Noetic Consciousness

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Contents 1 Origin 2 Neoplatonic Nous and Noetic discourse 3 Noetic Origins 4 See also 4.1 Traditional philosophy 4.2 New Age philosophy 5 Notes 6 Bibliography

[edit] Origin

The word "noetic" comes from Greek νοητικός, for "intellective or of the intellect" (ultimately derived from the Greek word νοῦς, noûs, is "intellect, higher mind, thought").^[1] It is associated with the direct knowing or intuition of noesis. Noetic meaning having the ability to understand. In the Philokalia noetic is used as a translation of νοητικός^[2] "intellectual".

"Noetic theory" is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of mind and intuition.^{[citation needed]} Among its principal purposes one can mention^{[clarification needed]} the study of non-rational ways of knowing and how they relate to reason; it also refers to the study of relationships between human and divine intuition. That is why noetic theory often had very close links with metaphysics. In the Western tradition and Arab philosophy noetic theory was strongly influenced by the theories of philosophers such as Anaxagoras, Plato and Aristotle.^{[citation needed]}

In modern dictionaries, "noetic" is often defined as meaning "intellect." Where as noesis is translated as "insight" or "intellection". This practice derives from medieval theologians and philosophers who used the Latin word "intellectus" - but for them, this typically meant what we today would call "intuition."^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Neoplatonic Nous and Noetic discourse

Platonic philosophy and in specific Neoplatonic philosophy via the works (called the Enneads) of Plotinus sought to clarify the philosophical and religious understanding of the experience of consciousness. Consciousness in Greek philosophy being represented as the nous. The functions of the nous being referred to as noesis. These types of noesis being multiple ways of knowing - including intuition, feeling, reason, and the senses. Plotinus taught a disciplined inquiry into the "inner cosmos" of the nous (consciousness, soul, spirit) and how it relates to the "outer cosmos" of the physical world. Plotinus as an proponent of Philosophical idealism taught that external world was a construct of the nous. Plotinus' use of the nous encompasses:

(1) First-person perspective by supporting individuals in the exploration and development of their own subjective consciousness (e.g., meditation and other spiritual practices). Emphasis on inner knowing and personal transformation.

(2) Second-person perspective by exploring and supporting transformative relationships and intersubjective consciousness (e.g., compassionate dialogue, community building, collective wisdom). Emphasis on transformative learning and collective wisdom.

(3) Third-person perspective by gathering data about objective physiological correlates of consciousness (e.g., research using rigorous scientific protocols, including experiments in psi, mind-body healing, and subtle energies). Emphasis on scientific understanding.

These are the complementary elements to the study of the nous and it's noetic properties. As the modern study of the noetic subject in nous, noesis, noema via gnosiology covers multiple ways of knowing - including intuition, reason, and sensory perception in varying combinations.

[edit] Noetic Origins

• Paleolithic humans (pre-history) - Cromagnon cave art depicts shamanic rituals and awareness of transcendent or "vertical" power involving transformation.^{[citation needed]}
• Shamanism (pre-history) - Practices for disciplining and transfrorming body and mind influenced Orphic practices.^{[citation needed]}
• Ancient Mystery Schools (pre-history) (Orphic: Focused on knowledge through transformation of noetic faculty).
• Anaxagoras (c. 500 BCE) - nous. "Nous is infinite and self-ruled." "Nous has power over all things . . ."
• Plato (3rd century BCE) - nous as God and as the ultimate cause of order in the universe. Identified with the demiurge of the Timaeus, Nous acts through 'persuasion' rather than 'coercion.'
• Plotinus (3rd century C.E.)-nous. as Zeus from an ontological perspective nous or divine intelligence, demiurge as the first emunation of the Monad or one.^[3]
• Gnostics (4th century), γνῶσις - gnosis meanining "knowledge" (or in this case "esoteric knowledge"), though as Plotinus points out vilifying the nous, demiurge causes them to not be a valid source nor a Hellenistic one^[4] (see Neoplatonism and Gnosticism).
• Nicholas of Cusa (15th century) - "coincidence of opposites" requires non-rational noetic consciousness that embraces paradox.
• Giordano Bruno (15th century) - Noetic monad: "intelligent matter" i.e., matter that contains nous.
• Leibniz (16th century) - Universe is composed of "monads," or simply substances.
• William James (19th century) - "radical empiricism" includes noetic, non-rational ways of knowing.
• Henri Bergson (19th/20th century) - "élan vital" life-force pulsing through evolution. A purposeful, intelligent process that can be known only by engaging our noetic, intuitive mind.
• Christian de Quincey (21st century) - combination of all the means of knowing in consciousness studies.

[edit] See also

[edit] Traditional philosophy

• Noesis
• Noetic theory
• Immanence
• Tacit knowledge
• A priori knowledge

[edit] New Age philosophy

• New Thought
• Integral thought
• Institute of Noetic Sciences
• Noosphere
• Panpsychism

[edit] Notes

[edit] Bibliography

• Davidson H.A., Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes, on Intellect. Their Cosmologies, Theories of the Active Intellect, and Theories of Human Intellect, New York-Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1992.
• de Quincey, C., Radical Knowing: Understanding Consciousness through Relationship, Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 2005.