For those of you born outside of this solar system, this is a fictitious character known as a Vulcan, from the planet of the same name in the universe of Star Trek^®. Vulcans are known to pursue Logic as their supreme value, disparaging intuition and emotion, much to the annoyance of their human coworkers. Unfortunately, logic was never defined!

Just as ecologics (ecology) and economics are two sides of the same coin (the coin called the flow of energy in complex environmental systems), so ethics and logic are also two sides of the same coin (the coin called finding correct answers).

Many people do not connect the study of ecosystems in nature to economic systems, but one is a metaphor for the other. The dynamics are the same. This is also true of ethics and logic. They are inseparable, each reflecting and focusing the other.

In a culture rife with moral ambiguity and arbitraries, a direct and prima facie connection between ethics and logic is not clear. If we boil down the definition of ethics to wash away the manipulative dross of situational behaviors and no-meat-on-Friday arbitraries, we can define ethics thus:

Ethics are not moral arbitraries. They are statements of the immutable laws of nature. Ethics are rational thought deciding behavior in pursuit of optimum survival. [See this previous post for more on the subject of ethics.]

This definition relegates ethics to where they rightfully belong: the real world with its real consequences for behaviors and the decisions that precipitate those behaviors. Decisions are reached through logical thinking (we hope). Thus ethics and logic are inseparable.

Logic is very simple to define. It is a tool for (1) arriving at correct answers, and (2) making known what has previously been unknown.

There is no one God of Logic worshipped in a Vulcan temple. One’s logic toolbox can and should have many logic tools within it. The more logic tools you have, the more flexible your thinking. The more flexible your thinking, the more command you have over your circumstances.

You have heard the adage if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem will look like a nail. To resolve a problem, you must first perceive it accurately and define it precisely. If the problem is a broken vase, and you only have a hammer, then a real mess will result.

I just watched an episodic TV show in which an aggressive woman was encaged indoors behind floor-to-ceiling chain link. The chain link gate was secured with a padlock and chain. She found a metal pipe and vigorously, and futilely, attacked the chain and padlock with a lot of enraged yelling. The chain and padlock were the obvious target to someone with a shoot-and-bash mentality, but they were also the strongest point in her prison. However, she also had rope. Had she tied either end of the rope to where the chain link was attached to the upright posts, inserted the metal pipe, and begun to twist it, the tension on the rope would have increased to the point where in all likelihood the relatively weaker galvanized brackets attaching the chain link to the posts would have snapped. Or she could have used the pipe as a lever to pry the chain link away from the posts and she could have gotten out. Instead her mental toolbox only contained rage and blind force.

One of the presuppositions of neuro-linguistic programming is “the most flexible element in a system will be the controlling element.” Any parent of small children knows this. Ever try to herd cats?

Linear, mathematical, Boolean, circular, intuitive,  synchronistic, fuzzy, paradoxical -- all logic tools are useful in the correct context.

In designing an airplane, linear logic is king. But linear logic does not leap chasms of the unknown, so we also need intuitive and imagining logic skills.

Einstein said, “The really valuable thing is the intuition. The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don’t know how or why.”

In fact, quantum physics is the most illogical subject one can envision with linear logic. Quantum physics exposes the unseen weirdness of the universe and brings into consciousness our own quantum nature. Therefore, Einstein’s intuition fits the definition of logic above. Vis-a-vis quantum mechanics, it gives answers that prove to be correct and makes known the previously unknown.

Life is not a math test. Remember taking math tests in school? The teacher wanted you to show your work on the test paper to see exactly how you arrived at the answer. Life only cares that your answer is correct. It does not care how you arrived at that answer.

When pondering questions that belong in the spiritual realm, synchronistic, circular and paradoxical logics are most useful.

Circular logic views situations systemically and holistically, acknowledging that life is a process of ebb and flow, of seasonal and recurring changes; that what goes around comes around. The key words are systemic and recurring. Circular logic leads to the correct conclusion that what goes up must come down, spring inevitably follows winter; the economic slump will give way to a time of prosperity. (By circular logic, I do not mean circular reasoning, such as “God exists because the Bible says so and the Bible is the word of God.” Which came first, God or the Bible? Maybe a chicken is an egg's way of reproducing itself!)

Synchronistic logic presupposes that there is no such thing as random coincidence. It sees connections within multiple systems that are invisible to linear types of logic. By paying attention to synchronicities, we can know about something that would normally be outside of our notice, independent of the physical senses. You think of a friend and the phone rings with your friend calling you at that instant. You need money for a pressing bill and a check arrives in the mail with enough to cover the bill. [An excellent article on intuition and synchronicity can be found here.]

The finest form of logic, in my humble opinion, is the paradox. A paradox is unsolvable with linear logic and seemingly contradictory. An example would be, “I am nothing, yet I am everything.” The paradox pushes you into an altered state which becomes a platform for a leap into the ozone, into a place where the paradox suddenly makes sense and you have an epiphany. “I am nothing….” My essential nature is static, formless, no-thing.  “….yet I am everything.” In my manifest nature, I am holographic, therefore I contain the whole universe. To quote Einstein again, "No problem is solved at its own level."

Life is a waking dream. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts. These are two more paradoxes that will lead you into a higher state of consciousness. They contain profound spiritual truths and are incomprehensible to a mind mired in the mundane reasoning of the linear logics.

Ethics come into play as a lens to focus our efforts. The cartoon to the right clearly demonstrates the relative security of the high road (ethical behavior) and how ethics are more than nice and good to do. Real ethics lead to real survival.

Logic gave us the nuclear bomb. Thus far, ethics have kept us from using it once we saw its power demonstrated at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Ethics should not depend solely on logic of the mind for correct answers, but should bring the heart into play as a lens through which to project the probable outcomes of our deliberations. The awakened heart has a profound logic of its own. It alone recognizes instantly the complex interdependencies of an individual’s existence.

The human being has three major energy centers, as shown in the graphic to the left. In the language of Andean shamanism, Quechua, yachai is the mind (1), munai is the heart (2), and llank’ay is the physical power and ability to manifest into the physical universe (3).

Don Manuel Quispe, a master Peruvian shaman, said while standing in a vast forest of skyscrapers during a visit to New York City, that "Americans have a powerful ability to manifest things, but their yachai is hard-wired directly into their llank’ay." By this he recognized a profound truth of our culture: our minds conceive and we bring our physical power directly to bear to manifest that conception; nowhere in the equation does the heart enter into our deliberations. We want it, we do it, seldom asking if we should do it. Our world, our connections to other cultures, the environment, have all paid a heavy price for this lack of heart in our deliberations. We have substituted short-term gain. For this reason, it does not surprise me that heart disease is the number one cause of death in our culture. The spiritual cause of this disease is apparent once you understand the above.

[See related blog posts: Of Predators and Parasites, Economics and Ecologics and The Destructive Myth of Trickle Down Economics.]

[Image sources: coins, cartoon toolbox, red toolbox, ethics cartoon.]