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Language and Civilization
Reality has physical and spiritual dimensions. Indeed, the world civilization that beckons humanity is one that will achieve a dynamic coherence between these two requirements of social life. If...
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The Concept of a Concept
All human beings are endowed with certain basic spiritual capacities – derived from the soul, which is the element of the individual that is responsible for spiritual nature. Chief among these...
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Clarity
Human beings understand reality through conceptualization. For material and concrete objects, language naturally defines them easily. As concepts become more abstract – such as regarding the social...
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Rationality
In addition to clarity, another important characteristic of the language of science is rationality. Again, as language informs thought, using rational language helps create reasonable thought. And...
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Consistency
The statements of a language that seeks to be rational must also be internally consistent. Obviously, premises and claims cannot contradict each other, otherwise, truth could never be sought, and...
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Social Conventions – Objective or Subjective?
Objectivity – another desired quality of the language of science – is a term loaded with connotations and interpretations; it’s rarely a straightforward concept. It helps to contrast it with...
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Language as Social Convention
In understanding the role of objectivity in language, two types of statements have been presented – personal preferences, which are entirely subjective; and social conventions, which are subjective in...
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Objectivity and Reality
Notwithstanding that all social conventions, including language, are built from shared understanding that are to some extent ontologically subjective, they are not completely arbitrary. Language – as...
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Claims About Social Reality
The physical and material aspects of our complex reality are not the only ones with objectivity – the human mind is able to make objective statements about all of reality, including social and...
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Objective Spiritual Reality
Considering how difficult it is to judge objective statements about social reality, it is even more challenging with spiritual reality. However, spiritual reality exists, human language can attempt to...
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The Beauty of Language
One of the most fundamental characteristics of human nature is a soul’s desire to explore reality and search for meaning in the universe – the mind longs to understand. Language is the medium by which...
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Rise of a New Dawn
Red was painted the sky of man’s grey history, blood rained from clouds heavy, pregnant with the neglected structures and individualistic anachronisms that is our society. Individualistic rhetoric...
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Can Debate Lead to Truth?
Is it possible that a “debate” leads us, the listeners and watchers, to truth? Can a mode of dialogue such as contestational or confrontational debate assist others and people interested in the issues...
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Summary: Ridvan 2012 Message
Paragraph#: 1. Abdu’l-Baha’s Temple-ground piercing Centenary. Diverse participants then and now. 2. Divine civilization beyond mere adjustments to present order. 3. Erroneous assumptions of human...
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Shadows of the Mind: Disorganized Activism, Conducive to Change?
Decades have come and gone and our busy lives, cluttered with diverse daily drives and enjoyments, have advanced in age, irreparable choices have been made, courses set, and moral decisions cast in the...
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Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth
National and Regional Training Institutes throughout the world offer a course called Ruhi Book 5, “Releasing the Powers of Junior Youth,” designed for the training of “Animators” who mentor youth...
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The Circulatory System and the Beauty of Language
People have been inquiring as to the connection between the concepts of the circulatory system and the beauty of language. The human cardiovascular system is the symbol for justice in the world of...
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Collective Reflections
This past weekend, nearly forty individuals gathered together for an exploration of participation in discourse. (See post, Discourse: Session at Bosch) The aim was to connect everyday conversations –...
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Coherence in Conversations
Recently, a gathering took place in which friends from diverse backgrounds, ages, geographies, and experiences came together to explore participation in discourse. Coherence, it seemed, was the key....
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Releasing the Deep Reservoirs that Young People Possess
“Throughout the world, across all classes and social groups, there has been a ready response from youth who are invited to examine the forces shaping their society and their role in contributing to its...
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