Sparked by a “separation of church and state” discussion with my youngest son, David, and his beloved, Holly.

Separation of Church/Religion and State/Science

Science is descriptive – it cannot a) prescribe anything, or b) have a purpose behind it. It’s about the way we actually/evidently are and what we actually/evidently do.

Ethics is prescriptive – it cannot a) describe anything, or b) have a purpose behind it. It’s about the way we should be (and actually/evidently aren’t) and what we should do (and actually/evidently don’t).

Art is purposive – it cannot describe or prescribe anything. It’s about what we want to become, and how we want to behave, whether or not we already are like that or behave that way, and whether or not we should be like that or behave like that.

Prescriptive rules are rules that imperfect people don’t always follow, but should. Legislation that prescribes imperfect behavior or character is no legislation at all.

Descriptive rules describe how we always behave (only a perfect person is ALWAYS described as behaving how they SHOULD behave).

Sometimes we fall back on the way we always behave, but if we don’t always behave that way, it’s because we can choose to behave a different way (which is not necessarily how we SHOULD behave).

Purposive rules (art) neither prescribe nor describe… they aren’t necessarily how we DO behave, nor how we SHOULD behave… they are what we WANT to be/have, what we WANT to do, or WHY we want it… whether or not things are already that way (descriptive science) or should be that way (prescriptive ethics).

If you’re doing ethics, you’re not (just) doing science or art (you are also prescribing a method, which is not itself a description or purpose/why).

If you’re not prescribing, you may still be doing ethics, but you’re not (just) doing ethics (you may also be describing the perfect…describing is science).

And if you are saying “I want this” you’re using a purposive rule, not (just) a description or a prescription. You’re not saying it is or isn’t that way (maybe it is, maybe it isn’t…yet)… you’re not saying it’s good or bad (maybe it is… maybe it isn’t). You’re just saying you want it. For better or worse.

Art (purposing) does more than merely describe or prescribe, and it may do neither. But the highest art does all three, omnipresently—as it is in the highest (immanent transcendence) kingdom.

The Good (prescriptive), the Loved (purposive), and the True (descriptive) are One/Whole (distinct and together).