LOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS - by Avi Sion

LOGICAL AND SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS

Avi Sion,  Ph. D.

First published, 2008. Revised and expanded edition, 2009.

Abstract

Logical and Spiritual Reflections is a collection of six shorter philosophical works, in two parts.

The first part, consisting of Logical Reflections, includes:

·       Hume’s Problems with Induction, which is intended to describe and refute some of the main doubts and objections David Hume raised with regard to inductive reasoning. It replaces the so-called problem of induction with a principle of induction. David Hume’s notorious skepticism was based on errors of observation and reasoning, with regard to induction, causation, necessity, the self and freewill. These are here pointed out and critically analyzed in detail – and more accurate and logical theories are proposed. This work also includes refutations of Hempel’s and Goodman’s alleged paradoxes of induction.

·       A Short Critique of Kant’s Unreason, which is a brief critical analysis of some of the salient epistemological and ontological ideas and theses in Immanuel Kant’s famous Critique of Pure Reason. It shows that Kant was in no position to criticize reason, because he neither sufficiently understood its workings nor had the logical tools needed for the task. Kant’s transcendental reality, his analytic-synthetic dichotomy, his views on experience and concept formation, and on the forms of sensibility (space and time) and understanding (his twelve categories), are here all subjected to rigorous logical evaluation and found deeply flawed – and more coherent theories are proposed in their stead.

·       In Defense of Aristotle’s Laws of Thought, which addresses, from a phenomenological standpoint, numerous modern and Buddhist objections and misconceptions regarding the basic principles of Aristotelian logic. Many people seem to be attacking Aristotle’s Laws of Thought nowadays, some coming from the West and some from the East. It is important to review and refute such ideas as they arise.

The second part, consisting of Spiritual Reflections, includes:

·       More Meditations, which is a sequel to the author’s earlier work, Meditations. It proposes additional practical methods and theoretical insights relating to meditation and Buddhism. It also discusses certain often glossed over issues relating to Buddhism – notably, historicity, idolatry, messianism, importation to the West.

·       Zen Judaism, which is a frank reflection on the tensions between reason and faith in today’s context of knowledge, and on the need to inject Zen-like meditation into Judaism. This work also treats some issues in ethics and theodicy.

·       No to Sodom, which is an essay against homosexuality, using biological, psychological, spiritual, ethical and political arguments.

Buy it or read it online

All of Avi Sion’s published books can be purchased at Amazon.com (in paperback or kindle/.mobi form), and at Lulu.com (in hardcover, paperback or e-book/.epub form), as well as other online stores.

They can also be read online free of charge, chapter by chapter, at www.TheLogician.net and, in '3D flipbook' format, at www.AviSionBooks.com, as well as in Google Books and other Internet locations. They are also available in many university and public libraries.

Contents in brief

PART 1:          LOGICAL REFLECTIONS

Book 1.           Hume’s Problems with Induction

Book 2.           A Short Critique of Kant’s Unreason

Book 3.           In Defense of Aristotle’s Laws of Thought

PART 2:          SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS

Book 4.           More Meditations

Book 5.           Zen Judaism

Book 6.           No to Sodom

Addenda

Contents in detail

Part 1: Logical Reflections

BOOK 1.         HUME’S PROBLEMS WITH INDUCTION

1.         Hume’s “problem of induction”

2.         The principle of induction

3.         Causation, necessity and connection

4.         The psychology of induction

5.         The self or soul

6.         Freewill         

7.         The is-ought dichotomy

8.         Hempel's paradox of confirmation

9.         Goodman’s paradox of prediction

10.       The induction of induction

11.       Descartes’ mind-body dichotomy

12.       Some further remarks on causal logic

BOOK 2.         A SHORT CRITIQUE OF KANT’S UNREASON

1.         Kant’s transcendental reality

2.         The analytic-synthetic dichotomy

3.         Theory of knowledge

4.         Experience, space and time

5.         Kant’s “categories”

6.         Ratiocinations

7.         How numbers arise

8.         Geometrical logic

BOOK 3.         IN DEFENSE OF ARISTOTLE’S LAWS OF THOUGHT

1.         Logicians have to introspect

2.         The primacy of the laws of thought

3.         The ontological status of the laws

4.         Fuzzy logic

5.         Misrepresentation of Aristotle

6.         Not on the geometrical model

7.         A poisonous brew

8.         The game of one-upmanship

9.         In Buddhist discourse

10.       Calling what is not a spade a spade

11.       Buddhist causation theory

12.       A formal logic of change

13.       Buddhist critique of change

14.       Different strata of knowledge

15.       Impermanence

16.       Buddhist denial of the soul

17.       The status of sense perceptions

18.       The status of dreams and daydreams

19.       The status of conceptions

20.       The laws of thought in meditation

21.       Reason and spirituality

Part 2: Spiritual Reflections

BOOK 4.         MORE MEDITATIONS

1.         Go directly and keep going

2.         Breath and thought awareness

3.         Self-awareness

4.         Meditation on the self

5.         Various remarks on meditation

6.         Mental health

7.         Behold the mind

8.         The four foundations and the core practice

9.         Transcending suffering and karma

10.       Behold the soul

11.       The Buddhist no-soul theory

12.       Buddhist historicity

13.       About Buddhist idolatry

14.       Buddhist messianism

15.       Assimilating Buddhism

BOOK 5.         ZEN JUDAISM

1.         God and Creation

2.         Torah and faith

3.         Bible text and commentary

4.         Tradition vs. innovation

5.         The rabbinical estate

6.         Judaic illogic

7.         Jewish meditation

8.         Enlightenment without idolatry

9.         Good people

10.       A world of mercy

11.       Understanding injustice

12.       Forgiveness

13.       Actions and reactions

Appendix 1.    Round numbers in Torah statistics

Appendix 2.    Prayer in uncertainty

BOOK 6.         NO TO SODOM

1.         Picking up the gauntlet

2.         Homosexuals defined

3.         Homosexual tendencies

4.         The biological role of sex

5.         Non-reproductive sex

6.         Deviance and suffering

7.         Some probable causes

8.         Changing rationalizations

9.         It is freely chosen

10.       Sensuality and perversion

11.       Spiritual impurity

12.       The essence of sodomy

13.       A social revolution

14.       The defenders and promoters of homosexuality

15.       Some legal issues

16.       A call for recovery

17.       (Annex) The Rabbis must ban homosexuals from Judaism

ADDENDA 

1. Logic in Defense of Zionism
2. The Chanukah Lights Miracle

(These six books can also be purchased separately.)