Plato's Epistemic Rationality and Irrationality (A-Rationality), and Hetero-Rationality, in Martin Moors Mythos and Logos course

summarization of Moors' ideas, by Corry Shores
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The gods on high bear the highest knowledge.

This highest knowledge is intuitive, noetic knowledge. Below it is discursive or dianoetic knowledge. The lowest forms of knowledge are belief and sensible representation.

Corresponding to epistemic rationality is epistemic a-rationality or irrationality. Not anti-rationality. What is anti-logical comes out of the logical. But the a-rational or a-logical is hetero-logical.

There are three levels of heterology (a-logic). That is to say, logic has three others: the hyper-rational, the para-rational, and the hypo-rational.

The heterologies correspond with the levels of rationality:

Myth is hyper-rational, because it is higher than rational discourse.

Science is para-rational. Even though it is a rational discourse on being, it is not metaphysics.

Sensible representation (aesthesis) has not yet been made rational, and hence is hypo-rational.

Knowledge moves upwards from sensibility to divine intuitive knowledge, namely, to myth and religion.

Metaphysicians inquire into metaphysical matters. But how are metaphysicians to understand their own field of inquiry? By comparison with other fields inquiry. So, by coming into contact with other manners of inquiry, metaphysical inquiry develops dialectically. Hence, when metaphysicians compare their field with science, for example, they further define and distinguish -- and thereby further develop -- metaphysical inquiry's methods and theories.

This schema will be useful when discussing the relationship between mythology and metaphysics.

[Taken from the first lecture of Professor Martin Moors Philosophy of Being 2008 course: From Mythos to Logos - From Logos to Mythos," at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. Professor Moors is not just a remarkably gifted instructor, he is as well a renowned metaphysician and Kant scholar. His publication list is available here.

The ideas I here present are not my property, but belong to Prof. Moors. A suggested citation:

Moors, Martin. "From Mythos to Logos - From Logos to Mythos: Class 1." Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. 25-Sept-2008.

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