TM's First Blog post

Transcendental dualism is one of the most slippery axioms that I have ever encountered. One aspect describes two distinct spiritual views: men are superior, intelligent, intellectual, and logical. Women are animalistic and emotional. Moreover, domesticated animals are superior to those who report to no man. To sum up, those that are like males are good and things that are unlike males are bad. However, I think that a person can overcome the tendency to manage other living beings, for there is value in all creatures.

Perhaps transcendental dualism comes from fear and the inability to control nature very well, until technology aided man. Fences and firearms come to mind as important ways as how the “West was won”. This phrase sums up the concept of Manifest Destiny that arose in the 1800's as the reason for conquering the area eventually known as the United States of America. The principle of God wanting man to conquer the natural landscape caused much upheaval of native plants, animals and people.

The power of (mostly) white men shaped the USA into a dualistic society that has caused many social ills, which includes the gender tug-of-war that lasts until today, even though suffrage succeeded in giving women voting power in 1920. Controlling others – human and not – seems to be an innate need that students of history should examine.

From history, one would find evidence that Theodore Roosevelt was a proponent not just of the National Park System, but also of human equality. When speaking in Arkansas in 1905, he deplored the lynch law which was primarily applied to black men. Equality of people and animals leads to equality of spirit. (It should be noted that hunting was allowed in the parks, allowing for nature appreciation on more than one level.)

This brings us back to transcendental dualism. To quote Star Trek, “Humans are illogical.” Reflecting reality, that statement describes the reason why we have survived and succeeded. However, some say that humans are too prolific, for the planet is rather full of people and pollution. Others opine that the world has no lasting troubles, the greenhouse effect is false, and that global warming is part of the natural geological cycle.

I say that we cut open the Tree of Good and Evil and check.

Holman, E.L. (2006). Philosophical studies: An international journal for philosophy in the analytic

tradition, Springer, 128, 229-256. Retrieved August 26, 2009. http://www.jstor. org/stable/ 4321722

Gatewood, Jr., W.B. (1973). Theodore Roosevelt and Arkansas, The Arkansas Historical Quarterly

1901-1912, 32, 3-24. Retrieved August 26, 2009. http://www.jstor. org/stable/ 40038101