spiritual power of reason (Solovej 2015). Rationality, the unique human characteristic, indicates that people are not only capable of sensory experience, but also of understanding the order of being and its essential elements, such as lacking. Only by accepting lack in themselves and in the order of being can people direct their energy towards the pursuit of chosen ends, self-improvement, cooperation, and the multiplication of goods. 1.2. Lack as an element of the world Theories interpreting the physical structure of the world also touch upon lack. Although not fully applicable to the human world, they convey a universal understanding of being. Human and physical structures of the world are embedded in the same primary causes. Even before Aristotle, Greek philosopher Democritus (460–370 BC) explains reality by equating being with atoms, absolutely solid and indivisible particles. He regards the emptiness separating atoms A void – an empty space as non-being; he sees tembetween the atoms – is porary atomic combinations, paralleled to lack. emerging for some time, forming and dispersing the configurations of atoms, as a manifestation of phenomenal nature (Furley 1987). A void – an empty space between the atoms – is paralleled to lack: After all, if there were not the void separating atoms, these would be as if statically bricked in parts in a wall of concrete; or they would appear as an absolutely inert conglomerate made of glued particles. Not being able to move, they could not form atomic configurations; therefore, phenomena and, obviously, the whole phenomenal richness and diversity could not be possible in this world (Karde lis 2016: 26).
In the physical world lack is understood as one of the essential causes of movement and emergence of new phenomena. If there were no 22
