Alexis karpouzos
BIOGRAPHY
Alexis karpouzos (Greek : Αλέξης καρπούζος) was born in Athens on April 9, 1967, after attending philosophy and social studies courses at the Athens School of Philosophy and political science courses at the Athens Law School, he continued his studies in psychoanalysis and the psychology of learning. During his studies in Greece he has actively involved in the social, ecologic and occupancy movements. At the same time (starting in 1990), he met Cornelius Castoriadis an Greek-born philosopher and attended his lectures and lessons He was influenced by Castoriadis' attempt to connect philosophy with psychoanalysis and politics in order to gain a new perspective on some of the problems of society during his time. In 1995 he met with Kostas Axelos and was inspired by his post-philosophical thinking and his central concepts, such as the concepts of the play.
PHILOSOPHY
As with so many mystics, Alexis karpouzos intuitively know the oneness of cosmic creation and historic humanity as part of all that is and all there isn't. So, the originality of Alexis Karpouzos thought is that it crosses the most diverse fields, the most opposing philosophies, to unite them into an often contradictory and broken whole. Marx and Heidegger, Nietzsche, Freud and Heraclitus, poets and political theorists all come together in the same distance and the same unusual proximity. Alexis karpouzos use Pre-Socratics philosophy and generally the ancient Greek philosophy, as well as the pre-philosophical thinking of The Upanishads, the Vedas and Buddhism in India, of Lao Tzu, of Zen Buddhism and the Taoist tradition in China, of the Arab mystics and poets, with their metaphysical religiosity as the metaphysical basis for the interpretation and understanding of the world and existence. At the same time the ancient metaphysics is connect with Hegel’s dialectical ontology and with the modern thinking of Marx, Nietzsche, Freud, Heidegger, and others as the interpretive context for understanding the central problems of the technical and scientific world during his time. Novalis, Hölderlin, Rimbaud, Whitman, Eliot and others show the dreamy nature of existence, the transcendence of the Cosmos, welcome the infinity. For Alexis karpouzos the combination of ancient and modern thought creates the holistic experience of universal space-time and the consciousness of the unity. The poetic thought of Alexis karpouzos is a expressions of soul's inner experiences, expression of universality. The inspiring visual images and the symbolic use of language offer a description of elevating experiences of consciousness, a glimpse of higher worlds. The philosophy of Alexis karpouzos speak to the human experience from a universal perspective, transcending all religions, cultural and national boundaries. Using vivid images and a direct language that speaks to the heart, his philosophy evokes a sense of deep communication with the collective unconscious, a sense of connection to all the creatures of the world, compassion for others, admiration for the beauty of nature, reverence for all life, and an abiding faith in the invisible touch of world. Alexis karpouzos thoughts are often terse and paradoxical, challenging us to to break out of the box of limiting beliefs and see things from a new perspective. Above all, Alexis karpouzos continually calls to us to wake up and explore the mysteries within our own selves, i.e the mysteries of universe.
THE CONCEPT OF PLANETARY THOUGHT
Globalization and Technology: Karpouzos argues that technology has become a dominant force shaping the world, leading to a new form of planetary civilization. This civilization is characterized by the interconnectedness and interdependence of all human activities across the globe.
The Game of the World: One of Karpouzos’s central ideas is that the world operates as a game, where various forces and elements interact in a dynamic and often unpredictable manner. This game is not controlled by any single entity but is a continuous process of becoming.
Errance (Wandering): Karpouzos introduces the concept of “errance” or wandering, which reflects the unpredictable and ever-changing nature of human existence within the planetary framework. This wandering is not aimless but is a way of engaging with the complexities and uncertainties of the world.
NOTABLE IDEAS
Invisible touch
When you look deeply into yourself you may be able to see that there is, in this moment, a quality of aliveness that is animating you that is not philosophical and is not abstract. It's independent of what you think about it, what you believe about it and what you feel about it. It's always there! it is animating your breath, It is coursing the spirit, it is what makes it possible for you to think and speak and see and hear. This is the Invisible touch.
Cosmic conversations
We live in a universe that can be seen and experienced from many different perspectives. We therefore need to look at the universe from many different angles. Everything and everyone is a form of the universe being expressed in a particular way. In other words, each one of us can say with absolute certainly “We are the Universe!” Since we are the universe, each one of us provides a valuable perspective that complements the contributions of everyone and everything else around us. Each of us is the universe being expressed in a particular location in a specific way. We’re all part of the same moving and evolving cosmos, but the view of it is unique from each of our respective locations. This suggests that the universe is not only omnicentric, but that it is also multiperspectival, there are many different, and equally valid, viewpoints on this. Each one of us is a cosmic laboratory within which we can discover the secrets of the universe. We speak in various ways, we are each the universe having become aware of itself in our own unique way. The insights that the universe has many different perspectives and is both cosmic and personal has great transformative potential, and is worth reflecting on deeply.
Evolution of consciousness
The challenge for humanity now is to transform and transcend our fractured views of the world, to shift paradigms, to return to a more wise and holistic understanding of ourselves and our place in the Universe. A change in thinking and behavior will result naturally from a change of heart. As Einstein put it, “Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Once enough of us open our minds and collaborate together, there’s a good chance we’ll find many of our problems can be solved quite easily. By aligning our species with the wisdom of Nature (and our own hearts), the health of our planet and communities could be restored. We just need to recognize our interdependence with the rest of the Universe, be more generous and grateful, care about one another, re-evaluate our priorities and change the way we think. The whole Universe pulses with complex interconnections and a mysterious beauty far beyond our imaginations. There’s a deeper truth that our limited conceptions ignores- that the Universe is not something that exists outside of us. You and I are creative living expressions of ALL that is. We are born of atoms forged in the heart of long gone stars, energized now by the photons of our local sun. Kept alive by the nutrients and air of our World. We are Life manifesting as people, mountains, rivers and trees. Seeing this deeper truth and experiencing our connection to the Universe is the beginning of wisdom. Sharing that wisdom with others- and using it as the foundation for redesigning the human systems that we build together- is how our world can be re-created and transformed.
The paths of knowledge
'The eastern and Asian thought is poetical thought and wisdom of life. The western philosophy is a rational thought seeking for the truth by the abstract mind and the natural or artificial symbolism of language and mathematics. The eastern philosophy denied the division into matter and spirit, on which the western philosophy and science was founded. It is talking about the unbreakable One. Namely, it is neither idealism, nor materialism. It does not accept this theoretical division on knowledge. The western thought founded its building on the division of matter and spirit and from this division emerged the two philosophical currents of materialism and idealism. The western science today ends up on the same conclusion with the eastern philosophy. We surpass this division between matter and spirit. The nature is united. We go over matter and spirit. Besides, at the contemporary physics, matter and energy is the same. The Universe is energy. The matter is nothing more than concentrated energy. What is more, the division into spirit that observes and matter that is being observed has been refuted by the double slit experiment of quantum physics. In this experiment the observer and the object being observed are one since they affect one another. The science of Chaos teaches us that everything is interconnected, but the contemporary developments in neuroscience, getting started with the brain neurons and their multiple connections, reveal the topology of the brain, a miniature of the universal geometry of everything. For example, the Hindu tradition of the Upanishads faces the personal ego as an illusion (Maya). Maya separates the personal Ego from the transcendent Being (Brahman). When the illusion of the personal Ego is spoiled, then the compound with the Transcendent Being is achieved. The Transcendent Being is located deep inside the human’s soul (Αtman). The human’s soul (Αtman) and the Transcendent Being (Brahman) are the Same, boundlessly and timelessly. You are this one (tat tvam asi) “The one who lives inside all beings, but is something else compared to them. He, who is being ignored by the beings, but his body is all the beings. He, who controls all the beings from inside. He is your Soul, the internal Auditor, the Immortal”. A Buddhist text gives us a vision of the time: “Buddha taught the past, the future, the natural world and each one of us is nothing but names, forms of thought, public words, simply superficial realities.” A Buddhist sutra says: “the form is the vacuum, the vacuum is the form”. For the Japanese Buddhist zen there is no other space, there is no other time. This moment is everything. In this moment the whole being is being summarized. In this moment everything is available, into this moment eternity penetrates the existence and existence penetrates eternity. Bohr’s quantum principle of complementarity supports that everything in the Universe consists of opposed sections. The Chinese Tao is the symbol that characterizes the dialectic unity of opposites. The Tao is the rhythm which connects the opposites. The wisdom of the ancient knowledge and the philosophy of the contemporary scientific knowledge converge and create open thought, the thought of open Wholeness. The core of the open thought is the cosmic consciousness. In every particle, atom, molecule, cell of matter the energy and the information of the cosmic spirit is concentrated. The history of the universal spirit and the spirit of the universal history of spirit unfold through time and in different places. They are history of transformation of our relationship with the world. The knowledge of the cosmic spirit is an unchanged structure, which is expressed in multiple forms in the evolutionary history of the universe.
The universal nature of soul
The “deamon” of Socrates is the voice of God that works inside us, it is an echo of the voice that governs the Universe and defines the operation of everything in the world. This way, Socrates unites in a mutual substance the man, the Universe and the God! Socrates cogitates the sky, detects the stars, envisions the entire world and within him there is the profound conviction that through the “cosmic creation” and the “human fate”, a superior Intellect, which is an imprint of our own Intellect, dominates.Democritus and Lefkipos supported that the atoms are the last molecules of matter which are not susceptible to incisions (they cannot be divided) or fluctuations, are unborn, indestructible, unchangeable and indivisible, complete and perfect, compact, united and simple, while they are numerically infinite, vastly varied in shape and move continuously in space. Namely, using contemporary terminology, Lefkipos and Democritus introduced an energy “conservation principle” of the atom. Plato believed that every phenomenon of the world is deceptive and everything perceived by the human senses is an illusion. Through Virtue, Plato discovers the immaterial world, which he calls an Idea, and he becomes the founder of Ideocracy. The interpretation of the matter of the visible world is a fraud, for Plato. The soul has a divine origin, it is related to the Ideas, but it is the only thing in the world that is similar to the Ideas. By knowing, the soul of the divine becomes divine itself and equal to God Himself. Dialectics is the queen of the sciences and the only path to true knowledge. The eastern and Asian philosophies and religions were led through introspection, meditation, intuition, insight and mystical experience to the understanding of the deep structure of the natural world. We could say that they do not constitute philosophies, with the west notion of the term, since they are not expressed by the rational intellect, the logical argument and the declarative language of science, but by parables, allegories, images and poetic language. The eastern philosophy points a path to the revelation of truth, namely the living experience that humans, plants, animals, the planet, the stars, everybody and everything is One. Everything is made of the same “universal matter”. The separations are metaphysical abstractions and mental constructions. The difference between the western and the eastern and Asian thought is the way that we will reach the ultimate knowledge, the knowledge of wholeness. There is no methodology on the western sense, a system of predefined rules that aim on a purpose. There is the path of the personal search. That is why we support that the “knowledge” is not mental, namely impersonal, but it is experiential, i.e., personal. The “knowledge” is ineffable and inexpressible, for it is not expressed in words, but shown with attitude, manner and style.
PERSONAL LIFE
Alexis karpouzos currently writes and tours as a teacher. He holds that is only the mind and the language that divides unity of universal space-time into conceptual parts, while Consciousness remains one unified whole. "I invite people to just remember that the world does not consist of subjects and objects, the "subject" and the "object" are metaphysical abstractions of the single and indivisible Wholeness. Man's finite knowledge separates the Whole into parts and studies fragmentarily the beings. The Universal Wholeness is manifested in multiple forms and each form encapsulates the Wholeness. All beings and things, visible and invisible are interrelated and inseparable, are the same and different forms of open wholeness. You are not separate from that which you are intrinsically a part of, regardless of how distant other things seem to be from you. You are a part of all that appears to you, and they are all a part of you. You affect each other, because you are one another. The possibility of survival, passing through a generous and friendly relationship with the other man, with the other beings, the planet as a whole, the stars and the whole universe. Αs he says, 'We need a post-ontological poetic thought, we need a sense of the unity of life and of humans for the sake of human welfare and for the survival of the planet. We need a sense of unity with the cosmos so that we can connect with Reality. But we also need a sense of individuality, for the sake of our own dignity and independence and of the loving care for others. We need it to appreciate each natural form, each animal and plant, each human person in their uniqueness'. For the Alexis karpouzos, The invitation for each of us is to dive into the mystery of our questions and our wondering, and come out of the trance of certainty, the idea that we’re supposed to “know” what to do with this life or have some absolute conclusion or resolution about the many paradoxes and contradictions of our existence. Invite you to soften into your doubts, celebrate your uncertainty, and come to see the beauty - and ultimate safety - in Not Knowing. We know not where the journey leads, nor whether a final destination is even a meaningful concept. The attraction is the inherent thrill of participating in a grand creative endeavor for which participation is its own reward.
QUOTES BY ALEXIS KARPOUZOS
1. The Multiplicity and the Unity are one and the same thing, a thing that is both many and one at the same time. The waves, and the currents underwater, make up the ocean. The ocean is the underlying basis for every wave. Neither the ocean, nor the waves, can be understood in isolation from each other.
2. We must preserve the sense of unity and the sense of diversity and multiplicity. We must recognize that the One and the Many are the same thing viewed from different angles. The One is the Many. The One is manifested only in and through the Many. It has no separate existence apart from the Many. Equally the Many are the One. Even during their temporary separation, they are always part of the One, and always united with the One. Every one of us is always part of the One, and can unite with the One at any time we choose.
3. The world does not consist of subjects and objects, the “subject” and the “object” are metaphysical abstractions of the single and indivisible Wholeness. Man’s finite knowledge separates the Whole into parts and studies fragmentarily the beings. The Wholeness is manifested in multiple forms and each form encapsulates the Wholeness.
4. The universe is not a world of separate things and events but is a cosmos that is connected and coherent. The physical world and spiritual experience are both aspects of the same reality and man and the universe were one.
5. All beings and things, visible and invisible are interrelated and inseparable, are the same and different forms of open wholeness. The possibility of survival, passing through a generous and friendly relationship with the other man, with the other beings, the planet as a whole, the stars and the whole universe.
6. Every flower and insect, every bird, and all the creatures that live upon the land and swim within the rivers and seas, are part of the Tree of Life. You are connected to the whole of life. Whatever happens to the myriad forms of life in the world around you, has a direct affect on you.
7. You are a point of consciousness within multiple fields of consciousness that interpenetrate each other: A multi-dimensional being within a multi-dimensional Universe. When you realize the unity of all these fields of consciousness you share life with, you partake in conscious communion. Void and existence coexist and complement each other endlessly in the Cosmos, and beyond this duality is Consciousness of unity.
8. Our souls are tied across universes, there is unbroken continuity, you see the love is more powerful than death, so let the winds of the heavens to dance with you and give your smile at the other's welcome.
9. All humans on earth are one. We descend from the same family of common ancestors. We are, in a quite literal sense, siblings, and like siblings we depend on each other's love and care and responsibility. We are interdependent not just in our families and communities, but in nations, and increasingly on a global scale - just as we are also interdependent with nature and the earth.
POETRY BY ALEXIS KARPOUZOS
1. i know that i shall meet my shadow, one day, is our fate. I know that, someday, the light ends for us and the deadly gravity will absorb us. But then, without space and time, without life and death, the infinite pieces will be reunited, a deeper union through the tranquility of silence will be born. And again, a magician spark will shine and a ocean of souls will flood the universe and will give birth to stars and grief. And maybe, just maybe, in another heaven, my dreams will be your dreams. You see, everything repeats itself and everything will be reincarnated in different forms. An incredible miracle, carefree, and we live in it. Please, stand still and breath the generosity of the miracle. The miracle is folded into your heart.
2. My child, let your life come into the world of darkness like a spark of light, without flicker and pure, and thank them in silence. You know, my child, they are cruel in their greed and envy, their words are disguised knives thirsting for blood. But do not be afraid, my child, go and stand in their hearts, and let your gentle eyes fall on them like the forgiving serenity of the night. My child, let them see your face and so they know it meaning of all things, let them love and love one another. Go, at sunrise, open and lift up your heart like a blooming flower, and at sunset, bend your head and silently complete the worship of the day. Remember, my child, gods and demons, ghosts and elves are fragments of one, built by the hand of the abyss. So, move on, go to the shore of the vast darkness, there, is the Great Meeting of Children, there, the sea gives a smile to the beach, there, sing the waves facing death.
3. Listen, if stars are still lit it means there is someone who needs them. It means someone wants to love, Why then do we feel so much pain and heaviness of heart? are we waiting for something, regretting anything? To whom I can strech out my hand in the somber desert? Who will accompany me on the empty night? Who will give me a fiery day? Who will bring back the sea that left? No hope here. Torment is certain. Without sacredness in the emptiness of this world of ours, the heart of man fades like a flower. Suddenly, the shuddering of the heavens penetrating my soul, Oh never let the parting sun, no star is ever lost we once have seen, the long rains will continue to fall.
4. All humans on earth are one. We descend from the same family of common ancestors. We are, in a quite literal sense, siblings, and like siblings we depend on each other's love and care and responsibility. We are interdependent not just in our families and communities, but in nations, and increasingly on a global scale just as we are also interdependent with nature, with earth and the universe”. So, different souls and cultures but one earth, so, different stars but one universe.
5. In every moment life offers herself, whole and ardent, in every moment life invites itself at the banquet of possibles, possibilities, silent messengers, through the mists of time, they invite the world to take shape, to come out of hiding place of eternal silence.
6. The earth, a grain of dust, suspended in a sunbeam, it underscores our responsibility to treat each other with more kindness and compassion, and to preserve and love this pale blue dot, the only home we have ever known. When one door opens, another closes. this is the eternity's circle, mistakes belongs to us, but not all, the fate mapped out for us to follow, but does not define our choices, beings of necessity and randomness, we're rattling over the abyss in the vicinity of dying stars.
7. After time, people will say, in those years, we lost the meaning of we, we lost the sense of universality found ourselves prisoners into ego, in a long soliloquy and the infinite life reduced to i, war inside us, we fight inside us, the birds of prey scream and their beaks hurt us but through the fog, the stars, the makers of wandering dream with their accumulated wisdom they're sending us a mutiny message go on and on the tragic crossing the owl flies at night.
BOOKS BY ALEXIS KARPOUZOS
1. Cosmology, philosophy and physics, book 2, ISBN-13: 978-1676379300
2. Universal consciousness, ISBN-13: 979-8605563099
3. Non- Duality, ISBN-13: 979-8605250968
4. An ocean of souls, ISBN-13 : 979-8644247134
5. The self-criticism of science, ISBN-13: 979-8605598503
6. Cosmology, philosophy and physics, book 1, ISBN-10: 1676379304
ACADEMIC WORKS
Alexis karpouzos has published many academic works in Greek, in English, Russian, French and German . The themes of his books are relate to : General Philosophy and Ontology, Metaphysics and Epistemology, Philosophy and History of Science, History of Ideas, Cosmology and Physics, Social Sciences.
The participatory universe, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.3613650
Non-duality, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3613651
The self criticism of science, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3644172 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3644172
MOVIES
Deadline (2017)
We are a conversation (2014)
MUSIC
An ocean of souls, 2018 (CD)
Beyond the heaven 2019 (CD)
INFLUENCE AND LEGACY
Alexis karpouzos's planetary thought has influenced various fields, including philosophy, sociology, and political theory. His ideas encourage a more holistic and reflective engagement with technology and globalization, urging us to consider the broader implications of our technological advancements
