“Here And Now” – Thoughts On A Unified View Of Space, Time, Mind And Matter | Andrew Silverman

We are all arguably ‘here and now’. It is my contention that if we understand ‘here and now’ we will better understand Mind and the material Universe as well as the connection between the two.

Schrödinger (1) pointed out that “Mind is always NOW” (my emphasis). I will discuss how he derived from this the argument that mind is eternal and that at the fundamental level all Mind is One.

Professor Roger Penrose (2) has suggested that we will understand Consciousness better once we have arrived at a unification between Quantum Theory and Relativity.

Professor Lee Smolin (3) has pointed out that the Laws of Physics as currently understood don’t imply in themselves either the existence of the ‘Now’ or what we experience as the ‘flow’ of time.

He also cautioned (3) against the logical flaws inherent in seeing space and time as a ‘given’- as simply the ‘when and where’ of substance and events.

I suggest that in considering the relationship between these four concepts of space and time, mind and matter we would do well to acknowledge an ‘elephant in the room’. If there is such a thing as freedom of will then this could perhaps be a clue to the nature and properties of all four. The role of consciousness in the ‘measurement’ problem of quantum theory is discussed particularly in the context of the ‘delayed choice’ experiment. It is suggested that if we may consider an explanation beyond materialism or dualism then it might be conceivable that mind and matter form part of a continuum with mind being the ‘prime mover’ and that considering certain characteristics of awareness and will as they relate to time, space and matter might enhance our understanding of humanity as sentient beings, of the nature of physical reality and our relation to it and to each other.

References

[1] Erwin Schrödinger: “What is Life?” Cambridge University Press 1944

[2] Roger Penrose: “The Emperor’s New Mind” Oxford University Press 1989 [3] Lee Smolin: “The Trouble with Physics” Penguin 2007

Recorded at the 33rd annual SSE Conference in 2014 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport,

Burlingame, California, USA.

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Published on November 18, 2018