Definitions

Definitions

In ORDER that no confusion remain in the determination of my concepts, I shall begin by defining some of the words used in this work.

The terms "cerebral consciousness" and "'cerebral intelligence" plus the adjective "vital"—defining vital function, vital logic, etc.— are used in a special new sense.

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CONSCIOUSNESS—If a Cause-Origin of the Universe is admitted, it is of necessity unique. However, if reason imposes on us the idea of an indivisible, i.e.. quantity-less, unity, the idea of this unity eludes our point of view as creatures forming part of this Universe, a con¬ sequence of the unique Cause.

This unity exists for us only if comparison is possible; but com¬ parison signifies consciousness and duality. Thus, creation is accomplished entirely between the numbers One and Two; and duality is the basic characteristic of the created Universe. This duality is the principle of sexuality. Duality implies comparison with a series of phenomena which produce cerebral consciousness. Unity creates by "looking at itself"; it is the fallen angel of the Judeo-Christian tradition and also the Adamic error in the Genesis of Moses. We may call this Unity God or Unpolarized Energy, in that this Unity is indivisible, and God, the Creator or Polarized Energy, insofar as it is Unity conscious of itself.

Therefore, the Universe is only consciousness and presents only an evolution of consciousness, from beginning to end, which is the return

to iis Cause. 1 The aim of every "initiatory" religion is to teach the way that leads to this the ultimate merging.

Cerebral consciousness, which is peculiar to the animal kingdom and the human animal, requires the faculty of registering notions that are only acts of comparison, and this faculty is located in the cerebral cortex and the double cerebral lobes.

On the other hand, understanding—Intellect or Reason 2 —is the faculty of synthesis in the coordination of ideas and is functionallycentered in the pituitary and pineal bodies (hypophysis and epiphysis). This is what the ancients called the "intelligence of the heart," because its impulse is manifested through the solar plexus (the sympathetic nerve), the emotive center, and its direct physical reactions upon the heart.

LIFE—Various definitions have been given for the term "life," the best of which seems to me to be "the faculty of assimilating a food and transmuting it in the nature of the living being." Any ger¬ minating seed—or any seed capable of germinating—is a cause or impulse of life; and gestation is life. But when the living being, whether vegetable or animal, achieves its aim, which is a new seed, its organism deteriorates in that it is a complex generating the seed (male) or gestating the being (female); but death does not extinguish all life in the component parts of this individual. Putre¬ faction makes from them new lives, animal or vegetable. To be sure, it is always a matter of assimilation, but to another rhythm, with another character.

This definition is philosophically true; but I propose another one, which—applied to everything, including minerals—is more correct because it is more general: "Life is the faculty of reaction." Everything in the Universe tends toward inertia, or absence of reaction. The proof of this inertia, which thermodynamics seeks in "absolute zero," has never been given, nor will it ever be, because absolute inertia can only be attained through the cessation of the formed

matter or "thing." This would be the moment the thing ceased to exist.

Everything "existing" is capable of reaction, insofar as it has "weight," that is, fixed or specific energy.

The vital phenomenon is the faculty of reacting, and to manifest itself this reaction requires a resistance of the same nature as the action.

Thus, the living stomach produces the juices necessary for diges¬ tion, because of the signal (or resistance) of the thing to be digested, in exactly the same way the anvil (resistance) produces reaction, or suppression of weight (elasticity), in the hammer (ac¬ tivity) that strikes it. Whether in the field of chemistry, biology, or mechanics, the Law remains the same: there has to be an action, a resistance of the same nature, and the reaction or effect. The whole is the vital phenomenon.

I draw a parallel with "vital logic" and "cerebral" or "equational"—that is to say, syllogistic—"logic." The latter is simple mechanical logic, quantitative logic; the comparison of two ele¬ ments defines a third, which is a quantitative equation.

On the other hand, vital logic is purely functional and quantita¬ tively unforeseeable, because of the multitude of elements that can enter into the elaboration of the result, since here it is a question of gestation. Vital logic applies to the reactive or vital function. It has its exact law, which is the law of genesis, the supreme natural expres¬ sion of which is given by the phases of the embryonic and fetal genesis of man. 3

SYMBOL AND SYMBOLISM—The meaning currently accepted for the word symbol always implies a conventional nature. A figure or a sign represents, by analogy or convention, a given idea.

To conform with the true meaning of the symbol in ancient Egypt, we ought to use the Egyptian term Medu-Neteru, the Greek translation of which, "heiroglyphs," distorts the Egyptian meaning. Medu-Neteru are the Neters, or the principles conveyed by a sign.

To me, the word symbol signifies the thing itself or the materi¬ alized idea that it evokes; it does not represent the idea by analogy alone.

There is a reality (that is to say, a cause with an ineluctable effect) in the Medu-Neters or symbols—as in the Christian image of the Cross, the statue of the Holy Virgin, the gestures and words of the Sacrament of the Mass, in the life or legend of the Saint from whom the religion takes its name.

Every image, however primitive it may be, leaves its mark. It evokes a memory, and only that which one has known or lived can be remembered. One puts into the image this "something" of oneself. The image then no longer represents this memory; it is the memory that is transplanted in the image.

In this sense, even the conventional symbol becomes "real"—like an officer's badge of rank, a "symbolic" sword, the robes of high office.

It is certainly not the habit that makes the monk; but oblige the monk to wear secular clothing and something in his attitude will change, and thereby something in his inner disposition.

In every instance the symbol—even if it be chosen totally arbitrarily—makes its mark, because of necessity it evokes a complex of thoughts that are projected into it; and it is this projection that then confronts us.

This manner of conceiving the symbol opens the door to a theme that would require lengthy development.

When I use the word symbol, for lack of another, more precise word. I am thinking of the natural symbol, and of the figuration that is the Idea projected into the thing represented.

Inversely, in the pharaonic sense, the natural thing or being is none other than the materialization of the Idea of which it is the symbol. The bird hving in the air has an aerial nature; through its habits (life, nourishment, method of hunting, affinities and emnities. character, mode of assimilation, etc.), it becomes the incarnation of a function, of a stage in the universal genesis, and finally, of an Idea. Thus every natural thing is the incarnation of a principle; it is the principle's symbol.

Summary of Principles

LIFE is the faculty of reacting.

This formula extends the definition of Life to include minerals. We do not distinguish inorganic bodies from organic bodies so as to accord life only to the latter. We admit that there are organized beings and others which are not yet organized; but the latter bear, in their characteristics, (for example, chemical affinity), the ele¬ ments that give an impetus for future organization. This, however, will not take place in a continuous fashion, but through the necessary destruction of forms for the purpose of "rebirth"—so to speak —in higher states. It is not the form that is transmitted, but the "permanent" moment of the Substance. This permanent moment (the Egyptian ka) registers the experience of the transitory form. Thus Life is, in all things, a ternary complex formed by an active Cause against a passive resistance that is nonetheless reactive in turn. This reaction is the apparent effect, and the whole is the vital phenomenon.

INTELLIGENCE has a double nature: Intellect, or Reason, is direct Intelligence, beyond all comparison. It is the Intelligence of the human being who, incarnating all the possibilities of the Universe, knows this Universe without having to reason it. On the other hand.

cerebral intelligence requires comparison and constitutes psy¬ chological consciousness, which distinguishes man from animal. This cerebral intelligence is that of the "Adamic" human being fallen into relative nature.

THE SYMBOL In our modern languages there is no word that designates the exact meaning of Symbol, as it was conceived by the Ancients. This is why I should like to replace the word symbol with the word Medu-Neter, which conveys the "signs that bear the Neters" ("Neter" signifying the Principle or the Idea in the Platonic sense).

For me, a plant or an animal, for example, is a symbol of a whole collection of vital elements crystallized in that plant or animal, which can be what it is only through the conditions and circum¬ stances causing its birth. Each is the manifestation of an Idea and constitutes a link in the evolution of Consciousness, from the original Verb up to the conscious return into the Cause. Each natural symbol may be considered as a word in a phrase that, in reuniting all words, alone can define that abstraction which is called God.

The energy associated with

valence levels

increases as

we move

away from the nucleus.

The polar charges of

the electrons and the nucleus

in the lower energy levels

cause the electrons

to be tightly bound

to the nucleus.

The further the electrons are

from the nucleus,

the more reactive ~ aka energetic

they become

Now, one might think:

why not adjust all these electrons

into one shell

and make chemistry a bit easier?!

Well, another scientist, Wolfgang Pauli, probably had the same doubts, which led to his discovery of an interesting fact about electron behavior.

Pauli came forward with the Pauli Exclusion Principle in 1925, affirming that

two electrons cannot occupy the same orbital,

and that the same orbital

must have opposite spins.

In short, a shell has sub-shells,

and each sub-shell

consists of one or more

atomic orbitals;

each orbital

can only hold 2 electrons,

each with an opposite spin.

What Are Sub-shells And Orbitals?

Shells are a collection of sub-shells

that have the same principal quantum number (n).

Sub-shells are a group of orbitals

that share the same

principal quantum number (n)

and azimuthal quantum number (ℓ),

the second of the four quantum numbers.

The values of ℓ (0,1,2,3) correspond to

the s, p, d, and f labels in an electron shell,

respectively.

ℓ can take a value from 0 to n-1,

and every orbital

in a particular sub-shell

has 2ℓ+ 1 substates.

When n=1, ℓ= 0

and it corresponds to the s orbital,

which has only 1 substate [2(0) +1= 2];

ℓ= 1 is the p orbital with 3 substates (px, py, pz);

ℓ= 2 is d with 5 substates;

and ℓ= 3 is f orbital with 7 substates.

Every orbital has a different shape.

The s orbital is spherical,

p is dumbbell-shaped,

d is cloverleaf

with one unique shape

and f is a more complex version

of the d orbital.

every orbital can only hold 2 electrons

that spin in opposite directions.

Only the s and p orbitals

are involved in the octet rule.

Let’s consider a Sodium (11) atom,

which has 11 electrons.

If you calculate its distribution of electrons

based on the information above,

you will see that Sodium has 3 shells;

the first shell will contain 2 electrons

and the second will have 8,

leaving us with 1 lone electron in the 3rd shell.

The electronic configuration is 2, 8, 1.

The first shell only has 1 orbital (n=1 and l=0)

and accommodates 2 electrons.

The second shell has 8 electrons

and 2 orbitals.

The first 2 electrons

form a part of the s orbital

and the other 6 of the p orbital (n=2 and l=1).

The last electron will go in the 3rd shell

and will be a part of the s orbital

again. The electronic configuration will then be:

1s2 2s2 2p6 3s1

The single electron in the 3rd shell

is what makes the sodium atom

unstable

and

reactive.

Due to

the incomplete number of electrons in the valence shell,

sodium is known to have an open shell

To gain stability,

electrons in the last orbital

form covalent or ionic bonds

with others.

This bonding

leaves both atoms

with 8 electrons

in their outer shell

and a stable molecule

Sodium tries to attain a state like the noble gas

closest to it, Neon.

The valence shell of Neon

is complete with 8 electrons

and has a closed shell.

The electronic configuration is:

Neon (10): 2,8 or 1s22s22p6

Most other elements

try to form covalent or ionic bonds

to reach a state similar to the closest noble gas.

Some of the electronic configurations

of noble gases are as follows:

Argon (18): 1s22s22p63s23p6

Krypton (36): 1s22s22p63s23p6 3d¹⁰ 4s² 4p⁶

Caption: Electronic configurations of noble gases.

Every shell is complete,

each orbital is filled with the right number of electrons,

and as a result,

noble elements are very stable.

There is no chance

of another molecule interacting with them,

as they don’t have anything to offer.

noble elements are stable so that

their need to gain or lose electrons

doesn’t exist.

Exceptions To The Octet Rule

Gilbert Lewis was aware

that the octet rule couldn’t be universally applied

to all elements.

In 1916, the number of molecules discovered

was considerably less than now known

and as a result, the octet rule

was considered as a rule of nature.

Over the years, this rule became so ingrained in the minds of people that it was difficult to accept that the exceptions to the rule actually outnumber the inclusions!

As it turns out, only elements belonging to the Main Group (Group 1, 2, 14-18 ) of the Periodic table follow the octet rule, leaving out a huge chunk of other substances. The general exceptions include those molecules that have an odd number of electrons and those in which atoms possess more than or less than 8 electrons.

Conclusion

The octet rule is pivotal in identifying the reactive nature of atoms. Whether an atom forms covalent or ionic bonds is identifiable from the Lewis Electron dot structures. Atoms are constantly in search of stability, and therefore form chemical bonds to have an electronic configuration similar to noble elements. Although the octet rule isn’t universally applicable for all elements, it forms the foundation of our understanding of chemistry!

Aditi Thombre

Aditi is a patent lawyer and has a Master’s in Biotechnology. Her interest lies in protecting innovations by finding a balance between law and science.