Philosophical Speculations

We know, for example, that cognitive neuroscience is founded on the exploration of ' neural correlates of consciousness '. That would be meaningless if the neural processes observable within the focal plane had little to do with our supersensible life of perception, representation, memory, ideation ...

Thanks, Federica. I'm glad you provided this wider context of Steiner's general aim, with numerous examples, and I completely agree with the context you have described. There are tremendous implications if we mistakenly attribute the entire soul life to what can be observed as 'nerve activity ...

I think it is helpful to consider what the phrase "unbiased observation" might imply here. Most readers would probably take that to mean something like: if we carefully study the receding images within the focal plane , without adding theoretical assumptions, preferences, prejudices, and so on, it ...

Last year in this thread we had a long discussion on Steiner's views on heart function, and sensory and motor nerves. I feel that an important element was not mentioned then, which I believe brings something fundamental to what Steiner meant with his famous contention that motor nerves don't exist ...

I think it is certainly an effect of study-meditative efforts over a few years, which generally loosen the etheric from the physical so that the former is more receptive to impressions from the soul body in these transition states, without heavy mediation by the physical senses (I can't recall ever ...

Thanks for the link, Federica! (sorry for the delay, I have relatives visiting and time is even more scarce.) I found this page that allows pasting and reading text in the way described above: https://accelareader.com/ I wonder if the red coloring of the letter in your example has some role. I have ...

Thanks for sharing this experiment, Federica. I do find it helpful to feel how the sequential verbal mental flow can be condensed more imaginatively. I noticed another way of anchoring this intuition is by experimenting with the semi-conscious state in the process of waking up from sleep. Before we ...

The Dasher metaphor, at least in my experience, helps to see how thinking can be experienced , and thus we discover our inner process to be one with the World process. Yes. I was reviewing this 2022 post on the same topic - how concentration of thinking is brought about - to see whether I could ...

Great part, Ashvin, thanks! Stated in this way, I believe this can make the novice reader dizzy: Modern science also recognizes this polarity and conceives of the intuitive pushing pole as invisible ‘forces of nature’ or the ‘unconscious’. Modern philosophers likewise conceive of it as ‘things themse ...

Good point, which reminds me of a way to adapt the 'volume knob' exercise in the context of giving up. When we feel like our inner efforts are exhausted, and are getting ready to activate our limbs and return to 'normal life', we can allow ourselves to really live in that feeling of 'giving up ...