Contemplation

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Related to Contemplation: contemplation of death

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Contemplation

a sensory stage of knowledge.

In the idealist tradition of philosophy, there are two basic conceptions of contemplation, both directly related to the notion of intuition. One interpretation originated with Plato, who regarded contemplation as the extrasensory knowledge of ideas and the basis of “true” knowledge. The other interpretation was developed by Kant, who juxtaposed contemplation to both thought and sensations and treated it as the concept of a single object, the concept which is to undergo categorization in cognition. E. Husserl’s phenomenology considers both types of contemplation: empirical contemplation, or consciousness of a particular object, and eidetic contemplation, the object of which is essence (eidos).

Pre-Marxist materialism interpreted cognition as contemplation, a passive process of perceiving the external world, which acts on the sense organs. K. Marx wrote: “The chief defect of all previous materialism—that of Feuerbach included—is that things, reality, sensuousness are conceived only in the form of the object, or of contemplation, but not as human sensuous activity or practice, not subjectively” (in K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 3, p. 1).

Marxism has shown that cognition is not passive contemplation but an activity inextricably linked with transforming the world.

Contemplation

Compleat Angler, The

Izaak Walton’s classic treatise on the Contemplative Man’s Recreation. [Br. Lit.: The Compleat Angler]

Thinker, The

sculpture by Rodin, depicting contemplative man. [Fr. Art: Osborne, 988]

References in periodicals archive ?

Far more than pleasure or enjoyment, Andy Miller points out, the art of reading takes patience, solitude and contemplation. And this, we are slowly losing in our world today.

The Lost Art Of Reading

Rohr also noted that contemplation need not be restricted to monasteries.

Rohr: Church needs 'awakening of the soul'

In his article on Merton, the conclusion points to the family meal as a preserve of human participation by way of both conversation and contemplation. (8) His conclusions regarding the need for focal practices fit nicely into a more explicitly religious communication concern, namely, the receding capacity of technological persons to open themselves toward particular times and places where listening and speaking, curiosity and encounter might transform existence.

Borgmann on Merton: exploring the possibility of contemplation in a technological age

While no vision or understanding of God is perfectly adequate, the path of contemplation moves toward "increasing adequacy" (64).

Partakers of the Divine: Contemplation and the Practice of Philosophy

Christ was an itinerant preacher who blended contemplation and action.

Power of Spirituality of Being

Ramadan is about many things: Moderation, contemplation, giving and togetherness are a few elements which give Muslims the opportunity to get rid of sins and purify the soul during the holy month.

'Ramadan a month to remember the less fortunate'

This is similar to the federal rule that existed until 1976, which also required the adding back of gifts made in contemplation of death if made within three years of death.

Planning for the new Jersey Inheritance tax

Similarly, in chapter seven Reeve argues that happiness consists in something like the maximization of contemplation, which would seem to involve continuous intellectual activity.

Reeve, C. D. C. Action, Contemplation, and Happiness: An Essay on Aristotle

In the second half of the book, the author shifts from a focus on the disciplines of contemplation to a discussion of the disciplines of engagement.

The Contemplative Counselor: A Way of Being

Contemplation is a word that few people use although it has a fairly definite meaning.

Contemplation in a technological era: learning from Thomas Merton

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