Here and there, then and now
A slate sign, clearly unofficial, stands beside the pavement. Randomly it denotes three places where I happen to have been on the same day across Cymru, Cumbria and Yorkshire. There must be a personal significance for the owner, and coincidentally today, for me.
Once I have been somewhere, scenic or otherwise, it is easy to imagine myself there again any time I like. A cat marks its territory with its scent, but I have no desire for such "ownership". I try to tread lightly, illuminating my journeys in the spirit of psychogeography, which explores 'occult' (hidden) aspects of usually urban spaces. Ego sum ubicumque cogito sum. I am wherever I think I am. There is a timelessness in seeing places I knew long ago, as if in the 'continuous present'. Wishful thinking maybe, but it's comforting that departed loved ones are seemingly still with us, if we only reframed our perception of time. Physicists have anyway long argued over its very existence. Passing many empty farmhouses in the Yorkshire Dales, I have vivid images of them still bustling with the activity of countless lives over 'previous' centuries. The meaning of 'previous' evaporates, also offering a simple explanation of spectral sightings.
The random slate sign triggers thoughts about the nature and meaning of consciousness. Four decades ago, a big influence in my thinking was Hofstadter and Dennett's anthology of writings on the subject, by various luminaries (The Mind's I, 1982). It included the question of whether consciousness could reside separately from one's physical location. Indeed, perhaps you are just where you imagine yourself to be. A 'thought experiment' considered where your awareness, your sensations, might be if, through some arcane future technology, your brain was remotely connected to your body even thousands of miles away. Think about it. I am sometimes asked whereabouts in Cymru I live. My usual response is "all of it". I sleep in one place, but by day appreciate many other places.
The question of consciousness makes more sense if you consider yourself part of an undifferentiated awareness possessed by all matter, from sentient beings to the smallest subatomic particle. Any question of where to draw the line evaporates. The distinction between the sentience of a person, a cat, a fish or even a rock is in the degree of differentiation. Panpsychism is a broad 'church' discussed even in the 17th century by philosopher Leibnitz. It recalls for me the elements of air, earth, fire and water of the old Brythonic (Ancient British), Celtic or Cymreig beliefs in a harmony with the natural world. Redolent of the Gaia Hypothesis of the 1970s, more urgently pertinent today. Simply, the whole planet is seen as a unified eco-system, but only habitable within a narrow range of conditions.
At the interface between real, imagined and virtual realities, I'm pondering the subjective sense of place. The internet adds another dimension. It's easy to imagine myself anywhere at the click of the mouse. Friends visit places I may never go, but I enjoy seeing them through online street views, and in realtime videos via webcams. We don't yet have the technology for total immersion, in the absence of the olfactory experience, but maybe that's no bad thing (This episode is brought to you courtesy of OdourVision, or SmellyTelly).
The above ramblings could merely be a natural consequence of getting older. By definition there are more memories of the past to enjoy now than future memories to which to look forward. But all in the here and now of course.
LINKS
Where am I? (cambriancrumbs.blogspot.com)
Let Panpsychism Expand Your Mind - JSTOR Daily
Is Consciousness Part of the Fabric of the Universe? - Scientific American
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I look forward to your comments. Also it would be nice to know where you are in the world. Thanks for reading.