
influence what is really there.
* If you find the idea is quite liberating or want to see if your
conclusions can be liberating, then see how you can use your
thinking conclusions to improve your life and make the world a
better place. Consider in what way you will move beyond the
voidness to continue engaging with the world.
!! Tips !!
* Be brave - what's real is real but only if you see things without
fear or bias will you be able to see things without them, leaving
truth just as truth.
!! Things You'll Need !!
* An open mindset
* Reference texts of philosophers who have discussed voidness
!! Related WikiHows !!
* How to Express Your Feelings on Philosophy
* How to Become a Philosopher
* How to Become a Western Philosophy Guru
* How to Empty Your Mind
* How to Test General Philosophical Claims Using Counterexamples
(for Beginners)
!! Article Tools !!
* Read on wikiHow
*
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