The Matter With Things

1. The Brain's Hemispheres Shape Our Understanding of Truth

The very brain mechanisms which succeed in simplifying the world so as to subject it to our control militate against a true understanding of it.

Two Hemispheres, Two Realities. The human brain, divided into two hemispheres, processes information in fundamentally different ways. The left hemisphere excels at manipulating the world through analysis and control, while the right hemisphere focuses on comprehending the world as a whole and our place within it. This division leads to distinct experiential realities, each with its own strengths and limitations.

Left Hemisphere: Control and Manipulation. The left hemisphere simplifies the world, breaking it down into manageable parts for manipulation. This approach is effective for achieving specific goals but can lead to a distorted understanding of the interconnectedness and complexity of reality. It prioritizes power and control, often at the expense of empathy and holistic understanding.

Right Hemisphere: Comprehension and Connection. The right hemisphere, on the other hand, seeks to understand the world in its entirety, embracing ambiguity and nuance. It emphasizes relationships, context, and the interconnectedness of all things. This approach fosters a deeper, more truthful understanding of reality but may be less effective for immediate manipulation and control.

2. Attention Determines Our Perceived Reality

Attention changes the world. How you attend to it changes what it is you find there.

Attention as a Creative Force. Attention is not merely a cognitive function but the very manner in which our consciousness engages with existence. The way we direct our attention shapes the world we experience, bringing certain aspects into focus while obscuring others. This makes attention a moral act with far-reaching consequences.

Hemisphere-Specific Attention. The left hemisphere employs narrow, focused attention, ideal for grasping and manipulating specific objects. The right hemisphere utilizes broad, sustained attention, better suited for understanding the larger context and detecting novelty. These distinct attentional styles lead to different perceptions of reality.

The Illusion of Objectivity. The left hemisphere often assumes that reality is independent of our observation, a collection of inert things to be manipulated. However, the right hemisphere recognizes that our consciousness plays a role in shaping reality, and that relationships are primary, more foundational than the things related.

3. Perception is an Active, Hemisphere-Dependent Process

The explicit is not more fully real than the implicit. It is merely the limit case of the implicit, with much of its vital meaning sheared off: narrowed down and ‘finalised’.

Beyond Passive Reception. Perception is not a passive reception of sensory data but an active process of synthesis and interpretation. Our brains constantly fill in gaps, anticipate patterns, and construct a coherent experience of the world based on prior knowledge and expectations. This process is influenced by the attentional styles of the two hemispheres.

Left Hemisphere: Detail and Linearity. The left hemisphere focuses on details, explicit information, and linear relationships. It excels at categorization and analysis but may miss the larger context and implicit meanings. This can lead to a literal and decontextualized understanding of the world.

Right Hemisphere: Context and Metaphor. The right hemisphere, in contrast, excels at grasping the whole picture, understanding metaphor, and appreciating the interconnectedness of things. It is more attuned to implicit meanings, emotional cues, and the nuances of human experience. This holistic approach provides a richer, more nuanced understanding of reality.

4. Judgment Requires Balancing Logic and Intuition

The explicit is not more fully real than the implicit. It is merely the limit case of the implicit, with much of its vital meaning sheared off: narrowed down and ‘finalised’.

Beyond Pure Logic. Judgment, the process of evaluating information and forming beliefs, requires a balance of logic and intuition. While logic provides a framework for reasoning and analysis, intuition offers a deeper understanding of context, values, and human experience.

Left Hemisphere: Logic and Certainty. The left hemisphere seeks certainty and relies on explicit rules and procedures. It excels at logical deduction but may struggle with ambiguity and nuance. This can lead to rigid and inflexible judgments that fail to account for the complexities of real-world situations.

Right Hemisphere: Intuition and Discernment. The right hemisphere, on the other hand, embraces ambiguity and relies on intuition to guide its judgments. It is more attuned to context, emotional cues, and the interconnectedness of things. This holistic approach allows for more nuanced and compassionate judgments.

5. Imagination Unveils a Deeper Reality

Potential is not simply all the things that never happened, a ghostly penumbra around the actual. The actual is the limit case of the potential, which is equally real.

Beyond the Material World. Imagination, often dismissed as mere fantasy, is essential for understanding the nature of reality. It allows us to transcend the limitations of our immediate experience, explore possibilities, and connect with something deeper and more meaningful.

Left Hemisphere: Representation and Abstraction. The left hemisphere tends to see reality as a collection of material things, independent of our observation. It prioritizes representation and abstraction, often at the expense of direct experience. This can lead to a limited and mechanistic view of the world.

Right Hemisphere: Presence and Potential. The right hemisphere, in contrast, recognizes the importance of imagination in unveiling the unseen potential of reality. It sees the world as a constantly self-creating process, full of possibilities that are equally real as the actual. This perspective fosters a sense of wonder, purpose, and connection to the cosmos.

6. Science and Philosophy: Complementary Paths to Truth

The isolated knowledge obtained by a group of specialists in a narrow field has in itself no value whatsoever, but only in its synthesis with all the rest of knowledge and only inasmuch as it really contributes in this synthesis toward answering the demand, τίνες δὲ ἡμεῖς; ‘Who are we?’

Bridging the Divide. Science and philosophy, often treated as separate disciplines, are in reality complementary paths to truth. Science provides empirical evidence and mechanistic explanations, while philosophy offers frameworks for understanding the meaning and implications of that evidence. A true understanding of reality requires a synthesis of both.

Science's Limitations. Science, with its emphasis on objectivity and reductionism, can only take us so far. It may reveal how the world works but cannot fully explain why it exists or what its purpose is. It is also limited by its reliance on models and representations, which are necessarily simplifications of reality.

Philosophy's Role. Philosophy, with its emphasis on intuition, imagination, and ethical considerations, can help us fill in the gaps left by science. It can provide a broader context for understanding the human condition and our place in the cosmos.

7. The Crises of Our Time Demand a Re-Evaluation of Our Worldview

At the core of the contemporary world is the reductionist view that we are – nature is – the earth is – ‘nothing but’ a bundle of senseless particles, pointlessly, helplessly, mindlessly, colliding in a predictable fashion, whose existence is purely material, and whose only value is utility.

The Dangers of Reductionism. The prevailing reductionist worldview, which reduces everything to senseless particles and prioritizes utility, is actively damaging the natural world and our own well-being. It endangers everything we should value, including morality, spirituality, and the sense of the sacred.

A Call for Transformation. We have reached a point where there is an urgent need to transform both how we think of the world and what we make of ourselves. This requires a shift away from the left hemisphere's dominance and a greater appreciation for the wisdom and insights of the right hemisphere.

Relevance to Contemporary Crises. The crises the world faces, from environmental destruction to social fragmentation, are rooted in a distorted understanding of reality. By embracing a more holistic and interconnected worldview, we can begin to address these challenges and create a more sustainable and fulfilling future.

8. The Unforeseen Nature of Reality Requires a New Perspective

My ultimate aim is to contribute a new perspective from which to look at the fundamental ‘building blocks’, as we think of them, of the cosmos: time, space, depth, motion, matter, consciousness, uniqueness, beauty, goodness, truth, purpose and the very idea of the existence or otherwise of a God.

Beyond the Familiar. The prevailing worldview, heavily indebted to reductionism, seriously distorts the evidence of the nature of reality. A new perspective is needed, one that embraces the unforeseen nature of the cosmos and the limitations of our current understanding.

Revisiting Fundamental Concepts. This new perspective requires a re-evaluation of the fundamental building blocks of the cosmos, including time, space, matter, consciousness, and purpose. By challenging our cherished assumptions, we can begin to see the world in a richer and more truthful way.

A New Vision of the World. The ultimate goal is to contribute a new perspective from which to look at the fundamental building blocks of the cosmos, one that is far-reaching in its scope, and consistent across the realms of contemporary neurology, philosophy and physics. This new vision will encourage us toward very different conclusions about who we are and what our future holds.

Last updated: March 21, 2025