concept
active
concept:the-i-eternal-selfThe I (eternal self)
Central metaphysical concept of the chapter: the universal ground of selfhood that living centers reflect and connect to; what makers must yearn toward to produce living structure.
Neighborhood — ranked by edge-count
Thinkers (1)
thinker
- Christopher Alexanderstudies
Claims (3)
claim
- A being is a center which is connected to the I, a name for a living center that draws attention to its nearly animate quality.associated_withDefinitional claim distinguishing 'being' from mere 'living center'.
- The final, most radical claim of the chapter: the I is not a metaphor but the actual foundation of material reality.
- The making of a living world cannot be separated from each person's search for the true self.associated_withThe enigmatic conclusion that the most personal, inward search yields the most public, functional harmony.
Methods (1)
method
- The iterative method Alexander uses to make design decisions: compare two versions and ask which is more a picture of one's own eternal self, repeating until convergence.
Concepts (8)
concept
- Eternal selfrelated_tosame_asThe deep, enduring self that is related to living things; the part of a person that experiences relatedness, distinct from the everyday self.
- The I (Great Self)related_toThe transcendent ground of all existence, the eternal self within each person, to which we appeal when judging living structure and which is revealed when we truly please ourselves.
- Beingassociated_withA living center that is a picture of the self, connected to the I; a center that evokes relatedness and feels animated, self-like.
- Picture of the Self (as measurement criterion)associated_withThe experimental criterion by which degree of life in a center is measured: which of two things more resembles the observer's own eternal self.
- Being-natureassociated_withThe quality a structure has when it is deeply connected to the I; what Alexander strives to produce in each element of a building.
- Devotional Makingassociated_withThe orientation of ancient weavers who made carpets as an act of reaching toward the eternal; proposed as the means by which the strongest living centers were achieved.
- The Being-Creature (I-like figure)associated_withThe mysterious I-like figure Alexander advises the reader to seek when searching for the being-nature in a composition.
- Egoless Effortassociated_withThe mode of making in which personal search for the true self and objective construction of living structure coincide.
probe (2)
probe
- Carpet Blossom I-connection probeintroducesAlexander invites the reader to use their own capacity to feel the I as an instrument to verify the blossom's exceptional quality.
- Alexander's closing section uses this probe to convey the phenomenological process of seeking the I in any act of making.
Chapters (1)
chapter
- Working chapter of Volume 4 of The Nature of Order; describes practical methods for creating living centers in buildings, carpets, walls, and color through connection to the I.
Related by similarity (8)
cosine ≥ 0.65 · no typed edgeEntities in the same semantic neighborhood but without a typed relation to this one — candidates for new edges or unrecognized duplicates.
- An eternal, impersonal yet intensely personal core within each person, also called the Void, the ground, or the great Self; the core of every living center.
- The single blinding unity, the ground of being, which living centers connect us to.
- The personal experience of being a self, which is left out of the mechanistic world-picture but is central to the new wholeness-based view.
- The interior awareness, consciousness, and felt identity that each person experiences; absent from mechanistic cosmology.
- The fundamental self, ground, or substratum underlying all existence; a real thing, a blinding unity, accessible through inner light.
- The three qualities of the I: personal, one, suffused with relatedness.
- Minimal conclusion that at least one of the two versions of the I-hypothesis must be true.
- The inner source of all being, which shines out from every part of a unified work; reaching it is the ultimate aim of making.