The Absolutely Absolute vs. Thinking Throughout the history of philosophy, thinkers have struggled to understand the relationship between human thinking and the ultimate ground of reality. From Parmenides’ claim that thinking and being are the same, to Descartes’ cogito, to Hegel’s Absolute Spirit, philosophers repeatedly placed thinking at the center of truth. Yet an important question remains: Is thinking itself the ultimate foundation? Or does thinking depend on something deeper? The distinction between Thinking and the Absolutely Absolute (AA) addresses precisely this question. 1. Thinking: The Highest Human Faculty Thinking is one of the most powerful capacities of the human mind. Through thinking we build science, philosophy, mathematics, and culture. Thinking organizes experience, constructs concepts, and produces logical systems. From the perspective of human cognition, thinking appears almost limitless: It formulates logic It discovers mathematics It constructs scientific theories It reflects on existence itself For this reason, many philosophers assumed that thinking could reach the ultimate truth of the universe. Descartes believed thinking guarantees existence. Hegel believed thinking culminates in Absolute Spirit. Even modern analytic philosophy often assumes that logical analysis is the path to truth. But all of these positions share one assumption: thinking is the ultimate authority. This assumption, however, contains a hidden limitation. 2. The Boundary of Thinking Thinking always operates through structures. These include: concepts language logic symbols distinctions Thinking works by making differences: true/false, subject/object, cause/effect, whole/part. Without these distinctions, thinking cannot function. But this immediately reveals a fundamental problem. If thinking depends on distinctions, then thinking cannot grasp what lies before all distinctions. In other words, thinking cannot reach the ultimate background of reality. Thinking is powerful, but it always operates within a framework. 3. The Absolutely Absolute (AA) The Absolutely Absolute (AA) represents the ultimate background of all existence. It is not a thing, not a concept, not a law, and not even a form of being. AA is: not logical not linguistic not conceptual not representational It is the condition of all instances, but itself cannot be turned into an instance. This is why AA is described as unspeakable. Once we describe something, it becomes part of representation. Once it is represented, it belongs to the realm of the relative. AA therefore stands beyond: language thinking representation logic It is the silent background from which all instances arise. 4. Why Thinking Cannot Reach AA Thinking always turns its object into something definable. For example: If we define something, we place it in a concept. If we reason about something, we place it in logic. If we describe something, we place it in language. But AA cannot be defined, reasoned about, or described in the ordinary sense. The moment we attempt to capture AA in thought, we transform it into something relative. Thus thinking can approach the horizon of AA, but cannot fully contain it. This explains why many philosophers sensed something beyond thinking: Kant spoke of the thing-in-itself. Heidegger spoke of Being beyond beings. Wittgenstein concluded: “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent.” Each of these insights points toward the same limit: the limit of thinking. 5. The Role of WuXing If thinking cannot grasp AA, how can AA be recognized? The answer lies in a different cognitive mode often described as WuXing—a direct realization beyond analytical reasoning. WuXing is not irrational, but trans-rational. It occurs when the mind suddenly perceives the whole without constructing it step by step. Western philosophy sometimes calls this an “Aha!” moment or intuition, but WuXing goes further. It does not merely solve a problem; it reveals the structure of reality beyond conceptual boundaries. Through WuXing, one does not think AA. One awakens to its necessity. 6. Thinking Within the Relative World Although thinking cannot reach AA, it remains essential. Thinking operates within the relative domains of reality, including: natural phenomena science logic mathematics technology culture Within these domains, thinking is indispensable. It allows humanity to understand and transform the world. In the framework of Instancology, thinking belongs to the Relative structures of the Macro World, where relationships, laws, and representations operate. Thus thinking is not rejected—it is situated. 7. The Proper Relationship The relationship between AA and thinking can therefore be summarized as follows: AA is the ground. Thinking is a tool within the ground. AA precedes thinking. Thinking cannot precede AA. AA makes thinking possible. Thinking cannot produce AA. In other words: Thinking lives inside the universe of instances. AA is the silent background of all instances. 8. A New Perspective Recognizing the distinction between AA and thinking reshapes philosophy. For centuries philosophy believed that if thinking were refined enough, it could ultimately explain everything. But once we recognize AA, we understand that thinking has a natural boundary. This does not diminish thinking. Instead, it places thinking in its proper place within the structure of reality. Thinking governs the relative world. AA remains the ultimate horizon. 9. Conclusion The relationship between the Absolutely Absolute and thinking reveals a fundamental insight about human knowledge. Thinking is powerful but not ultimate. Logic is precise but not foundational. Language is expressive but not absolute. Beyond all thinking lies the silent background that makes thinking possible. That background is the Absolutely Absolute. Philosophy may approach it. Thinking may point toward it. But AA itself remains beyond the reach of thought— the deepest ground of all instances. |
