[Today, religions^{infrasovereign} seek to gain the integrity of a religion^{suprasovereign} by gaining control of sovereign power.  In short, they confound the “organizational goals” with “character building”.

This is a perilous path, since the costs of completely imposing the organizational objectives of an religion^{infrasovereign} are high.

What happens if, by some chance, the organizational objectives are met?  Or what if the society must be destroyed in order to achieve the organizational objectives?  Or what if people adapt to the imposition by changing their behaviors in such a way that they lessen the importance of the organizational goal?  What if the effort to impose organizational goals destroys moral character?

Well, the imposition must be continually strengthened in order to meet the imperative.

The imposition becomes like a boulder.  The people become like water.

The dao becomes more apparent.

This is the theoretical challenge facing all critical thinkers today.]

Summary of text [comment] page 22

[Today, one might imagine that infrasovereign religions appear only after sovereign power descends under the auspices of a suprasovereign religion.

An Archaeology of the Fall suggested that religions of constrained complexity acted as think^divine in concert with think^organization.  Sovereignty belonged to the individuals within the group.  The undifferentiated nested form seamlessly encompassed character building₃(exercise of power₂(organizational discipline and goals₁)).

The purely symbolically ordered think^groups of unconstrained complexity defined themselves in contrast to this holistic, traditional way of life. Organizing dissociated from character building.

The sovereign arose as the only institution capable of performing certain tasks (such as the natural functions of government: resolving civic and contract disputes, public works, addressing crime, and defense).

However, the sovereign was also the only institution capable of forcing people to accomplish organizational goals defined by infrasovereign institutions.

The legitimate tasks of the sovereign make its institution inevitable.  The establishment of the sovereign then attracted infrasovereign religions.]

Summary of text [comment] page 22

[How did the nested form religion^{suprasovereign}₃(sovereign₂(religion^{infrasovereign}₁)) emerge?

This is a good question.  In many ways, this is the same question as:

When did think^divine and think^group become exclusive yet interpellating?

Before the beginning, in constrained complexity, this nested form was not differentiated.

In the beginning, as depicted in An Archaeology of the Fall, a change in the way we talk from referential to symbolic potentiated the differentiation.

The differentiation characterizes unconstrained complexity.

In Biblical myth, the differentiation was already apparent by the end of the stories of Cain and Abel in Genesis.]

[The difference between the character-building think^divine and the organization-justifying think^group is significant.

The difference reminds me of the ego’s use of objects in order to bring other aspects of the psyche into relation.  Non-ego aspects of the psyche, harbored in conscience and in dispositions, may be trained through the integrative symbols of think^divine or they may be brought into command by the disciplinary objectives of think^group.  Ironically, both these aspects appear to fall under the label of “superego”.

Either way, the non-ego aspects cannot escape the ego’s object relations because they cannot leave the psyche.  Virtually the same condition holds for the sovereign subject.]

[A think^group may seek sovereign power in order to “establish the object that brings all subjects into an organization”.  (Or an alliance of think^groups may seek power to establish objects.)

When an infrasovereign institution grasps sovereign power, the think^group re-iterates the previously described parallel structure, but on the basis of a particular organizational relation – which I will call an “organizational object” – that establishes the difference between the grasping think^group and others.

Think^group becomes think^pro-object.

Furthermore, think^pro-object substitutes for think^divine.

The exclusion of the nested form of think^divine and the substitution of think^{group/pro-object} (in think^divine‘s place) leaves the parallel nested form (formerly occupied by think^group) empty.  Into that emptiness, sovereign power projects a nested form onto whoever does not go along with the party line.

The resulting parallel forms are think^pro-object(virtue^{=object relation}(conscience^pro-object)) versus the projection of think^anti-object(sin^{=violations of object relation}(conscience^anti-object)).

The difference between the character-building think^divine and the organization-justifying think^group is significant.

[Let me continue to expand on the first criteria in blogs 1.4F and 1.4G1.

Under conditions where supra-sovereign religions operate, the normal contexts of the vertical axis (of the intersecting nested forms) manifest themselves as think^divine(virtuous actions (conscience^free)) and think^group(sinful actions(conscience^lacking)).

The sovereign (ultimately no different from anyone else) is contextualized according to her actions within this universal – civilization engendering – dichotomy.

Think^divine addresses “the object that brings everyone into relation”.  Each person is called (interpellated) to align herself with that object (bring herself into relation).  This process may be called “building character”.

Personal character induces spontaneous organizations within society.  Organizations spontaneous arise and order themselves as individuals cooperate under the inspiration of the simple character building rules of a suprasovereign religion. For example, organizations may further train the person according to some goal.

Organizations, in turn, are contextualized by (or as) institutions. Institutions justify organizations.  Here is the location of think^group.  Institutions put organizations into context.

Some of these institutions may compete for sovereign power.]

Summary of text [comment] page 22

[Let me expand on the first criteria in blog 1.4F

The nested form has the structure of normal context₃(actuality₂(possibility₁)). The normal context puts the situation into context and the situation situates possibility.  This corresponds to Peirce’s concept of “precission”.

The “intersecting nested forms” is a tool that illuminates a structure.  This structure consists of (at least) two nested forms that intersect in the realm of actuality.

The horizontal nested form corresponds to a natural and philosophical orientation:            law^essential₃(human_action₂(disposition₁)).

The vertical nested form corresponds to a moral religious orientation.

Theoretically, this axis would be: think₃(human_action₂(conscience₁)).

Practically, in the world of speech-alone talk, this axis manifests the attributes of symbols. Symbols form exclusive orders (systems of differences).  Each interpellates the person.  This explains the term: “exclusive yet interpellating”.

Consequently, the vertical nested form is divided into at least two parallel nested forms. The differences between these two parallel nested forms are similar to the differences between “belonging” and “organizing”.

“Belonging” and “organizing” may be considered two types of symbolic orders or specialized languages.)]

Summary of text [comment] page 22

[Since this is the age of refusal and usurpation, allow me to re-iterate a definition of religion that fits this era.

Religion may be defined according two criteria:

One, religion views the individual and the world according to the intersecting nested forms with parallel (originally exclusive and interpellating) nested forms on the vertical moral religious axis.  In doing so, “religion₃” brings “the world₂” into relation with “the potential of the individual₁“.

Two, religion holds a nested relation to sovereign as actuality.  This means that there are two types of religion: Suprasovereign religions put the sovereign into context.  Infrasovereign religions are situated by the sovereign.

In nested form:

suprasovereign religion₃(sovereign₂( infrasovereign religion₁))]

Summary of text [comment] page 22

[What about today?  Let me paint a bold picture.

The French Revolution’s liberation of the empty Bastille compares to the apostle’s discovery of Christ’s empty tomb as infrasovereign compares to suprasovereign religion.

Consider: What did each take from their respective empty space?

The apostles took the news – or suspicion – of the Risen Christ.

The French mob took unguarded armaments.

Christianity lets sovereign power descend from heaven.

The French Revolution seized sovereign power in an uprising.

The relation between the person and the Risen Christ is beyond any symbolic order.  In Lacanian terms, the Risen Christ is a buttonhole.  Any button that apparently fits the buttonhole yields a symbolic order, then a social construction, that then finds itself slipping from the buttonhole and in need of renewal.  There is no solution to Christ.  Christ is the solution.  Jesus is the object that brings us all into relation.  A host of buttons (organizations) can be held by the buttonhole (of Christ’s interpellation).

In contrast, three “organizational objects”, defined the symbolic order in the French Revolution: freedom (from the king), fraternity (of the mob) and equality (of expropriated properties).

But those objects were not enough.  Sovereign power was necessary to make the citizens subject to think^pro-object. The armaments in the Bastille were needed to bring down the king, the nobles, the priests, the shop-keepers … okay … anyone who the mob did not like.  Guns were needed to achieve “equality”.  To resist was to “be against freedom, fraternity and equality”.  To resist was to think^{royal_noble_churchy_greedy}.  To resist was to be declared think^bourgouise. Even if you just happened to be in the wrong place, you could get branded, with decapitating consequences.

Oh, if you think that belongs to history and not to 2013, see Ann Coulter’s well-researched book Mugged.]

Summary of text [comment] page 22

[When a religion^{infrasovereign} grasps sovereign power, the society becomes closed, parnoid and stifling. The reigning symbolic order (think^pro-object) occupies the hollow of think^divine.

Sovereign^{infrareligion} converts by the sword.  To question is to feel the sharp point of accusation.  You are against the “object that brings us all into organization under sovereign power”.  Your conscience is against the “object”.]

In Schoonenberg’s words: “Israel’s ‘No’ to the God of grace takes shape the very first time in the positive effort to “be like unto God” (Gen 3:5); to dispose autonomously, in magic and idolatry, of God’s free gifts, of what properly belongs to God, of God himself.”