On Sep 19, 2011, at 12:36 AM, Ham Priday wrote: > > Evening, Marsha -- > >> Will you explain to me what you mean by "conscious locus"? >> Where did your idea of consciousness come from? Why do you >> believe it? Maybe I've been all wrong in thinking the experience >> of "direct awareness" has any relationship to what you are calling >> "conscious locus." > > I'll be happy to try, although to me this question is like asking: Please > explain what you mean by "knowing".
Well, in general, epistemology is the concern with understanding what it is to have knowledge. To be clear, I mean "knowing" in the episodic sense rather than the dispositional sense. Your post seems delicious. I will need some time for a little research before I attempt a reply. In support of witness consciousness, Marsha p.s. It may take me some time to reply. A houseguest will be arriving Tuesday evening for a 10-day visit. It is, though, a subject I would surely like to discuss so I promise a reply if only to reestablish the topic. > > I'm not sure, but I seem to recall that the significance of the word "locus" > in the context of consciousness first struck me in a statement by Platt > (remember him?) some years ago. Platt was not primarily interested in > metaphysics, but he said something to the effect that "we are the locus of > our reality," which is not only true but descriptive of the self. He > referred me to Donald Hoffman, a cognitivc scientist who also happens to be a > subjectivist. Subjectivism is the view that accords primacy to subjective > experience as fundamental to all measure and law. Sometimes confused with > Solipsism, it holds that the nature and existence of every object depends > solely on someone's subjective awareness of it. > > Since this may be a new concept to you, here's a précis of what Wikipedia has > to say about it: > > "Metaphysical subjectivism is the theory that reality is what we perceive to > be real, and that there is no underlying true reality that exists > independently of perception. One can also hold that it is consciousness > rather than perception that is reality (subjective idealism). This is in > contrast to metaphysical objectivism and philosophical realism, which assert > that there is an underlying 'objective' reality which is perceived in > different ways. > > "This viewpoint should not be confused with the stance that 'all is illusion' > or that 'there is no such thing as reality.' Metaphysical subjectivists hold > that reality is real enough. They conceive, however, that the nature of > reality as related to a given consciousness is dependent on that > consciousness. This has its philosophical basis in the writings of Descartes > (cogito ergo sum), and forms a cornerstone of Søren Kierkegaard's philosophy." > > I included the following Donald Hoffman quote in my book (p.37), which should > give you the general idea subjectivists are espousing: > > "I believe that consciousness and its contents are all that exists. > Space-time, matter and fields never were the fundamental denizens of the > universe, but have always been, from the beginning, among the humbler > contents of consciousness, dependent on it for their very being. The world > of our daily experience - the world of tables, chairs, stars and people, with > their attendant shapes, smells, feels and sounds - is a species-specific user > interface to a realm far more complex, a realm whose essential character is > conscious. ...If this be right, if consciousness is fundamental, then we > should not be surprised that, despite centuries of effort by the most > brilliant minds, there is as yet no physical theory of consciousness, no > theory that explains how mindless matter and energy or fields could be, or > cause, conscious experience." --[D.A. Hoffman, Visual Intelligence] > > Now, I'm an Essentialist, not a subjectivist; but anyone in search of an > alternative to S/O duality, in the Western tradition at least, would do well > to consider this "philosophy of mind" before forming a metaphysical > conclusion. Whatever "else exists" out there amounts to nothing unless there > is subjective awareness of it. This is as true in Essentialism as it is in > Qualityism or any other metaphysical ontology. > > So to answer your question, Marsha, I would say that subjective awareness -- > whether you call it consciousness, sensibility, or simply 'knowing' -- is > primary to existential reality. And it only occurs in the individuated state > of 'being-aware'. (I'm sure you will find corollaries of this concept in the > doctrines of Eastern mysticism.) > > Thanks for the query. I hope I've satisfied your curiosity. > > In support of the subjective Self, > Ham ___ Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
