Literary notes about unification (AI summary)
The term "unification" has been employed in literature to express both abstract and concrete ideas of cohesion. In the works of William James, for example, it is used to evoke a cosmic or philosophical merging, where multiple representations or experiences are seen as interconnected parts of a unified whole [1, 2]. In contrast, the sociological texts by Burgess and Park illustrate unification as a tangible phenomenon within groups—a process where a single leader or shared activity, such as dance, brings individuals together in a unified, almost organismic, state [3, 4, 5, 6]. Additionally, the concept is extended into broader cultural and philosophical contexts, as seen in discussions of the social influence of Buddhism in Japan [7] and the idea that personal will contributes to the perception of the unity of nature itself [8]. Finally, in James's later discussions, there is a nuanced reflection on the distinction between the rational unity and the empirical unification of things [9].
- But whether the egos be one or many, the nextness of representations to one another within them is the principle of unification of the universe.
— from The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by William James - Philosophy, 65 ; depends on personal demands, 93 ; makes world unreal, 39 ; seeks unification, 67-70 ; the ultimate, 110 ; its contradictions, 16 .
— from The Will to Believe, and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy by William James - In both cases the unity of the supreme head tends to bring about an inner unification of the group.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - —The subordination of a group to a single person implies a very decided unification of the group.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - During the dance they are in a condition of complete social unification, and the dancing group feels and acts like a single organism.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - The social significance of the primitive dance lies precisely in this effect of social unification.
— from Introduction to the Science of Sociology by E. W. Burgess and Robert Ezra Park - We shall see, also, how grandly Buddhism also came to be a powerful force in the unification of the Japanese people.
— from The Religions of Japan, from the Dawn of History to the Era of Méiji by William Elliot Griffis - What enables men to perceive the unity of nature is the unification of their own wills.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - He speaks of what he calls the rational UNITY of things, when all the while he really means their possible empirical UNIFICATION.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James