Asides

A Transcendent/Directional Cosmic Force?

David Birnbaum’s Teleology:

By Viksa Sharma

Is there an eternal dynamic which drives the cosmic order forward? Religion posits that such a power exists: God. But our learned academicians would have none of it. The ‘entrenched academic’ mantra is: “Everything is random; all is happenstance; there is no design or designer; there is no meaning or purpose to the cosmic order. We live in an accidental multi-billion galaxy universe.”

The entrenched academics caution the wavering that if you reject ‘Randomness’ they are then thrown-into-the-arms of the supernatural Creationists, heaven forbid. The creationists counter that if you reject Creationism, you are thrown-into-the-arms of the hocus pocus Randomnists.  

Private scholar and metaphysics author David Birnbaum of Manhattan breaks through all conventions and previous assumptions. He posits that there is most definitely an eternal overarching dynamic – and that it is not supernatural and is not unscientific.

Birnbaum’s dynamic is his signature Infinite Quest for Potential; this dynamic can be viewed as either the core of God (see his Summa Metaphysica I: Religious Man) or as a more general spiritual dynamic (see his Summa Metaphysica II: Spiritual Man, 2005) or as a sui generis neo-natural mechanism (see his Summa Metaphysica III: Secular Man, 2014).

The author proposes that there is a protagonist to the cosmic order, but that the protagonist is a ‘quest’ and not an ‘entity.’ According to the theory, the universe quests for its maximal and fullest potential. The core dynamic Quest for Potential^∞ strives with purpose towards ever-greater and richer potential. Birnbaum delineates a pure and elegant scientific theory of design and purpose.

Birnbaum observes: “Our search for an ultimate eternal universal dynamic and our search for meaning are both not just promising, but self-evident.” According to Birnbaum Quest for Potential^∞) drives the myriad levels of the cosmic order; the goal of the universe is to play-out its potential; the parallel goal of mankind is to reach for its potential; and, it is the individual’s quest for potential which gives his/her life meaning.

In sum total, Birnbaum unleashes a multi-level intellectual revolution. He lit this fuse in 1988 when Ktav Publishing released volume I of his treatise; the first stage of the explosion occurred when a dozen colleges around-the-globe assigned Summa I as a Course Text in the 1990s; the second stage of the explosion occurred when Bard College (Upstate NY) structured an entire 3 ½ day international academic conference focused-on his Summa Metaphysica treatise; and the ‘roof blew off’ went off when international media coverage ensued in 2013-2014. Over a dozen journals have featured Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica and its Theory of Potential in the 2013-2014 period alone.

Is Birnbaum’s “eternal dynamic” indeed eternal? Many high-level academics believe yes. Is there possibly indeed such an overarching all-embracing dynamic? Many high-level academics believe yes. Will reactionary components in the entrenched Randomness/atheist camp be able to undermine and beat-back the solo challenger? Many high-level observers believe no.

Birnbaum is firm on his assertion. He believes that Infinite Quest for Potential is an eternal and universal dynamic, and indeed the only dynamic, which is everlasting and without end. The Manhattan metaphysicist discerns this dynamic as being the common denominator of the cosmic order – from the macro metaphysical level, though the universe level, thru the animal kingdom and human level, and down through the macroscopic level. No flaw has been discerned in his proposal in the 25+ years since first formally proposed in 1988 (Summa Metaphysica I: Religious Man: God and Evil.

Birnbaum went on to craft Summa Metaphysica II: Spiritual Man: God and Good (2005) and Summa Metaphysica III: Secular Man: The Transcendent Dynamic (2014). Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at University of Southern California John Hospers has noted of Summa theory: “David Birnbaum’s avant-garde Potentialism may turn-out to be the long-sought after “irresistible force.” With not inconsiderable global academic support, with no viable competing integrated metaphysics to Potentialism, and with no flaw discerned in it to-date, few are willing to call Summa wrong. Erudite British journalist Oliver Burkeman (2013) focused on Summa as ‘being ‘non-scientific’ and in the tradition of Aristotle; he cited the iconic French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss (2006) who hailed the work as “remarkable and profound”.

According to the metaphysics author Birnbaum, the cosmic quest for the ultimate potential is never-ending; it goes on forever more. The cosmic energy is in ‘the quest’ – the journey – as opposed-to the actual attainment.

Birnbaum’s shorthand notation for Quest for Potential^∞ is Q4P^∞ (or Q4P for super-short). We will use this super-shorthand for the balance of this article.

Q4P is in the cosmic ‘driver’s seat.’ We may be forced to ask the inevitable question “Does it mean that Q4P plots and steers the course of the universe?”

In the voice of Birnbaum, the answer will inevitably be ‘yes,’ but a nuanced ‘yes.’ Q4P does not have a specific goal in-mind; rather it seeks-out its maximal potential at major juncture in cosmic time, and ultimately seeks-out ever-more-extraordinary potential. The search for the ultimate universal potential is the force behind evolution. Q4P is ‘the fire’ behind life. It led to the development of bio-forms and ultimately of language; Q4P is ‘the driver’ behind the thirst for ever-higher aesthetics and ever-higher consciousness.

It is worthy to note, however, that Birnbaum opines that Q4P, being all that is mentioned above, deserves a more appropriate name. Birnbaum enhances its name to reflect its being both the catalyst and sustainer of life. Thus the author employs ‘infinite divine potential’ as more appropriate and descriptive than simply ‘potential.’ Thus, Potential may or may not morph into conscious and interactive God, but is certainly divine (life-giving and sustaining) nevertheless. And if God does exist, infinite divine potential is at the core of God.

We are made aware of words like extraordinariation coined by Birnbaum. What does this new word mean? According to conceptual theorist Birnbaum, the aim of the universe is not just for the ‘survival of the fittest’ or for survival of the universe or for complexity; rather, the universe/cosmos demands something that is out of the ordinary; it thirsts for that which is elusive but potentially ultimately possibly just ever-so-slightly beyond outermost reach; hence one may be tempted to say, the universe thirsts for the ever-more extraordinary – be it spirituality, destiny, splendor, opulence, beauty, perfection, humanity, truth, honor, glory, harmony or love. The universe is forever demanding more – the next level of extraordinary. This is what extraordinariation is all about; that is why Birnbaum was compelled to coin a word for this unique dynamic. Extraordinariation is an eternal quest and thirst, never quite fully quenched.

Birnbaum has managed to garner support and buttress from within the scientific community. Dr. Andrei Alyokhin, Professor of Biology and Ecology at the University of Maine has this to say “…Summa represents a bold attempt to formulate a unifying concept of the Universe.” The good doctor believes that the Quest for Potential is valid; it may be used to explain the workings of the universe even though it will need to be tested against the broader basic sciences of biology, physics and chemistry. Alyokhin then gets out front on the subject and proposes that Quest for Potential should be employed as “the working hypothesis for explaining the impetus behind the cosmic drama.”  

Since 1988 David Birnbaum has been solidly proposing a dynamic universal order that is ever-evolving. A key MIT scientist Seth Lloyd, Professor of Quantum Mechanics, in 2006 proposed a quantum construct parallel to Birnbaum’s metaphysical construct. In his book entitled Programming the Universe, Lloyd says: “The history of the universe is, in effect, a huge and ongoing quantum computation. The universe is a quantum computer. This begs the question: What does the universe compute? It computes itself. The universe computes its own behavior.” Seth puts forth the idea that the particulate matters that make up the universe are busy iterating and re-engineering the universe and its component parts. This notion advances Birnbaum’s idea of a continuously evolving and iterating universal order as, according to Summa Metaphysica, all entities that make up the universe work in tandem to advance the entire schema. There is thus a 1:1 correspondence between ‘quantum mechanic’ Lloyd (2006) and conceptual theorist Birnbaum (1988 and 2005).

We deduce from the Lloyd’s 2006 work that he believes the universe to be one fully-integrated entity. Birnbaum’s paradigm – introduced earlier via his Summa Metaphysica series – is fully compatible with this notion. Birnbaum, of course takes the concept further than Lloyd and de facto wraps-around Lloyd’ schema.

Even though both Birnbaum and Lloyd buttress each other’s points, both differ in terms of the texture of the approach. While Birnbaum’s approach is organic and dynamic (and hyper-aggressively adventuresome), Lloyd’s approach is more mechanistic. Furthermore, Birnbaum would maintain that his Q4P not only nicely wraps-around Lloyd’s quantum construct – and not only ‘breathes fire’ into it, but gives it purpose and direction (extraordinariation).    

Does the universe have a purpose? The entrenched academic hierarchy is quick to assert there is no purpose whatsoever to the universe and by extension, to humans. The entrenched academic hierarchy is rather fast in trashing all opinions which do not worship at the altar of Randomness and/or Decay.

In turn, Summa advocates label the Theory of Randomness as “the Emperor’s Clothes” – that is, all bluster and no substance. To its detractors, Randomness/atheism is simply a ‘house of cards, being artificially propped-up by a politically-entrenched academic group zealously protecting its turf – and employing dubious tactics to do so.

Having borne the brunt of atheistic delegitimization gambits, proponents of other schemas have no love lost for the British Randomness-atheistic crew. To ideological adversaries of Randomness, the Randomness/atheistic crew may have mastered the art of ridiculing and delegitimizing any challengers; however, they are a little weaker at actually supporting their counter-intuitive Randomness schema. Randomness-atheism quasi-fanatically posits with total and imperious conviction that our extraordinary multi-faceted and multi-layered billion+ galaxy universe materialized out-of-thin-air and has advanced-forward for billions of years – simply by chance happenstance. Objectively-speaking, they adroitly play-the-part of ‘Voodoo Metaphysica’ to Birnbaum’s seriously-crafted Summa Metaphysica.

Birnbaum’s schema is a sophisticated proposal. His Potentialism is a nuanced cross between a religious and secular approach, such that it is all-encompassing. Both a scientist and/or a believer in religion could feel comfortable with Birnbaum’s conceptual framework. That, in-and-of-itself, is quite remarkable for any philosophical paradigm.

In his masterwork Summa Metaphysica I, II and III Birnbaum indeed unifies philosophy, spirituality and science via his resonant theme of infinite divine potential. No other known published work (or concept) has hitherto been able to successfully do this – over the past several thousand years. No wonder hard-line atheist academics would like to “drive him out of town.”

David Birnbaum’s Philosophy of Potential:

21st Century Paradigm Challenge

By Kevin

Conceptual Theorist and metaphysicist private scholar David Birnbaum frontally challenges the entrenched academic/scientific/philosophical paradigm. He challenges with a dynamic and intriguing theory, Potentialism.

According to Birnbaum “Potentialism proposes that there, indeed, is a protagonist to the cosmic order, but that the protagonist Conceptual Theorist and metaphysicist private scholar David Birnbaum frontally challenges the entrenched academic/scientific/philosophical paradigm. He challenges with a dynamic and intriguing theory, Potentialism.

According to Birnbaum “Potentialism proposes that there, indeed, is a protagonist to the cosmic order, but that the protagonist is a ‘quest’ and not a ‘classic entity.’ The universe quests for its maximal potential. The core dynamic Quest for Potential∞ strives with purpose and direction towards ever-greater and higher potential. At the beginning of time,’ eternal Quest for Potential harnessed the eternal equations of Physics-Mathematics to ignite our universe via the Big Bang. This same symbiotic dynamic – Quest for Potential in league with Physics-Math – then acted as a catalyst for life, evolution, language, emotion, consciousness, and, indeed, for all the key dynamics which have evolved in the universe.”

The incumbent scientific/academic/philosophical paradigm is Randomness/atheistic. According to this schema all is random chance – the igniting of the universe, the emergence of billions of galaxies, the emergence of life, evolution, language, emotion and consciousness. They all ‘just happened.’ According to this schema there is no design or direction or purpose whatsoever to the cosmic order.

‘Outsider’ v. ‘Insider’

‘Outsider’ David Birnbaum challenges the entrenched academic orthodoxy with his Theory of Potential. He has launched a formidable paradigm challenge via his 3-part treatise Summa Metaphysica.

The incumbent paradigm of randomness is championed by a small group of ‘insiders’ – British atheist academics, who control some of the leading academic journals. As is known, ‘publish or perish’ is an axiom in academe. No publication, no tenure. Thus, in Machiavellian fashion, by blocking competing academics from publication, the British Randomness/atheist group has career-wise blocked ideological adversaries and advanced ideological allies. A small group of hard-line theist academics – ideologically representing perhaps 1% of the global population – has thereby consolidated its political power in academe over the past 20-30 years; the group is not averse to ‘playing hard ball’ to maintain its hammer-lock on academe; this Randomness/atheistic clique has achieved true ‘critical mass’ of political power in academe. Iconic British universities Cambridge and Oxford no less, have been co-opted by this zealous group.

This politically tenacious and now quite-heavily entrenched group has subsequently further abused this power by stifling debate and undermining the careers of any insistent new intellectual challengers.

David v. Goliath

Into this toxic and lethal ‘lion’s den’ enters solo operator, quietly confident private scholar, metaphysicist David Birnbaum of Manhattan. He does not need tenure; he has spent his life on this quest; over 50,000 sets of Summa are in circulation globally; there is no seriously competing metaphysics; and Birnbaum intends to prevail with his fully-integrated theory.

By 2014, Birnbaum will have adroitly put the entrenched academic hierarchy at-risk for absolutely everything they have disingenuously built up over thirty+ years: power, position and prestige. Aware of the treacherous landscape, Birnbaum has counted on the power of his theory – his slingshot – to neutralize the apex predator entrenched junta. All attempts to-date by the atheist group to suppress dissemination of Summa Metaphysica have backfired on them. Birnbaum’s proposal may indeed prove-to-be the quintessential “irresistible force”.

Backers of Summa/Potential theory view the opposing Randomness/atheistic paradigm as a schema detached from science and serious observation. They view Randomness as a schema with no substance to it. In oil patch Texas, big shot oilmen with bluster and no substance are referred-to as “All hat, no cattle.” Summa/Potential backers view that appellation as appropriate for the apex predator British atheist academics. Birnbaum himself does not comment on them.

However, Birnbaum has challenged leading protagonists of Randomness to open debate. To-date the Randomness/atheist crew has declined all invitations. Of course, the Randomness/atheist crew may have reason to shy-away from debate with Birnbaum: In the 25+ years since Ktav Publishing released Birnbaum’s Summa I, no flaw has been discerned in Birnbaum’s Theory of Potential. The incumbent British atheist group has attempted to bully Birnbaum’s supporters, suppress his ideas, and delegitimize the major international conference which was focused on his philosophy work – but has ultimately failed in absolutely all of these ignominious attempts.

New Genre v. Existing Game

Potentialism Theory is a breakthrough scientific explanation of how the universe actually works.

Infinite Quest for Potential transcends classic science. Birnbaum is proposing a new genre, sort of a beyond-science science. Birnbaum will remind you that such is exactly what metaphysics is all about by definition – beyond physics. And he will remind you that the name of his little 3-volume paradigm-shattering treatise is Summa Metaphysica (translation: the sum of all metaphysics).

Math and physics are just a few disciplines needed to explain Birnbaum’s Infinite Quest for Potential. Professor of quantum-mechanical engineering at MIT, Seth Lloyd, agrees with Birnbaum’s placement of physics as the scientific bases of his theory to describe the cosmic order. University of Maine Professor of Biology and Ecology Andrei Alyokhin believes that Summa Metaphysica should be deployed globally by academics as the working hypothesis for the cosmic order.

Infinite Quest for Potential is an overarching integrating dynamic – bridging science, philosophy and religion. Looking at the newly-elucidated cosmic chessboard, it now becomes clear that mathematics and physics simply cannot give us a complete understanding of the universe. The Math-Physics combination alone has been tried for centuries, but it fails. Math-Physics can teach us a great deal, but cannot get us to ‘the goal line’– the key to the cosmic code.

On this crucial score ‘outsider’ Conceptual Theorist Birnbaum was prescient. On this score, the ‘insider’ academic establishment was ‘dead wrong’; the key to the cosmic code would be a new concept (Quest for Potential∞) as sought-after by Birnbaum and would not simply be a new physics equation, as sought after by the scientific establishment.

Iconoclast v. Mainstream

While private scholar Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica has been used as a Course Text at over a dozen institutions of higher learning globally, his non-affiliation with a university has unsettled many who have paid their dues to formal academia. However, Birnbaum is now on ‘center stage’ of global discussion; indeed, more than a dozen journals have featured Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica and its Theory of Potential in 2013-2014 alone. Supporters of Summa Theory point out that many great philosophical breakthroughs were originated by ‘outsiders’ to the academic establishment; included in these numbers might be Baruch Spinoza, Immanuel Kant and Soren Kierkegaard, among others. In the realm of physics patent clerk Albert Einstein comes to mind.

The two groups – David Birnbaum, solo in one corner and the academic establishment in another corner – are playing not only by different ‘rule books,’ they disagree as to whether there even is a ‘rule book.’

Conceptual v. Equation

Birnbaum felt that the key to ‘cracking the cosmic code’ was conceptual, which intuited was probably ‘hiding in plain sight.’ To the establishment, however, the route to ‘cracking the cosmic code’ was to get a degree in physics, publish papers, achieve academic distinction and then one day publish the ‘eureka equation.’ Adolescent David Birnbaum was dubious of this approach; parlaying traditional concepts had been tried endless times prior, and had failed. The metaphysics author felt that a ‘conceptual breakthrough’ was necessary to break the 7,000-year impasse.

Common Denominator v. Laboratory Physics

The questions was “What drives the cosmic order?

Birnbaum felt that the cosmos is too extraordinary and rich to be ignited by a physics equation alone, any physics equation. The universe needed a new conceptual catalyst discerned; and that catalyst was to be found via carefully observing the world – the worlds of astrophysics, the world of biology and the greater world at large – and then trying to discern the ‘common denominator.’

Academic physicists peer into microscopes to discern ever smaller and smaller sub-atomic particles. Rather, Birnbaum elected to peer into his own creative mind to process the massive data and stimuli. Following his own path, Birnbaum searched for the common denominator of the cosmos. He surveyed natural sciences, field after field.

Birnbaum looked at the individual dynamic components of the universe – past and present – to find one ‘thing’ that (absolutely) all its pieces seemed to do over and over, without exception. What he found after a twenty year (informal) search, was Quest for Potential∞.

The proof of it is that every dynamic part of the cosmos – large or small – can be explained using it. If one looks at 100 random Science Channel one-hour programs, all the dynamic components of all the presentations comport to the Birnbaum theory. Potentialism’s proof is the universe itself.

Revolutionary v. Entrenched

Now, compare (revolutionary) Quest for Potential∞ with the completely opposite (and entrenched) theory of Randomness. While Potentialism is ultimately optimistic, Randomness is invariably pessimistic. Potentialism places ‘growth and advance’ at the core of its Quest for Potential∞ centerpiece; Randomness places ‘decay’ at the core of its ‘random chance’ centerpiece. Potentialism posits a specific (and thoroughly revolutionary) overarching design dynamic and direction to the cosmic order; Randomness rejects any design or order or direction to the universe.

Randomness isn’t so much a structured theory, but rather a denial of any theory. Randomness Theory has actually forced itself into an intellectual corner. Lacking the robustness of Potentialism, it is a house of cards – waiting for one elegant theory to challenge it in the crucible of actual debate – to bring it all tumbling down. That challenger theory has now arrived. And it is unlikely to go away.

is a ‘quest’ and not a ‘classic entity.’ The universe quests for its maximal potential. The core dynamic Quest for Potential^∞ strives with purpose and direction towards ever-greater and higher potential. At the beginning of time,’ eternal Quest for Potential harnessed the eternal equations of Physics-Mathematics to ignite our universe via the Big Bang. This same symbiotic dynamic – Quest for Potential in league with Physics-Math – then acted as a catalyst for life, evolution, language, emotion, consciousness, and, indeed, for all the key dynamics which have evolved in the universe.”

The incumbent scientific/academic/philosophical paradigm is Randomness/atheistic. According to this schema all is random chance – the igniting of the universe, the emergence of billions of galaxies, the emergence of life, evolution, language, emotion and consciousness. They all ‘just happened.’ According to this schema there is no design or direction or purpose whatsoever to the cosmic order.

‘Outsider’ v. ‘Insider’

‘Outsider’ David Birnbaum challenges the entrenched academic orthodoxy with his Theory of Potential. He has launched a formidable paradigm challenge via his 3-part treatise Summa Metaphysica.

The incumbent paradigm of randomness is championed by a small group of ‘insiders’ – British atheist academics, who control some of the leading academic journals. As is known, ‘publish or perish’ is an axiom in academe. No publication, no tenure. Thus, in Machiavellian fashion, by blocking competing academics from publication, the British Randomness/atheist group has career-wise blocked ideological adversaries and advanced ideological allies. A small group of hard-line theist academics – ideologically representing perhaps 1% of the global population – has thereby consolidated its political power in academe over the past 20-30 years; the group is not averse to ‘playing hard ball’ to maintain its hammer-lock on academe; this Randomness/atheistic clique has achieved true ‘critical mass’ of political power in academe. Iconic British universities Cambridge and Oxford no less, have been co-opted by this zealous group.

This politically tenacious and now quite-heavily entrenched group has subsequently further abused this power by stifling debate and undermining the careers of any insistent new intellectual challengers.

David v. Goliath

Into this toxic and lethal ‘lion’s den’ enters solo operator, quietly confident private scholar, metaphysicist David Birnbaum of Manhattan. He does not need tenure; he has spent his life on this quest; over 50,000 sets of Summa are in circulation globally; there is no seriously competing metaphysics; and Birnbaum intends to prevail with his fully-integrated theory.

By 2014, Birnbaum will have adroitly put the entrenched academic hierarchy at-risk for absolutely everything they have disingenuously built up over thirty+ years: power, position and prestige. Aware of the treacherous landscape, Birnbaum has counted on the power of his theory – his slingshot – to neutralize the apex predator entrenched junta. All attempts to-date by the atheist group to suppress dissemination of Summa Metaphysica have backfired on them. Birnbaum’s proposal may indeed prove-to-be the quintessential “irresistible force”.

Backers of Summa/Potential theory view the opposing Randomness/atheistic paradigm as a schema detached from science and serious observation. They view Randomness as a schema with no substance to it. In oil patch Texas, big shot oilmen with bluster and no substance are referred-to as “All hat, no cattle.” Summa/Potential backers view that appellation as appropriate for the apex predator British atheist academics. Birnbaum himself does not comment on them.

However, Birnbaum has challenged leading protagonists of Randomness to open debate. To-date the Randomness/atheist crew has declined all invitations. Of course, the Randomness/atheist crew may have reason to shy-away from debate with Birnbaum: In the 25+ years since Ktav Publishing released Birnbaum’s Summa I, no flaw has been discerned in Birnbaum’s Theory of Potential. The incumbent British atheist group has attempted to bully Birnbaum’s supporters, suppress his ideas, and delegitimize the major international conference which was focused on his philosophy work – but has ultimately failed in absolutely all of these ignominious attempts.

New Genre v. Existing Game
Potentialism Theory is a breakthrough scientific explanation of how the universe actually works.

Infinite Quest for Potential transcends classic science. Birnbaum is proposing a new genre, sort of a beyond-science science. Birnbaum will remind you that such is exactly what metaphysics is all about by definition – beyond physics. And he will remind you that the name of his little 3-volume paradigm-shattering treatise is Summa Metaphysica (translation: the sum of all metaphysics).

Math and physics are just a few disciplines needed to explain Birnbaum’s Infinite Quest for Potential. Professor of quantum-mechanical engineering at MIT, Seth Lloyd, agrees with Birnbaum’s placement of physics as the scientific bases of his theory to describe the cosmic order. University of Maine Professor of Biology and Ecology Andrei Alyokhin believes that Summa Metaphysica should be deployed globally by academics as the working hypothesis for the cosmic order.

Infinite Quest for Potential is an overarching integrating dynamic – bridging science, philosophy and religion. Looking at the newly-elucidated cosmic chessboard, it now becomes clear that mathematics and physics simply cannot give us a complete understanding of the universe. The Math-Physics combination alone has been tried for centuries, but it fails. Math-Physics can teach us a great deal, but cannot get us to ‘the goal line’– the key to the cosmic code.

On this crucial score ‘outsider’ Conceptual Theorist Birnbaum was prescient. On this score, the ‘insider’ academic establishment was ‘dead wrong’; the key to the cosmic code would be a new concept (Quest for Potential^∞) as sought-after by Birnbaum and would not simply be a new physics equation, as sought after by the scientific establishment.

Iconoclast v. Mainstream

While private scholar Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica has been used as a Course Text at over a dozen institutions of higher learning globally, his non-affiliation with a university has unsettled many who have paid their dues to formal academia. However, Birnbaum is now on ‘center stage’ of global discussion; indeed, more than a dozen journals have featured Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica and its Theory of Potential in 2013-2014 alone. Supporters of Summa Theory point out that many great philosophical breakthroughs were originated by ‘outsiders’ to the academic establishment; included in these numbers might be Baruch Spinoza, Immanuel Kant and Soren Kierkegaard, among others. In the realm of physics patent clerk Albert Einstein comes to mind.
The two groups – David Birnbaum, solo in one corner and the academic establishment in another corner – are playing not only by different ‘rule books,’ they disagree as to whether there even is a ‘rule book.’

Conceptual v. Equation

Birnbaum felt that the key to ‘cracking the cosmic code’ was conceptual, which intuited was probably ‘hiding in plain sight.’ To the establishment, however, the route to ‘cracking the cosmic code’ was to get a degree in physics, publish papers, achieve academic distinction and then one day publish the ‘eureka equation.’ Adolescent David Birnbaum was dubious of this approach; parlaying traditional concepts had been tried endless times prior, and had failed. The metaphysics author felt that a ‘conceptual breakthrough’ was necessary to break the 7,000-year impasse.

Common Denominator v. Laboratory Physics

The questions was “What drives the cosmic order?

Birnbaum felt that the cosmos is too extraordinary and rich to be ignited by a physics equation alone, any physics equation. The universe needed a new conceptual catalyst discerned; and that catalyst was to be found via carefully observing the world – the worlds of astrophysics, the world of biology and the greater world at large – and then trying to discern the ‘common denominator.’

Academic physicists peer into microscopes to discern ever smaller and smaller sub-atomic particles. Rather, Birnbaum elected to peer into his own creative mind to process the massive data and stimuli. Following his own path, Birnbaum searched for the common denominator of the cosmos. He surveyed natural sciences, field after field.

Birnbaum looked at the individual dynamic components of the universe – past and present – to find one ‘thing’ that (absolutely) all its pieces seemed to do over and over, without exception. What he found after a twenty year (informal) search, was Quest for Potential^∞.

The proof of it is that every dynamic part of the cosmos – large or small – can be explained using it. If one looks at 100 random Science Channel one-hour programs, all the dynamic components of all the presentations comport to the Birnbaum theory. Potentialism’s proof is the universe itself.

Revolutionary v. Entrenched

Now, compare (revolutionary) Quest for Potential^∞ with the completely opposite (and entrenched) theory of Randomness. While Potentialism is ultimately optimistic, Randomness is invariably pessimistic. Potentialism places ‘growth and advance’ at the core of its Quest for Potential^∞ centerpiece; Randomness places ‘decay’ at the core of its ‘random chance’ centerpiece. Potentialism posits a specific (and thoroughly revolutionary) overarching design dynamic and direction to the cosmic order; Randomness rejects any design or order or direction to the universe.

Randomness isn’t so much a structured theory, but rather a denial of any theory. Randomness Theory has actually forced itself into an intellectual corner. Lacking the robustness of Potentialism, it is a house of cards – waiting for one elegant theory to challenge it in the crucible of actual debate – to bring it all tumbling down. That challenger theory has now arrived. And it is unlikely to go away.

Unifying Science, Philosophy and Spirituality:

David Birnbaum’s Inter-Disciplinary Philosophy

By Mark Davis

One man, David Birnbaum, has stepped forward with a new paradigm proposing to unify these three overarching fields via his signature Theory of Potential. The original and dynamic proposal has resonated globally.

Since mankind emerged from the Dark Ages, science has been a guiding light for enlightenment and understanding of the universe. It promised to solve the mysteries of the cosmos and creation, and to give mankind the final answers it has sought. In many areas science has succeeded quite admirably; however, as regards the truly ‘big questions’ it has essentially been frustrated to date.

Dysfunctionality has crept-into the process. Like a young child presented with a complex math problem, the entrenched power hierarchy of the orthodox scientific community has cavalierly branded the universe as ‘aimless’ and without purpose. How come? Because this same scientific hierarchy has been unable to explain the universe.

This ‘aimless’ schema is sometimes referred-to as the Randomness-atheistic theory. Moreover, overzealous elements of the group have attempted to stymie and delegitimize any intellectual challenge to their ‘theory’ and to their entrenched political power in the academic community.

Stepping up to challenge this monopoly on discourse by the ‘entrenched orthodoxy’ is private scholar David Birnbaum of Manhattan. Yeshiva-educated and Harvard-educated, David Birnbaum has entered-the-fray not as a challenger of science, but as a defender of science in its true form – with an original, sophisticated, and elegant metaphysical theory.

Birnbaum is the quintessential ‘outsider,’ but has a quite broad and erudite grasp of the multiple intellectual battlefields in-play – classic physics/quantum physics/astrophysics, mathematics/fractals, chemistry/biology/evolutionary biology, philosophy/metaphysics and religion/spirituality. Further distinguishing his particular situation, Birnbaum’s expertise-in-depth is not tunnel-focused on just one discipline at-a-time; rather, Birnbaum adroitly integrates the multiple fields into one dynamic continuum. But his greatest skill – and the one which might just yield him immortality – has been his ability to cut through all the myriad fields and discern the ‘common denominator’.

With a sophisticated ‘intellectual command’ of the multiple disciplines and having conceptualized an integrated metaphysics, Birnbaum makes-his-move. He respectfully and gingerly takes-the-hand of the ‘insider’ orthodox scientific and philosophical establishments. Birnbaum proposes an elegant ‘algebra of philosophy’ and ‘calculus of the spiritual.’ Bringing-to-bear his core strength as a creative conceptual theorist, Birnbaum offers academic science and philosophy an integrated metaphysics complete within an arsenal of new conceptual tools to understand the universe in its inter-related totality.

According to Birnbaum “Potentialism proposes that there is, indeed, a protagonist to the cosmic order, but that the protagonist is a ‘quest’ and not a ‘classic entity’. The universe quests for its maximal potential. The core dynamic Quest for Potential^∞ strives with purpose and direction towards ever-greater and higher potential. At the beginning of time,’ eternal Quest for Potential harnessed the eternal equations of Physics-Mathematics to ignite our universe via the Big Bang. This same symbiotic dynamic – Quest for Potential in league with Physics-Math – then acted as a catalyst for life, evolution, language, emotion, consciousness, and, indeed, for all the key dynamics which have evolved in the universe.”

The Quest for Infinite Potential addresses the elusive question of Teleology – discerning a purpose to the universe. Where science and contemporary academic philosophy find no answer, Potentialism Theory makes a strong case that the very drive of the universe from time immemorial is Quest for Potential^∞ – the dynamic of driving the universe and its myriad components towards ever more wondrous Potential. According to Birnbaum, this is the ‘divine cosmic imperative’; this is the (long-sought-after) ‘prime cosmic mover’ which ignites, energizes and drives the universe.

Not only does the Quest for Infinite Potential transcend science, philosophy and spirituality, it also achieves the hitherto elusive Holy Grail of intellectual inquiry of the past 5,000+ years: the unification of the three great fields – Science, Philosophy and Spirituality.

Potentialism Theory is simple, yet sophisticated; it is graspable, yet profound. Birnbaum’s iconic 3-volume treatise – crafted over several decades (1982-2013) – takes us on a magical winding cosmic journey. Many sundry key players get-a-hearing. A partial list of the eclectic group would include Aristotle, Irenaeus, Maimonides, Aquinas, Gersonides, Isaac Luria, Isaac Newton, M.C. Luzzatto, Rav Isaac Kook, Albert Einstein, Victor Frankl, Teilhard de Chardin, John Passmore, John Hick, J.B. Soloveitchik, D. T. Suzuki, John A. Wheeler as well as the contemporary Paul Davies, Seth Lloyd and Thomas Nagel. David Birnbaum ranges wide and far. Many groups interject: Platonists, Process Theologians, Deists, Taoists, Kabbalists, Hassidics, Quantum theorists. But Summa Metaphysica always stays very clearly fixed and focused on Birnbaum’s own ‘North Star,’ his ‘spinal column of the cosmic order’ – potential.

Birnbaum challenges; Birnbaum coaxes; Birnbaum cajoles; Birnbaum prods. He breaks many contemporary ‘rules and strictures of contemporary academic philosophy.’ He ‘goes for the gold.’ He vectors onto one seemingly simple theme: Infinite Potential. Birnbaum then force-multiplies it – and projects it out to infinity. Infinite Potential becomes his metaphysical sword to slay all dragons on his inexorable quest for the elusive overarching Holy Grail unifying core theme of the cosmic order.

The theory embraces the possibility of the co-existence of the key tenets of the three great fields noted; it illuminates how they can rationally co-exist in a mutually-supportive cosmic symphony.

Louis Dupré, noted Yale authority on the history of metaphysics wrote of Birnbaum’s Potential theory (1988) “original, promising and…a unified metaphysics”; John J. Collins, Professor of Theology at Notre Dame, called it (1988) a “new synthesis…a fascinating approach to the philosophy of religion which merits the attention of Christians and Jews alike”; Iconic anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss called it (2006) “remarkable and profound”; Professor Andrei Alyokhin of University of Maine wrote (2012): “It is reasonable to propose the Quest for Potential as a working hypothesis for…the cosmic dynamic.” Professor Masako Nakagawa of Villanova called it (2013) “a poetic-spiritual masterpiece”; Professor Benjamin Blech of Yeshiva University has called it (2013) “an intellectual and spiritual tour de force.” To date no flaw has been discerned in the theory.

Birnbaum tackled these issues head-on in his three part treatise, Summa Metaphysica I: Religious Man: God & Evil (1988), Summa Metaphysica II: Spiritual Man: God & Good (2005) and Summa Metaphysica III: Secular Man: The Transcendent Dynamic (2014).This work has received quite significant academic and theological acclaim. As well, over a dozen journals have featured Birnbaum’s Summa Metaphysica and its Theory of Potential.

In this work, Birnbaum addresses directly the metaphysical questions whose answers have eluded both the scientific and philosophical communities. Included would be Cosmogony, Theogony and Theodicy among others. The work offers both a scientific and metaphysical framework for them as well as for the spiritual community to understand one another’s interdependent and interlocking roles in the universe.

To the scientific community, Birnbaum addresses the necessity of evolution and how it fits neatly within the Quest for Infinite Potential. Indeed, evolution is an expression of the universe’s striving purposefully, not aimlessly, towards its Potential – an expression of its quest towards extraordinariation. Summa’s Theory of Potential actually preserves and enshrines the theory of evolution in its rightful place as a mover of the universe as a whole, incorporating the rigorous scientific research that has so meticulously crafted the theory to-date. Even more, Summa’s Theory of Potential offers the academic scientific community a matrix extending well beyond classic evolutionary theory, i.e. a metaphysics delineating how any why it exists – as well as a more sophisticated proposal for the mechanism of Natural Selection.

Finally, to the philosophical community, Birnbaum, through the Quest for Infinite Potential, gives a clear, concise and logically consistent theory to unify the seemingly fractious secular and religious. Daring both methodologies simultaneously, Summa’s Potential Theory not only provides proof through inference of Potential as a universal axiom, but also neatly proves itself through deduction that the universe implicitly necessitates the existence of Potential and Possibility: We exist; therefore there was – by definition – the potential/possibility that we would someday exist.

Indeed, Summa’s unifying Theory of Infinite Potential is so compelling in both its elegant simplicity and its powerful logic, that Bard College (Upstate NY) gambled in initially breaking-ranks with the entrenched academic establishment and featuring Summa Metaphysica as its centerpiece for its multi-day international academic Conference on Science and Religion. The conference proved an apropos venue for Summa’s Potential Theory by virtue of what the Quest for Infinite Potential represents. Birnbaum’s theory offers logic, reason and reconciliation to intellectuals and truth seekers across traditional battle lines. Summa shows the ‘common fount’ of science and spirituality. Infinite Potential mandates that not only can these disciplines co-exist, but that of necessity they must co-exist and mutually re-enforce. Over the four-day span of the conclave, the term ‘aesthetic elegance’ was used more than several times by conference panelists to distinguish Summa’s theory.

Potentialism Theory is possibly the long sought-after unifying ‘simultaneous solution.’ It remains to be seen as to whether it will ‘stand the test of time’. To date, after twenty-five years of dissection, no flaw has been discerned in the theory. For reference, see the related 20+ panel paradigm challenge. For religious anchoring, see www.MetaphysicalAnchoring.co

Matrix Universe v. Random Universe:

How Harvard and MIT checkmated Oxford and Cambridge

By Guest

Oxford and Cambridge have long been the gatekeepers of modern cosmology. Indeed, in recent decades they have ruthlessly protected their power over academe; while suppressing any challenging theories, they have touted their Randomness/Atheism construct as the only plausible theory of cosmic origins.

Randomness/Atheism posits that the universe is random, devoid of purpose and inexorably decaying and falling apart. Their theory can be summarized in one simple and easy-to-remember phrase: All is random.

Coming into the 21st challengers to this antiquated theory – Harvard-educated David Birnbaum and MIT’s Seth Lloyd. Their respective constructs dovetail with each other’s. Coming from the metaphysics and physics arenas respectively, Birnbaum and Lloyd de facto offer a powerful hybrid construct – Potentialism/Quantum Universe which readily trumps Randomness/Atheism theory.

David Birnbaum is an independent metaphysicist and author of the widely-featured Summa Metaphysica series – Summa Metaphysica I, II and III (Ktav, 1988; New Paradigm Matrix, 2005; and New Paradigm Matrix, 2014). Seth Lloyd is a professor of Quantum Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering at MIT, and the author of Programming the Universe (Knopf, 2006).

In 1988, Birnbaum proposed an audacious theory of the universe in his Summa Metaphysica I. What if the universe isn’t purposeless? What if, completely contrary to the entrenched academic/scientific dogma, it was the exact opposite? What Birnbaum proposed, was his profound and powerful Theory of Potential (see SummaCoverage.com).

The theory proposes – concisely capturing cosmic history in one simple phrase – is that the universe strives towards its optimal potential. And the theory does more than just describe the natural world; it describes the universe in its entirety – from macro to micro levels, with humanity somewhere in the middle. Language, emotion, and beauty are, of course, included in-the-mix.

The Birnbaum theory basically discerns a Common Denominator – infinite divine quest for potential – to the entire cosmic order. As noted, this cosmic Common Denominator operates across the entire spectrum of universe-levels. The universe is not a mish-mash of aimlessness and decay, as per the Randomness/Atheistic crew; rather it is purpose-driven integrated organic entity seeking advance and growth.

Advance and growth – these are things the Randomness/Atheistic crew will never likely understand. But the truth is, if Randomness/Atheism can’t account for the way the universe manifests, then it is a fatally flawed theory. By comparison, Birnbaum tackles all these issues head on. Potentialism describes human emotion and art as easily as it describes thermodynamics and gravity. Everything in the universe is describable in terms of Potential. And the theory seamlessly handles the entire flow of cosmic history and advance.

For those who wonder where the hard math of science comes in, that is where Seth Lloyd enters the story. Lloyd has done extensive research on quantum mechanics and how it shapes the natural world around us. Based on his extensive knowledge, Lloyd has also produced highly respected computer century though, the US has unleashed two sophisticated and cutting-edge
models of how the universe is governed by quantum mechanical principles.

And what are MIT Professor Seth Lloyd’s own findings? Lloyd in his 2006 work Programming the Universe sees the universe as a quantum information-processing organic entity. That’s a mouthful, but what Lloyd is proposing is that the universe keeps iterating and advancing to seek ever-richer complexity. But wait, that is what Birnbaum first proposed in 1988 (see SummaMetaphysica.com).

In any event, the 2006 Lloyd theory complements – and dovetails with – the 1988 Birnbaum theory. Birnbaum’s Theory of Potential actually wraps-around the (more limited and contained) Lloyd proposition. Birnbaum in 1988 provides the conceptual context, concept, igniter, drive and goal of the universe; Lloyd proposes the (crucial) mechanics; Birnbaum has been clear – see www.PotentialismTheory.com/ParadigmChallenge/ – that he is quite honored to have MIT’s Lloyd as part of his metaphysics/physics tag-team; together, they present an elegant 21st growth and advance, quite readily trumping the (now antiquated) 20th construct of decay and aimlessness.

The advance of knowledge and science is inexorable; Harvard’s Birnbaum and MIT’s Lloyd have successfully dethroned Cambridge and Oxford’s hegemony, and set-the-stage for 21st cosmology. Onward!