Social Theory speculations, metaphysical
speculations![]() human existence, society, human nature |
| Home > Social Theory |
|
|||
| Our Spirituality & the wider world page showed that
numerous World Faith, Philosophical, and Literary Authorities ALL
share profound insights into human nature as a complex
"Tripartite Soul" combination of elements. This profound recognition provides awe-inspiring material of an unparalleled richness upon which to base social theory speculations about society and human existence. As someone once said:-
It is better to light a candle than |
|

Please locate your mouse over the "African", "American", "Japanese", and "Russian" links below to see tentative outline representations of some more nationalities!!! |
![]() |
African American Japanese Russian |

|
It may well be that the Tripartite Soul approach to insights
into human nature can even be extended to a "Societal Level" of
speculations about society and human existence.
This view would suggest that Societies themselves!!! have a Tripartite character. The "Model" of an Open Society is presented above in a rather dramatic, and baldly stated, way. This presentation does however give much food for further consideration. As to the religious aspects of societies whilst it is true that several world religions ALL give assent to a largely identical set of profound spiritual insights it is also the case that verses can be found within holy texts of individual religions suggesting that an individual religion is an uniquely valid religion. A degree of toleration and mutual respect in this area might be a practical necessity to allow for co-existence where an insistence of the claims of an individual faith could well lead to disputations. As to the ethnic aspects of society it has been the case that former multi-national empires have crumbled such that individual constituent nationalities of those empires became self-determining often establishing polities where the local majority population national culture became a locally prized aspect of the nationally self-determined state. It is only in recent times that the Council of Europe has attempted to provide outline aspirations as to the rights of minorities in the form of the Vienna Declaration of October 1993 and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of September 1995. The Vienna Declaration
We, Heads of State and Government of the member States of the
Council of Europe, meeting for the first time in our
Organisation's history at this Vienna summit conference, solemnly
declare the following:
The end of the division of Europe offers an historic opportunity to consolidate peace and stability on the continent. All our countries are committed to pluralist and parliamentary democracy, the indivisibility and universality of human rights, the rule of law and a common cultural heritage enriched by its diversity. Europe can thus become a vast area of democratic security. This Europe is a source of immense hope which must in no event be destroyed by territorial ambitions, the resurgence of aggressive nationalism, the perpetuation of spheres of influence, intolerance or totalitarian ideologies. We condemn all such aberrations. They are plunging peoples of former Yugoslavia into hatred and war and threatening other regions. We call upon the leaders of these peoples to put an end to their conflicts. We invite these peoples to join us in constructing and consolidating the new Europe. We express our awareness that the protection of national minorities is an essential element of stability and democratic security in our continent. The Council of Europe is the pre-eminent European political institution capable of welcoming, on an equal footing and in permanent structures, the democracies of Europe freed from communist oppression. For that reason the accession of those countries to the Council of Europe is a central factor in the process of European construction based on our Organisation's values. Such accession presupposes that the applicant country has brought its institutions and legal system into line with the basic principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. The people's representatives must have been chosen by means of free and fair elections based on universal suffrage. Guaranteed freedom of expression and notably of the media, protection of national minorities and observance of the principles of international law must remain, in our view, decisive criteria for assessing any application for membership..... The Vienna Declaration - Full Text The opening sentence of Appendix II of the Vienna Declaration states that- The national minorities which the upheavals of history have established in Europe should be protected and respected so that they can contribute to stability and peace. But a specific list of minorities recognised by the Council of Europe is not defined. This same absence of a recognised list of minorities is true also of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities that was signed in February 1995. The Framework Convention
|
We hope that the close identity shown, in several of our page sections, between the central mystical truths of several of the Great Faiths of the World will assist in allowing peoples from each of these faith-based cultural backgrounds to regard the differences between their respective heritages of civilisation as being less than they might otherwise have imagined.
| Christianity | Islam | ||
| Judaism | Hinduism | ||
| Buddhism | Taoism |
There may well be other faiths (not least Sikhism) that
should properly be included in any definitive consideration of
Mysticism in world religions !!!
Whilst such aspirations as these are undoubtedly
"idealistic" we may nonetheless raise the question as to whether
or not there are any practical limitations to the promotion of
"Societal Open-ness."
A point of great relevance being whether "Peace on Earth
between people of goodwill" is likely to be any more realisable
where there are many "Open" societies?
![]()
![]()
Start of
Social Theory speculations page