Framework and Conceptual Illumination of Absolute Philosophy of Existence

On the Absolute – the relationship between Existence, Essence, and Phenomenon

The Philosophical Framework

The ground of existence must, by definition, be something that is unchanging and enduring.

This insight does not function as a conception, but as a necessary presupposition for all further reasoning.

This presupposition cannot be conceived as an object, not as a thing among things, and not as something that appears in space or in a void. It is not the result of thinking, but that which makes thinking possible at all.

The unchanging and enduring startingpoint is hereafter referred to as "Existence", and this term is used in an absolute sense. If this absolute concept is removed, the entire line of reasoning collapses, since no reasoning can be constructed without an absolute ground.

Presupposition and Conception

When a person forms a conception of anything whatsoever, this is always done from something. A conception can never arise from nothing, because the very act of conceiving already presupposes a presence – the thinker.

This means that all philosophical reasoning always already rests upon something that is not itself a conception. If this presupposition is removed, both thinking and reasoning collapse.

The continued line of reasoning must therefore begin with:

1. An Absolute Existence – the unchanging and enduring presupposition.

Essence

Existence cannot be understood as empty or inactive. It must have an inherent nature. This inherent nature is referred to as Essence.

Essence is not a conception and not the result of thinking. It is the fundamental Faculty of perception – not as something that arises, but as that which always already exists as the nature of Existence.

If the faculty of perception is removed, the entire reasoning collapses, since nothing can appear, be experienced, or be related without it.

We now have:

1. Existence
2. Essence (the faculty of perception)

Phenomenon

For the benefit of the faculty of perception to realize something perceptible, a level of appearance is required. This level is the Phenomenon.

The Phenomenon is not Existence and not Essence. The Phenomenon is realization – that which appears as experience, change, and world.

The Phenomenon functions as a necessary turning point, in the sense that what appears is always related back to its ground.

We thus arrive at:

1. Existence – unchanging
2. Essence – the faculty of perception
3. Phenomenon – realization

The Coherent Conceptual Circle

Here a coherent order emerges that is not broken:

Existence is the presupposition. Essence is the inherent nature of Existence. Phenomenon is the realization that makes perception possible as experience.

The phenomenon is thus always that what is turned back to the foundation, through an appearance as the sense-perception's own realization into consciousness.

The philosophical context can then be expressed as:

1. A logical presupposition (Existence)
2. A self-evident essence (the faculty of perception)
3. A perceptible realization (Phenomenon)

The Universe

What is referred to here as the Universe is not the absolute ground, but the phenomenal expression – the constantly changing image that appears in realization.

The universe is thus that which is perceived, not that which perceives.

The faculty of perception remains identical with itself, while the universe appears as change.

Part 1 – Introduction

On the Absolute – The Relationship between Existence, Essence, and Phenomenon

Every human carries an inherent ability to experience the world, to recognize their own existence, and to reflect upon being. This text is an attempt to map the relationship between three concepts – Existence, Essence, and the Phenomenon – and how these three cornerstones of philosophical thought influence our understanding of the world, our consciousness, and our experiences.

The Absolute is not an object but must necessarily be understood as a "primordial subject" – in order for us to reflect on Existence as something. This Origin-subject is the very "Original Cause" or what in everyday language we call the "CAUSE," upon which philosophical thinking in Absolute Philosophy of Existence is founded.

An subjectiification of a singularity in this way, as the bearer of all potentiality, is not a new idea. It is almost all-pervasive among most within scientific cosmology, so the idea is by no means new.

But if we, as aspiring philosophers, use the objectified thought of a singularity without external extension as an object for thought and instead make a quick switch to a subject, something happens.

We suddenly have the subject of the point that thought needs, which we can step into and use as the starting point for our thinking. If we then understand its essence as the Faculty of Perception, we gain a basis for its interactivity, which by necessity must be curved back to the Faculty of Perception. This is necessary for perception to be possible at all. We then become aware that we already are in use of this faculty.

In this way, we obtain a philosophical reasoning that holds together in a philosophical cyclical mode of thinking.

Existence is thus the only thing that can truly be said to be Absolute. It is unchanging and is conceived as "the unchanging Being." Everything that manifests rests upon its foundation. Phenomena, Essence, and all experiences depend on Existence as their causal basis.

The Mistake

The spontaneous mistake is to conflate Existence and Essence – to assume that what simply is, is also what is perceived or experienced.

This confusion is unavoidable unless one first:

Objectifies the Absolute – sees Existence as a literal point, a primordial atom without outer parts. This becomes the object for thought but then understand that this is a trick of the mind From within this "trick-object" which now is realized as a subject, recognizes that there is an inherent faculty of perception – the Essence – which makes all interaction with Phenomena possible.

Only then can one distinguish:

1. Existence as that which absolutely is.

2. Essence / the faculty of perception as that which makes experience possible.

3. The Phenomenon (That which manifests itself and returns to the single Essence and results in Perception of the Phenomenon)

Without this order, the two inevitably merge, and the Phenomenon risks becoming something independent and all-powerful, and historically, it is precisely this that has created confusion in classical interpretations.

It thus becomes clear that objectification is impossible but that subjectification is necessary for the Essence to appear correctly, and only then can one understand the interactivity that is ongoing and which has its basis in the faculty of perception.

If we do not distinguish between Existence, Essence, and Phenomenon, we lose the structure that makes reality intelligible.

When this separation is missing, two things happen:

1. Existence slips out of view, because the Phenomenon is then assumed to "generate" or give rise to what is. The absolute given ground is replaced by something that is itself changeable.

2. Essence — the faculty of perception — is reduced to a phenomenon, something that arises in the world instead of being what makes the world experienceable in the first place.

The moment both Existence and Essence are placed inside the Phenomenon, the Phenomenon becomes the starting point. But the Phenomenon is not the ground; it is what appears and turns back toward the single capacity for perception.

Without the correct order, everything blends together, and it becomes impossible to see what is absolute, what is capacity, and what is manifestation.

The Self-Evident and the Impossible to Deny

It cannot be denied that we exist, and that everyone who exists experiences that they exist.

Existence is, therefore, the most fundamental concept in all philosophy (except in Buddhism, which is based on a vague and contradictory concept – "non-existence" – meaning that the concept of Existence itself is not used in any foundational sense).

The second undeniable fact is that we all experience Existence through what is commonly called consciousness, whose foundation is something that must necessarily be the very faculty to perceive impressions. This capacity we must call the Faculty of Perception. This capacity is, by necessity, the most essential concept – the very Essence and condition for experiencing the first concept, Existence, and for experiencing the third, the Phenomenon."

The third undeniable fact is the phenomenal reality we all experience – at a distance as the universe, and up close as life on this planet. This is what is referred to as the Phenomenon.

These three concepts share a self-evident relationship – the philosophical relationship – with which thinkers have wrestled for millennia.

Of these three concepts, two are unchanging, and one is subject to change. All philosophical understanding necessarily depends on grasping how these concepts relate to one another and on not confusing them.

The first confusion concerns:

1. To exist – Existence
2. To possess the faculty of perception.

These two must be weighed with utmost precision.

If the potential for perception did not exist, Existence itself would not be relevant as the fundamental ground of that faculty. The foundation is therefore Existence itself, which is inseparable from its inherent nature – the faculty of perception.

It may sound like the same thing, but only if one does not think carefully.

Existence is a concept of quantity, while the faculty of perception is a concept of quality – describing capacity or potency.

Thus, the two most fundamental concepts are:

1. Existence = Quantity
2. Essence = Quality

Quantity means magnitude or amount, often measurable. Quality, in contrast, concerns standard or value – what something is like, rather than how much there is.

Essence (from the Latin essentia) refers to the essential nature of something, its core. In philosophy, essence designates the fundamental properties that constitute a thing – what cannot be removed without the thing ceasing to be what it is. Properties that are not essential are called accidents – temporary or non-essential attributes.

Now we have the three concepts:

1. Existence
2. Essence
3. Phenomenon

From these arises a coherent and necessary structure.

The key is to understand what quantity should be associated with Existence, which is the fundamental ground.

We must consider whether Existence as quantity implies a multitude of smaller existences forming a whole, or whether the quantity is singular and equal to 1.

If this is our premise, we are speaking of an Absolute Existence without parts. It has no extension toward anything else and must therefore be assumed as dimensionless. The Absolute Existence cannot be described from within – in a singularity equal to 1, there is no room for relation or measure.

But this 1 is not a symbolic number. It is a numerical value – the first and only quantity. All thinking begins with one (1) point. It is the fundamental and primary Existence – the beginning of every possible magnitude, difference, and thought.

In mathematical set theory, teaching begins with the empty set, which is given the value 0. But in the Absolute Philosophy of Existence, there is the concept of Origo, the dimensionless point – which must not be confused with the value zero or the empty set (0). Here, Quantity = 1.

This can be most clearly expressed as: "All is one (1)"!

Once the relationship between the concepts is clear, it becomes evident that all three must be accounted for.

If one disregards Existence and focuses only on the Phenomenon, one lives in "relative darkness" – seeing only what appears without knowing its ground.

If one focuses solely on the Absolute Existence, one ultimately lives in "absolute total darkness", for there are no distinctions and nothing to perceive.

"Therefore, it is necessary that the focus rests on the Phenomenon, but that it always proceeds from Existence through Essence. When this relationship is fully understood, it becomes clear that the Phenomenon is the necessary expression of the essential faculty of perception, which in turn originates in the Absolute Existence."

The Resolution of the Question of a Fundamental Cohesion of a Whole

The philosophical question concerning the need for an ultimately unifying nature is the most central when considering a possible ultimate principle for the cohesion of an assumed existential cluster. This question finds its natural and self-evident resolution if there is no limited number of immanent parts of existence to hold together as a whole. In Absolute Existence, there are no parts to bind together, so a "purchase of glue" is therefore unnecessary.

Part 2 – Existence and Essence

Existence

The foundation of everything. The Absolute that Is. Existence cannot itself be experienced or perceived as a phenomenon, but everything that occurs and can be experienced is assumed to rest upon it.

Essence

Not a thing, but the faculty of perception. Essence is the instrument through which the phenomenon emerges. It constitutes the Absolute's activity in consciousness and makes it possible for us to experience the world. Without Essence, no phenomenon exists; and without the phenomenon, no impression occurs.

Part 3 – The Faculty of Perception and the Phenomenon

The Self-Evident

The Faculty of Perception is the shared ground in which identity rests. It is not an individual "I," but the very possibility of experiencing. All our experiences depend on the Phenomenon – that through which the Faculty of Perception becomes aware of itself.

The faculty of perception is something that cannot be sought or observed either, since every attempt to find it already occurs through it. It is not something one can become aware of of, but that through which all consciousness is possible at all.

Science's attempt to locate consciousness in the brain therefore only describes the expression of phenomena, not the faculty of perception itself. Searching for the faculty of perception is like trying to see one's own vision — every observation already occurs through the faculty one is trying to find.

In the Absolute Philosophy of Existence, it therefore becomes logically necessary to understand the faculty of perception as a self-evident basis, not as a phenomenon. It is the condition for anything to be able to appear at all — not a consequence of what appears.

The Phenomenon

That which emerges. Everything that is experienced, in time and space, is a phenomenon. The Phenomenon is the expression of the Faculty of Perception's activity, and it lacks immutable, unchanging parts. All that is phenomenal is mutable and can only be understood as an expression of energy within the Absolute's Essence.

The Phenomenon of the Universe

Universe – meaning and origin

UNIVERSE Etymology: From the Latin universe, formed from uni- ("one", "unified") and versus (perfect past participle of vertere, "to turn, direct, turn towards"). Literally, it means "all turned in one direction" or "all that is turned to one (1) (whole)".

Meaning: Originally, the universe referred to the totality of everything that exists — the entire ordered cosmic phenomenal unity. In the modern sense, it means everything that exists: space, time, matter, energy and the laws that govern these.

But in a philosophical sense, the word also suggests unity in diversity — that everything is a participation in one and the same reality.)

In the Absolute Philosophy of Existence:

• an unchanging, enduring Existence is that which cannot possibly experience itself as realized without something that makes realization possible within its essence.

• the faculty of perception is the only principle that can make realization possible, within the field of tension between the faculty of perception and its realization.

• Existence itself is never that which is experienced as a phenomenal body or part; it must only be presupposed as the ground of phenomenal realization.

• all experience is, by definition, phenomenal, and only the phenomenon can be experienced.

• phenomenal beings are never those who need to imagine Existence; it already appears clearly as consciousness through the phenomenon, as its manifestation.

• the phenomenon is a consequence of the tension between the faculty of perception and its realization, while the faculty of perception itself never becomes an object of experience.

• all relations in experience are between the faculty of perception and its realization, not between the phenomena themselves, which are never agents but only effects.

• the unchanging, enduring Being is not composed of internal parts and therefore requires no separate unifying principle. It is complete in itself, and all phenomena and experiences appear within it through the realization of the faculty of perception. No additional principle or assumption is required to explain coherence or wholeness.

• all relations between perception and the perceptual.