General vs Specific
Generally specific, OR specifically general?
One of the Raphael’s [Sanzio da Urbino] most famous works is his “School of Athens” fresco in the Vatican, depicting philosophers from various time periods and geographical and cultural contexts, convening in a large hallway of an immaculately designed edifice where each personage is seen engaging in different activities reminiscent of their particular philosophies. Some are scribing, some are poised with the classical position denoting deep thought (chin-on-hand, hunched over), some are measuring, such as Euclid (or Archimedes, depending on interpretation), and many are engaging or apparently intently listening to debates and discussions on, obviously, deep thoughts on the nature of reality and existence. This is, after all, what the Greeks loved to do – “All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas” (Acts 17:21). The two central figures, Aristotle and Plato, are the two most recognizable names (and branches of philosophy) are depicted as if in a rigorous and potentially rancorous debate, given their facial disposition and raised arms. Plato, for one, points into the sky while his counterpart, Aristotle, splays his hand toward the earth, ostensively. These unique positions allegorically represent two oppositional ideologies concerning the nature of describing reality. Plato believed we begin with prescribed forms, or categories, concerning ontological nature, or beings/objects, and then observe specifics in the world around us. Contrarily, Aristotle approached reality from an empirical stance in which one observes instances or specifics in the world and then formulates categories to delineate the specifics (do we start with notions of ‘genuses’ (‘generals’) and find ‘species’ (‘specifics’) that fit those categories, or do we observe ‘species’ and create ‘genuses’ to arrange them formulaically?) While both of these ‘schools of thought’ are the ideas of men, one does seem to be more man-centered, while one seems to reference an outside absolute. Nevertheless, I find that the notions of theory and general ideas so tantalizing, that I never take time to implicate practical examples often tantalize me. Conversely, there are times when I am so caught up in the moment, usually due to the momentum and churning of everyday life, that I forget to consider the broad scope of reality. A practical example of this general truth (smile) is that I get so caught up in trying to think about what it looks like to “pray continually” that I fail to actually pray for my housemates who are struggling with a particular situation. My desire is to recognize the general truths [of Scripture, specifically] and then actually implement them practically! (“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens…a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,5))
