TotIs is the story of a Greek symposium led by none other than Socrates himself along with a number of his  good friends. These friends happen to be some of the greatest scientists, philosophers, and thinkers the world has ever known. And what they’re discussing, among other things, is; how do we come to know anything at all about the world? By what process do we come to know what’s real? So, these friends spend an enjoyable afternoon drinking wine, laughing, and discussing their own problems along with these and other deep questions. And during their discussion they discover that this process of experiencing reality is really a bio-sensory simulation. It is in fact an interpretation, and as we know an interpretation of a thing is not the same as the thing itself, just as a picture of a peach is not the same thing as a peach itself. This holds true not just for our five senses but for our very experience of time itself.

Gita: Between the Unknowable and the Unreal is inspired by the Vedic holy book, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Taoist holy book the Tao Te Ching. Borrowing from the Bhagavad Gita, this book has Socrates playing the role of Krishna and the Princess warrior Gita playing the role of Arjuna. In it Gita finds herself unable to fight against her kinsmen in an imminent fratricidal war. Though she is a revered and fearless warrior, and a commanding leader, the thought of killing her own kinsmen leaves her empty and despairing. She and Socrates begin a discussion that examines the conundrum for conscious beings between the unknowable nature of fundamental reality, totIs reality, as opposed to our own bio-sensory conscious experience that we call reality but is in fact merely an illusion, antIs reality. Discussions on the nature of Free-Will vs Determinism/Fate, as well as the nature of action, lead Gita to an awakening that allows her to merge with her Fate, to be who she is meant to be, and so to save her City and its citizens.

Of all the matter and energy in the universe, only biology creates an experience of reality through a bio-sensory process. To put it simply, snowflakes and electrons don’t experience anything. Though this idea sounds simple enough it is virtually impossible for a consciousness such as ours to accept. This bio-sensory creation, this experience, is our only access point for knowledge. It supplies us with the only reality we can know though it is an illusion. One philosophical discipline that has delved deeply into this matter is Chinese Taoism. Its source book, written some two thousand five hundred years ago is the Tao Te Ching written by Lao Tzu. The Tao, as imagined by Lao Tzu shares many characteristics with Kazden’s totIs and his philosophy of the nature of observation and its relationship to space-time and reality itself.  This book Tao is not a translation of the Tao Te Ching but rather a new interpretation. In it Kazden focuses on the fundamental conundrum laid out in its text, a conundrum intrinsic to the very existence of consciousness.  Today, in Physics, it is known as The Measurement Problem. Simply stated; there exists a dichotomy, of a consciousness born of biology, whose bio-sensory process fabricates for it an experience of reality, antIs reality. At the same time this process ensures that such a consciousness is incapable of any experience of the actual, source, reality, totIs reality, that underlies our universe. Einstein himself understood this concept when he noted that: “Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one.”

Joseph Kazden’s book “Phantom Horizons: Chuang Tzu Plays Solitaire” explores the difficult subject of what reality is and how illusions affect our perceptions of it. This provocative investigation tests our comprehension of the world as we know it.

Though it seems indisputable, Kazden skillfully conveys the idea that our reality is a complex illusion. By drawing comparisons to the horizon—a limit that appears to be tangible—the author guides us on a trip to comprehend how our sensory perceptions and the real world differ from one another. This philosophical journey is intriguing and thought-provoking.

The book deftly uses two motifs to explain these thought-provoking concepts. It illustrates ideas about life, fate, illusion, and action via fables and stories in a way that only myths and legends can. We are taken to a realm of ageless stories and old wisdom that deepen our comprehension of the human condition.

The lively discussion between CT and Bella in a local bar also adds a relevant and modern layer to the investigation. Their conversation, which revolves around a solitaire game, provides a grounded viewpoint on the abstract ideas of real versus imaginary. The complexity of their discussion challenges the readers’ assumptions about reality.

“Phantom Horizons” asks us to reflect on the subtle differences between the real and the imagined and to consider the nature of our perceptions. A fascinating voyage into the mysterious domains of illusion and reality, J. Joseph Kazden’s book combines deep philosophical insight with a masterful storytelling style. It makes readers consider the limits of their comprehension, which deepens their knowledge of the complexity of the world we live in.

By Michael Beas, CEO and Founder: Atlas Elite Publishing Parnters