Beyond Conditioned Thought: Article 1 –The Limits of Ordinary Thinking

Our everyday understanding of reality is shaped by a deeply ingrained framework: the assumption of becoming. We live within a world where things appear to change, arise, and vanish, and this perception is so fundamental that we rarely question it. Yet, as Emanuele Severino has demonstrated, this framework is not an objective truth but an interpretation—one that obscures the eternal necessity of Being. To begin unveiling reality as it is, we must first examine the interpretative veils that shape our thinking.

The Conditioning of Thought

From the moment we acquire language, we are immersed in a system of distinctions, oppositions, and causal relations that structure our perception. We learn to think in terms of past, present, and future, of cause and effect, of a world in flux. This conditioning does not simply influence our thoughts—it defines them. Thought, as it is commonly understood, functions within this framework, making it nearly impossible to conceive of something that does not change, arise, or pass away.

Philosophy, at its most fundamental level, seeks to examine and, when necessary, overturn these assumptions. Parmenides’ insight—that what is, is, and cannot not be—directly contradicts the assumption of becoming. Severino extends this realization, demonstrating that the very notion of a thing ‘ceasing to be’ is an impossibility. Yet, conditioned thought resists this truth because it has been shaped entirely within the illusion of change.

The Veil of Language and Time

Language itself plays a central role in reinforcing this illusion. The very structure of our grammar implies becoming: verbs express action, change, and transition. We speak of ‘things coming into existence’ and ‘things disappearing,’ assuming a distinction between being and non-being that does not actually hold. Even the concept of time, which structures our experience, is an interpretation rather than an absolute reality. We do not experience ‘time’ directly; we experience sequences of appearances, which we then interpret as past, present, and future. This interpretation conditions all our thinking, making it nearly impossible to directly recognize the necessity of Being.

The Resistance to Immediate Recognition

The recognition of Being is not an abstract philosophical exercise; it is a confrontation with the fundamental way we see reality. Yet, because thought is conditioned by language, perception, and habit, there is an immediate resistance to seeing what is necessary. This is why experiences that disrupt ordinary thinking—deep philosophical reflection, moments of artistic or spiritual insight, even near-death experiences—can be so powerful. They momentarily suspend the habitual framework, allowing a glimpse beyond the veil of becoming.

Yet, these glimpses are often misinterpreted because the conditioned mind attempts to fit them back into its ordinary framework. When someone has a profound experience of timelessness, they may describe it as ‘entering eternity’ or ‘leaving time,’ as if they had stepped out of one reality and into another. But the truth is more radical: there never was a time when Being was not eternal.

Beyond the Limits of Ordinary Thought

If the illusion of becoming is so deeply ingrained, how can we begin to move beyond it? The first step is not an abandonment of thought but a clearing away of its distortions. Philosophy, at its best, does not reject reason in favor of mystical silence but refines reason to its utmost clarity. Similarly, moments of direct insight—whether in meditation, profound aesthetic experiences, or existential realizations—do not negate thought but remove its imposed limitations.

Recognizing the limits of ordinary thinking is the first step in unveiling the eternal structure of Being. As we move forward in this exploration, we will examine how different modes of experience—philosophical reflection, meditative states, near-death experiences, and even moments in everyday life—can momentarily lift the veil and reveal the necessary truth beyond conditioned perception.