Vertical
The notion of “vertical” in philosophy extends far beyond a physical orientation, serving as a powerful metaphor for hierarchy, transcendence, knowledge, and the divine. Across various traditions, different terms and concepts convey this idea:
Western Philosophical and Religious Traditions
- Transcendence (or Vertical Transcendence): A core theme in monotheistic traditions and many Asian traditions, referring to that which exists above or beyond the universe, often associated with the sacred, absolute, or eternal.
- The Beyond: Used in traditions like Augustinian Christianity and Platonism to denote a realm or state of existence that is higher and more real than everyday reality.
- The Forms (or Ideas): In Plato’s philosophy, the eternal and perfect blueprints of reality, existing in a “higher” metaphysical realm that the philosopher’s soul aspires to reach through an “upward” journey of knowledge.
- Ascent / Upward Movement: Describes the philosophical or spiritual quest of rising above changing worldly affairs to ultimate union with the eternal or divine.
- Episteme: In the Platonic system, a term for true, absolute knowledge that stands in a “vertical” hierarchy above mere opinion (doxa).
- Hierarchy: The structural ordering of reality, values, or society with “higher” elements having precedence over “lower” ones (e.g., intellect over corporeality).
- Divine Command Theory: In ethics and morality, a “vertical morality” in which authority (God or a king) dictates what is right and wrong, and the seriousness of an offense is proportional to the majesty of the one offended.
- Spirit (der Geist): In Max Scheler’s philosophical anthropology, the distinctive principle of human being that allows for an “openness to the world” and the search for the meaning of life, representing the “vertical dimension” of human existence.
Eastern and Other Traditions
- Heaven / Sky: In Chinese and other traditions, the “above” can symbolize a cosmic zone where one can pass from the human to the supernatural realm, often representing divine authority or cosmic order.
- Yin and Yang (within Taoism): While representing duality and complementarity, they interact to express the balance of the universe, which involves both horizontal (human flesh, vulnerability) and vertical (transcendence, meaning) axes, often intersecting at key points in a holistic worldview.
- Moksha (Hinduism) / Nirvana (Buddhism): While not directly “vertical” in name, these concepts represent a transcendent state of liberation from the cycle of suffering (samsara), implying a “rising above” or “going beyond” the horizontal, everyday human condition.
In summary, the specific words vary, but the underlying philosophical notion of “verticality” often correlates with transcendence, hierarchy, ascent, divinity, rationality, or metaphysical reality, in contrast to the “horizontal” notions of immanence, equality, the everyday, the physical, or human relations.
AI responses may include mistakes.
[1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20004214.2024.2359728
[2] https://tech.caltech.edu/2025/01/14/the-metaphysical-ideas-of-plato/
[4] https://www.scribedbystardust.com/blog/horizontal-v-vertical-morality/
[5] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20004214.2024.2359728
[6] https://journal.equinoxpub.com/IR/article/view/3400
[7] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11007-023-09599-y
[8] https://museguided.substack.com/p/crooked-geometry-horizontal-desire
[9] https://www.exoticindiaart.com/blog/the-path-to-moksha/
[10] https://baptistnews.com/article/vertical-and-horizontal-morality/