It is a year since I left this forum, disenchanted with the endless
bickering that seemingly led nowhere, and on a recent sentimental return to
the site I saw little had changed. I noticed at once that Struan, who had
definitely, permanently left, in high dudgeon, as is his wont, was back,
vituperative as ever, and still asking the pertinent questions that never
seem to get answered. Some familiar names had gone, to be replaced with new
ones, of course, but the general tone was unchanged.
In the meantime I have been exploring, my preferred occupation. And I have
discovered Ken Wilber, whose name was often quoted in earlier discussions.
His "A Brief History of Everything" comes out on top of my list of really
great books, one that presents a map of reality that resonates with my
personal experience. Reading it was a succession of "aha" moments, as I
recognised terrain I had already traversed, now situated in a broader
framework, allowing for a planned adventure exploring the new vistas he
opens up. Truly a liberating read! And he provides a new context for
elaborating on quality, which is the dimension of depth. (Well, hardly new,
I agree, having grown up on Paul Tillich.)
For those unfamiliar with Wilber, I am quoting from his succinct summary of
his main theses, taken from an endnote in "The Eye of Spirit" (Pp373 - 382),
where he discusses the sensation caused by Chalmers' 1995 article in
Scientific American, "The Puzzle of Conscious Experience", in which Chalmers
concludes that "conscious experience be considered a fundamental feature,
irreducible to anything more basic." Chalmers then suggests "Perhaps
information has two basic aspects: a physical one and an experiential one",
hardly a new idea, but considered revolutionary by some Scientific American
readers.
Wilber's view is that "all holons have not just those two, but rather four,
fundamental and irreducible aspects, so that every "information state"
actually and simultaneously has an intentional, behavioural, cultural and
social aspect; and moreover, each of those aspects has at least ten basic
levels". Chalmers saw the hard problem in consciousness research as "the
question of how physical processes in the brain give rise to subjective
experience", the old Cartesian dilemma. Richard Gregory, in "Mind in
Science", called this "an irreducible gap between physics and sensation
which physiology cannot bridge - an impassable gulf between our two realms".
But as Wilber points out, in seeing the physical world right now the gap is
bridged; the question is how? He points out that subject/object dualism "is
the hallmark, not of Descartes's error, but of all manifestation", and the
answer is only disclosed to postformal awareness. That is, interior
transformation is the prelude to a deeper understanding of this issue.
Wilber suggests that this is the real reason why subjective experience has
been "so intensely ignored and aggressively devalued" by researchers in the
field. What is required is not just translation, as in reading Dennett, but
transformation, without which reading Plotinus is futile. Transformational
practice is a prerequisite to resolving the subject/object dilemma, and this
offends many researchers and those inculcated with a single level scientific
worldview. (Not that many of the greatest scientists had a problem with
this, as a quick look at almost all the major theorists of the new physics,
from Einstein down, demonstrates. Most had a decidedly mystic outlook.)
The point is equally valid for those involved in this forum. Intellectual
debate does not even start to undo the knot. Pirsig is ambivalent in this
area. He acknowledges the need for transformation (Zen, and possibly
peyote), yet in his writing attempts to elucidate the issue through an
intellectual metaphysics. However attractive this may be, it fails, at least
if taken literally and not as "a finger pointing to the moon". Hence the
sterile debate that marks this forum, and to which I have contributed.
Wilber has a brief comment on the usefulness of the Internet in his "A Brief
History of Everything". Against those who contend that the Net is a global
consciousness, Wilber points out that computer technology can support a
global consciousness, but does not in any way guarantee it. "What good is it
if Nazis have the Net?" (p309) He goes on to say that "The Net is just a
monological structure, through which various types of interiors can be
projected. But the quality of those interiors is an entirely different
issue". He identifies two problems the Net has actually introduced. First,
"it is almost entirely male occupied; it fosters anarchic and egocentric
male agency. The Net was built by males, for males, and it is occupied
almost exclusively by males". Secondly, "a great number of the Infobahn
males are digital predators - egocentric computer warriors that couldn't
give a damn about intersubjective cooperation and mutual recognition. So
much for global consciousness."
Spot on! I left a year ago arguing this very point, though not so concisely,
I fear.
I said earlier that Wilber's writings acted as a map of reality that allowed
me to plan my next voyage of exploration. In line with the requirement for
transformational practice to deepen my experience, I have followed his
recommendation in "The Eye of Spirit" (pp359 - 373) and joined the
Australian branch of the Diamond Approach of Hameed Ali (who writes under
the pen name of A. H. Almaas). This is likely to prove costly, in terms of
time and money, certainly, and perhaps more than I can presently understand
in terms of ego, but it seems to me the only credible way forward. Some of
you may remember me as a rather vigorous critic of the mystic realm, so this
exploration is definitely taking me outside my comfort zone. It is far too
early yet to hazard any guesses at likely outcomes. I find myself both
attracted and repelled by what I am discovering, but am determined to hang
in there long enough to allow transformation to occur, should that be
possible. Perhaps I will get back to you in a decade or so with a progress
report.
Until then, adieu.
John B
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