a process of realization in which no distinction can be made between that which is but could also not be (matter or mere possibility) and that which essentially and necessarily is (form)”. By attaching the conditionality of potential to his definition of consciousness, Foss essentially said that human beings have no limitations on what they can be, perceive, and create. An idea existing only in the mind is as real as what is perceived via the physical senses. Martin Foss and other philosophers Foss's work diverges in important ways from that of Carl Jung. Both scholars were writing in parallel (during the same period of time) about similar concepts, although Foss highlights the creative process as the central element of life in a way that Jung does not. Jung's definition of the symbol is very different from Foss's. In Jung's view, a symbol has great meaning, deriving from the collective unconscious. Contrary to Jung, Foss uses the term "symbol" to refer to that which is man-made and static (Jung uses the term "sign" to denote something static). Foss uses the term "metaphor" to denote the universal creative process that underlies human life and consciousness. In Foss's view, the metaphoric process of life is a continuous, ongoing creative force that is always working to "move beyond" (and destroy) the static state of the symbol. The metaphoric wants to create anew. His writings can also be compared with the writings of Martin Heidegger and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, both of whom are well known for their views on process philosophy, which describes the universe as a process, rather than a fixed state. Major publications Essay. Logos, XII (1924) Essay. Logos, XIII (1925) The Idea of Perfection in the Western World (1946). New Jersey: Princeton University Press Symbol and Metaphor in Human Experience (1949). New Jersey: Princeton University Press Logic and Existence (1962). New York: Philosophical Library Death, Sacrifice and Tragedy (1966). New York: Philosophical Library References External links “Most Neglected Books of the Past 25 Years” Frye, Northrop & Knights, L.C. (1963). Myth and Symbol: Critical Approaches and Applications. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. Armour, Leslie & Trott, Elizabeth (1982). The Faces of Reason: An Essay on Philosophy and Culture in English Canada, 1850–1950. Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press http://groups.google.com/group/Martin-foss http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20021113044605/http%3A//www.bayarea.net/%7Ekins/aboutme/900greatbooks.html 1889 births 1968 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American philosophers 20th-century educators 20th-century essayists 20th-century German male writers 20th-century German