The object of philosophy, which has been exhibited by the scientific light of psychology, can be shown also by the scientific light of the science of logic, as shown below.
The science of Logic has for its object a knowledge of the primary law of cognition, which is termed right reason, and all the logical laws and rules that flow from it and according to which a rational man ought to reason and think in all his cognitive work in order not to stray from the truth or mistake falsehood for truth. This primary law of cognition is inseparable from the soul’s primary cognition, and is conceived as a necessary bond, or nexus, between relative effects and their relative causes, and between all relative causes and one absolute and uncaused cause, the name whereof is GOD. When thinking and judging according to this primary law, the soul assumes the existence of an ever-existent God, which is necessarily attested by the existence of all relative causes, just as the existence of all relative causes is necessarily attested by the existence of the effects produced by them. Since, moreover, all relative effects and all their relative causes are merged into a single term, the fact, right reason is conceived as the necessary. bond between the fact and the eternal Being; and the science of logic comprehends all the scientifically knowable object of knowledge in these three terms: fact, right reason, eternal being. This primary law of cognition and this primary cognition that cognizes the eternal Being by means of the fact-in-time are designated by the science of logic as the criterion of truth. By means of this, logic judges and exposes the falsity of all other systems of philosophy; and by the same criterion our new philosophical system has been proved correct and true. By means of the light of right reason and the primary cognition, the object of philosophy can be discovered and proved, as we are about to show.
The existence of God having been logically assumed as an absolute, uncaused, and eternal existence, the co-eternal co-existence of the perfect image of God follows logically; which image represents God faithfully and exactly, and is in fact another God, equal to God, since an exact image of God is necessarily itself a God. For, unless an image of God were a God, it could not even be an image of God; that is, it would be impossible for it to image God. However, the fact that from the logical assumption of an ever-existent God the assumption of an eternal and perfect image of God logically follows, becomes evident if we reason as follows:
If we hypothetically deny the existence of the perfect and eternal image of God, we deprive God of the ability to cognize and to represent Himself as He is; and the denial of such ability denies nothing else than the existence of God Himself. For a God unable to cognize and to represent Himself by .means of a perfect image has no ability at all, and a God having no ability at all is not a God. Therefore, since it is true that God exists, the image of God necessarily co-exists – that is, His Logos, and His Truth, without which nothing could be made, and no truth could be. Now, this First Truth and perfect image and representation of God became also the perfect image and representation of perfect man, and revealed Himself among men as perfect God and perfect man, a single God-man, through whom can be understood both God and man, their relations, and the world originated for man’s sake. It is this First Truth and perfect image of God and man, logically discovered and proved by means of right reason, that our philosophy rightly recognizes as its object of knowledge. For such object not only distinguishes it from other sciences as having an object of its own, appertaining to it alone; but also explains all that has hitherto been inexplicable and fulfills the infinite philosophical yearning to know, which no other science fulfills or undertakes to fulfill. Further, this object of our philosophy can be made manifest also by the following logical reflection:
The entity, or real existence, of the primarily cognizing subject and of the objects primarily cognized is necessarily contained in the awareness of the primary cognition; and, in general, awareness without entity nowhere subsists in the same being. But entity subsists and can be observed in many beings without an accompanying awareness; for a multitude of beings do not even know that they exist, and have being without knowing of their own existence. But all beings that possess intelligence, or are capable of awareness, and know that they exist, necessarily possess entity inseparable from intelligence; and it is impossible for anything knowing that it exists not to exist – that is, anything that is conscious of its own existence necessarily exists. Therefore, entity is always and everywhere to be inferred from intelligence and an idea necessarily; whereas intelligence is not necessarily to be inferred from entity. Therefore, logic can prove the existence of beings by means of ideas and awareness, and no chasm subsists between ideology and ontology, as Kant’s uncritical Critique foolishly and falsely dogmatized. The existence of a being is proved by the existence of an idea of it, from which its entity is necessarily to be inferred. Without an idea there can be no awareness; and without awareness there can be no proof of entity. Consequently, the proof of beings having been made by means .of the ideas of them, logic, by means of the ideated (conceptual) reason in us, which is a bond necessarily subsisting between the idea of the fact and the idea of the eternal Being, discovers immediately and shows forth the Ontological Logos, or Ontological Reason, outside us, who is the necessary bond of all beings and the principle, or main factor, of their essence and nature. For, just as the ideated reason within us combines in itself the idea of the fact and the idea of the eternal Being, and is the principle of all knowledge and science, so does the Ontological Reason, or Logos, outside us combine in Himself all beings, or God, world, and man, and is in fact the principle of all beings, being in Himself God and man and world. It is this Ontological Reason, or Logos, knowledge of which is equivalent to knowledge of all things in existence, when logically set forth, which our philosophy has for its object; and not all beings as they actually are, or anything else differing from it. This Ontological Reason, or Word, or Logos, by the same light of the science of logic can be exhibited and proved also as follows:
In the awareness of the primary cognition which we have in us, there is a threefold entity – namely, the entity of the subject cognizing, the entity of the object cognized, and the entity of the cognitive spirit that connects the thinking subject with the object thought of, and forms the cognition. Likewise in seeing, three entities, or heads of being, are distinctly to be seen – namely, the entity of the seeing eye, the entity of the object seen, and the entity of the light, which connects the visual eye with the object seen and forms the sight, or act of seeing. If, however, in our vision and awareness three distinct entities, or heads of being, are to be seen and cognized, there must needs be also in God’s awareness three entities, or heads of being, distinct from one another – namely, the entity of the cognizing God, the entity of the cognized image or Idea of God, and the entity of the cognitive Spirit, which connects God with His image and forms God’s cognition. Therefore, from God’s awareness is necessarily proved the existence of three entities, or three heads of being, or three perfect substances, or hypostases, inseparable from each other and mutually cognizing and being cognized. The first hypostasis is called the first and perfect Mind; the second is called the Logos and Son of the first hypostasis, which on this account is also called the Father, on the ground that It begets the Son, the second hypostasis; while the third hypostasis, which connects the other two, is called the Holy Spirit, deriving Its entity from the first hypostasis, as does also the second. But the Son has His entity through generation, or birth; and it is owing to this that He is called the Son; whereas the Holy Spirit has His entity through procession, or emanation, from the Father alone ( and not also from the Son, as the papal heresy erroneously dogmatized). This person, God’s Son and Logos, became also the Son of Man, and dwelt among us full of grace and truth; and it is knowledge of this all-wise and all-skillful Logos that our philosophy has for its object; and it is through Him that it cognizes all the objects of the other sciences, allowing each science to have its own object and not appropriating what belongs to the others, because it has an object which is worthy of it. And this object of philosophy can also be proved by the following logical reflection:
Inasmuch as awareness is impossible without an idea and a spirit, every being that does not know its own existence has neither any idea of itself nor any spirit of consciousness and cognition in itself. On the other hand, any being that knows that it is existent necessarily has a spirit of consciousness and an idea of itself and of other beings. But a being that has a spirit and an idea and knows that it exists is much superior to a being that is destitute of an idea and of a spirit and that does not know that it exists. Therefore the measure of the value and of the perfection of beings is intellectuality, or awareness; and a being that has a more perfect intellectuality is superior to the one that has a more imperfect intellectuality; and this again is superior to one that has none at all. But that being which has perfect intellectuality, or perfect awareness, and transcends all beings necessarily has also a perfect Idea of Himself and a perfect Spirit in Himself. The perfect Idea of the perfect Being also possesses perfect entity, just as its perfect Spirit possesses perfect entity, and three perfect and eternal entities, or heads of being, are proved through perfect awareness. Now, knowledge of the Idea of the perfect Being is knowledge of the Being Himself and of every other being, and the philosophy that has for its object knowledge of the perfect Idea of God, or of the Logos, by whom all things were made, suffices to satisfy the philosophical yearning to have immediate knowledge, and is proved to be a true philosophy by its own object. Therefore, the science of logic by the light of right reason and the primary cognition discovers and proves the object of our philosophy, and gags the mouths of those who would deny or traduce the Truth of God, which has been revealed among men prophetically and historically by words and by miraculous works executed by divine power.
Who among the wise men of this age can contradict or gainsay these logical proofs of the object of our philosophy? But if, O wise men of this age, you have no objection to these logical and really scientific proofs, by which the object of philosophy that has been ignored and unknown up to now becomes more brightly manifest than the sun, be assured that you are being led astray by pseudo-philosophy and empty deception, and that you are on the way to perdition. Return, therefore, from error to truth, to be enlightened and saved. But all who malevolently and unreasonably prefer falsehood and darkness to truth and light are committing suicide and willfully hurling themselves down into the Gehenna of unquenchable fire, to be everlastingly punished therein; and no one can deny that they are worthy of such everlasting misery. But we rejoice exceedingly that we have psychologically and logically discovered and that we possess the lovely object of philosophy, the Ontological Reason, or Logos, the absolute and universal Truth, the exact and perfect consummation of the philosophical yearning to know all things. Blessed are they who know and realize it.
(continued in the next series of articles this week)
Apostolos Makrakis 