🌗 There’s No Such Thing as Negative, Only the Absence of Positive
A Spiritual, Philosophical, and Neuroscientific Reframe
“There is no darkness, only the absence of light. There is no cold, only the absence of heat.” —Emmett Fox
I’ve always been fascinated by the patterns of existence — the way life seems to move in opposites. Light and darkness. Comfort and pain. Love and hate. God and the devil.
But the more I’ve reflected, the more I’ve begun to wonder:
What if negative isn’t truly a “thing” in itself?
What if it’s simply the absence of the positive?
🔢 A Mathematical & Linguistic Clue
In mathematics:
Positive means addition
Negative means subtraction
Language hints at this too:
Remove the “d” from “devil” and you have evil
Add an “o” to “God” and you have good
These aren’t just word games — they reveal something profound about how we frame reality.
🔍 Emmett Fox’s Engineering Lens
Emmett Fox — an engineer-turned-biblical scholar — saw the world through both science and Scripture. He noted:
There is no darkness, only the absence of light
There is no cold, only the absence of heat
Physics agrees: At absolute zero (-459.67°F), there is no colder — only the complete absence of heat measured in British Thermal Units (BTUs)
Following that formula:
There is no sickness, only absence of health
There is no hate, only absence of love
There is no fear, only absence of safety or faith. There is such a thing as “healthy fear” or “positive fear” - It’s called respect, as in I respect that red glowing thing on the stove enough not to touch it.
There is no greed, only absence of contentment
There is no depression, only absence of joy (and/or neurotransmittters)
🧠 The Neuroscience Perspective
Neuroscience supports this idea in surprising ways:
Fear is often the absence of perceived safety. Phobias are a good example - Phobias do not come from positive thoughts.
Depression involves an absence of joy and can involve reduced activation in brain regions that generate positive emotions — not an active “negative” signal, but a quieted positive one.
Pain often becomes unbearable when comfort, soothing, and connection are absent.
In other words, our brains are not always fighting an active “negative.” They may simply be responding to a gap in what nourishes us.
💔 When “Bad” Isn’t Truly Negative & “Good” isn’t Always Positive
Here’s one important caveat: Not everything that feels bad is truly negative.
Take grief. When we lose someone or something deeply important, we feel pain — sometimes crushing pain. But grief honors what was lost. It says, This mattered.
Grief is a positive healing process. It becomes “negative” only when we complicate it — for example, by numbing with alcohol or compulsively distracting ourselves. That’s when it stops moving us toward wholeness.
Likewise, not everything that feels good is truely positive - Using methamphetamine may feel good, but it doesn’t usually end well.
😈 Does This Mean There’s No Devil?
One might ask: If there’s no such thing as negative, is the devil only the absence of God?
No.
Scripture affirms that Satan exists — in the spiritual realm. As spiritual beings, we can be influenced by other spiritual beings. Evil gains influence in our physical world by hijacking human lives — what Bill Gillam sometimes calls “borrowing someone’s earth-suit.”
And Satan’s main strategy? Lies.
If he can convince us that the absence of good is permanent… we stop trying to restore it.
✨ A Transformational Shift
If negative is simply the absence of positive, then our work is restoration, not resistance.
Instead of:
Fighting fear → Cultivate safety and faith
Battling hate → Grow love
Resisting greed → Practice gratitude and contentment
Trying to erase depression → Rebuild joy and purpose
Avoiding Your “Triggers” → Pursue Your “Glimmers” (See Post Below)
🌀 Polyvagal Theory Revisited: What’s New in 2025
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“The story of our nervous system is the story of our capacity to connect, regulate, and recover.” —Don Carter, MSW, LCSW
We don’t have to fight shadows — we have to bring in light.
🪞 Reflection Questions for You
Where are you working hard to “fight” a negative instead of “adding” a positive?
Which absence in your life is asking to be filled?
What’s one simple way you could add warmth, light, love, or comfort today?
Coming Next…
Part 2: The Flashlight of Awareness & the Default Mode Network
How to reprogram your brain’s “autopilot” and choose where to shine your mental spotlight — so your default state starts working for you instead of against you.