Some of you may be surprised to learn that we are all natural-born hypnotists and that we mesmerize ourselves, for the most part unconsciously, several times each day. It all has to do with a natural rhythm—a rhythm of activity followed by rest—that recurs throughout the day. This rhythm undulates on all levels, from cellular… Continue reading Give Us This Day Our Daily Rhythms
Month: April 2023
A Brief Introduction to Process Philosophy
The general, or popular, notion of “process” goes back at least as far as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who declared that all things flow, and who came up with an analogy so memorable that it has become part of our common vocabulary: you can’t step into the same river twice. Process philosophy, however, as conceived… Continue reading A Brief Introduction to Process Philosophy
A Kalogenic Universe
In his book Being and Value, philosopher Frederick Ferré acquaints us with a beautiful idea that he names with a beautiful word: kalogenesis. “Kalós” is the Greek word for “beauty” and “genesis” of course refers to “generating” or “bringing into existence.” And so kalogenesis means the creation or coming to be of beauty. The adjectival… Continue reading A Kalogenic Universe
It’s Not Crazy Enough!
When Quantum Theory was in development early in the twentieth century, new ideas were frequently proposed within the international physics community. One of the most deadly criticisms of a new idea, and one that became famous among physicists, was a remark by the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. When another physicist engaged him in conversation and… Continue reading It’s Not Crazy Enough!
Feynmanium: It’s Element-ary
Untriseptium is a hypothetical chemical element with the atomic number 137. It is nicknamed Feynmanium in honor of Richard Feynman who noted that, in elements beyond 137, electrons would have to move faster than the speed of light, thus creating, within the atoms, the electromagnetic equivalent of black holes. Because of this, it was speculated… Continue reading Feynmanium: It’s Element-ary
A Holographic Universe
For Whitehead the universe is not a competitive arena for rugged individualists but a close-knit web of intimate social relationships, so close-knit, in fact, that every item in the universe is involved in the concrescence of each actual entity. In the initial phase of concrescence, an actual entity takes account of, or prehends, all other… Continue reading A Holographic Universe
Light’s Chiasmic Complementarity
Light is an electromagnetic wave formed by the dance of two complementary pairs: an electric field and a magnetic field. Because the fields oscillate at right angles to each other, and back and forth across the direction of wave propagation, light is a transverse wave. Transverse derives from the Latin word transversare, meaning “to turn… Continue reading Light’s Chiasmic Complementarity
A Dipolar Universe
Another feature that Whitehead found in his analysis of experience was its essential dipolarity. Imagine pausing for a moment to look at yourself in a mirror, and become aware of the double perspective—you see your body as others see you, but you are also aware of your own inner experience. Your body, from without, is… Continue reading A Dipolar Universe
No Thinker Thinks Twice
What is this invisible entity we call the human self, or soul? How does it endure over time? Is it always there, day and night, underlying all our activities? The process answer is No. As one of the emergent natural unities in the universe, the human self is no exception, but is quantum in nature.… Continue reading No Thinker Thinks Twice
A Panexperiential Universe
During the 300-year reign of science over which the analytical spirit of Sir Isaac Newton presided, the universe was viewed as a gigantic clockwork machine, ticking away in timeless perfection, a perfection created once and for all by God, who then stepped back, according to that view, to dispassionately contemplate his handiwork for all eternity.… Continue reading A Panexperiential Universe