Concerning Praxism
The reference and introduction to the conception of Praxism.
This article is the reference on this page for basic information concerning the conception of Praxism. The four main areas of particular interest covered here will be as follows:
Praxism as a conception considered in isolation
Praxism as applied to the highest possible degree
Praxism as applied to the Humanly Principle
Ways in which Praxism may be identified within other conceptions.
As a preliminary introduction, this article intends to answer the question "what is Praxism?". This term we at Praxia have coined to identify a particular conception concerning a "fundamental nature" or "law" proper to all things, along with corresponding activity in accordance with such a notion. The conception of Praxism is, therefore, very simple in its own right, but, when applied, it has the potential of great complexity; the pure idea considered in isolation merely amounts to a formulaic conception applicable to all things, however the complexity of these applications themselves has a wide range of variation.
As a result, the conception of Praxism when applied to its fullest extent may seem very foreign to the modern mind, which is not particularly used to considering a conception applied to such a scale, or any of that which such an application would entail. This, of course, requires the reader to expand ones frame of consideration to incorporate realities and possibilities that were either never considered, or once rejected outright, for being so far outside the sphere of basic considerations necessary for a participation in contemporary discourse.
It is also necessary to make a clarification in regards to the "-ism" of Praxism: this should not be understood in terms of conditioned ideologies or dogmas. The "-ism" of Praxism corresponds to something that is much more fundamental than ideology, which will become clear as the current work unfolds.
Terminology
This section can be skipped and used as a reference for the rest of the text.
This section is simply to serve as a glossary for some basic terms that we at Praxia employ to refer to the individual tenets that are enveloped within the conception of Praxism, both in isolation and in application, or to quickly and easily refer to things with a universal significance while avoiding the use of preestablished terms with preexisting connotations. The definitions that follow are relevant to this topic in particular, and may differ from official definitions of these words in other contexts.
Praxism: A conception in which a design, the active fulfillment of that design, and the way in which this fulfillment is realized, are identified in singularity
Praxism (Applied to the totality of Reality): The fundamental design of Reality, the fulfillment of this design by all things, and the way in which this fulfillment is realized
Praxism (Applied to the Humanly Principle): The participation of the human in the Quintessential Reality; Tradition (with a capital T)
Universality: A state of being that is utterly unlimited, unrestricted, and unconditioned
That which is truly Universal - with a capital U - is in its applicable state, meaning that it is not in its applied state; it is universal insofar as it has not yet undergone any sort of refinement or formatting to any set of parameters whatsoever, and insofar as it does not possess any conditioning or distinguishing properties whatsoever.
The Universal is only discernible in its totality from the position of the Universal itself, or if a more restricted universality were being considered, it is discernible from the position of a more universal logical necessity, but it is never discernible in its totality from the position of a non-universal or conditioned status. So Universality indicates or signifies the applicable and incorporative state, which is, once again, unlimited.
Quintessentiality: The most universal state of that which is still discernible in conceptualization.
That which is Quintessential possesses all of the qualities of Universality, but is still particular in its conceptualization; it is Quintessential because it is the pure essence of a particular thing, ontologically prior to the manifestation of that thing itself, and prior to any distinguishing properties except for that of concept or conceptualization.
A thing in its Quintessential state can be considered to be the archetype for the manifestations of the thing to adhere to. So the point of Quintessentiality is the point beyond which there is nothing more fundamental except for Total Universality itself; in other words, to conceive of something in its Quintessential mode is to envisage a particular aspect of Total Universality, or to envisage Total Universality in a particular mode.
The Monad: The most Universal, Quintessential, and fundamental principle; the source and sustaining force of all things; God
Holistic Monism: A type of universalism that distinguishes a singularity which produces and incorporates a multiplicity
Quintessential Reality: The metaphysical domain; the domain of Total Universality in its complete, undifferentiated, and unindividuated state
Essential Truth: The a priori conception of a given thing; the archetype to which the thing must adhere
Substantial Truth: Any one identifiable or observable truth about a given thing
Quintessential Truth: The fundamental design of Reality; the necessary and fundamental operation of Reality within itself according to its own design
Quintessential Metaphysics: Metaphysics prior to interpretation, refinement, or expression; the metaphysics with which Praxism is concerned
Tradition (Capital T): Any humanly practice or activity that directly accesses and allows for a participation in the Quintessential Reality
Part 1 - Praxism Defined In Isolation
Praxism, as a conception, is Universal and Quintessential, according to the definitions provided above. To define something, however, with one set of terms and characteristics, is to exclusivize it to that definition, and to limit it from all other terms and characteristics of equal validity by which it may be defined if it were to be examined under different conditions. So if Praxism were to be defined on the basis of its potential applications, then Praxism itself would be wholly ineffable, and would not possess any single all encompassing definition whatsoever.
Therefore, the provided definition of the term Praxism must be exclusive enough to identify the conception independently and in isolation, but it must also be broad enough to encompass all of its potential applications.
What is being referenced by the term Praxism is a conception that is in its applicable state - it is universally applicable to all things, and to any scale - and therefore it is not in its applied state. It is a conception that cannot wholly be realized in its true form, because Universality and Quintessentiality require a state that is unconditioned, which would signify that its true "form" is actually outside the world of form itself, because to have form is to be conditioned.
Therefore, rather than referring to something of form, what is being reference is a sort of pre-established formula by which all things are necessarily prearranged, and a universal conception that can only be partially or adequately identified within other non-universal conceptions.
A good starting point is the origin and etymology of the word: the term Praxism is coined of a combination of the English word "Praxis" and the suffix of "-ism". Praxis is defined as: "A process by which a given principle becomes realized", and "-ism" denotes the principle itself which becomes realized through the process. So Praxism, etymologically speaking, is an independent conception concerning a principle itself, and the realization of that principle.
Therefore, the most fundamental definition that can be given for Praxism is to say that it is a conception in which a design, the active fulfillment of that design, and the way in which that fulfillment is realized, are identified as a single quiddity, or as united in singularity, by the term Praxism; it can also be used in reference to any of these components considered individually, and it can denote the necessity of these components where they are not present.
So, in isolation, and removed from any of its applications, Praxism is a formulaic conception in which a design, the active fulfillment of that design, and the way in which that fulfillment is realized, are all united as one idea, identified by the term Praxism. This definition covers all of the necessary prerequisites to identify the conception both as a formulaic and universal notion, and as an applied principle or an identifiable aspect of a given non-universal conception or notion.
Praxism is therefore an essential conception which has many potential forms, but once a form has been realized it is no longer Praxism itself but a manifestation of Praxism, or an applied and conditioned variant of the wider and more holistic conception of Praxism; and these applications can range from being to things of an immediate sphere, to being applied to an ontological sequence of principles which extends back to a most fundamental source.
Everything has a Praxism because either: the given thing being considered is one part of a wider design and has a certain function in a system that is beyond itself, or it is a system itself with a specific internal operation and a design that must be fully adhered to by one of the parts it consists of in order for it to properly function, or both.
Important to this conception is the notion of propriety - propriety defined simply as the proper state, or the state achieved when Praxism as a conception is in full effect; or, in other words, when a design is properly fulfilled.
Part 2 - Praxism Applied To The Totality Of Reality
To apply Praxism to the highest possible degree is to apply it to the totality of Reality itself. This application is a consideration of reality in its entirety as a singular unit that has a specific operation to it and provides a corresponding formula to which all things about it must adhere.
Praxism applied to the totality of Reality likewise amounts to the design of Reality, the fulfillment of this design, and the way in which this fulfillment is realized; in this application, nothing at all is left unconsidered, by virtue that what is being considered is the very nature and design of Reality itself, and that all things partake of this design in some way.
To put it another way, in popular discourse it is possible to often hear terms associated with philosophic and religious schools depicting the notions of a Law with a capital L which gives order to the universe, as well as the conduct and manifestation which conforms to this law, and which also corresponds to the essence and quiddity of beings. In order to disassociate this idea from any one system and to depict this notion individually and in isolation, Praxism, applied to the totality of Reality, is synonymous with these notions of ontological and universal law and corresponding activity.
Therefore, to examine Praxism applied to this degree, we need to examine Reality as a whole, and also the universal way in which all things participate in Reality as a whole.
In this procession it is necessary to reference another term we at Praxia use for the sake of comprehension, that being Holistic Monism. This term is defined here as a type of universalism that distinguishes a singularity which produces and incorporates a multiplicity. In other words, Holistic Monism denotes a universality in which a provided singularity is superior, a priori to, and incorporative of, a provided multiplicity. This is a design according to which all things derive from the greater unity, and have a certain designated participation within it. Holistic Monism is also another way of expressing the idea of Praxism, because the design of the universal one is carried out by the multiplicity it produces and incorporates.
So Praxism applied to the highest possible degree amounts to a Holistic Monism which deems that there is one Reality, and one type of existence, from which all other realities and types of existence derive, and upon which they are contingent.
According to this idea, existence is provided derivatively by that which is more fundamental to that which is less fundamental. Existence is derived through an ontological sequence of principles that begins with a most Universal, most Quintessential, and most fundamental member, and concludes in an indefinite number of non-universal and less fundamental beings. In other words, existence is preordained from the top down, through a sequence that originates with that which is most fundamental - which is also the most Universal and the most Quintessential, also called the Monad - and relativizes into a given being.
What has been called the Monad is given a capital M, and what it denotes is that which is most fundamental. This Monad is the ground for all of existence, and if this most fundamental principle were to cease its existence, then all things would also drop out of existence.
This also suggests that the essence or design of a thing is a priori, or logically prior, to the existence of the thing itself, or the manifestation of that thing in the temporal domain; therefore, beings themselves are metaphysically preordained, possessing a specific design to which they must adhere, which is incorporated into the ultimate design provided by the Monad itself, or the design of the totality of Reality.
Therefore, for an individual being to adhere to its preordained design is for that being to properly participate in the total design of Reality, which is only fulfilled if all things within Reality adhere to all of their preordained designs.
This is necessary to understand for the sake of comprehending Praxism applied to this scale for a number of reasons; firstly because this itself is the design of Reality in its totality, and nothing less abstract can be said about it without examining individual things themselves, and not a notion which uniformly applies to all things, but secondly because this establishes the necessity of at least two distinct domains, the first being the domain in which the design itself exists in a pure and undifferentiated state, this being the metaphysical domain, and the second being the domain in which a thing itself is distinct from the design, this being the physical domain.
The domain of metaphysics is what has above been defined as the Quintessential Reality, another term we at Praxia have coined. We define the Quintessential Reality as the domain of Total Universality in its complete, undifferentiated, and unindividuated state; in other words the metaphysical state. It is Total Universality, or all things, conceived as an a priori essence that is logically necessary as an anterior principle to distinguishable beings.
The Quintessential Reality is, in other words, the domain of oneness and singularity; not the same oneness of the Monad, but a oneness conceived as a primary and integral unity, from which any type of multiplicity whatsoever is derived and further removed. Therefore, the Quintessential Reality is the domain in which the the design of Reality, and as a result the design of all things, and Reality itself, are indistinguishable. In this domain, there is no division whatsoever, there is no distinction between design and thing, or between essence and existence. Design is Reality, and Reality is the Design; in this domain there is simply pure being, and this type of existence is what we consider to be a participation in the Quintessential Reality, more on which later.
The Quintessential Reality is the highest reality, and it is therefore the reality on which all other realities are contingent, and from which they are sequentially derivative. All realities owe their existence to the Quintessential Reality, and they are all incorporated within it in some manner.
Because the Quintessential Reality incorporates all things as an undistinguished Total Universality, it also incorporates all things as distinguished individual beings, by virtue that this universality logically precedes these beings. This creates a series of sequential iterations which further distinguish the contingent realities to which we may refer as participatory modes of being, and this continues until we reach the mode of manifestation, or the temporal and physical reality; this is the mode of being in which a thing itself is removed from its design.
Now in order to fully illustrate Praxism applied to reality in its entirety, it is also necessary to examine how it applies to the individual being in the grand scheme of this totality.
The physical reality is the domain in which the thing itself is removed from its design. This can be equated to a distinction between the essence and substance of a thing; the design represents its essence, and the thing itself is a manifestation of this essence, consisting in substance. These are the two fundamental components of a thing of this domain.
The essence of a thing corresponds to its metaphysical aspect, which signifies the thing in its conceptualized form. This is what we may consider to be the Essential Truth of the thing being considered, which is another term we have coined.
We define the term Essential Truth as the a priori conception of a given thing; the Essential Truth is the highest most fundamental truth about the thing being considered, and every other Truth about the thing is incorporated in some way into the Essential Truth. Therefore the Essential Truth corresponds to the totality of the thing as it is conceptualized, and as it participates as an essence in the Quintessential Reality; the Essential Truth acts as a formula for the thing, which is translated and conditioned into the material sphere to bring about the thing itself. The thing owes its existence to its Essential Truth, regardless of whether or not it actually adheres to it, which is contingent on other aspects.
The thing itself, insofar as it is manifest, corresponds to its physical aspect, which is the substantial materialization of the essential aspect. This manifestation possesses a number of constituent parts, all of which represent what we call a Substantial Truth about the thing. This is a term we have coined for the other component of a thing of this domain.
We define the term Substantial Truth as any one identifiable or observable truth about a given thing. A thing may have many of these, whereas it only has one Essential Truth. The Substantial Truths represent the particular aspects of the thing considered individually and on their own scale. They are named as such because they work together to substantiate the thing being considered, and because they correspond to the substance of which the manifestation is actually made.
Because the actual thing in this domain is separate from the design, we may have a set of Substantial Truths which do not properly reflect or align with the Essential Truth, and this is what we consider to be an improper manifestation. The design is not fulfilled in the being, which means that it is not Praxism.
A Substantial Truth is only proper insofar as it corresponds to the Essential Truth of the totality, and the totality of the being itself is only proper insofar as all of its Substantial Truths are proper as well. So we may define Praxism applied to a given thing as the Essential Truth of the thing, or as the active continuity between an Essential Truth and all of its corresponding Substantial Truths.
Every Substantial Truth, however, because it represents part of a whole, also represents an individual being of a lesser scale. This being also possesses an Essential Truth, because it too has an a priori conception. The importance here is that the Essential Truth of the thing of a lesser scale is incorporated by the Essential Truth of the thing of a greater scale, and this in turn is incorporated into an Essential Truth of an even greater scale, and this series of incorporation continues until all things are incorporated under a single Essential Truth, and this is what we consider to be the Quintessential Truth of all of Reality, which is a term we have coined to denote Praxism as applied to the scale of the totality of Reality.
In other words, the Quintessential Truth of Reality is the fundamental design of Reality, or the necessary and fundamental operation of Reality within itself according to its own design. Whether or not certain things adhere to this design is whether or not this highest application of Praxism is being fulfilled in that particular instance. So the conception of Praxism can be applied to Reality as a whole, as a singular and complete unit, but in so being it is also necessarily applied to each individual being within Reality to indicate its necessary place in the wider design.
Participation in the Quintessential Reality
Before moving on, it is necessary to shortly dwell on the topic of metaphysics and the Quintessential Reality in order to make a few clarifications.
The Quintessential Reality is the holistic domain from which the temporal domain is a sequential departure or derivative. There isn't one set point where metaphysics ends and temproality begins, in reality the temporal domain is just another thing that possesses an Essential Truth which is incorporated by a previous and more fundamental Essential Truth. Therefore, the temporal domain is incorporated by the metaphysical domain, simply by virtue of the priority of the two domains, and the universality of metaphysics. So certain aspects of metaphysics possess a temporal character to them that connects the two domains in an effective and coherent fashion; this means that all temporal beings owe their existence to this higher reality a priori, and this is the connection between essence and substance and the path through which a temporal being may participate in the Quintessential Reality.
Any being which exhibits an alignment between its Substantial Truths, its Essential Truth, and the Quintessential Truth, adheres to its design, and participates according to its mode in the Quintessential Reality. The ontological status of the being is automatically heightened, because when all the proper alignments are made, and all the correct potentials are actualized, the design and the adherence to the design become one thing within the being; in a sense, the being becomes the design, and the design becomes fully manifest as the being. Now of course the manifestation still bears all the same temporal qualities, which means that the being is still subject to the laws which dictate the temporal domain, but these qualities themselves are now secondary to the primary quality brought about by that participation in the Quintessential Reality.
Because metaphysics signifies the Universal, it cannot be condensed or refined in any manner according to any particular set of parameters, attempting to systemize it accordingly would be antithetical to the actual nature of metaphysics, which is something completely unrefined and not systemized. At best, metaphysics can be understood as a design or a formula, much like how we have distinguished Praxism in this sense, but it is a design that is completely abstract and non-descript.
However, because all things are derivative of this domain, and because the Quintessential Reality is universal and the temporal domain is not, beings of the subordinated domain can only interpret and interact with the Quintessential Reality through conditioned and relative means. Therefore a certain type of systematization is necessary in order for this access to take place.
This, of course, leads to a necessary distinction between the metaphysical ideas that are associated with a given system, and the conception of metaphysics as it is independent from any given system whatsoever. The latter consideration is what we call Quintessential Metaphysics, this is metaphysics that exists prior to interpretation, refinement, or expression, and this is what Praxism as a conception is concerned with. Quintessential Metaphysics can only exist prior to expression, because expression requires temporality, and temporality comes subsequent to metaphysics.
Now that's not to say that we can't understand metaphysics, and that there are not valid interpretations or expressions of it, we just have to keep in mind that none of these expressions are able to encompass the totality of the metaphysical domain, and that each expression emphasizes some elements which may be neglected in other expressions. So any system that tries to define metaphysics according to its own parameters is automatically flawed by not being able to incorporate that which is outside of its parameters, and elements of other systems which contrast with its parameters. But again this doesn't negate the validity of the system, so long as this system is a proper interpretation and expression.
Also, a participation in the Quintessential Reality does not always necessitate a corresponding interpretory expression or metaphysical doctrine, it simply necessitates the aforementioned alignment between a being, its Substantial Truths, its Essential Truth, and the Quintessential Truth.
This participation in this type of being is the primary factor when considering applied Praxism in general, because it signifies that all functions within all degrees of reality cohere with one another and that, thereby, the entirety of Reality is properly operating according to its own design. So Praxism is being fulfilled by this type of activity. This type of activity is also what we call Archetypal Fulfillment, and this is yet another definition we can give to Praxism as applied to certain beings.
This means that this factor is at the forefront of all operations, practices, and expressions within our temporal reality that could be designated as Praxist. Anything which has this orientation towards this type of participation in the Quintessential Reality can be considered Praxist, regardless of whether or not it contrasts with or even contradicts another thing of the same type when examining their own immediate parameters. What this results in is a multitude of equally valid paths from the mundane reality to the Quintessential Reality, which are achieved through the utilization of some type of expression that allows for this type of participation, and which are validated insofar as they are successful. If they are unsuccessful, then they are not Praxism, as what Praxism implies is a proper characterization and expression of the Quintessential Reality that allows for a participation within it.
The ideas which have been outlined in this section are a brief overview of what constitutes the highest and broadest possible application of the conception of Praxism, namely, Praxism as is it applied to the totality of Reality, and a brief survey of some of the most important implications associated with this application. it must be stressed that there is absolutely nothing left out of the assessment made when applying this conception on this scale, everything about reality and everything within reality are all included and incorporated in some way into this broadest design.
It is necessary to begin with this assessment, however, because any other application of the conception of Praxism is restricted in comparison, and is limited in scope and scale to the domain of its consideration. On top of this, to consider Praxism in any such other application is to envisage the proper fulfillment of a being’s individual nature or design, which is ontologically prior to the existence of the being itself, and incorporated into the total design produced by the Monad, or the design of reality itself.
By sufficient information has been provided to identify Praxism in a given context according to these terms, so we may now progress to the next part.
Part 3 - Praxism applied to the Humanly Principle
To apply Praxism to the human principle, or to the humanistic sphere, is to conceive of the fulfillment of the human design according to the highest possible implication, and this is to envisage the human principle in its relationship with Reality as a whole, in its unique position in the ontological and hierarchical sequences that determine the various modes of being.
In other words, Praxism applied to the humanistic principle is the participation of the human in the Quintessential Reality, and what this ultimately amounts to is Tradition. Not tradition defined as the simple transmission of any routinely performed activity from ancestor to posterity, which is spelled with a lowercase t, but Tradition defined as any humanly practice or activity that directly accesses and allows for a participation in the Quintessential Reality, which is Tradition spelled with a capital T. To be truly legitimate according to Praxism, any sort of tradition, of the lowercase t sense, must adhere to the design set for it by this quintessential idea of Tradition spelled with a capital T.
This means that there is a potentially infinite number of possible proper lowercase t traditions, as what they truly are is an adaption of the Universal capital T type of tradition into a given set of conditions. These conditions consist of, but are not limited to, things like locality, circumstance, aesthetic, language, ritual, and so on. Each of these traditions, while they might have the same central theme and orient themselves towards the same general purpose, express themselves through a variety of modes, and differentiate based on their specific purpose. These traditions also have a narrowing factor about them similar to the one which is found in the derivative metaphysical sequences.
The value of these traditions must be understood as their adherence to metaphysical doctrine, and not their expressive formalisms or conclusive statements. This is the dichotomy of the esoteric and exoteric functions of a proper traditional lineage.
The esoteric function relates to the quintessential principles which perpetuate and legitimize the tradition itself. The exoteric function is the way in which that specific lineage is expressed. The esoteric principle is at the core of the tradition, and the exoteric function is a manifestation and interpretation of that core through a corresponding set of formalisms. In a sense, the exoteric function is the way in which the esoteric function is accessed and interfaced with. Now the esoteric aspect has only a single element to it, which is a materialization of the quintessential aspect of reality, and the esoteric function itself is a path from the mundane reality to that higher mode of being. The exoteric aspect has an indefinite number of elements because these are all related to manifestation; these consist of things such as the bylaws of the tradition, the historic events that relate to the tradition, the specific ritual actions associated with the tradition, or maybe even the people allowed to participate in the tradition in the first place. These aspects characterize the tradition, because they are the conditioning elements applied to the esoteric principle to make it accessible from the human condition. So all proper traditions have the same esoteric core, with the same elements applied to it, but have different outward manifestations to them which differentiate between them.
What must also be emphasized is the use of the word "tradition", and not "religion", because this idea is not limited to the clerical sphere. Every single vocation, occupation, practice, operation, can and should be focused upon formatting the Quintessential Truth into its own unique sphere, regardless of the religious factor. So Praxism can be found in the proper theologies as much as it can be found in the proper sciences, craft traditions, martial arts, music traditions, mathematical and logical schools of thought, politics and statecraft; anywhere in which an Archetypal Fulfillment or an understanding of the Quintessential Reality may be found can have a Praxist orientation and be considered as Praxism applied to the Humanistic sphere; after all what it signifies is the fulfillment of the human participation in the Quintessential Reality, and the way in which this is achieved.
This is why we as Praxia, or the Praxist Society, place such an emphasis on the perennial or universal idea. We as a group do not accept the exclusivity of the conclusion, but rather the exclusivity of the design from which many proper and valid conclusions can be arrived at, in other words, we accept the exclusivity of the conclusion of propriety.
All this being said, we can now move onto the next part.
Part 4 - Identifying Praxism in other conceptions
Praxism as a conception has many implications, but it is still relatively simplistic when reduced to a formula with certain criteria. This section will simply list the tenets of Praxism according to various applications and identifiable instances in other conceptions. Of course these vary depending on instance, and the only universally applicable idea throughout all of these is the conception of a design, the active fulfillment thereof, and the method of fulfillment itself. Any conception that possesses these aspects can be considered a formalized variant of Praxism in which some or all of the following tenets may be expressly identified:
Quintessential Universality, the union of these two terms to consider the totality of all things.
Monism, a conception that denotes oneness or singularity, often times in which certain seemingly disconnected subjects are unified by a more fundamental ontological predecessor.
Holism, a conception that considers the totality of a given body, typically coupled with Monism to produce the idea of a Monad that incorporates the entire body of things being considered.
The identification of an ontological hierarchy based on a priori necessity and relationships of superiority and subordination relative to the degree of universality exhibited by the various principles contained therein.
The idea of Aseity, or the identification of a mode of being which is self derived and independently perpetuating, namely the Quintessential Reality or the domain of the Monad.
What has been defined here as a participation in the Quintessential Reality, or an orientation towards the Quintessential Reality. Any conception which establishes this relationship between the being and the higher domain allows for this participation, and exhibits this characteristic. This is synonymous with Theosis or Henosis depending on context.
The idea of Archetypal Fulfillment, or the transposition of the archetypal idea into the relative being.
Now when Praxism is applied to its total possible scope, that being the Quintessential Truth of reality itself, including metaphysics and a manifestation thereof, it is also important to understand the metaphysical doctrines in which Praxism exists and in which it does not. Praxism's associated metaphysical themes are as follows:
The idea of a Quintessential or Universalist Theology, or theology envisaged in its most Universal aspect; along these lines are the theologies which conclude on a variant of what has been called Holistic Monism.
The idea of Panentheism, or a theology which both establishes an ontological distinction between the Quintessential Reality and the temporal reality in which the former extends beyond time and space, but also considers the necessary intersection and correspondence of these two realities.
The idea of Hypostasis, or the idea of a most fundamental state or reality that supports all lesser or contingent realities, and from which these latter realities are ontologically removed.
A Monolatry and Henotheism that is subordinated to Holistic Monism, identifying metaphysical powers but keeping consistent with understanding and orienting towards a most fundamental principle.
It is also necessary to examine the characteristics of Praxism applied to the Humanly Principle, and identify it within various Humanistic or social conceptions; these are as follows:
The idea of the Human Principle itself deriving its being from a greater intellectual principle, and combining this derivative with a physical manifestation.
The idea of the partition of the spirit into greater and lesser modes; this being evident in the bipartition of regality and mundanity, and the quadripartition of the caste system.
The idea of initiation in which the ontological status of the recipient is elevated into the aforementioned greater mode of being.
The idea of involution or degradation when the immaterial spirit is attuned to the material world; this being evident in the doctrine of the ages.
The implementation of Traditional doctrines, according to the definition of Tradition previously provided.
The ordering of social conceptions hierarchically to the effect that that which is higher is truly superior and closer to a metaphysical doctrine than that which is subordinated.
In the broadest application of the conception, Praxism can be considered either as synonymous to or present within a few terms and conceptions as follows:
The notion of a principle or law which orders all of reality, including all things within it; otherwise considered as the notion of Universal Truth, which we have defined here as the Quintessential Truth. This can be found, for example, in:
The Sophia Perennis, or the Perennial Philosophy; and the Prisca Theologia, or the Primordial Tradition
Dharma, in the Vedic sense
Ma'at, in the Egyptian sense
Arta or Asha, in the Zoroastrian sense
Dao, in the Taoist sense
Truth & Justice, in the Abrahamic sense
The notion of that same principle which is present within all things.
The notion of individual conduct or activity which corresponds and conforms to this principle.
Surely there will be terms left out of this consideration simply because to include them all would take too much time, however I believe there are enough that have been said to identify Praxism among analogous or distinct themes.
Part 5 - Conclusion
The conception of Praxism originates from an implementation of the ancient notion of the Sophia Perennis: the translatability of what was conceived of as different manifestations of the same Universal principle, and the corresponding activity of different beings according to their modalities and relationships with this Total Universality. Ancient ideas of Tradition were not limited to an enclosed system that claimed a universal supremacy, and thus to participate in tradition was not conceived of as adherence to ideology or dogma, but to active participation. This participation is what separates the notion of orthopraxis from that of orthodoxy, and it is in this notion that we at Praxia have an inspiratory strand that has led us not to conceive of Praxism through origination of something new, but to identify and provide a name to something that always has been.
This Praxism as orthopraxis can also be conceived of as a universal doctrine of propriety, or as a doctrine of "that which is most proper": that which adheres to its own nature, which is provided to it by the nature of that which incorporates and precedes it, is therefore that of its type which is most in accordance with Reality. One might say that Praxism is the most holistic philosophy one may study, because it truly is a philosophy of the All. This is not a study of scientific causality, or of a continuous series of events, but a study that transcends the necessity of the discussion of time by observing the nature of all things which exist both within time and space and without it. From this point of view, philosophy and Praxism go hand in hand, as the position of Knowledge itself is logically prior to that of its acquisition.
This is our area of study at Praxia: the Praxism of all things, and this is the position from which we orient ourselves, and from which we aim to espouse any of our findings and analyses.