Secondary Corpus
Works attributed to human sources.
Articles[1]
- Work written for a periodical of some kind.
Derivative[2]
Extended[3]
- Works related to materials in the Primary Corpus by virtue of the content.
Books[4]
- Source or derivative work related to Primary Corpus; extended set of works related by virtue of the content.
Source[5]
- Work which identified as apparent source materials for elements in the Primary Corpus.
Derivative[6]
Extended[7]
- Works related to materials in the Primary Corpus by virtue of the content.
The Humanities[8]
Those academic disciplines which study the human condition.
Classics[9]
Studies dealing with the languages, literature, history, art, and all aspects of the ancient Mediterranean world.
History[10]
Study of the past, focused on human activity and leading up to the present day.
Languages and Literature[11]
The symbols used for communication; the rules and applications of their usage.
Philosophy[12]
φιλοσοφία from φίλος (philos) "beloved" & σοφία (sophia) "wisdom."
Religion[13]
From L. re-ligare meaning to rebind.
The Arts[14]
- A broad subdivision of culture, composed of many expressive disciplines.
Film[15]
- Individual motion pictures or the field of film as an art form
Music[16]
Opera[17]
- Opera is a form of musical and dramatic work in which singers convey the drama.
Paintings[18]
- Applying color to a surface with drawing, composition and other aesthetic considerations.
Prints[19]
- The process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper.
Sculpture[20]
- Three-dimensional objects, created as art.
Theatre[21]
- Dramatic performance where speech, either from written text (plays), or improvised is paramount.
The Sciences[22]
Knowledge of 'observable' phenomena based on the scientific method.
Natural Sciences[23]
The rational study of the universe understood as obeying rules or laws of natural origin.
Astronomy[24]
The science of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere.
Physical Cosmology
Cosmology, Gr.κοσμολογία the quantitative study of the Universe
Metaphysical cosmology
Template:Main In philosophy and metaphysics, cosmology deals with the world as the totality of space, time and all phenomena. Historically, it has had quite a broad scope, and in many cases was founded in religion. The ancient Greeks did not draw a distinction between this use and their model for the cosmos. However, in modern use it addresses questions about the Universe which are beyond the scope of science. It is distinguished from religious cosmology in that it approaches these questions using philosophical methods (e.g. dialectics). Modern metaphysical cosmology tries to address questions such as:
- What is the origin of the Universe? What is its first cause? Is its existence necessary? (see monism, pantheism, emanationism and creationism)
- What are the ultimate material components of the Universe? (see mechanism, dynamism, hylomorphism, atomism)
- What is the ultimate reason for the existence of the Universe? Does the cosmos have a purpose? (see teleology)
Religious cosmology
Template:Main Many world religions have origin beliefs that explain the beginnings of the Universe and life. Often these are derived from scriptural teachings and held to be part of the faith's dogma, but in some cases these are also extended through the use of philosophical and metaphysical arguments.
In some origin beliefs, the universe was created by a direct act of a god or gods who are also responsible for the creation of humanity (see creationism). In many cases, religious cosmologies also foretell the end of the Universe, either through another divine act or as part of the original design.
- Both Christianity and Judaism rely on the Genesis narrative as a scriptural account of cosmology. See also Biblical cosmology and Tzimtzum.
- Islam relies on understanding from the Qur'an as its major source for explaining cosmology. See Islamic cosmology. Also see The Quran and Cosmology
- Certain adherents of Buddhism, Hinduism (See also Hindu cosmology) and Jainism believe that the Universe passes through endless cycles of creation and destruction, each cycle lasting for trillions of years (e.g. 331 trillion years, or the life-span of Brahma, according to Hinduism), and each cycle with sub-cycles of local creation and destruction (e.g. 4.32 billion years, or a day of Brahma, according to Hinduism). The Vedic (Hindu) view of the world sees one true divine principle self-projecting as the divine word, 'birthing' the cosmos that we know from the monistic Hiranyagarbha or Golden Womb.
- A complex mixture of native Vedic gods, spirits, and demons, overlaid with imported Hindu and Buddhist deities, beliefs, and practices are the key to the Sri Lankan cosmology.
- The Australian Aboriginal concept of Dreaming explains the creation of the universe as an eternal continuum; everywhen. Through certain ceremonies, the past "opens up" and comes into the present. Each topographical feature is a manifestation of dormant creation spirits; each individual has personal Dreamings and ceremonial responsibilities to look after the spirits/land, determined at birth, within this belief framework.
Many religions accept the findings of physical cosmology, in particular the big bang, and some, such as the Roman Catholic Church, have embraced it as suggesting a philosophical first cause. Others have tried to use the methodology of science to advocate for their own religious cosmology, as in intelligent design or creationist cosmologies.
Esoteric cosmology
Template:Main Many esoteric and occult teachings involve highly elaborate cosmologies. These constitute a "map" of the Universe and of states of existences and consciousness according to the worldview of that particular doctrine. Such cosmologies cover many of the same concerns also addressed by religious and philosophical cosmology, such as the origin, purpose, and destiny of the Universe and of consciousness and the nature of existence. For this reason it is difficult to distinguish where religion or philosophy end and esotericism and/or occultism begins.
Common themes addressed in esoteric cosmology are emanation, involution, evolution, epigenesis, planes of existence, hierarchies of spiritual beings, cosmic cycles (e.g., cosmic year, Yuga), yogic or spiritual disciplines, and references to altered states of consciousness. Examples of esoteric cosmologies can be found in modern Theosophy, Gnosticism, The Urantia Book, Tantra (especially Kashmir Shaivism), Kabbalah, Sufism, Surat Shabda Yoga, Anthroposophy, the Fourth Way teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky and in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, the Third Testament, a work of Martinus Thomsen, as well as the book "God Speaks" by Meher Baba.
References
Book references
- Hawley, John F. & Katerine A. Holcomb Foundations of Modern Cosmology. Oxford University Press, Oxford: 1998.
- Hetherington, Norriss S. Cosmology: Historical, Literary, Philosophical, Religious, and Scientific Perspectives. Garland Publishing, New York: 1993.
- Long, Barry. The Origins of Man and the Universe ISBN 0-9508050-6-8
- Martinus Thomsen's The Third Testament is about the explanation of life, everything inside it and the reason (or orgin) of it.
- Arthur Koestler's The Sleepwalkers (1959) provides a scholarly study of the history of cosmology from the Chaldeans to Kepler.
External links
- Cosmic Journey: A History of Scientific Cosmology from the American Institute of Physics
- Hindu Cosmology
- Cosmology lecture notes with a GFDL license footer
- Cosmology According to the Ancient Wisdom (Mystery Schools) youtube video (7.46 min)
- Martinus Institute is the website of the Martinus Institute, orginally created by Martinus Thomsen.
- The Mass of the Universe, in AsterDomus Planetarium site (portuguese)
Biology[25]
The disciplines that examine phenomena related to living organisms.
Chemistry[26]
The scientific study of matter at the atomic and molecular scale
Earth science[27]
The term for the sciences related to the planet Earth
Physics[28]
Study of the fundamental constituents of the universe, their forces and interactions
Social Sciences[29]
The group of disciplines that study human aspects of the world using the scientific method.
Anthropology[30]
A holistic discipline studying the integration of different aspects of the Social Sciences, Humanities, and Human Biology.
Economics[31]
The study analyzing and describing the production, distribution, and consumption of wealth.
Education[32]
Teaching and learning, skills, knowledge, positive judgement and well-developed wisdom.
Geography[33]
Study of earth in terms of physical, spatial, and cultural relationships.
Law[34]
Rules that warrant enforcement through formal processes.
Linguistics[35]
A discipline that examines at the material, cognitive, and social aspects of human language.
Political science[36]
The theory and practice of politics; descriptive analyses of political systems and political behaviour.
Psychology[37]
An academic and applied field involving the study of behavior and mental processes.
Sociology[38]
The study of society and human social action.
Formal Sciences[39]
Study of abstract formal systems,i.e. logic, mathematics, & theoretical computer science, information theory, & statistics.
Computer Science[40]
Theoretical foundations of information and computation; implementation and application in computer systems.
Information Theory[41]
Quantification of data to maximize efficiency in storage & communications.
Logic[42]
The study of the principles and criteria of valid inference and demonstration.
Mathematics[43]
Knowledge centered on concepts as quantity, structure, space, and change
Statistics[44]
A mathematical science pertaining to the collection, analysis, interpretation or explanation, and presentation of data.
General Reference[45]
- A category of work providing a wider frame of reference or context for understanding.
