This essay is an abridgment of my teleology. It makes G. W. F. Hegel’s dialectical movement applicable to specific moments in Western history and delineates what is climactic in this progression. As the second essay on the destruction of ethics, it accompanies Part One with examples of ethical relativity in history.
Teleology
Detailed teleology establishes the following related aspects:
1. Determinism has made the transcendence of duality possible.
2. History is about the evolution of consciousness.
3. Repetition of one political theme effects perception of a Truth.
4. Teleology relies on ontology for their joint success.
5. The partnership of ontology and teleology affirms the Absolute is dichotomies.
6. The relativity of ethics is transparent in dialectical movements.
7. Dialectical movement affirms history has deep, metaphysical import.
8. Deep history transcends historical truth.
9. Dialectical movement manifests only once in history.
Absolute consciousness can only be realised in a liberal nation. Liberalism possess processes that articulate logic. Once its Truths are gleaned, liberalism dies, ethics dies, duality dies.
Dialectical Movement
Western consciousness has evolved through politics. Dialectical movement is political replication of dialectical discourse. At a personal level, dialectic is discussion and disputation. In politics, disputation has pivotal moments of unyielding antagonism. Unyielding antagonism is inherent in duality and a special class of antagonism: theory-based conflict, advances consciousness. The transcendence of duality is effected by duality arriving at an historical compromise, wherein antagonisms acquiesce. Philosophy’s advancement depends on an Idealist recognising the said acquiescence and discerning the metaphysical depths of that truce.
The last millennium has seen various forms of [moral] idealism take arms against authority. The key conflicts are disputes over money that are principled. The individuals involved were oblivious to the world-historical nature of their actions. Across these conflicts, a Truth was progressively becoming more evident.
The vital teleological moments in Western history are the Reformation, the revolt against absolute monarchy [the English Civil War and the Dutch Revolt] and the modern age of industry and ideology. Each event involved a dialectic. Chronologically the dialectics were: Catholics versus Protestants, monarchists versus merchants and nonconformists, and capitalists versus socialists. While the participants were in different guises, metaphysically the argument / dialectic / fight is the same one. The monetary grievances were indulgencies, taxation without representation and the exploitation of labour, respectively.
The recurring fight was moral idealism versus intransigent authority. Moral idealism versus authority is not the insight of significance. Sapience lies in the transcendence of the third dialectic. In the third dialectic the modern marketplace has fully-formed, economic participants. Capitalism and socialism separately account for the participants. These antagonistic ideologies needed to be reconciled by liberalism for Idealism to start its bid for philosophical supremacy.
In the above dialectics, ethics are persistently relative, but that is not apparent to single-minded partisans. Catholics do not recognise their stance as relative because they are the parent church, i.e. primogeniture is their argument. Protestants held Catholicism to be wrong, hence the behaviour of Catholics was wrong, but ethics per se were not wrong. Absolute monarchs did not recognise the legitimacy of their opposition because they had a divine mandate to be absolutist. Revolutionaries saw the issue as monarchical failure – not ethical failure. Communists did not recognise opposition because their ideology is absolutist. Capitalists argue for their right to be acquisitive and judge communists / socialists to be idealists without realistic ethics. Western consciousness has evolved via violence over these ethics-based convictions.
It is comprehendible to objectivists that ethics and money are at the heart of each controversy and ethics are relative, yet for objectivists each argument is unique – they do not see evidence of metaphysical influences. Conversely, knowing the teleological end, an Idealist sees successive conflicts that transition into a
détente. Two points germane to that last sentence: the teleological end is Idealist insight into liberalism and the mechanism that achieved
détente between capitalism and socialism was trade unionism.
Without a philosophy of history and without belief in metaphysics, liberalism reconciled capitalism and socialism. Ironically, that makes liberalism ripe for an Idealist to take it apart and find what liberals do not believe. The plundering of liberalism initiated definitive Idealism. The extraction of metaphysical Truths ends liberalism, ethics and duality.
The Ontology—Teleology Partnership
If there was an argument over the selection of deterministic moments, teleology is not the hook on which Idealism hangs its case. The weight of the Idealist case is borne by ontology. Ontology ascertains transcendence. [The lessons here are that reciprocals are not equals and though dialectical movement is distinctive, one must start Idealism with ontology.] The Truths extracted from liberalism are ontological insights. Ontological constructs ensue, then the metaphysic moves to teleology.
‘Ontology tells teleology’ [excuse the personifications] what to look for in history. Teleology is a retrospective exercise that provides ontology with a narrative. Knowledge of immanence cannot spring from a primitive economy. The emergence of Truth must be traced to progenitors of liberalism for ontology to have context. With conflict inherent in perfidious ethics and partisan truth, the development of consciousness is violent. While ethics pretends that Progress is ‘user-friendly’, dialectical movement makes no pretence about determinism being violent.
Deep History
Beyond ethics and empirical studies of history lies teleology. The eliciting of teleology leads to a doctrine on the evolution of consciousness. This theory is the mainstay to which other events that contribute to the evolution of consciousness can be joined.
Teleology follows ontology in seeing past right and wrong. It is not concerned for who won, the balance of truth, the best opinions, finest scruples, nor is it deterred by conflict. Theory-based conflict is sought as the events deserving of investigation.
Historical truths are metaphysically-naïve / clueless about metaphysics. This vacuum allows ethics to impose its judgments on history. The privilege is ended by dialectical movement being empowered as a Truth. Teleology concludes ethical assertions about history. Thus the notion of Progress, and the presumption that ethics may judge history, are replaced by history as the evolution of consciousness. Once historical analysis is orientated around ‘the evolution of consciousness’, and tragedy is accepted as a consequence of dualistic consciousness, ethics dies yet another death.
Human Potential
Humans have an amazing capacity for abstract thought, though one would not credit this of the average medieval mind. For most of history there were no opportunities for individuals to realise their mental capacities. Religion had a firm fix on most minds. Add outrage over the manipulation of fear of damnation to extract indulgencies, and consciousness is aroused to the prospect of a new religious organisation. Protestantism allowed the individual to think for themselves. That has to feature in teleology.
In successive disputes, polemics are more aspirational. Consult the Putney Debates of the Roundheads of the English Civil War for proto-democrats, proto-socialists and proto-conservatives. Very clearly, the third dialectic was nascent in the second. The second dialectic took precedence from the first challenge to authority, especially since religious elements were prominent in the Parliamentary cause. Through dialectics, great and small, consciousness grows till the dialectical process transcends duality.
Summary
The above sketches an historical progression in which ethics is a vainglorious actor, contradicting its absolute pretensions as it serves rival parties in the West’s foremost controversies. Successive conflicts over authority and economics elaborated the poles of difference until a Truth was expressed and consciousness could advance from idealism to Idealism.
Ethics cannot see or admit that intellectual growth is due to violence it generates.
Ethics and truth are relative and that was all that the West had to comprehend appearances. With these perfidious and inadequate means, dialectical movement allowed elements to mature and relativities to connect. Finding what makes relativities substantial and interact transforms a key dualism into a dichotomy.
Dialectical movement proclaims history is about the evolution of consciousness. The absolute nature of its scrutiny removes ethics and Progress from historical theorising.
These essays circumnavigate a black hole called ontology. I will not be doing ontology in an essay because I cannot “pop it into an essay”. I have gone to some trouble to make this truncated essay readable. Much is missing and I have to skate over key points. On the subject of teleology, I cannot avoid encroaching on ontology. Ontology is fully explicated in my ebook. I have about 30+ regular readers. Let me guess that 10 know what “personification” means and are equipped to take on the task of reading and reviewing my book. Changing logic is the purpose and be aware I am destroying your intellectual world. This threat emerges from liberalism. It is evolutionary and entertaining if you like intellectual drama.
I need the better minds to check out my metaphysic to see whether I’m telling fabulous fibs or there is an ontological system behind my statements. I would like the readers of my book to be able to offer a consensus and 10 evaluations would be sufficient. Kindly do your part for the growth of consciousness. Get hold of the ebook or POD and offer your review. Criticise, praise, damn, rave … it is needed for this show is to continue.
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/648015
Another agent of determinism has been left out of this overview, along with comments on Hegel and other history-related matters. I am not thrilled about truncating the teleology, but I need to include teleology in my five-part condemnation of ethics.
Part Three: Ethics denied in the course of my systematising.