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Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) · 220 of 225 · tr. Nicholas Bessaraboff and Claude Bragdon

Page 29 (part 1)

p. 337 TABLE OF THE FOUR FORMS OF THE MANIFESTATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS For ease of online reading, I have exchanged the rows and columns in this chart.—JBH 1ST FORM 2ND FORM 3RD FORM 4TH FORM THE SENSE OF SPACE AND TIME The sense of one-dimensional space. The world on the line. The line as space, everything else as time. Everything except things lying on this line is in motion. The sense of two-dimensional space. The world on the plane. The plane as space, everything else as time. Angles and curves as motions. The sense of three-dimensional space. The world in an infinite sphere. The sphere as space. Everything else as time. Phenomena as motions. A becoming and changing universe. The sense of four-dimensional space. Spatial sensation of time. PSYCHOLOGY Appearance of the first sensation. Sensation a unit. Its division into two. The gradual evolution of sensations and the accumulation of remembrances concerning them. Perception. The expression of sensations by cries, sounds, motions. The absence of words and speech. Were there speech it would consist of substantives only. Concept. Words. Judgment. Syllogism. Reasoning. Speech. Written language. Allegory. Emotions. Self-consciousness. New sensations. Higher emotions. Expansion of concepts. Direct knowledge. Symbolism. Cosmic consciousness. LOGIC The absence of thinking, or a confused thinking of the 2nd form. This is this. That is that. This is not that. The beginnings of logic. The logic of the uniqueness of each separate thing. A is A. A is not Not-A. Everything is either A or Not-A. Dualistic logic. A logic of antitheses. Syllogism. A is both A and Not-A. Tat twam asi . Thou art that . "Tertium Organum." Logic of the unity of all. MATHEMATICS The absence of numeration, or a confused numeration of the 2nd form. The comparison of separate visible objects or separate perceptions. The direct sensation of quantity. Computation within the limits of this sensation. Every magnitude is equal to itself. The part is less than the whole, etc. Finite and constant numbers. The geometry of Euclid. A magnitude can be not equal to itself. The part can be equal to the whole, etc. Metageometry. Mathematics of variable and infinite magnitudes. FORMS OF ACTIONS Reflex, unconscious, responsive action to external irritation. Instinct. "Emotional" end expedient action without consciousness of results. Seeming consciousness. Inability to manipulate a lever. The consciousness of the purpose of actions performed. The possibility of a consciousness of results. The cause of actions in the outer world in impressions received from the outer world. The impossibility of in dependent actions without impulses coming from the outside. The starting of conscious actions. The starting of actions with the understanding of their cosmical meaning and purposes. The commencement of independent actions proceeding from oneself . MAGIC. MORALS Unconscious actions (like the actions of a man asleep). The beginnings of the maternal, family, and tribal instincts. Laws of the life of the species as a condition of evolution. The unconscious submission to the "group soul" of the species manifesting through instincts. Logical and conventional division into good and evil. The submission to the group consciousness of the family, of the clan, of the tribe, of the nation, of humanity, of the class, of the party, of a custom, of a fashion, etc. The return to the law inside oneself. A new conscience . Emancipation from submission to the group-consciousness. The realization of oneself as an independent unit. FORMS OF CONSCIOUSNESS Potential consciousness. Consciousness in a latent state—asleep.
Themes
◆Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The table structure aligns different domains (Space, Psychology, Logic, Mathematics) across the same four forms, implying a structural correspondence between levels of reality.

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◆Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The text presents a 'Table of the Four Forms of the Manifestation of Consciousness', establishing a hierarchical structure of being.

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◆Infinite Cosmoscosmology

The doctrine of the universe as boundless and without center or circumference, populated by innumerable worlds — Bruno's rejection of the closed Aristotelian sphere; the divine and the cosmos as ontologically infinite.

The text mentions 'The world in an infinite sphere' and the Mathematics column includes 'Mathematics of variable and infinite magnitudes'.

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◆Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

The Morals column for the 4th Form states 'The return to the law inside oneself' and 'Emancipation from submission to the group-consciousness'.

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◆Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

The table maps human psychological states (Psychology column) directly to cosmic spatial and logical structures (Sense of Space and Logic columns).

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◆Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The 4th Form Psychology culminates in 'Cosmic consciousness' and the Logic column states 'Logic of the unity of all'.

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◆Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

A dedicated Mathematics column details the evolution of numeration and geometry from finite to infinite magnitudes as part of consciousness manifestation.

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◆Return To Sourcesoteriology

The soul's journey back to its divine origin, reversing the fall into matter through stages of purification or illumination.

The Morals column for the 4th Form describes 'The return to the law inside oneself'.

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◆Self Examinationpraxis

Daily review of thought and action as spiritual practice.

The progression includes 'Self-consciousness' and 'Realization of oneself', implying an inward turn of attention.

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◆Separation From Sourcesoteriology

The felt condition of exile from one's divine origin — Rumi's reed flute torn from its bed, Plotinus's 'we have forgotten,' the Gnostic forgetfulness; the affective wound that complements return_to_source and gives the return its motive.

The lower forms are described as 'Unconscious actions (like the actions of a man asleep)' and 'Potential consciousness... asleep', implying a state of separation from higher awareness.

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◇Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] The term 'Direct knowledge' is explicitly listed under the Psychology column for the 4th Form of consciousness.

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◇Mechanical Humanityanthropology

Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's claim that ordinary human beings live in a state of waking sleep, reacting mechanically without unified will or consciousness, and that the spiritual path begins with recognising this condition.

[auto] The text explicitly describes ordinary human action as 'Reflex, unconscious', 'Unconscious actions (like the actions of a man asleep)', and 'Seeming consciousness', matching the Gurdjieffian definition perfectly.

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◇Opposites Transcendedanthropology

The dissolution of binary oppositions (male/female, inner/outer, above/below) as a mark of spiritual completion.

[auto] The Logic column describes the 4th Form as 'A is both A and Not-A', transcending the dualistic logic of the 3rd Form.

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◇Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

[auto] The Mathematics column for the 4th Form includes paradoxical statements like 'The part can be equal to the whole' and 'A magnitude can be not equal to itself'.

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◇Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

[auto] The Psychology column lists 'Self-consciousness' and the Morals column mentions 'The realization of oneself as an independent unit'.

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◇Spiritual Ascentpraxis

A staged journey of the soul upward through heavenly realms or levels of being toward the divine source.

[auto] The entire passage is structured as a table of four ascending forms of consciousness from unconscious reflex to cosmic consciousness.

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◇Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

[auto] The Logic column for the 4th Form explicitly states 'Logic of the unity of all' and cites 'Tat twam asi'.

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