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EspañolTRANSCENDENCE (PHILOSOPHY)
In philosophy, the adjective 'transcendental' and the noun 'transcendence' convey three different but related primary meanings, all of them derived from the word's literal meaning (from Latin), of climbing or going beyond: one sense that originated in Ancient philosophy, one in Medieval philosophy, and one in modern philosophy.
The first meaning, as part of the concept pair transcendence/immanence, is used primarily with reference to God's relation to the world and is particularly important in theology. Here ''transcendent'' means that God is completely outside of and beyond the world, as contrasted with the notion that God is manifested in the world. This meaning originates both in the Aristotelian view of God as the prime mover, a non-material self-consciousness that is outside of the world. Philosophies of immanence such as stoicism, Spinoza, Deleuze or ''pantheism'' maintains that God is manifested in and fully present in the world and the things in the world.
In the second meaning, which originated in Medieval philosophy, concepts are ''transcendental'' if they are broader than what falls within the Aristotelian categories that were used to organize reality conceptually. Primary examples of the transcendental are the existent (''ens'') and the characteristics, designated ''transcendentals'', of unity, truth, and goodness.
In modern philosophy, Kant introduced a new term - ''transcendental'', thus instituting a new, third meaning. In his theory of knowledge, this concept is concerned with the conditions of possibility of knowledge itself. He also opposed the term ''transcendental'' to the term ''transcendent'', the latter meaning "that, which goes beyond" (transcends) any possible knowledge of a human being.[1]
For him ''transcendental'' meant knowledge about our cognitive faculty with regard to how objects are possible ''a priori''. "I call all knowledge ''transcendental'' if it is occupied, not with objects, but with the way that we can possibly know objects even before we experience them."[2]
Something is transcendental if it plays a role in the way in which the mind "constitutes" objects and makes it possible for us to experience them as objects in the first place. Ordinary knowledge is knowledge of objects; transcendental knowledge is knowledge of how it is possible for us to experience those objects as objects. This is based on Kant's acceptance of David Hume's argument that certain general features of objects (e.g. persistence, causal relationships) cannot derive from the sense impressions we have of them. Kant argues that the mind must contribute those features and make it possible for us to experience objects as objects. In the central part of his Critique of Pure Reason, the "Transcendental Deduction of the Categories", Kant argues for a deep interconnection between the ability to have self-consciousness and the ability to experience a world of objects. Through a process of synthesis, the mind generates both the structure of objects and its own unity. For Kant, the "transcendent", as opposed to the "transcendental", is that which lies beyond what our faculty of knowledge can legitimately know. Hegel's counter-argument to Kant was that to know a boundary is also to be aware of what it bounds and as such what lies beyond it -- in other words, to have already transcended it.
In phenomenology, the "transcendent" is that which transcends our own consciousness - that which is objective rather than only a phenomenon of consciousness. Noema is employed in phenomenology to refer to the terminus of an intention as given for consciousness.
In everyday language, "transcendence" means "going beyond", and "self-transcendence" means going beyond a prior form or state of oneself. Mystical experience is thought of as a particularly advanced state of self-transcendence, in which the sense of a separate self is abandoned. "Self transcendence" is believed to be psychometrically measurable, and (at least partially) inherited. The discovery of this is described in the book "The God Gene" by Dean Hamer, although this has been criticized by commentators such as Carl Zimmer
★ Is God in Our Genes? Jeffrey Kluger
1. cf. ''Critique of Pure Reason'' or ''Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics''
2. ''Critique of Pure Reason'', A12
★ Immanence, which is the reverse of transcendence.
★ Maslow's hierarchy of needs
★ Metaphysics
★ Ontology
★ Transcendental idealism
★ Transcendentalism
★ Gerotranscendence
★ God gene
★ For the traditional Jewish (Mystical) understanding, see the article on Tzimtzum.
★ Aldous Huxley on Self Transcendence
★ Self Transcendence.org What is Self Transcendence?
★ Transcendence in Western Psychology
| Contents |
| Original definition |
| Medieval usage |
| Kant (and modern philosophy) |
| Colloquial usage |
| References |
| See also |
| External links |
Original definition
The first meaning, as part of the concept pair transcendence/immanence, is used primarily with reference to God's relation to the world and is particularly important in theology. Here ''transcendent'' means that God is completely outside of and beyond the world, as contrasted with the notion that God is manifested in the world. This meaning originates both in the Aristotelian view of God as the prime mover, a non-material self-consciousness that is outside of the world. Philosophies of immanence such as stoicism, Spinoza, Deleuze or ''pantheism'' maintains that God is manifested in and fully present in the world and the things in the world.
Medieval usage
In the second meaning, which originated in Medieval philosophy, concepts are ''transcendental'' if they are broader than what falls within the Aristotelian categories that were used to organize reality conceptually. Primary examples of the transcendental are the existent (''ens'') and the characteristics, designated ''transcendentals'', of unity, truth, and goodness.
Kant (and modern philosophy)
In modern philosophy, Kant introduced a new term - ''transcendental'', thus instituting a new, third meaning. In his theory of knowledge, this concept is concerned with the conditions of possibility of knowledge itself. He also opposed the term ''transcendental'' to the term ''transcendent'', the latter meaning "that, which goes beyond" (transcends) any possible knowledge of a human being.[1]
For him ''transcendental'' meant knowledge about our cognitive faculty with regard to how objects are possible ''a priori''. "I call all knowledge ''transcendental'' if it is occupied, not with objects, but with the way that we can possibly know objects even before we experience them."[2]
Something is transcendental if it plays a role in the way in which the mind "constitutes" objects and makes it possible for us to experience them as objects in the first place. Ordinary knowledge is knowledge of objects; transcendental knowledge is knowledge of how it is possible for us to experience those objects as objects. This is based on Kant's acceptance of David Hume's argument that certain general features of objects (e.g. persistence, causal relationships) cannot derive from the sense impressions we have of them. Kant argues that the mind must contribute those features and make it possible for us to experience objects as objects. In the central part of his Critique of Pure Reason, the "Transcendental Deduction of the Categories", Kant argues for a deep interconnection between the ability to have self-consciousness and the ability to experience a world of objects. Through a process of synthesis, the mind generates both the structure of objects and its own unity. For Kant, the "transcendent", as opposed to the "transcendental", is that which lies beyond what our faculty of knowledge can legitimately know. Hegel's counter-argument to Kant was that to know a boundary is also to be aware of what it bounds and as such what lies beyond it -- in other words, to have already transcended it.
In phenomenology, the "transcendent" is that which transcends our own consciousness - that which is objective rather than only a phenomenon of consciousness. Noema is employed in phenomenology to refer to the terminus of an intention as given for consciousness.
Colloquial usage
In everyday language, "transcendence" means "going beyond", and "self-transcendence" means going beyond a prior form or state of oneself. Mystical experience is thought of as a particularly advanced state of self-transcendence, in which the sense of a separate self is abandoned. "Self transcendence" is believed to be psychometrically measurable, and (at least partially) inherited. The discovery of this is described in the book "The God Gene" by Dean Hamer, although this has been criticized by commentators such as Carl Zimmer
References
★ Is God in Our Genes? Jeffrey Kluger
1. cf. ''Critique of Pure Reason'' or ''Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics''
2. ''Critique of Pure Reason'', A12
See also
★ Immanence, which is the reverse of transcendence.
★ Maslow's hierarchy of needs
★ Metaphysics
★ Ontology
★ Transcendental idealism
★ Transcendentalism
★ Gerotranscendence
★ God gene
★ For the traditional Jewish (Mystical) understanding, see the article on Tzimtzum.
External links
★ Aldous Huxley on Self Transcendence
★ Self Transcendence.org What is Self Transcendence?
★ Transcendence in Western Psychology
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