Metaphysics: The Problem of the One & the Many

Explaining the One and the Many (Infinite / Finite, Eternal / Temporal, Absolute / Relative, Continuous / Discrete, Simple / Complex, Space / Matter) with the Metaphysics of Space & the Wave Structure of Matter

(Friedrich Nietzsche, The Greeks, 1880) Greek philosophy seems to begin with a preposterous fancy, with the proposition (of Thales) that water is the origin and mother-womb of all things. Is it really necessary to stop there and become serious? Yes, and for three reasons: firstly, because the proposition does enunciate something about the origin of things; secondly, because it does so without figure and fable; thirdly and lastly, because it contained, although only in the chrysalis state, the idea :everything is one. ... That which drove him (Thales) to this generalization was a metaphysical dogma, which had its origin in a mystic intuition and which together with the ever renewed endeavours to express it better, we find in all philosophies - the proposition: everything is one!

(Gottfried Leibniz, 1670) Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another. ... I maintain also that substances, whether material or immaterial, cannot be conceived in their bare essence without any activity, activity being of the essence of substance in general. ... In conclusion, nothing should be taken as certain without foundations; it is therefore those who manufacture entities and substances without genuine unity to prove that there is more to reality than I have just said; and I am waiting for the notion of a substance, or of an entity, which successfully comprehends all these things; after which parts and perhaps even dreams will be able one day to lay claim to reality.

(Bradley, 1846-1924) We may agree, perhaps, to understand by Metaphysics an attempt to know reality as against mere appearance, or the study of first principles or ultimate truths, or again the effort to comprehend the universe, not simply piecemeal or by fragments, but somehow as a whole.

(George Berkeley, 1710) Nothing seems of more importance, towards erecting a firm system of sound and real knowledge, which may be proof against the assaults of scepticism, than to lay the beginning in a distinct explication of what is meant by thing, reality, existence: for in vain shall we dispute concerning the real existence of things, or pretend to any knowledge thereof, so long as we have not fixed the meaning of those words.

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Introduction - On the Fundamental Problem of Metaphysics

The Problem of the One and the Many is at the very foundation of all human knowledge (as the quotes above clearly demonstrate). It is a problem that has been known for many thousands of years without solution, thus it is hardly surprising that it is now accepted by many that we can never solve the Problem of the One and the Many, thus we can never directly know what exists, what reality is (what we are and how we are interconnected to everything around us!).

The problem of the one and the many in metaphysics and theology is insoluble: The history of philosophy in India as well as in Europe has been one long illustration of the inability of the human mind to solve the mystery of the relation of God to the world. We have the universe of individuals which is not self-sufficient and in some sense rests on Brahman, but the exact nature of the relation between them is a mystery. (Radhakrishnan)

In fact there is only one solution - which is the most simple solution.
It is now well accepted in modern physics that Matter interacts (e.g. Light and Gravity) with all other Matter in the Universe, as Smolin writes,

It can no longer be maintained that the properties of any one thing in the universe are independent of the existence or non-existence of everything else. It is, at last, no longer sensible to speak of a universe with only one thing in it. (Lee Smolin, 1997)

Thus to understand the Structure of Matter we must understand the Structure of the Universe, and this means we must know the One thing that is common to and connects the Many things within the Universe. As Leibniz correctly and profoundly says;

Reality cannot be found except in One single source, because of the interconnection of all things with one another. (Leibniz, 1670)

The solution is found by describing the One Substance which exists (Space) and its Properties (Wave-Medium) such that we can then explain the necessary connection between the many things (i.e. Matter as Spherical Wave Motions of Space) which exist in Space.

This minor (though obviously fundamental) change in the Metaphysical foundations for describing Reality (from 'particles' and spherical 'force fields' in Space and Time to Spherical Waves in Space) moves us from the current paradigm of the metaphysics of Space and Time to the Metaphysics of Space and Motion and the Wave Structure of Matter.

From this new metaphysical foundation we then find simple sensible solutions to not just the problem of the One and the Many, but to the related problems of the Infinite and the Finite, Eternal and the Temporal, Absolute and Relative, Continuous and Discrete, Simple and Complex, Matter and Universe.

Geoff Haselhurst

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The Problem of the One and the Many
What is the One thing that must Exist to necessarily interconnect the Many things?

The Metaphysics of Space & Motion explains the Foundations of Ancient Greek & Indian Philosophy (All is One, Active-Flux)

It is fitting to begin with Ancient Greek Philosophy, which originated from the correct realisation that there must be One thing that is common to and connects the Many things.

(Heraclitus ~ 500BC) All things come out of the one, and the one out of all things.

(Friedrich Nietzsche, The Greeks, 1880) Greek philosophy seems to begin with a preposterous fancy, with the proposition (of Thales) that water is the origin and mother-womb of all things. Is it really necessary to stop there and become serious? Yes, and for three reasons: firstly, because the proposition does enunciate something about the origin of things; secondly, because it does so without figure and fable; thirdly and lastly, because it contained, although only in the chrysalis state, the idea :everything is one. ... That which drove him (Thales) to this generalization was a metaphysical dogma, which had its origin in a mystic intuition and which together with the ever renewed endeavours to express it better, we find in all philosophies - the proposition: everything is one!

Likewise Indian Philosophy (which pre-dates and likely founds Greek Philosophy) realised this Oneness which they called Brahman, and also appreciated the importance of Motion (dynamic, activity).

(Fritjof Capra, 1972) In Indian philosophy, the main terms used by Hindus and Buddhists have dynamic connotations. The word Brahman is derived from the Sanskrit root brih . to grow - and thus suggests a reality which is dynamic and alive. In the words of S. Radhakrishnan, The word Brahman means growth and is suggestive of life, motion, progress.
The Upanishads refer to Brahman as 'this uniformed, immortal, moving', thus associating it with motion even though it transcends all forms. The Rig Veda uses another term to express the dynamic character of the universe, the term Rita. This word comes from the root ri- to move; its original meaning in the Rig Veda being 'the course of all things', 'the order of nature'.

The central aim of Eastern mysticism is to experience all the phenomena in the world as manifestations of the same ultimate reality. This reality is seen as the essence of the universe, underlying and unifying the multitude of things and events we observe. The Hindus call it Brahman, The Buddhists Dharmakaya (The Body of Being) or Tathata (Suchness) and the Taoists Tao; each affirming that it transcends our intellectual concepts and defies further explanation. This ultimate essence, however, cannot be separated from its multiple manifestations. It is central to the very nature to manifest itself in myriad forms which come into being and disintegrate, transforming themselves into one another without end. In its phenomenal aspect, the cosmic One is thus intrinsically dynamic, and the apprehension of its dynamic nature is basic to all schools of Eastern mysticism.

Modern physics then, pictures matter not at all as passive and inert, but being in a continuous dancing and vibrating motion whose rhythmic patterns are determined by the molecular, atomic and nuclear structures. This is also the way in which the Eastern mystics see the material world. They all emphasise that the universe has to be grasped dynamically, as it moves, vibrates and dances; that nature is not a static but dynamic equilibrium.

Their error was to believe that One thing could never be understood with human conceptual knowledge, which requires relationships between two or more things;

The central difficulty is known as the problem of the one and the many which, in the terms in which it presented itself to Badarayana, is as follows; Brahman (the absolute) is eternal, immutable and perfect (lacking nothing): How can that which is eternal, immutable and perfect be related to what is temporal, mutable and imperfect, i.e. the everyday world of human experience, the samsara? (Badarayana)

The problem of the one and the many in metaphysics and theology is insoluble: The history of philosophy in India as well as in Europe has been one long illustration of the inability of the human mind to solve the mystery of the relation of God to the world. We have the universe of individuals which is not self-sufficient and in some sense rests on Brahman, but the exact nature of the relation between them is a mystery. (Radhakrishnan)

The next serious philosophical issue involved in Advaitism (Non-dualism) arises in the area of epistemology or the theory of knowledge. All ordinary human experience is conceptual in nature, i.e. is organized under the categories in which we ordinarily think. However, Brahman is said to be predicateless, or, in other words, such that in principle no concepts apply to it: concepts presuppose division, and Brahman is a unity. How, then, is any form of awareness of Brahman possible for human beings? (Collinson, Fifty Eastern Thinkers, 2000)

But once we know what exists, and its properties, then the solution to this problem becomes simple and obvious (which explains why philosophy is known as the discovery of the obvious!).
One thing, Space, exists, Infinite and Eternal, the second thing, Motion, as the Wave Motion of Space, is the property of Space, and is necessarily connected to Space as it is Space which is moving / vibrating. And once we have this connection between the One thing Space, and the many things, i.e. Matter as the Spherical Wave Motion of Space, then we can in fact form concepts and logic (which require two necessarily connected things, i.e. Matter as the spherical wave Motion of Space.)

Lama Govinda had an exceptional understanding of Indian Philosophy and he was very close to the truth, and thus the solution to this profound problem of the One and the Many, when he wrote;

(Lama Govinda, 1977) The fundamental element of the cosmos is Space. Space is the all-embracing principle of higher unity. Nothing can exist without Space. Space is the precondition of all that exists, be it material or immaterial form, because we can neither imagine an object nor a being without space. According to ancient Indian tradition the universe reveals itself in two fundamental properties: as Motion, and as that in which motion takes place, namely Space. This Space is called akasa, and is that through which things step into visible appearance, i.e., through which they possess extension or corporeality.
Akasa is derived from the root kas, 'to radiate, to shine', and has therefore the meaning of 'ether', which is conceived as the medium of movement. The principle of movement, however, is prana, the breath of life, the all-powerful, all-pervading rhythm of the universe.

This is a profound (yet very simple) solution. The Metaphysics of Space and Motion not only unites and solves the Problem of the One and the Many, but also the Infinite and the Finite, Eternal and the Temporal, Absolute and Relative, Continuous and Discrete, Simple and Complex, Matter and Universe.

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The Problem of the Infinite and the Finite
How do Finite things form within One Infinite thing, Space?

Clearly there is a sense in which the infinite exists and another in which it does not. (Aristotle, Physics)

It is necessary to read the article on Cosmology to fully explain this, though the solution is simple once known. Matter, as Spherical In and Out Waves, determines the size of our finite spherical universe within an infinite Space, i.e. matter is finite within an infinite Space.
Huygens' Principle explains how other matter's out waves combine to form our matter's spherical In-Waves, which then deduces both Mach's Principle and the redshift with distance (without assuming Doppler shifts due to an expanding universe - thus there was no Big Bang).
This also explains how matter interacts with all other matter in the universe (why we can see stars) as matter is the size of the universe, though we only 'see' the high wave amplitude wave-center 'particles'.

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The Problem of the Eternal and the Temporal
One thing must be Eternal yet the Many things (e.g. Stars, Planets, People) are Temporal and experience Time

Time - The Spherical Standing Wave Motion of Space causes matter's activity and the phenomena of Time. This confirms Aristotle and Spinoza's connection of Motion and Time, and most significantly connects these two things back to one thing Space.

Movement, then, is also continuous in the way in which time is - indeed time is either identical to movement or is some affection of it. (Aristotle)

As Time is caused by (wave) Motion , thus only Matter (as Spherical Wave Motions of Space) experiences Time. Space is Eternal (has always existed) and does not experience Time (thus there was no Big Bang creation of Space/Universe).

 

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The Problem of the Absolute and Relative
Uniting Absolute Motion, Relative Motion, Absolute Truth, Relative Truth

But for me, truth is the sovereign principle, which included numerous other principles. This truth is not only truthfulness in word, but truthfulness in thought also, and not only the relative truth of our conception, but the Absolute Truth, the Eternal Principle, that is God. There are innumerable definitions of God, because His manifestations are innumerable. They overwhelm me with wonder and awe and for a moment stun me. But I worship God as Truth only. I have not yet found Him, but I am seeking after Him. I am prepared to sacrifice the things dearest to me in pursuit of this quest. Even if the sacrifice demanded be my very life, I hope I may be prepared to give it. But as long as I have not realised this Absolute Truth, so long must I hold by the relative truth as I have conceived it. (Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi)

Absolute Space exists, but until recently we only observed the relative motion of matter (relative to other matter) as explained by Einstein's Theory of Relativity. This has now changed with the observation of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR - which is likely caused from low temperature Hydrogen distributed throughout Space - not from 'Big Bang') and acts as a reference frame for our Absolute Motion through an Absolute Space.
See articles;
Physics: Albert Einstein's Theory of Special & General Relativity
Physics: Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR)
Physics: The Michelson-Morley Experiment

Likewise, our current (and deeply flawed) postmodern philosophy is founded on relative truths (that the meaning of any one word can only be defined relative to other words - there is no absolute meaning or Absolute Truth, it is all tautology). This is solved by connecting our language to Absolute Space and its properties as a Wave Medium.
See Articles;
Philosophy: Wittgenstein
Philosophy: Postmodernism

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The Problem of the Continuous and Discrete
How can One thing, which must be Continuous, form many things, which must be Discrete?

Space, as One Infinite thing, must be continuous (it has no parts, which require two things), whereas matter is finite and thus discrete. The Wave Structure of Matter explains the discrete observations of reality as follows;

i) Spherical Standing Waves are finite / discrete, as are their Wave-Centers, which we see as discrete 'particles'.

ii)The Wavelength of the spherical waves (about 10^-12 ) is also finite and discrete.

iii) The Standing Wave interactions of matter are discrete as only certain standing wave patterns are stable. This explains the discrete energy states of atoms.

iv) Electrons move from one standing wave pattern to another in atoms / molecules (as they interact with other electrons which also change wave states) and this explains the discrete energy states of light quanta / photons.

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The Problem of the Simple and Complex
How can reality, being founded on One Simple thing, form Many Complex things?

It is the grand object of all theory to make these irreducible elements (principles) as simple and as few in number as possible, without having to renounce the adequate representation of any empirical content whatever. (Albert Einstein)

There are also two kinds of truths: truth of reasoning and truths of fact. Truths of reasoning are necessary and their opposite is impossible; those of fact are contingent and their opposite is possible. When a truth is necessary, the reason for it can be found by analysis, that is, by resolving it into simpler ideas and truths until the primary ones are reached. (Gottfried Leibniz)

The more you see how strangely Nature behaves, the harder it is to make a model that explains how even the simplest phenomena actually work. So theoretical physics has given up on that. (Richard Feynman)

Space, as One thing, must be Simple (there is nothing more simple than One thing, and thus Reality must ultimately be Simple - which it is!).

Matter, as many Spherical Standing Waves, interacts with all other matter in our finite spherical universe and these many trillions upon trillions of wave interactions are very complex (and allow the evolution of complex interconnected ecology of life that we have here on Earth). Also see;

Evolution: Nature One Gaia Cosmos - The Simple foundations of the Metaphysics of Space and Motion and the Wave Structure of Matter (WSM) explains both the Complex Ecology of Matter in the Universe and the Complex Ecology of Life on Earth (Gaia).

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The Problem of Space and Matter / Universe
How is Space connected to Matter - How does Matter interact with all the other Matter in the Universe? Uniting Matter / Universe, Subject / Object, Self / Other

It has been a common error to think of matter as tiny particles separate from the Universe when in fact matter, as spherical waves the size of the universe, determines our finite spherical universe within an infinite space. Thus it is a naive real (illusion) to think of matter as 'particles' and is founded on the empirical a posteriori truth that we only see the wave-center or 'particle' effect of matter and not the spherical In and Out waves which cause the 'particle' effect. This explains why we can see stars across the universe because matter is the size of the universe and interacts with all the other matter in the universe! And this tells us that we humans are also as large as the universe (a very profound and until now 'mystical' realisation). Albert Einstein realised this, he writes;

Physical objects are not in space, but these objects are spatially extended (as fields). In this way the concept 'empty space' loses its meaning. ... The field thus becomes an irreducible element of physical description, irreducible in the same sense as the concept of matter (particles) in the theory of Newton. ... The physical reality of space is represented by a field whose components are continuous functions of four independent variables - the co-ordinates of space and time. Since the theory of general relativity implies the representation of physical reality by a continuous field, the concept of particles or material points cannot play a fundamental part, nor can the concept of motion. The particle can only appear as a limited region in space in which the field strength or the energy density are particularly high. (Albert Einstein, Metaphysics of Relativity, 1950)

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty… The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. … We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive. (Albert Einstein, 1954)

The current state of our world confirms that Humanity does need a profound new way of thinking. We now know the correct foundations for how to think about our existence in the universe. Please don't ignore this - it is critically important for our future survival.

Geoff Haselhurst.

Help Humanity

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
(Mohandas Gandhi)

"When forced to summarize the general theory of relativity in one sentence: Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter. ... Physical objects are not in space, but these objects are spatially extended. In this way the concept 'empty space' loses its meaning. ... The particle can only appear as a limited region in space in which the field strength or the energy density are particularly high. ...
The free, unhampered exchange of ideas and scientific conclusions is necessary for the sound development of science, as it is in all spheres of cultural life. ... We must not conceal from ourselves that no improvement in the present depressing situation is possible without a severe struggle; for the handful of those who are really determined to do something is minute in comparison with the mass of the lukewarm and the misguided. ...
Humanity is going to need a substantially new way of thinking if it is to survive!" (Albert Einstein)

Our world is in great trouble due to human behaviour founded on myths and customs that are causing the destruction of Nature and climate change. We can now deduce the most simple science theory of reality - the wave structure of matter in space. By understanding how we and everything around us are interconnected in Space we can then deduce solutions to the fundamental problems of human knowledge in physics, philosophy, metaphysics, theology, education, health, evolution and ecology, politics and society.

This is the profound new way of thinking that Einstein realised, that we exist as spatially extended structures of the universe - the discrete and separate body an illusion. This simply confirms the intuitions of the ancient philosophers and mystics.

Given the current censorship in physics / philosophy of science journals (based on the standard model of particle physics / big bang cosmology) the internet is the best hope for getting new knowledge known to the world. But that depends on you, the people who care about science and society, realise the importance of truth and reality.

It is Easy to Help!

Just click on the Social Network links below, or copy a nice image or quote you like and share it. We have a wonderful collection of knowledge from the greatest minds in human history, so people will appreciate your contributions. In doing this you will help a new generation of scientists see that there is a simple sensible explanation of physical reality - the source of truth and wisdom, the only cure for the madness of man! Thanks! Geoff Haselhurst (Updated September, 2018)

A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it. (Max Planck, 1920)

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On Truth & Reality The Spherical Standing Wave Structure of Matter (WSM) in Space
Deducing Most Simple Science Theory of Reality	Metaphysics of Space, Dynamic Unity of Reality	Maths Physics On Mathematics Logic & Reality
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