DefinitionsDianoetic
[Dictionary Definitions]: • dianoetic(.): (philosophy) of or relating to thought, esp to discursive reasoning rather than intuition; cf. discursive‹2› {viz.: ‘proceeding to a conclusion through reason rather than intuition’ }. [C17; from Greek dianoētikos, from dianoia, ‘the thinking process’, ‘an opinion’, from dia- + noein, ‘to think’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • dianoetic(a. & n.): I. a. thinking; intellectual; of or pertaining to the discursive faculty; II. n. that part of logic which treats of
ratiocination. Sir William Hamilton proposed to extend the meaning of the term so as to include the whole science of the laws of thought. ‘I would employ ... dianoetic
to denote the operations of the discursive, elaborative, or comparative faculty’. (The Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • dianoetic (adj.): proceeding to a conclusion by reason or argument rather than intuition. ~ (Princeton’s WordNet 3.0). • dianoetic (adj.): of or pertaining to thought; intellectual; (adj.): dianoetical = dianoetic; (adv.):
dianoetically. [from Greek dianoetikos, from dianoeisthai, ‘think’, from dia, ‘through’ + noein, ‘think’, ‘suppose’,
‘perceive’, from nous, ‘mind’, ‘thought’]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary).
• [Claudiu]: About the word “dianoetic” – I currently don’t see any benefit of using that term versus, say, “intellectual” or “rational”. That is, I am not sure what meaning that term gives, over and above, or different from, “intellectual” or “rational”. I see it as pointing to the thinking/ intellectual/ rational aspect of ‘me’ (‘I’ as thinker) as opposed to the affective/ intuitive/ psychic aspect (‘me’ as soul), but I think “intellectual” and “rational” already serve that purpose well. Is it perhaps that “dianoetic” is even more in the direction of intellectual? That is, something dianoetic is further away from something intuitive than something intellectual is. As in, strictly in the realm of thought only. I get the connotation of Greek philosophers philosophising, something extremely dry and detached. • [Richard]: My usage of the word dianoetic – from ‘dia-’ (through) + noetic (of or relating to, originating in, or apprehended by the rational and intellectual faculties of the mind) via ‘noesis’ (the cognitive process; understanding solely with the mind, the intellect) and stemming from ‘nous’ (the mind, the intellect; the faculty of reason and knowledge) – is quite prosaic. Over many, many years of wide-ranging reading it became more and more apparent that, quite broadly speaking of course, for many and various peoples a major grouping of the topic ‘thought, thoughts and thinking’ had self-organised under the aegis of “discursive thought” and “intuitive thought”. However, a peculiarity of the word ‘discursive’ (from Latin discursīvus, discursus, ‘running about’) is that – although it has connotations of “proceeding to a conclusion through reason rather than intuition”; and/or “of or relating to knowledge obtained by reason and argument rather than intuition” – what it primarily denotes, as its Latin root indicates, is “passing from one topic to another, usually in an unmethodical way”; and/or “covering a wide field of subjects, rambling”; and/or “moving aimlessly from one subject to another; digressive” or, in a word of similar ilk, “excursive”. Ha ... hardly the stuff of rational, sensible, sound, judicious, prudent, practical, matter-of-fact reasoning, eh? Viz.:
Thus the word dianoetic, by virtue of being specifically exclusive of anything intuitional, subliminal, instinctual and visceral readily encompasses all the other types of intellection, mentation, cerebration, excogitation, ideation, ratiocination, illation, contemplation, meditation, rumination and reflection such as you allude to with your “rational” and “intellectual” examples. It had alway seemed rather strange to me how an excursive-rambling-digressive denoting
term, such as ‘discursive thought’ is, could be so popular (and especially so with the academics) as a counterfoil to the
instinctual-subliminal-visceral denoting term that ‘intuitive thought’ is. Hence a more robust term, such as ‘dianoetic thought’ is, with its
nous-noesis-noetic ...um... pedigree. * • dianoetic (adj. & n.): I. (adj.): thinking; intellectual; of or pertaining to the discursive faculty; II. (n.): that part of logic which treats of ratiocination {the mental process of passing from the cognition of premises to the cognition of the conclusion; exact, valid, methodical reasoning and rational thought}. Sir William Hamilton proposed to extend the meaning of the term so as to include the whole science of the laws of thought; [e.g.]: “I would employ the word noetic, as derived from νους (nous), to express all those cognitions which originate in the mind itself, [and] dianoetic to denote the operations of the Discursive, Elaborative, or Comparative Faculty”. (Sir William Hamilton, “Lectures on Metaphaphysics”, Vol. I, 1859, Lect. xxviii, p. 514). [from Greek διανοητικος (dianoitikos), ‘of or for thinking’, ‘intellectual’, from διανοητός (dianoitós), verbal adj. of διανοεισθαι (dianoeisthai), ‘think of’, ‘think over’, ‘purpose’, from διά (diá), ‘through’ + νοείν (noeín), ‘think’, from νόος (nóos), contracted νους (nous), ‘mind’, ‘thought’]. [curly-bracketed insert added]. ~ (The Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • dianoetic (n.; philosophy): of or relating to thought, esp. to discursive reasoning rather than intuition; cf. discursive²; viz.: ‘proceeding to a conclusion through reason rather than intuition’. [C17; from Greek dianoetikos, from dianoia, ‘the thinking process’, ‘an opinion’, from dia- + noein, ‘to think’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • dianoetic (adj.): of or pertaining to thought; intellectual; (adj.): dianoetical = dianoetic; (adv.): dianoetically. [from Greek dianoetikos, from dianoeisthai, ‘think’, from dia, ‘through’ + noein, ‘think’, ‘suppose’, ‘perceive’, from nous, ‘mind’, ‘thought’]. ~ (Oxford English Dictionary). • dianoialogy (n.): the science of the dianoetic faculties, and their operations. ~ (Webster’s 1913 Dictionary). • dianoialogy (n.): the department of philosophy which treats of the dianoetic faculties. (Sir William Hamilton). [irregular for the analogically regular *dianoeology, [from Greek διανοια, ‘intelligence’, ‘understanding’, ‘thought’, ‘purpose’ (cf. διανοεισθαι, ‘think of’, ‘purpose’: see dianoeric) + λογία, from λέγειν, ‘speak’; see -ology]. ~ (Century Dictionary and Cyclopaedia). • dianoia (n.): 1. perception and experience regarded as lower modes of knowledge; cf. noesis; (viz.: the exercise of reason, esp. in the apprehension of universal forms; the mental process used in thinking and perceiving; the functioning of the intellect; see also cognition; from Greek noēsis, thought, from noein, to think); 2. the faculty of discursive reasoning. [from Greek; see dianoetic; viz.: from Greek dianoetikos, from dianoia, ‘the thinking process’, ‘an opinion’, from dia- + noein, ‘to think’]. ~ (Collins English Dictionary). • dianoia (n.): the capacity for, process of, or result of discursive thinking; (adj.): dianoetic. ~ (Ologies & Isms Dictionary). • [Addendum]: Sir William Hamilton (1788-1856), was a Scottish philosopher widely
interested in law, physiology, and literature. He was the professor of history and
philosophy at the University of Edinburgh {not to be confused with archaeologist and diplomat Sir William Hamilton (1730-1803), whose main claim to
fame rests upon being the husband of Emma, Lady Hamilton, mistress of Admiral Horatio Nelson}.
Sir William helped to re-establish the waning fame of the Scottish school of metaphysics. His “Philosophy of the Unconditioned” (1829), a critique of
“Cours de Philosophie” (1836), by Victor Cousin, published in the Edinburgh Review, publicised
his views on the infinite, which he considered unknowable. Under the influence of
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804), he conceived of the world which humans know as finite and
conditioned in terms of space, time, and degree. In logic his attempt to “quantify the
predicate” was a crude anticipation of later developments in mathematical logic. The
British academic outlook was broadened by his emphasis on the German philosophers and on Aristotle the Stagirite. His son, Francis Hamilton, published
his “Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic” (ed. by Rev. Henry Mansel and Prof. John Veitch, IV Volumes, 1859-1860, reprinted 1969).
[curly-bracketed insert added]. ~ (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopaedia). The Third Alternative (Peace On Earth In This Life Time As This Flesh And Blood Body) Here is an actual freedom from the Human Condition, surpassing Spiritual Enlightenment and any other Altered State Of Consciousness, and challenging all philosophy, psychiatry, metaphysics (including quantum physics with its mystic cosmogony), anthropology, sociology ... and any religion along with its paranormal theology. Discarding all of the beliefs that have held humankind in thralldom for aeons, the way has now been discovered that cuts through the ‘Tried and True’ and enables anyone to be, for the first time, a fully free and autonomous individual living in utter peace and tranquillity, beholden to no-one.
Richard’s Text ©The Actual Freedom Trust: 1997-. All Rights Reserved.
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