[R³]

Hello ,

There are words being used here in the title of the group that I don’t understand.”
those words are “Higher Order”… please explain and discuss in explicit detail .

 

this question was inspired by Joseph Campbell :

“There’s a word being used here this evening that I don’t understand.”

He said, “What’s the word?”

I said, “God.”

“You don’t understand what God means?” he replied.

I said, “I don’t know what you mean by God. You’ve told us that God has hidden his face, that we are in exile. I’ve just come from India, where people are experiencing God all the time.”

And do you know what (Martin) Buber said? “Do you mean to compare?”

There you have revealed two sides of looking at the idea of God

[jamesn.]

Hello Robert; so glad to have you here!

Stephen, Michael, or David may have more to add about this but I hope the below is helpful.

Concerning your question if I understand your reference correctly the term: “Higher Order” has to do with respect for others and the proper protocol used in “discourse”. (This has nothing to do with religion.)

The site is still a work in progress as the older version actually had a descriptor concerning this very term. It may give the impression of high brow but actually it has to do with tone and behavior. There were several moderators that usually kept an eye out for problems as discussions could sometimes get rather heated or an occasional “Troll” would drop by and try to create a “dustup”; (slang for trouble maker); and the problems though rare were generally solved with just a word or two of caution.

There was actually a thread that was created to address this distinction called: “The Art of Discourse”; that over the years evolved into a running discussion about what elevated and constituted proper discourse from that of normal discussion. But the idea; (although more nuanced); really boils down to having the proper respect for others and the topic you are engaged in; (along with the idea of what some might call elevating discussion into an art form). The above guidelines section should help give you a sense of this as well.

Make yourself at home and take a look around a bit since this site is a little more complicated than the Salon was; but I think you’ll find things quite comfortable once you get settled in.

Again; welcome aboard; glad you’re here.

[Stephen Gerringer]

“Conversations of a Higher Order” was chosen as the name of the original forum on the JCF website a couple decades back for several reasons. In part it points to discussions beyond what one often finds on bulletin boards and social media (rather than post pictures of cats and what one had for breakfast, we’re here to discuss what transcends, or is beyond, the normal order of perceived consensus reality – mythology pointing to a “higher order” beyond that of the mundane world where we spend most of our time fighting over sandwiches).

But the name itself also conveys an expectation – conversations of a “higher order” are not given to innuendo, brawling, flame wars, name-calling, or ad hominem arguments. Joseph Campbell himself provides the example: our emphasis is on civil discourse, as laid out in the Forum Guidelines.

[jamesn.]

Stephen; thanks for the helpful clarity on this. I think it makes a difference for those new here on how to get a feel for this new place and what to expect.

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