Tertium Organum

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

—

Title

Tertium Organum

Language

en

Book source

Global Grey

Description max 80 words

P. D. Ouspensky's Tertium Organum challenges ordinary perception by introducing a new mode of thought based on higher dimensions and consciousness. This incisive early-20th-century work argues that linear logic is insufficient for understanding reality, urging readers to transcend materialistic views to grasp the true nature of existence, love, and the unity of the world.

Summary up to 500 words

In *Tertium Organum*, P. D. Ouspensky proposes a radical reorganization of human thought, asserting that the laws governing a 'Third Organum' of thought existed prior to the systems of Aristotle or Bacon. He argues that conventional science and philosophy are trapped in a 'phenomenal' world of limited perception, failing to recognize the 'noumenal' reality that underlies existence. Ouspensky contends that time is the fourth dimension of space, imperfectly sensed by consciousness, which creates the illusion of linearity. He critiques positivism and materialism for arresting the motion of thought, insisting that true knowledge requires a shift from rational analysis to intuitive understanding. The text explores the complex nature of man as a combination of physical, life, and psychic phenomena operating on different planes. Ouspensky distinguishes between 'consciousness' as a background state and the specific psychic functions of thought, feeling, and sensation. He delves deeply into the nature of love, describing it not merely as emotion but as a contact with the 'world of the wondrous' and a sensing of that which is not. Using analogies from mathematics and geometry, he illustrates how beings in lower dimensions cannot comprehend higher realities, suggesting that humanity similarly struggles to perceive the infinite nature of the universe. Ouspensky addresses the relationship between spirit and matter, the problem of free will versus determinism, and the limitations of the brain in accessing higher states of awareness. He references the experiences of the blind learning to see to demonstrate how sensory organs limit our understanding of space and form. The work culminates in a call for an eternal search for truth, rejecting any form of knowledge that arrests this motion. By integrating mathematical certitude with mystical insight, Ouspensky aims to guide readers away from the 'haunted jungle' of metaphysical theories toward a direct contemplation of primal mysteries, offering a path to awaken the soul from the dream of visible life.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Occult
• Theosophy