An Introduction to the Thought of Sun Myung Moon: Unification Thought and V.O.C. Theory
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An Introduction to the Thought of Sun Myung Moon: Unification Thought and V.O.C. Theory |
As a system of logic, Unification Logic deals with the method and form of our thinking. However, its first consideration is the direction our thinking is meant to take. This implies pondering the starting point of thinking as well as its direction. Unification Logic seeks to identify the criteria for thinking and further deals with related topics.
1. The Starting Point and the Standard of Thinking
Why do human beings think? What is the source of human thinking? It is the fact that God himself started by thinking before beginning the act of creation. Thus, motivated by Heart, God established the purpose of realizing love and he engaged in thinking according to this purpose before creating the universe. This thinking within God's mind is his plan, i.e., the Logos or the Word. Thus, the thinking of human beings who were created to resemble God was not originally intended to be focused on self-interest. Rather, human thinking was destined to unfold with the purpose of realizing love. Accordingly, the motivation of human thought is Heart and love. Human thinking intends to make love a reality. This is the original starting point of human thinking, and it is its original direction.
The standard of human thinking is found in the Original Image. It is the logical structure of the Original Image. Thus, the inner developmental four-position foundation that comes into being with the Logos of the Original Image provides the framework for human thinking.
2. The Structure of the Original Image and Issues Related to Logic
The inner and outer two-stage four-position foundations in the Original Image are called the two-stage structure of the Original Image. When these inner and outer four-position foundations are considered from a developmental perspective, they are referred to as the two-stage structure of creation. Hence, human beings, who have been created to resemble the Original Image, also possess the two-stage structure of the Original Image and the two-stage structure of creation. Accordingly, our logical structure, our cognitive structure, our structure of existence, and our structure of dominion all resemble the structure of the Original Image, i.e., they each appear as a two-stage structure.
The logical structure refers to the inner four-position foundation of the two-stage structure of creation, while the cognitive structure and the structure of dominion refer to the outer four-position foundation of the two-stage structure of creation. Therefore, logic, which is based on the logical structure, and all spheres of culture, which are based on the cognitive structure and the structure of dominion, are intimately related. The various fields of scientific inquiry correspond to the cognitive structure, while fields related to production and practice, such as industry, politics, the economy, education, and art correspond to the structure of dominion.
1. The Structure in the Formation of the Logos
As we have just seen, the logical structure of the Original Image is the inner four-position foundation of the two-stage structure of creation, i.e., it is an inner developmental four-position foundation.
Therefore, it is the internal structure of the Logos (Fig. 21).
Therefore, also, the logical structure is the inner four-position foundation constituting the Logos (blueprint, reason-law) through inner give-and-take action based on Heart and centered on the fulfillment of purpose. Human beings likewise resemble the logical structure of the Original Image and establish an inner four-position foundation to realize the purpose of love. Therefore, human thinking is directed towards love. We can thus say that human thinking exists for the practice of love, and that the freedom we enjoy exists for the same purpose. Applying one's thinking and freedom to do evil and to hate one's fellow human beings represents a misuse of these functions.
Fig. 21: The Internal Structure of the Logos.
2. The Two-Stage Structure of Creation
The two-stage structure of creation refers to the two-stage structure of the inner and outer developmental four-position foundations. Since the logical structure corresponds to the inner developmental four-position foundation, is the outer developmental four-position foundation needed in logic? According to Unification Thought, it is indeed needed. The reason is that, in Unification Logic, thinking is not thinking for its own sake, but thinking aimed at the realization of the purpose of creation and the practice of love.
Therefore, the logical structure within the sungsang does not merely exist for the sake of thought. Ultimately, it only has meaning when it is connected to an external four-position foundation. Formal logic is only applied to the forms and laws of thinking proper. From the perspective of Unification Logic, while there is nothing wrong with this approach, it remains incomplete and insufficient. The often repeated statements that there should be "consistency between one's thoughts and one's deeds," and that "theory and practice should be one" have their logical bases in the two-stage structure of creation.
1. The Stage of Understanding and the Stage of Reason
Since cognition and thinking are so closely related, it is not possible to consider epistemology and logic without also considering the relationship that exists between them. As explained in the chapter on Epistemology, there are three stages in cognition: the sensory stage, the understanding stage, and the rational stage. Thinking plays an active role in the understanding stage and in the rational stage.
Therefore, thinking itself exists as thinking in the understanding stage and thinking in the rational stage. The understanding stage of thinking processes information coming from the senses. The reasoning stage is where the mind goes beyond these sensory data and is able to associate ideas and representations freely. Typically, the stage of understanding is limited to thinking that directly relates to information received, such as when one listens to a lecture and focuses one's thought on the content of that lecture. The rational stage is when, upon completion of the lecture, one begins to think freely without limiting one's thoughts to the specific contents of the lecture itself.
The four-position foundation that is realized in the stages of understanding and reason is a logical structure that resembles the structure of the Original Image. In the understanding stage, once the mind has processed cognition obtained from the senses, it utilizes this as the starting point to collate the contents coming from the external world with the prototypes of the internal world. It does so through the intellect. At this stage, cognition is completed and the cognitive and logical structures consist of an inner identity-maintaining (completed) four-position foundation. In the reasoning stage, the insights gained at the understanding stage serve as the starting point. The mind can freely use its power of imagination to generate new ideas from these insights. This corresponds to the inner developmental four-position foundation.
2. The Development of Thinking in the Stage of Reason
Thinking consists of give-and-take action between the inner sungsang and the inner hyungsang. Thus, through give-and-take action between the inner sungsang and the inner hyungsang, a first-stage Logos or plan (a multiplied body) is formed at the conclusion of the thinking process. This one time association of ideas sometimes concludes the process, but generally thinking is an ongoing process. In such cases, the Logos that has appeared through the formation of the first four-position foundation is included as information material in the inner hyungsang of the next stage. Thus, the Logos that is formed in the first stage has been stored in the inner hyungsang as an idea or concept. It is utilized as material for the next step of thinking, together with many other materials (ideas, concepts). In this way, the Logos of the second step is formed, which in turn will be included in the inner hyungsang and utilized as material for further thinking.
This will lead to a third, fourth, fifth stage of thinking, and continue endlessly. This constitutes the process for forming the four-position foundation in the rational stage. It is called the development of thinking in spiral form (Fig. 22).
Fig. 22: The Development of Thinking in Spiral Form
3. Basic Forms of Thought
In Unification Thought, the forms of thought correspond to the forms of existence. This is because the constituent elements of the universe correspond to the constituent elements of the human body, and the human body (existence) corresponds to the human mind (thought). As explained in the chapter on Epistemology, on the level of cells and basic tissues, the form of existence is reflected on consciousness (life), thus creating an image of form. This image of form becomes a thought form that gives specific rules to our thinking. In logic, these forms of thought are called categories. In the structure of our thinking, these categories are the ultimate concepts that include all other concepts and cannot be included themselves (while they include all kinds of subordinate notions and concepts, the categories have the largest possible extension and cannot be substituted by any other concept). Generally speaking, the specific character of a system of thought is defined by its categories. In Unification Thought, categories are established based on the four-position foundation and give-and-take action; these are called primary categories. These primary categories of Unification Thought are like the forms of existence. The secondary categories of Unification Thought also appear in other philosophical systems and there is no particular limit to their number. The primary categories and some of the secondary categories are enumerated below:
Primary categories:
1. Existence and Force
2. Sungsang
and Hyungsang
3. Yang and Yin
4. Subject and Object
5.
Position and Settlement
6. Unchangeability and Changeability
7.
Action and Effect
8. Time and Space
9. Number and Principle
10.
Finitude and Infinity
Secondary Categories:
1. Quality and Quantity
2. Content
and Form
3. Essence and Phenomenon
4. Cause and Effect
5.
The Whole and the Individual
6. Abstract and Concrete
7.
Substance and Attributes
4. Basic Laws of Thought
In formal logic, the basic laws of thought are the law of identity, the law of contradiction, the law of the excluded middle, and the law of sufficient reason. From the point of view of Unification Thought, however, the law of give-and-take is even more fundamental. In syllogisms, as they are used in formal logic, the conclusion can be deduced with certainty from the major and minor premises. In the end, however, this means that the conclusion is the result of contrast-type give-and-take action, centered on purpose, between the major premise and the minor premise. The same can be said of the law of identity.
The proposition 'this flower is a rose' amounts to comparing 'this flower' and 'a rose' in one's mind and the fact that they are judged identical is expressed by 'the … is'. A comparison is a contrast-type give-and-take action. Therefore, we can say that the law of identity is also based on the law of give-and-take. The same is also true of the law of contradiction. From these examples, it becomes clear that the forms and laws of formal logic are all based on the principle of give-and-take.
Does thinking have the freedom to develop beyond forms and laws? The freedom of human thinking is not the ability to violate existing forms and laws; it consists in making free choices without denying these structures. Similarly, in the practice of love, one will always have to follow the general direction given by the purpose for the whole, but the concrete expression of a loving action will vary according to the individual purpose of each person involved. Thus, each individual can freely choose a necessary purpose and direction. If we now consider how thinking freely proceeds by choosing to adopt an existing purpose and direction, we see that this takes place when spiritual apperception present in thinking (inner give-and-take action) freely chooses how to assemble and combine the ideas and notions existing within the inner hyungsang. Thus, the freedom of human thinking is a freedom to make plans. It originates in the free nature of our faculty of reasoning.
Introduced by Aristotle, formal logic is the study of the forms and laws of pure thinking, i.e., reasoning and making judgments.
Unification Logic accepts as they are the conclusions of formal logic regarding the forms and laws of thinking and shows how these are based on the law of give-and-take. But human thinking does not only have the aspect of form; it also has the aspect of content. Thinking has meaning, purpose, and direction, and it is related to other fields.
Thus, thinking is not thinking for the purpose of itself, it is thinking for the sake of cognition, practice (dominion), and the fulfillment of the purpose of creation. As for the forms and laws of thinking, they are merely conditions for thinking to take place.
Hegel's logic does not deal with the form and laws of thought, but rather deals with the form and laws of the development of thought.
Furthermore, it does not deal with human thought, but with the thought of God. Hegel understood God as the Logos or as the Idea (the Absolute Spirit), which he considered to be the starting point for the creation of the universe. From the point of view of Unification Thought, God is a God of Heart and he created the universe by means of the Logos, motivated by Heart. In other words, the Logos is the plan for creation constituted within God's mind and not God himself.
Hegel begins by explaining the development of Being – Nothing – Becoming in the world of the Idea. Because Being as it is has no development, Hegel thinks of Nothing as something to be opposed to Being. Then, according to him, the unity produced by the opposition between the two produces Becoming. However, for Hegel, Nothing is originally a mere interpretation of Being, i.e., it has no meaning beyond that of Being. In terms of existence, the two cannot really be separated. Nevertheless, Hegel makes a distinction between Being and Nothing and, according to his explanation, the two are opposed to each other. Thus, there is a fallacy at the very starting point of the Hegelian system.
Another problem is that, for Hegel, Idea develops itself. From the perspective of Unification Thought, idea(s) belong to the inner hyungsang in the structure of the Original Image. As the functions of intellect, emotion, and will – particularly reason within the function of intellect – act upon the inner hyungsang centering on purpose, the Logos (conception, plan) is formed, becoming a new idea. Accordingly, Logos, or Idea, is something formed through give-and-take action within the mind of God (as effect or multiplied body), and it can never conceivably develop by itself. Further, Hegel held nature to be the self-alienation (or form of otherness) of Idea. This is a way of thinking that leads to pantheism and, from there, easily turns into materialism.
Hegel's dialectical idealism fails to show the nature of Heart (love) and the purpose of creation. Additionally, Hegel's God is not the Creator. Rather, he is explained as some kind of a living being that germinates and grows. Also Hegel tried to find the "God of Idea" (the Absolute Spirit) through nature, but Unification Thought holds that there is a relationship of resemblance between God and his substantial object, the created world. This created world is a world created as an object resembling God's Original Image. The Unification Thought view that there is an ontological resemblance between God and created entities can be thought of as a Theory of the Omnipresence of the Divine Image (the view that the Divine Image is manifested in all created beings or entities).
Symbolic logic uses mathematical symbols to investigate the method and form of thinking. It attempts to reduce formal logic to symbols. There is no reason to oppose its efforts to pursue accuracy and rigor in thinking, but it is not possible to fully grasp human thought through mathematical rigor alone. Based on Logos, thinking indeed has a mathematical nature, but the center of Logos is Heart. This means that, in the formation of Logos, Heart has precedence over reason and numbers. Thus, the human being is not only a being of Logos (a rational, law-abiding being), but more essentially also a being of Pathos (a being with Heart and emotions). It is well known that, even in cases where thinking lacks mathematical accuracy, the intentions of one person can be transmitted satisfactorily to another based on the expression of love and emotions. In other words, though accuracy is indeed required in human thinking, it is not absolutely and always necessary to express things in a precise and logical way.
Kant's Logic is referred to as transcendental logic. Unlike formal logic, which deals with the laws and forms of thinking, Kant insisted that our forms of thought possess an a priori character and are essentially transcendental. For Kant, cognition and thinking come into being only when the sensory content coming from the object and the a priori forms of thought of human understanding are brought together and the object of cognition is thus formed. Nevertheless, the truthfulness of thinking in relation to the object of cognition (all things) cannot be guaranteed by what Kant calls the a priori forms and the sensory content.
For Unification Thought, all things, which are the object of cognition, have both content (a sensory content) and form (a form of existence). The human subject of cognition as well has both form (the thought form) and content (the image of content or protoimage). In terms of the natural relationship between human beings and all things, the content and form carried by human beings correspond to the content and form found in all things. Therefore, there is a correspondence between the thought form of human beings and the form of existence of all things. Contrary to Kant, in the Unification Thought perspective the prerequisites needed by the subject to be able to cognize the object are entirely fulfilled. Therefore, the logical nature and truthfulness of our cognition and thought are indeed guaranteed.