The transcendentals (Latin: transcendentalia, from transcendere "to exceed") are "properties of being", nowadays commonly considered to be truth, unity (oneness), beauty, and goodness. The conceptual idea arose from medieval scholasticism, namely Aquinas but originated with Plato, Augustine, and Aristotle in the West. It is believed to be prefigured in the Bhagavadgita, an ancient Hindu classic, which illuminates the doctrines of Yoga. Viewed ontologically, the transcendentals are understood to be what is common to all beings/things/identities, and all things that exist (theologically, metaphysically, normatively) can be judged, or appraised, or may be said to be or possess the innate qualities and characteristics which we consider or deem True (Thought and Logic), Beautiful (Aesthetic and Artistic) and Good (Morals and Action). From a cognitive and "first principles" horizon, going all the way back to Aristotle, they are the "first" concepts, since they cannot be logically or deductively traced back to "a prior metaphysics" preceding their Rational unfoldment and display.

In the ancient, premodern subjective understanding of Aristotle, the transcendentals operate via man/woman's Reason, or the reasoning subject. Seen as a whole, rather than reducing everything to Truth, the transcendentals are part of a harmonious or complete unity each within its applied domain of Reason, which is within the domain of a possibly higher unity: Soul. Plato's conception may be more intangible but they certainly anticipating Aristotle, and Aquinas via Aristotle.

Prior to the Enlightenment Era of human consciousness, these spheres/domains were synonymous with rationality, or dispositions of rationality. Theoretical Reason (what I understand), Practical Reason (what I do), and Aesthetic Reason (what I appreciate) were understood for what they did rather than as mere abstractions.

The True, can be demonstrated empirically within: Mathematics, Science, and Metaphysics. Beauty can be seen empirically within: Aesthetics and Art. The Good, via Practical Reason can be seen empirically within: Ethics and Politics.

Finally, Reason is an underlying generalization in each. Each object-domain makes strides by uniquely generalizing from a particular level to the general concepts, rather than from the generals to any particular.

The transcendentals are, lastly separate, mutually interacting, and potentially coordinated whole domains, are ultimately distinct, cannot be reduced without serious harm to the transcendental in question, and are vast but expansive unto themselves.

Ken Wilber calls these real concepts "The Big Three" and claims that more than a dozen or so people grapple with them. Kant (Pure Reason, Practical Reason, and Judgment), Habermas (Truth, Justice, Truthfulness), Popper (World 1, World 2, World 3), and finally Plato (Truth, Beauty, Goodness). Another way to state experientially is 1st person, second person, and third person experiential awareness.

Howard Gardner conceptualizes the Good as Goodness a property of relationships, the true as a property of statements, and the beauty as a property of experiences. The Golden rule stabilizes relationships at the local level, but according to Gardner, global relationships (the ethics of roles) consists of citizenship and work. We must be good citizens, good people, and good workers. Citizens and workers collaborate in Commons to share the best ethical practices.

The Beautiful consists of experiences, or tastes concerning the natural world and the Arts. Beautiful experiences are interesting, memorable, and they invite returning. Some tastes seem quite universal, but tastes change as we actively change them. Global realities, including the internet, mean our tastes are changing more than ever. And our Tastes of "the beautiful" are divergent.

The world of truth is ever-evolving, as we seek to overcome postmodern conundrums. However, truth may still be established in this age. Truths generally converge. So Gardner thinks there's hope. Truth and False can be seen by noting the type of truth and the methods that were used to obtain legitimacy preliminary knowledge.

There are two types of truth: Truths emanating out of academic disciplines (history, science), and truths emanating from daily life (professions, trade crafts). Within these fields propositions and statements are the basis for making truth claims. Statements and propositions are either True, False, or Indeterminate. There is no longer a singular truth, but now many truths and meta-cognitive truth. We may never obtain Truth, but our knowledge in these domains points us in a proper direction.

From the time of Albertus Magnus in the High Middle Ages, the transcendentals have been the subject of metaphysics. Although there was disagreement about their number, there was consensus that, in addition to the basic concept of being itself (ens), unity (unum), truth (verum) and goodness (bonum) were part of the transcendental family.[1] Since then, essence (res), otherness (aliquid) and, more recently, beauty (pulchrum) have been added. Today, they are found in theology, particularly in Catholic thought, as unity, truth, goodness and beauty.

History

Parmenides first inquired of the properties co-extensive with being.[2] Socrates, spoken through Plato, then followed (see Form of the Good).

Aristotle's substance theory (being a substance belongs to being qua being) has been interpreted as a theory of transcendentals.[3] Aristotle discusses only unity ("One") explicitly because it is the only transcendental intrinsically related to being, whereas truth and goodness relate to rational creatures.[4]

In the Middle Ages, Catholic philosophers elaborated the thought that there exist transcendentals (transcendentalia) and that they transcended each of the ten Aristotelian categories.[5] A doctrine of the transcendentality of the good was formulated by Albert the Great.[6] His pupil, Saint Thomas Aquinas, posited six transcendentals: ens, res, unum, aliquid, bonum, verum; or “being,” "thing", "one", "something", "good", and "true".[7] Saint Thomas derives the six explicitly as transcendentals,[8] though in some cases he follows the typical list of the transcendentals consisting of the One, the Good, and the True. The transcendentals are ontologically one and thus they are convertible: e.g., where there is truth, there is being and goodness also.

In Christian theology the transcendentals are treated in relation to theology proper, the doctrine of God. The transcendentals, according to Christian doctrine, can be described as the ultimate desires of man. Man ultimately strives for perfection, which takes form through the desire for perfect attainment of the transcendentals. The Catholic Church teaches that God is Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, as indicated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.[9] Each transcends the limitations of place and time, and is rooted in being. The transcendentals are not contingent upon cultural diversity, religious doctrine, or personal ideologies, but are the objective properties of all that exists.

Modern “integral” or holistic philosophy within the Wilberian lineage (see:Ken Wilber), as well as Steve Mctintosh, author of Evolution’s Purposr seek to integrate Beauty,Truth, and Goodness as necessary requisites of all evolution in the Kosmos (body, mind, soul, spirit) within the individual at the microcosmic developmental level, as well as sociologically.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Albertus Magnus named exactly these four values. See Aertsen, Jan A. (2001). "Die Frage nach dem Ersten und dem Grundlegenden. Albert der Große und die Lehre von den Transzendentalien" Albertus Magnus. Zum Gedenken nach 800 Jahren. Neue Zugänge, Aspekte und Perspektiven." ed. by Walter Senner and Henryk Anzulewicz. Berlin: Akademie1, pp. 91–112.
  2. ↑ DK fragment B 8
  3. ↑ Aristotle, Metaphysics 1028b4; Allan Bäck, Aristotle's Theory of Abstraction, Springer, 2014, p. 210: "Since all that is, in any category is in virtue of having some relation to substance..., being a substance belongs to being qua being. Because of the centrality of substance for something to be, Aristotle says, "what is being is just the question what is substance." [Metaph. 1028b4] Given Aristotle’s account of focal meaning, it has turned out that x is a being only if x is a substance. Items in non-substantial categories are beings, secondarily, only given their being in substance. ... [Ι]n Metaphysics IV, Aristotle offers both transcendental and categorical items as proper subjects for first philosophy."
  4. ↑ Aristotle, Metaphysics X.1–2; Benedict Ashley, The Way toward Wisdom: An Interdisciplinary and Intercultural Introduction to Metaphysics (University of Notre Dame Press, 2006), p. 175.
  5. ↑ Scott MacDonald (ed.), Being and Goodness: The Concept of the Good in Metaphysics and Philosophical Theology, Cornell University Press, 1991, p. 56.
  6. ↑ Medieval Theories of Transcendentals (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
  7. ↑ Disputed Questions on Truth, Q. 1 A. 1.
  8. ↑ De Veritate, Q. 1 A.1
  9. ↑ Catechism of the Catholic Church references these three at Section 41.

Bibliography

  • Jan A. Aertsen, Medieval Philosophy and the Transcendentals: the Case of Thomas Aquinas, Leiden: Brill, 1996.
  • Jan A. Aertsen, Medieval Philosophy as Transcendental Thought. From Philip the Chancellor (ca. 1225) to Francisco Suárez, Leiden: Brill, 2012.
  • John P. Doyle, On the Borders of Being and Knowing. Late Scholastic Theory of Supertranscendental Being, Leuven: Leuven University Press, 2012.
  • Graziella Federici Vescovini (éd.), Le problème des Transcendantaux du XIVe au XVIIe siècle, Paris: Vrin, « Bibliothèque d’Histoire de la Philosophie », 2001.
  • Bruno Pinchard (éd.), Fine folie ou la catastrophe humaniste, études sur les transcendantaux à la Renaissance, Paris, Champion, 1995.
  • Piero di Vona, Spinoza e i trascendentali, Napoli: Morano, 1977.
  • Wouter, Goris; Aertsen, Jan. "Medieval Theories of Transcendentals". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  • Jan Aertsen on the History of Transcendentals. An Annotated Bibliography
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