ABOUT THE BOOK

“Advertised as a ‘Cartesian reexamination of basic presuppositions, old and new, in philosophy and sciences’, this is a painstaking effort. Its stated purpose is to disclose how various truths such as free will, and including some now considered undemonstrable, ‘can be reflectively demonstrated and thereby an actual rather than speculative edifice of existence revealed’. The author sedulously presents his ‘[process] of inquiry’ and then four chapters: on language and concepts; on self, mind, and external reality; on logic and mathematics; and finally on the existence of God, with further inquiries into ‘the goodness of God and man’ and ‘heaven and immortality’. The chapters are independent but are cross-referenced, and ‘premises on which conclusions there are based may be substantiated elsewhere’.

A prospective reader, then, should not be misled by the title into expecting the early chapters to simply underpin the ‘proof for the existence of God’. The caution that ‘sections can be read individually by individual readers’ could alert those interested expressly in that proof and not in the exercises of erudition, acumen, and reasoning skill that precede it. …"

—Thought (December 1989), Fordham University

“…The author…has followed Shri Ramakrishna Maharaj’s advice: ‘If a single dive into the sea does not bring to you the pearl, do not conclude that the sea is without pearls. Countless are the pearls hidden in the sea.’…”

—Dharma Quarterly (Vol.33 No.3&4 1989), Malaysia

“This book consists of an introduction, which outlines the author’s philosophical methodology, and four chapters. The first chapter is about language and concepts; it is divided into sections on the signification of language, concepts and their constituents, and definition. The second chapter is devoted to metaphysics; it contains a section on the self and mind and one on external reality that focuses on extension and causality. The topic of the third chapter is logic and mathematics. The fourth chapter offers an argument for the existence of God and concludes with some thoughts about goodness and the prospects for immortality. …

The chapter on logic and mathematics is particularly rich in astonishing claims. …what of Cantor’s proof that the set of real numbers [is] larger…than the set of natural numbers? The author’s objection to it goes as follows: ‘The reasoning flaw in set theory lay in supposing completion of these sets, so that by assuming completion of one of them the other can be continued since infinite. Neither can be complete, for their infinity allows continuance by definition’.”

—Nous (December 1992), Indiana University

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION     1
            Process of inquiry     4

CHAPTER I. LANGUAGE AND CONCEPTS     9
            Section 1. The signification of language     9
            Section 2. Concepts and their constituents     19
            Section 3. Definition     28

CHAPTER II. REALITY     44
            Section 1. The self and mind     49
            Section 2. External reality     67
                        Extension     67
                        Causality     70

CHAPTER III. LOGIC AND MATHEMATICS   104
            Section 1. Paradoxes     107
            Section 2. Laws of thought or of complements     135
            Section 3. Other theorems and observations     158

CHAPTER IV. THE TRANSCENDENT REGIONS     216
            Section 1. The existence of God     217
                        Former arguments     218
                        Proof     222
            Section 2. Further inquiries     233
                        The goodness of God and man     233
                        Heaven and immortality     249

Index     252

SOME OF THE DIAGRAMS

MORE COMMENTS

“…wonderful book…I have…read much in Chapter IV dealing with God. And I am fascinated. …”

—Prof. H. Odera Oruka, Chairman, The Philosophical Association of Kenya (14th November 1989, letter to the author)

“…This is…a serious effort on my part to offer [for the review] a good presentation and useful discussion of your important book.”

—Prof. Hector-Neri Castañeda, Editor, Nous (July 10, 1990, letter to the author)

“…I am impressed with your way of showing how to understand that God must exist. Much of the difficulty in natural theology arises from the spirit of our times. People now are not inclined to see the validity of your argument. …”

—Prof. Vernon J. Bourke, Past President, The American Catholic Philosophical Association and The World Union of Catholic Philosophical Societies (September 13, 1994, letter to the author)