Absolute - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Absolute: A term that whispers of perfection, completion, and ultimate truth, yet simultaneously evokes the unknowable and the unattainable, challenging the very limits of human understanding. It stands as a foundational concept across philosophy, theology, and mathematics, often misunderstood as merely "complete" or "unquestionable," yet hinting at a significance far surpassing simple definitions.
The quest to define the Absolute echoes through millennia, finding some of its earliest articulations in ancient Greek philosophy. Parmenides, in the 5th century BCE, pondered the "One," an unchanging and indivisible reality, in stark contrast to the fleeting and deceptive world of appearances. Plato, building upon this foundation, introduced the "Form of the Good," a transcendental source of all being and knowledge. Aristotle, while more grounded in empirical observation, grappled with the "Unmoved Mover," a self-sufficient entity that sets the universe in motion. Figures such as Zeno with his famous thought experiment sought to understand the nature of reality through paradox, which even today is used in the trolley dilemma or the wason test. These weren't isolated intellectual exercises; they were attempts to anchor existence in something beyond the shifting sands of sensory experience, to find a principle of ultimate explanation amidst the flux of the phenomenal world.
Over time, the Absolute has been reimagined and reinterpreted by great thinkers across diverse eras. Medieval theologians, such as Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, equated the Absolute with God, the perfect and omnipotent creator, the source of all morality. The Age of Reason saw philosophers like Spinoza identify the Absolute with Nature itself, an all-encompassing substance governed by immutable laws. Kant, with his critical philosophy, distinguished between the phenomenal world and the noumenal realm, positing the Absolute as forever beyond the grasp of human reason, yet influencing thinking on subjects such as deontology. Hegel, however, boldly declared that the Absolute could be known through the dialectical unfolding of history, an idea that has had a lasting influence on philosophy. Each era has added its own layer to the concept, often reflecting the cultural and intellectual currents of the time. The concept of moral absolutism, where morality is viewed as objective and unchangeable, often finds itself in direct opposition to meta-ethics like moral relativism. This clash sparks a debate in moral reasoning because it challenges our perception of fairness.
The concept of the Absolute remains a potent force in contemporary thought, even as the rise of nihilism and skepticism call into question the existence of any ultimate truth or value. Some contemporary thinkers see "Absolute" as a reminder of the irreducibility of mystery, a boundary forever beyond human comprehension, and a starting point for an existential crisis. Others embrace it as a challenge to continuously refine our knowledge, to push the limits of reason and intuition in the pursuit of understanding. Is the Absolute a fixed point, a final destination, or an ever-receding horizon that invites us to embark on an endless journey of discovery? This is one example of a philosophical argument many modern thinkers wrestle with.