InPresence 0043: Metaphysics

InPresence host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in "parapsychology" ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). For many years he served as president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people were supported and encouraged in developing inner intuitive abilities.

Here he points out that the term "metaphysics" has both a popular and an academic, philosophical meaning -- and that there is some overlap. One can think of metaphysics as a branch of ontology -- the inquiry into what is ultimately real. The logical positivists believed that metaphysics is nonsensical; however this view is on the wane. Sorokin, in sociology, holds that metaphysics serves as a glue to hold cultural eras together. Pragmatists examine whether different metaphysical views have practical consequences.

(Recorded on March 25, 2018)

To download an edited English transcript of InPresence 0043, go to

[robertb.macnaughton]

When I was in my 20's I shared a UFO Close Encounter of The Second Kind with two others. When in my 30's I had what is classified as a pre-cognitive dream which days earlier had been recorded in a dream journal. Since then small mundane paranormal events have occurred in my experience. To put it all together, I found the way to do it, via Tom Campbell's My Big TOE, in 2009, I test this Big TOE daily and it's been reaffirmed, consistently.
By the way, thank you for your contributions, Jeffery.

[robyngminski]

Not being able to work anymore, I have lots of time to think and you sure give this simple old man some heady stuff to ponder.
True story- Several days ago, someone offered me some Ativan saying I've been pretty tense lately. LOL
Some of the seeds you've been dispersing have already been sown with the grand kids.
Your legacy will grow forever.
Love you, Man-

[tfsheahan]

Quite a breathtaking and even dizzying overview. I don't really know where I stand, but am glad I've been exposed to this.

[wicky]

I’m so glad I had someone turn me in to Jeffrey Mishlove. It was only a couple of years ago, and I wonder how I made it through life beforehand! So thankful.

[payattention]

Jeffery has his act together and is knowledgable

[semichiganandy]

Planck is among the greatest of the greats, not just as a founder of quantum theory but as a true philosopher of science. Dr. Mishlove, I hope you consider dedicating a segment to the thoughts of Planck, they are relevant. He refused to be boxed in by artificial conventions.

[marthaadf]

Jeffrey, I know that are too many people who deny ESP, mediumship, and this kind of issues not because they don't believe, but because they don't want that all people in the world discover that multidimensional and spiritual life is real and independent of any "human" institution. They have afraid to lose this "competitive advantage" because in real life they use this knowledge to get money and power of influence... It means that maybe it is needed to change the focus, and prioritize the dissemination of knowledge instead of proving by arguments and healthy measurements. If possible, do it quickly. This is my humble suggestion.

[aphysique]

Dr. Mishlove, pretty please, with Cherries in top, will you do an interview with Dr. Radin & the Magical & Mystical side of life & all of life's trials & tribulations pertaining to Consiousness & one's own experiences with PSI type subject material!

[augustreigns]

words,
do have power.
and it is in the order,
of sequence,
that this power,
is found.
(...but you already know that...)

[_Darkhitect_]

I take it two years ago was when I was still alive and your not ninety but seventy. Whoo whooo

[Flanalb]

Here's a thought about metaphysics:
Philosophy - especially ontology, epistemology -, and Science are social activities that take place within the realms of language and mathematics. Those realms co-evolved with humanity or humanity invented/created them. Experience(s) is/are described in language or measured/modeled by mathematics. The Tao that can be spoken (or measured) is not the true Tao. Much of our daily experience is formed - at least in part - from our conditioning, which is largely influenced by linguistic The careful observation, deduction, description, analysis, and discussion of experience can in turn be observed, described, analyzed, discussed and modeled.
If you think of the thoughts and systems of thoughts and expressions which have been manifest in our awareness to this point in civilization (or the history of Mind) as being analogous to the real number system in one dimension, the Tao (as a representative of the Real which ontology seeks to describe) would be analogous to some higher number system such as you describe in some more complex array of dimensions (or even beyond dimension).
From the sociological perspective, the metaphysical glue that holds groups/cultures together is belief, is it not? Not all of these beliefs are explicit by any means. The efforts of intellectuals to find the best beliefs must be in some sort of dynamic interaction with the "momentum" of the elements of society they are engaged with. "Best" must be determined within the context of aims and outcomes, and all of those elements are limited by the awareness-capacity of the participants.

[YayaVye]

I have two Angels on my shoulders right now! 😉

[Paddyllfixit]

And as usual, Money. Most Scientists fear losing or being overlooked, for grants, funding, tenure, etc.
There's a well-known British-Iraqi scientist that really gets my goat. I have several of his books and in just about all of them, he makes a point in the intro of poo-pooing anything concerning Metaphysics or related to spiritual disciplines. I wonder, for whose benefit. Perhaps he's hoping for slaps on the back from his peers or seeking approval so it results in positive reviews of his book. His books are excellent, but they can do without his personal bias and sometimes even ignorance.

[Chicken_Little_Syndrome]

Metaphysics – "the science of the inward and essential nature of things, " 1560s, plural of Middle English metaphisik, methaphesik (late 14c.), "branch of speculation which deals with the first causes of things, " from Medieval Latin metaphysica, neuter plural of Medieval Greek (ta) metaphysika, from Greek ta meta ta physika "the (works) after the Physics, " title of the 13 treatises which traditionally were arranged after those on physics and natural sciences in Aristotle's writings. See meta- + physics.

[charlesjohnson]

You are mischaracterizing Wittgenstein. Wittgenstein was heavily influenced by Schopenhauer as a youth, and his statement "Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent" is intended to represent the total "embodiment", so to speak, of a metaphysical whole. Wittgenstein never "changed his mind". The difference between his earlier and later work is only one of role: in the former, we see Wittgenstein the BE-er/DO-er; in the latter work, we see Wittgenstein the teacher. Thus, it is his early work which should be of interest to parapsychologists. This was the height of his "parapsychological" powers. (I find parapsychologists pay disproportionate attention to empathic gifts, and not nearly enough attention to analytical gifts. Is not someone such as Srinivasa Ramanujan of interest to parapsychology?)

[FreemanPresson]

Ontology is a branch of metaphysics, not the other way around.