Mind is not what it seems: On the mental foundation of the world
A. A. Adedire, BS, BA
I think the challenge here is twofold:
1. Nature itself seems to be "chaotic" in the sense that the QM level is - according to current evidence at least - "chaotic" in the way the personal self is. Which is to say indeterministic but resolving to predictable levels of behavior.
2. It isn't at all clear that the self is illusory.
I would actually say the nature of the individual seems inline with Nature in its stochastic character.
A. A. Adedire, BS, BA
Quote:In this short and direct essay, A. A. Adedire argues a key philosophical point: those who object to idealism based on the assumption that the order and regularity of nature is incompatible with mind are mistaking mind for the personal self. The latter, he points out, is merely a narrative created by mind, which mind then wrongly identifies itself with. What truly defines mind—the only constant behind all experience—is the very awareness of experience. The constancy of this awareness, Adedire argues, is entirely consistent with the orderly nature of the world, as well as its continuity, and can therefore constitute the very foundation of the world.
Quote:As such, the supposed appearance of the mind as chaotic, unreliable, and disorderly is an appearance of the personal self as chaotic, unreliable, and disorderly. Once the personal self is stripped away from the mind, the foundation of the mind reveals itself to be simply the awareness of our experiences, such as our thoughts, feelings, and sense perceptions. Thus, there is a continuous, unchanging, and reliable foundation to the mind, and that continuous foundation of core awareness is of the same kind as the continuous foundation of natural order or natural law. Therefore, the natural order objection against idealism reflects, in this sense, merely confusion about what the fundamental nature of mind is. If we define mind as the egoic self, then we see the mind as chaotic and disorderly; it is constantly being pulled by ever-changing emotions and the incessant flow of thoughts, clouding awareness. But if we define mind as core awareness, it follows that there is a reliable, steady, and continuous ‘no-thing’ that acts as the ‘container’ of thoughts, emotional states, and sense perceptions.
I think the challenge here is twofold:
1. Nature itself seems to be "chaotic" in the sense that the QM level is - according to current evidence at least - "chaotic" in the way the personal self is. Which is to say indeterministic but resolving to predictable levels of behavior.
2. It isn't at all clear that the self is illusory.
I would actually say the nature of the individual seems inline with Nature in its stochastic character.
'Historically, we may regard materialism as a system of dogma set up to combat orthodox dogma...Accordingly we find that, as ancient orthodoxies disintegrate, materialism more and more gives way to scepticism.'
- Bertrand Russell
- Bertrand Russell
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