Deutsch Englisch
Einleitung: Die zwei folgenden Essays sind eine synoptische Einführung in meine Studien (siehe Abschnitt: Bücher), die sich mit dem Bewusstsein und dem Unbewussten beschäftigen. Das Bewusstsein wird als Symbolformung in geistigen Gestaltungen dargestellt. Da der Mensch stets auch transzendenten Phänomenen nachgeht, kommt es danach zu einem Einstieg in die «Dunkelheit der Höhle» (zweites Essay), das uns eine Absicht des Schöpfers zu verraten scheint. Aus der Vielfalt der Antworten wähle ich nur einen Aspekt aus, nämlich den der erstaunlichen Erkenntnisse der modernen Wissenschaften, die uns etwas Besonderes des Schöpfers und seiner Schöpfung zu verraten scheinen. Glaube und Wissenschaft verbinden sich, wenn sie an Grenzen stoßen.
The Consciousness of Man in the Universe
A mondualistic interpretation of creation and consciousness with a step into nothingness.
Herbert Aschwanden (1)
The origin
Content:
Introduction: The "Chinese" Dream
1. Consciousness is symbolism, its unconscious "grammar": The brain
2. Man, Embryo of the Universe
3. The bipartite creation, a new view
a) The second room
b) The "genes" of creation
c) The confusion
d) The connection
A first view
The ‘crossword puzzle’ of creation
The enigma of connectedness
e) The interrupted complexity of evolution
f) The enigma of the human being
4. A synopsis - presented in dreams
5. Nothingess - the path to the "capital"
Appendix: The relationship between symbolism and the quantum world
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Introduction: The "Chinese" Dream
Man penetrates the world because he possesses an ability that is strangely related to the structure of the material world. It is about a theory of relativity of consciousness. Thanks to it, he builds his own worlds – in science, philosophy and religion. What is the meaning of this connection?
The background is formed by the dualistic and mondualistic structure in creation, which allows us to recognise this relationship. The aspect of mondualism in particular is recognised in its contradictory nature in order to then uncover an expanded meaning of creation - from the quantum to consciousness. The mystery of consciousness finds an answer that allows man to transcend the barrier of evolution and opens up a new perspective, which contradicts the assumption that consciousness creates reality. He creates with and in it.
A critical analysis of physical knowledge and the structure of consciousness enables us to recognise the above-mentioned relationship, behind which a planned cause can be identified. There are no reasons why a spiritual world with the same structure could ever be built up from the material world - as it were, in retrospect. Chapter 3 contains an analytical presentation of this alternative view.
The focus is initially on the problem of consciousness, which is freed from the constraints of the unconscious of depth psychology. We thus end up in the Freud-less unconscious. The first step leads into a dream:
I work in a foreign country in China and abide by the existing and burdensome rules of the regime. Some friends of mine have left the country, they did not want to return. I was tempted to emigrate too, to make a fresh start. As I begin to think about how to take the next step, I wake up from a dream that I had asked about in order to get an answer to the problem of the unconscious.
Interpretation: China - a country with critical human rights - symbolises in the dream above all my dissatisfaction with the theories of the unconscious. The unconscious remains to this day the foundation of psychoanalysis, which cannot be grasped empirically. Only the reality of conscious and unconscious symbolism can be grasped, whereby the latter is experienced but not recognised in its meaning, which defines the unconscious.
I recognised the alternative of depth psychology in Africa. Thanks to six years of studying an indigenous culture [2], I obtained an interpretation of consciousness that overcomes the ‘Chinese’ limitations of psychoanalytic interpretations. How then can consciousness be understood?
1. Consciousness is symbolism, its unconscious "grammar" the brain
Consciousness always leads us to symbol formations. Symbols are something with transferred effects and properties that establish a reference in identifications to something. Consciousness shapes the dynamic interaction between ego, we and environment, which actively and passively construct the symbolic world of the human being in the spiritual as well as in the material. The unconscious only refers to a gap, a non-recognition, a non-knowledge that can be filled with consciously experienced symbolism. The background of a symbolic design can be grasped or it remains unrecognised. A repression, for example, can build up a symbolism that grasps it. An ontological unconscious remains a misinterpretation, because the formation of a symbol always follows from a conscious experience, the meaning of which can remain hidden. The symbolism of the dream world is based solely on conscious and unconscious experience in everyday life.
Consciousness allows us to shape everyday life, language, sciences, religions and dreams as well as mental illnesses. They all live from symbolism. That which we call spiritual can always be grasped symbolically. No one can define the spiritual, but we experience it as symbolism, and that is my starting point.
The focus is primarily on conscious experience and design. In order to avoid a possible error, I exclude the automated and often unconscious symbolic activities from the discussion (e.g. involuntary facial expressionssions), as they are not relevant to the topic at hand. Subliminal reactions, on the other hand, show a consciously experienced symbolism whose background, however, remains unconscious.
Symbolism is the ‘universe’ of consciousness, which shapes man and the environment - for better or for worse. And the universe is the symbolism of creation, which connects the two aspects. The basis of the symbolism is initially summarized in three aspects.
1. Experience and perception
Something given or experienced activates my perception.
2. Analysis creates a relationship
An influential perception of the world outside us and within us. It leads to projections and introjections.
3. Identification creates symbolism
Introjection and projection require identification, which connects the poles. It forms the basis of all symbolism. Outside becomes inside and inside becomes outside. Without identification, there is no symbolism. Humans are beings who always live in we-relationships, which construct the world of symbols through adaptive or dissociative identifications.
Here are a few examples. The lover who gives his girlfriend a bouquet of flowers is projecting his feelings - based on an introjection. If one says: "He is strong like a tree" or "Trees don't grow into the sky", symbol projection occurs, a transfer to the outside. An artist's painting creates a projection, which leads to an introjection in the observer.. Newton recognizes the force of gravity on the basis of an observation. As he records what he perceives in a formula, he creates an analytically based projection. The schizophrenic projects his disturbed experience into the outside world in hallucinations.
Überschrift 2
The child as a symbolic unity in consciousness (an African sculpture)
The sculpture captures the essence of symbolism in its three-stage development; it symbolises the structure and design of symbolism. 1. Man and woman get to know each other. 2. United in love, they conceive a child. 3. It becomes a symbol that represents identification as a dual entity and realises a fourth dimension in a three-way relationship. Is there a connection here with Einstein's theory of relativity? We will come back to this.
Consciousness forms conscious and unconscious symbolism. If their meaning is not recognised, no ontological unconscious can be derived from this, but there is only a non-recognition, a non-knowledge, which corresponds to an analytical deficiency that can be characterised by a symptomatology that is difficult to understand. This applies in particular to mental disorders that, for example, result in an existential deficit from pathological relationships. Dreams are also active forms of consciousness during sleep and by no means repressed wishes (S. Freud), nor do they reveal universal archetypal soul structures (C.G. Jung).
I reproduce several dreams in the following chapters. With them I want to prove how much they can help us to critically interpret our world of thoughts and our actions. In many problems that arose in my work, dreams gave me an insight and show possible ways to solve questions and problems, they give hints in symbolic forms that are often difficult to interpret. Dreams appear spontaneously or we ask for an insight into a problem before falling asleep. In the fourth chapter,
I provide a synopsis of the present work, which records the decisive aspects exclusively in dreams.
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Man in the Universe
2. Man: Embryo of the Universe
The first universe of man is the womb. The second is his existence in the connecting consciousness, whose structure is functionally related to the universe. As strange as it may sound, modern science opens up this horizon for us.
Consciousness paves the way for human life. It shapes our existence inwards and outwards. There are a variety of interpretations of consciousness that take very different and contradictory viewpoints, which makes insight difficult. I try to open up a simplified view that can be based on a demonstrable foundation.
Above all, I am also trying to portray the consciousness beyond the depth psychological interpretations, which was repressed by them into a nebulous world. This unconscious symbolises the ‘pathogenicity’ of modernity, which formed the basis of its interpretations. The pathological gave depth psychology a strong interpretative power that pushed the broader meaning of consciousness into the background.
The last paragraph in Philipp Hübl's (Philosopher) study reads:
"The greatest enigma of the universe is not the unconscious, but a phenomenon by which we humans freed ourselves from the constraints of evolution, created our own environment, and began to think about ourselves - our consciousness." [3]
Consciousness is connected with the mystery of creation, which has occupied human beings since time immemorial. We only get answers thanks to our mental faculty, which opened many paths for us. Consciousness was a revolution, because thanks to it, man was able to intervene in creation. The sciences recognised its structure, as the enigmatic title of this section indicates. This view is discussed in the following chapter.
To give shape to the puzzle, I asked for a dream that would present the problem to me.
The dream: I enter a mysterious, dark cave into which I want to penetrate further. Shortly after entering the cave, I come across a large machine. A scientist explains its functions to me, they are extremely impressive. But I want to step behind the machine, because what is hidden behind it remains mysterious, and I want to investigate that. I look for a passage, it is difficult to find, because the machine blocks my way.
Entering the darkness
What does the cave I want to enter represent? It is a metaphor of the human spirit to pursue the riddle of life. Science brings its light into the cave and the darkness seems overcome. It is as if it makes the way behind the machine superfluous and blocks it, as it were, as the dream suggests.
But if we do not remain exclusively attached to scientific interpretations, we must penetrate into the darkness, into a non-knowledge. Many questions arise beyond the sciences, with which we search for a 'light' that lets us step behind the machine.
Since consciousness forms a universal basis of our being and since I am trying to free the unconscious from the clutches of depth psychology, I must present a reason for this.
The basis for my conclusions comes from the aforementioned study [2], which explores the worldview of an African ethnic group and has been positively received by experts (see: Books. Reviews). I am talking about an analysis of consciousness. What is meant by this? In Africa I discovered a world full of conscious symbolism without ever being tempted to interpret from an unconscious. This may sound absurd to many, but the reader may be convinced when he gains an insight into this world. Especially the comprehensive interpretations of the myths by the old Africans and African womens, which in their depth could never be reached by any Western theory, are a clear indication of how the theories of the unconscious are on a straying path. I have been able to capture their representations in over 40 myths. As a prisoner of a cherished theory, one is carelessly overlooking the fact that the the indigenous peoples possess a conscious and comprehensive interpretation of their own world, which is not sought at all because one does not suspect it and because one is trying to confirm one's own theories.
The world of Africans is circumscribed by a subjective world view, often combined with an analytical deficiency, which is influenced by a non-knowledge, but cannot be interpreted as repression. In my 18 years of medical work in a Swiss practice, I was able to bypass the world of the unconscious in patients with mental disorders on this basis; it was replaced with the analytical deficit, which always speaks consciously in its symbolism, but whose meaning often remains unrecognised.
The interpretation with the unconscious gave rise to many and contradictory theories that try to explain the straying life forms. I have dealt with this problem in the study Vom Leben und Sterben des Bewusstseins. [4]
The dismissal of the unconscious is also advocated by Jean-Paul Sartre. He contradicts Freud's empirical analysis and opposes it with the existential psychoanalysis founded by Victor Frankl, with the words: "[....] for them, the psychic fact extends to consciousness. But if the fundamental design is fully lived by the subject and as such is totally conscious, this does not at all mean that it must at the same time be known by it [...]." [5]
Symbolism is the supporting pillar. Karl Jaspers (psychiatrist and philosopher) captures it with the statement: "To live originally in symbols is to live in the reality that I do not know and yet have present in the symbol."[6] An apt interpretation also comes from Victor Frankl when he says: "[...] is not the need to coin or use symbols a fundamental feature and characteristic of the condition humaine? Or is not the ability to speak, to understand what is spoken, a constitutive characteristic of being human?" [7]
The reality of our being and consciousness consists of experiencing the We - socially, spiritually and materially. We use it to build the symbolism of our lives.
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3. Two-part creation - a new view
What is meant by the term New Vision? The Enlightenment was a movement that limited the dominant role of religion. The Enlightenment marked the beginning of the rise of science, which developed beyond religious restrictions. If we now turn to the findings of the sciences in the following, we will find a gap that cannot be fully filled. This is a fundamental point, because we are entering a bridge that we cannot cross. At its centre, philosophy and science meet in a contact that can be created precisely thanks to scientific knowledge.and opens up a new perspective for us.
Consciousness and its symbolism as well as the quantum world in the “space” of the theory of relativity form the most important basis of the further presentation. Is there a connection between these four phenomena?
a) The second room
The human being as an embryo of the universe builds a second universe in his consciousness, even more, the consciousness reflects the fundamental structure of the universe, which sounds absurd at first. But this relationship can be proven. I asked for a dream to present this puzzle to me:
I invite my family and friends to a meal. My wife is handing out the food. I watch her and say to her, "Aren't you putting too much food on the plates? There will be nothing left for the future." She leads me into another room, and there are again many plates on a table, and they contain many times more than what had spread out in the first room. I am amazed that the second room contains so much wealth that I didn't know about.
The interpretation: Man first develops in the first room, where his consciousness is formed in the social and material environment. In the second room he encounters the mystery and richness of creation, which open up a wider view for him. The interpretation of this second world creates many different forms that advance from the purely material to the mystical. So it is about the mystery of the meaning of this second room that connects us in consciousness with creation. We recognise a structural kinship with it.
In order to prove this relationship, we must embark on an expansive interpretation. Thanks to fascinating scientific discoveries, this second room opens up.
b) The "genes" of creation
We recognise them in consciousness and its symbol formations, as well as in the theory of relativity and quantum physics. These four phenomena seem to have related ‘genes’ that enable humans to penetrate creation. We must therefore uncover the ‘grammar’ of these concepts in their relationship.
Is this a coincidence or is there a special design behind it, a novelty? The connectedness cannot be explained by chance, repetition or parallel development, because a development has been realised that cannot be justified within the framework of evolutionary development. The special feature is that something arises with consciousness, that not only appears to be related to the structuring evolutionary process, but that it was able to build something with which it learnt to intervene in the original creation. In doing so, consciousness achieved a direct and self-organising control with which it transcendently opened up a new horizon. Consciousness stole autonomy from evolution.
Before the insights of quantum physics, humans did not have to be included in macrophysics. This changed with quantum physics. It describes the behaviour of the basic building blocks of the world. The laws of quantum physics form the basis of quantum mechanics, which describes the microphysical events in which the subject could no longer be eliminated as it influences the event. The observer becomes part of the event that involves him. Quantum mechanics is a mathematical description that provides the tool with which scientists can analyse the phenomena of the quantum world. However, quanta are more than just mathematical elements, as they exist as real, observable phenomena. And the special feature: quantum mechanics reveals to us the formative symbolism of quantum phenomena, just as consciousness is built up through the formation of symbols. The decisive difference: Consciousness can explain quantum physics, but quantum physics does not explain consciousness - although there are physicists who try to do so. The basic structures of both phenomena are functionally related.
When man began to explore the complexity of the microphysical world, he recognised a world that revealed something mysterious. Quantum physicists discovered a dualistic and mondualistic or symbolic organisation in the structure of matter, which we can also detect in consciousness.
One conclusion from the subatomic world of quantum theory is that this theory provides a basis for understanding our world. Quantum cosmology attempts to find a theory that can explain the origin of the universe. And the symbol formations of humans are the ‘quantum cosmology’ of consciousness with which they construct their own ‘universe’. Just as quantum mechanics explains the function and stability of atoms, symbol formations help us to consolidate the way we live our lives. Symbol formation shapes our everyday life in our actions and thoughts, in our interpersonal relationships, in science, in philosophy, in dreams, and in mythological and religious creations.
The question arises here as to why we can speak of symbolism in the material world. No science can recognise reality in itself, it only grasps a symbolic design (see definition in chapter 1). If we assume a cause of creation (big bang theory, creator), something with transferred effects and properties is present, which makes us wonder about a background that remains mysterious to us.
c) The Confusion
The worlds of the largest and the smallest have led scientists into a confusion, As I was pursuing these problems, a dream appeared:
I am working on two machines, one huge and one very small. The big one has to be activated, but I need the small machine, to make the big machine work. I am confused. It's all extremely complicated because there are many different electrical plugs on both machines that sometimes fit and sometimes don't.
Interpretation: The small machine is the human being and his consciousness, the big one represents creation, which we are trying to penetrate. The interactions have to be created. Both are connected to each other by the “plug”, which refers to four concepts mentionned earlier: The theory of relativity and the quantum world as well as consciousness and symbolism (juxtaposed in the following image). It is about an understanding of the relationship between physical theories and our perception and interpretation of the world in and around us.
Symbolism and quantum mechanics are characterised by discrepancies, but they are structurally related. To make this easier to understand, I will give an example, which I will return to later. Quantum particles such as electrons have both particle and wave characteristics. However, a wave cannot be a material particle, yet there is a mysterious duality. The photon, on the other hand, is not a particle in the conventional sense, but with the properties of energy and momentum, it represents a material effect. This also corresponds to the reality of consciousness formation. Once again, the example mentioned earlier: the symbol “tree” as a word is not reality; the tree as a material being is separate from the symbol, but nevertheless, both are connected in an identification that bridges a gap.
How is the problem of confusion to be interpreted? Despite the existing basis for comparison, both between relativity and consciousness and between quantum physics and symbol formation, these are completely different phenomena with different origins, which I am trying to connect with the appropriate "plugs".
However, thanks to the relationship between quantum mechanics and the symbol-forming consciousness, man can penetrate the mystery of creation. I will attempt to demonstrate the basic structure or primal structure of these phenomena in the following sections. The picture shows us the starting point.
The human being - the junction between the four concepts
d) The connectedness
The following presentation leads to an intertwining of the four concepts in the image., Firstly, the theory of relativity and the quantum world are covered, which are contrasted with consciousness and the world of symbols. In a second step, the intersections and relationships of the four phenomena are revealed, which allow us to recognize the structure and background of creation and consciousness in their interconnectedness.
A first view
In section 3b) The ‘genes’ of creation the first foundation of an expanded horizon has been laid, which now needs to be further developed.
A dream showed me the starting point: I am standing in a boat preparing to leave. My wife hands me two parcels, the contents of which satisfy me. After I had opened them, she hands me two parcels again, which I accept only reluctantly, but I know that they are also necessary to enable me to leave for a foreign country.
Interpretation: Interpretation: In my dreams, my wife is the symbolic representative of my theoretical endeavours, both have grown close to my heart. The dream captures the four aspects of the introductory image of this section, and it reflects an expanded interpretation of the earlier dream about the second room (see section 3a).
The first two packages deal with the problems of consciousness and symbolism, the other two packages deal with the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics, which turn out to be difficult topics, which I was aware of and which caused my reluctance in the dream. The starting point is consciousness.
The brain - as the ‘centre’ of consciousness - is a physical organismis and functions thanks to biochemical and electromagnetic signals. These signals are made possible by the activity of nerve cells in synaptic connections that combine in chemical and electrical reactions, which is why I described the brain as the "grammar" of consciousness. It gives us communication and insight. This also applies to language itself, because without grammar, language leads us to misunderstandings and confusion. A detailed presentation of the scientific findings on the brain and the mind can be found in the study by G. Edelman and G. Tononi. [9]
On this basis, I try to give consciousness an expanded interpretation. To do this, I have to formulate a view that opens up a new horizon. This brings us back to the relationship between the four terms (the four packages of the dream). It results from the following derivation. Consciousness forms the symbolism with the enigmatic identification. And the foundation of the material world is built on quantum mechanics. Both aspects form a two-unit or mondualism. Symbol connects recognising/experiencing and naming - quantum connects particle and wave known as wave-particle duality.
Matter and energy can be compared with consciousness and the identifying symbolisations. Identification animates the ‘universe’ of consciousness, just as quantum mechanics (describes properties of the particles), together with quantum field theory (interactions of particles in the universe) and the force fields of objects, form the basis for an understanding of the four undamental forces of the universe. These are the strong and weak nuclear force as well as electromagnetic force and gravity. Gravity is not explained by quantum physics, it is described by the general theory of relativity. I'll come back to that. However, quantum mechanics rules in the physical origin.
Man penetrates the mystery of creation and becomes a co-participant in it, because he not only recognises its structure and its barriers, but also uses them - as a relative, so to speak - to shape it himself. Until now, the relationship between consciousness and quantum mechanics has been considered an unsolved problem, for which I will attempt to provide an answer below. However, we are only talking about a comparison here, because they are completely different worlds.
It is therefore inevitable that I must first go into the content of the two pacts of the dream, which I accepted only reluctantly because their content is difficult to understand. It is about the quantum world and Einstein's theory of relativity.
Space comprises three aspects, and it is inextricably interwoven with time as the fourth dimension, which is referred to as spacetime, whereby the three dimensions of space combined with time form a fundamental concept of Einstein's theory. Time, in turn, is relative and depends on the observer's state of motion - a basis of the special theory of relativity. In the general theory of relativity, space is curved by mass and energy: Gravity is the manifestation of this curvature of space-time. It also affects time (gravitational time dilation).
To make it easier to understand, I will give an example from the theory of relativity. Atomic clocks run slower in satellites due to their high speed (special relativity). Gravity also causes a change in time (general relativity), as time slows down in stronger gravitational fields. Tese influences can be seen, for example, in the GPS system (General Positioning System), which uses time information to determine a precise location thanks to corrective satellite monitoring. Humans perceive space, time and gravity directly.
This reveals a connection, not only in the sense of analytical science, but also in a kinship of consciousness with the world outside it. This connection will be explained in the following sections. Space-time structure and gravity are connected to the structure of consciousness, which may sound strange at first.
Consequently, there is also a ‘theory of relativity’ of consciousness, which is likewise based on three aspects: perception, analysis and symbol-building identification (see definition in Chapter 1), whereby symbol and object once again form a fourth dimension: Instead of the subjectively perceptible and changeable time in our living space, there is now connectedness, which, through identification, reveals an expanding relational property and leads to change – as a kind of psychological ‘space-time curvature’. To put it simply: 1. Humans live in the space of matter (mass) and energy. 2. They influence the world around them over time. 3. With their consciousness, they cause a ‘curvature’, i.e. changes in identifying symbolic structures. This interpretation replaces the physical theory of relativity with the psychological theory of relativity. Both are creative insights of consciousness, which points to something special. When the connection between the four concepts in the introductory image is grasped, something meaningful emerges that needs to be uncovered.
That is why we must also address quantum mechanics. It describes the properties and states of matter and records the behaviour of matter and energy at the atomic and subatomic level. The foundations of modern quantum physics were laid by Nils Bohr, Max Planck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger and Albert Einstein (quantisation of light by photons). There are controversial interpretations of quantum mechanics, which are discussed in detail in the study by Michael Esfeld (philosopher of science). [10]
An important basis is matter, which can be converted into energy. In the realm of quantum mechanics, energy appears that transcends the purely physical nature of matter; this is referred to as immaterial fields or quantum fields. These fields are real because they activate the particles and transport energy, which leads to interactions. Symbols are real, they are like a quantum field, whereby energy is not the transmitter, but identification builds the transmission mechanism, which leads to influences. This appears contradictory and is difficult to understand. One example of this is wave-particle duality. A subatomic particle (e.g. an electron) exhibits both the properties of particles and waves; they are complementary (wave-particle duality).
However, these qualities are mutually exclusive (uncertainty principle), but alternative entanglements arise through superposition. Experiments have proven that both properties exist, which are referred to as matter waves. We encounter this enigmatic phenomenon again in symbolic representations (identifications), as we find a similar structure in them.
For easier understanding, I refer again to the earlier example of the tree as reality and as symbol. Without having to see it, I can imagine it; duality gives rise to symbolic unity. Or I see a painting of a tree that triggers certain feelings in me, comparable to superposition. Identification corresponds to the wave.
In order to get closer to the mystery of creation, we need to look at the relationship between general relativity and quantum mechanics. This relationship has only been incompletely solved, since the theory of quantum gravity, which attempts to combine general relativity with quantum mechanics, has not succeeded.
The cause of this problem lies in the four natural forces of physics. Mass is the central factor that determines how strong the gravitational force between two objects is. Mass and gravity form a mysterious mondualism, the connection between which scientists are still looking for in an exchange particle - called a graviton - which moves through space and time. We recognise a similar problem in the interpretation of identification in consciousness, which leads us into the puzzle of identification in the matter-mind problem. There is talk of psychons (John C. Eccles and R. Popper) that interact with quantum fields and generate consciousness, but there is no scientific basis for this concept.
In quantum mechanics, determinism is contrasted with probability. Particles can be in different places at the same time (superposition, double-slit experiment), which also applies to the diversity and mystery of symbol formation. Here we recognise a connection. Symbol formation often cannot be explained comprehensively. Analytically, many predictions can be made in both areas, but symbolism and quantum mechanics reach limits that no longer allow deterministic predictions as in classical physics. Here again, the structural similarity between the two worlds becomes apparent.
Summarised: Man as a material being lives in the space of matter and time, but in his symbolic and subjective formations he experiences and changes both time perception and matter as phenomena that can always be influenced in relativistic identifications. Just as the gravitational force creates the connection between bodies, the identifications build the symbolic-connecting formations of human beings. Relativity determines the orbits of planets and satellites, symbolism paves the way for the design of our lives.
In a figurative sense, therefore, it is true that the human being lives in the social and material environment through his consciousness itself in active and passive interactions ("gravitation"), which let him shape the creative symbolism with the manifold changing identifications just as Einstein interpreted gravitation as a change in space-time, caused by mass and energy.
The ‘crossword puzzle’ of creation
The basis of the two-part creation
In the following texts, earlier statements are inevitably repeated, as the concepts of the four phenomena meet again in overlaps. There is no semantic relationship between them, but there is a structural one. What is their background?
In order to recognise more fully the interconnectedness of man as a being of matter in space and time, we need to look at the intersections between the material and spiritual creations, in which the relationship of the quantum world with symbolism and Einstein's theories of relativity with consciousness are grasped (see introductory image). How are the structural and enigmatic seams of these four terms to be interpreted? We recognise them when we realise that man himself is a participant in these phenomena, which, thanks to his mental capacity, enables him to penetrate and learn to transcend them. This lands us in the "crossword puzzle" of creation.
The four terms in the above picture are arranged differently compared to the previous illustration. The ‘theory of relativity’ of consciousness and the ‘quantum mechanics’ of symbolism are interrelated. This connection leads us to the two-part creation as an expanded view.
The phenomena of the material world in the universe (the 'infinitely' large) can be understood in physics using the laws of quantum mechanics (the 'infinitely' small). Quantum physics not only describes the behaviour of particles, it is also crucial for understanding the fundamental processes, developments and structures of the universe - from the Big Bang to the atom to the stellar world (nuclear fusion, energy generation in stars, stellar collapse). And the existence and stability of these objects are the four force fields (electromagnetic, strong and weak interaction, and gravity).
Consciousness is the tool with which we penetrate the world and thereby build up a symbolism that - as already mentioned - also allows us to understand the relationship with quantum mechanics. Just as matter is built up from the material particles combined with energy, so the symbols are built up from the analysis as the world of human experience and identification, which represents the spiritual "energy" as a "force field". The mysterious remains in all aspects.
The image of classical physics changed dramatically with quantum physics, which denied strict objectivity (Copenhagen interpretation). It describes fundamental phenomena of creation. Confusing are many of its fundamental terms such as indeterminate causality (probability), superposition, complementarity, entangled state, non-locality, action at a distance, absurdity, decoherence. Quantum events are subject to uncontrollable chance, they cannot be predicted.
As mentioned earlier, the structure and function of these concepts can also be found extensively in the symbolic forms of our consciousness, as strange as that may sound. They are discussed in detail in my study In der Falle des Seins. (section 3.3.1) [8]. To make it easier to understand, I will give you an example.
(For readers seeking a more comprehensive overview of the variety of quantum terms mentioned, I have included a brief summary of the relationship between the physical terms and their symbolism in the appendix.).)
A quantum (an electron, for example) has electrical and magnetic properties. It not only has particle properties, but also wave properties, which is known as superposition (wave-particle duality). The quantum conveys an impulse as a connecting property, comparable to the identification and symbol formation in material and spiritual formations of consciousness. In the symbol and the quantum, worlds exist in mondualistic forms. Quanta are a concept, they hold various physical properties, just as symbol formations realise forms of consciousness.
A more in-depth interpretation links identification with the quantum field, which leads to an extension of this statement in the previous section. The quantum field explains particles as excitations of fields, which explain the origin of all particles and their interactions. Energy is transported in the process. An example: an electron absorbs energy and can emit a photon, or a photon can generate an electron, which is referred to as pair production.
One conclusion is that the fundamental interactions in the physical world between bodies, fields, particles and systems (a variety of quantum particles) represent the interconnectedness in an intersection of the four concepts, as we also recognise them in the structure of consciousness and its symbol formations. The enigmatic duality can be proven in both aspects..
This is made even clearer. In a figurative sense, consciousness reveals to us the "energy" of the spiritual symbolic formations through identification. Compare a quantum field with identification. It connects two things via the "field" of identification without being subject to limits, which also applies to the quantum field. For two quantum particles that are arbitrarily far away from each other reveal their connection. If one of the particles is measured, the other takes on the corresponding property at the same moment (Quantum entanglement as a "spooky remote effect"). There is no explanation for this within the framework of the usual world view, a statement by the quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger. [11] Consider the symbol of the tree, which simultaneously connects reality and its symbolism.
From this perspective, quantum physics and symbol formation are also characterised by probability (probabilism), as mentioned earlier. No one can predict a forming psychic development in its symbolic formation or a dream world. The emergence of a mental construct is realised from a probability, apart from purely analytical conclusions of classical physics.
Probabilism applies particularly to quantum physics. Physicist and philosopher of science Dirk Eidemüller captures this oddity:
"In the quantum cosmos, additional structural properties, invisible connections between particles and an invisible link prevail ... . Since then, the 'spooky' entanglement of the smallest particles has become the basis of many everyday technologies." [12]
The seam between symbolism and quantum mechanics tempts some physicists to explain consciousness from quantum physics, but they remain stuck in a purely material and mathematical limitation. Matter in itself does not show psychic phenomena, it only tells us about structural connectedness. Kristian Köchy (Professor of Theoretical Philosophy) points out the crucial background:
"Even the most modern functional imaging only detects changes in neuronal activity or cerebral blood flow. There is no scientific method for determining cultural influences or for interpreting the cultural relevance of biological events. .... Without the interpretation of signal differences in MRI images, the empirical findings of brain research represent nothing more than colourful pictures." [13] (MRI = magnetic resonance imaging).
The interpretations of the signal differences correspond to symbolic interpretations and designs.
The enigma of connectedness
The psychological theory of relativity led us to a connection with quantum physics.
In general relativity, no connection with quantum mechanics has been found to date. This has already been discussed in the previous section (problem graviton). However, scientists have identified a connection between special relativity and quantum mechanics, which is called quantum field theory. Three of the four fundamental forces mentioned earlier are covered by this theory.
Identification forms the field in symbol formation. We observe and record something with a word as a symbolic concept. The tree is not the symbol, and yet it is. Both seem to be mutually exclusive, but they possess an interacting reality.
This also brings us back to the already mentioned phenomenon of wave-particle dualism in quantum physics, which shows an indeterminacy, because a wave cannot be a particle and a particle cannot be a wave. The electron is a particle but also a wave (described by an equation), while the properties of electrons as particles can be explained only partially by the laws of classical physics. There is a two-unity in mutual connection. We speak of quantum objects that exhibit different properties when measured, because they collapse the wave function and thus determine a certain state.
The analysis - it is comparable to measuring - also destroys the bipolarity of the mondualistic phenomenon of a symbol, because the content and meaning of the linguistic concept of the symbol correspond, as it were, to the previously mentioned wave of matter. The identification enables the mental symbol formation, the identification is the "wave". Both terms lead to a blurring, since they trigger contradictions. But it seems as if they received the same “baptism” in their structure.
The quantum phenomena take place in the hidden invisible, but they form a basic building block of creation. In quantum physics, particles can be connected to each other regardless of the distance separating them. And the symbolic formations of man transcend any space in the phenomenon of the psychic or spiritual, in which we discover a basis of consciousness. Here we enter the bridge between the four structurally related bases. They build the world in its material structure and let us recognise its structure with the consciousness. The differences and contradictions between them can only be understood by recognising the interacting phenomena of symbol-forming consciousness in its relationship to quantum mechanics. They create the connection between humans and creation and allow humans to become creative themselves.
The intervention by man corresponds to an incision, because the independently running evolution does not plan and does not think, although even in its background a purposeful direction can ultimately be recognised. I use the term evolution as the basis of the entire creation, which, according to the theories of physicists, began with the still controversial Big Bang. Controversial means that science cannot even come close to explaining the mystery of the primordial explosion.
The creative faculty of man does not seem to betray to us an accident of evolution, but there could be a hidden intention behind it that led to a two-part creation. Is there this hidden intention? It would explain the meaning and the connection of the four different terms, that open up the expanded horizon. Some scientists are trying to explain consciousness with quantum mechanics in a unifying theory. What is being sought here is a unity that does not exist, because the aspect of the spiritual cannot be explained by brain functions.
To summarise:
1. Thanks to his consciousness, man experiences and grasps the shaping of the world as space and matter, in which he has learnt to intervene.
2. Science grasps the secret of the original structure of the world in the structures and functions of quantum mechanics, which in their interpretation reveal a kinship with the symbolic forms of consciousness. Quanta form the basis of matter and energy in quantum physics, symbols are based on analysis and identification in consciousness. Quantum entanglement and identification are the seams. The four aspects unite in the diversity of the phenomenology of creation and they form the basis of the two-part creation.
With this, only a parallelism has been grasped that reveals to us the primordial structure of creation. What has not been explained, however, is man's creative ability, for he transcends the horizon of the material world in order to build and dismantle his "own" world within it in symbolic formations. The enigma remains, which I will pursue next.
e) The interrupted complexity of evolution
The relationship between the theory of relativity and consciousness as well as between quantum physics and symbol formation opened up the second space (see dream from section 3a) into which man was able to penetrate. This relationship reveals to us the riddle of the two-part creation.
The structure of material and biological evolution follows a process of construction and decomposition that appears to be subject to a non-goal-oriented sequence. Evolution cannot plan, i.e. it is unable to establish a system that can determine the basis of its own development, because it has no consciousness. Therefore, consciousness and its symbolism represent something completely new in terms of their possibilities, which led to a revolutionary break and an interruption in the process of creation. It is the kinship discussed above that forms the basis on which humans learned to penetrate the material world in order to become creative beyond evolution itself.
In the course of creation, destruction is always a starting point for rebuilding or further development. It is difficult to understand why creation, in its evolutionary process, should give rise to human consciousness, which is capable of directly penetrating it and causing radical changes. A classic example: genetic material is interrupted using CRISPR gene editing (penetration into foreign genetic material). In evolution, chance ‘decides’, but a directed process also plays a role, enabling advantageous developments. In humans, it is intentional. It seems nonsensical that evolution should allow this break, unless we assume that there is an underlying plan that gave humans creative freedom.
However, the above-mentioned coincidence as a decisive factor must be relativised, as it is hard to understand, indeed it is absurd to assume that the extremely complex development of evolution with its incredible diversity should take place solely due to the selection of errors or mutations.
f) The enigma of the human being
In the previous descriptions, a twofold design could be demonstrated. The world (A) is the first creation, described by the theory of relativity and quantum physics, but gaps and questions remain. This creation is contrasted with human consciousness and its symbolic forms. They correspond to the second creation (B). They are two different worlds, but they are connected by their mutually complementary, constructive and destructive designs.
The material world (A) is independent, it does not depend on (B), because it developed completely on its own. As man appeared, he began to use it for himself, thereby transcending the boundaries of the world (A).
Evolution tells us a transition phase from (A) to (B), because in it also the animal world developed, in which a consciousness developed, with which it learned to perceive and use the environment consciously. But the animal consciousness came to a border, which opened only to the human being.
The animal world does not build verbal languages (but social interactions and sign languages), religions, sciences or literary and artistic creations, it does not make agricultural cultivations, does not lead expanding wars for the exclusive seizure of power and also does not build concentration camps. And what seems to me above all ground breaking: The love and fellow humanity, as it can realize and experience the human being, exceeds every animal world of experience and creation.
If the essence of man were to be derived exclusively from the phenomena of evolution, then scientists would ultimately have to succeed in building an android that also contains the essence of man in its entirety. Scientists penetrate the deepest secrets of material creation, and they explain consciousness through a global neuronal workspace in which the sum of information can be incorporated. But how could scientists ever realise the subjective experience of humans in a robot and prove it as a truly experienced phenomenon? Moreover, they would also have to be able to realise in it the peculiarity of its social cooperation in all areas of its life, which is not demonstrable in the animal world, as the anthropologist M. Tomasello in particular has pointed out.[14] Obviously, there is no starting point in the synaptic and the biochemical interpretations that would allow these subjective phenomena to be neither produced nor recognised.
The experiment to fully simulate the human brain was attempted in the ten-year Human Brain Project. Behind was also the hope of finding a solution to the matter-mind problem. But it failed and was labelled as naive dreaming and a fantasy of omnipotence, although it also led to further insights. [15]
I therefore stick to the assumption that we have to recognise the special nature of the human being and his consciousness, Human consciousness appears as a revolutionary intervention in creation, because the "animal" was able to get out of its bondage. It began to ask about the background, which reveals its peculiarity to us.
On the one hand, creation stands in autonomous development. Opposite it appears the human being who himself became creative. The contradictions mentioned in this third chapter are only resolved if we assume that the person received a special gift, which opened the door for him to intervene in evolution. This can be emphatically demonstrated with the example of the gene scissors mentioned above, because evolution never allowed anything to come into being that could consciously and deliberatly intervene in it and change it - until man came along.
With my belief in a Creator, I can reconcile the riddle of creation as symbolism and the creative faculty of man in its contradictions. In the background we come across the divine "quant", which gives us freedom. With the awareness of the unifying two-unity of creation, as I have described in this essay, we receive a noticeable clue. In free and unfortunately also stray action, we realise the Creator's experiment with which he challenges us.
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4. A synopsis presented in dreams
Dreams are a work of art of consciousness, they can be signposts in our lives and open new horizons. They appear spontaneously or we ask for a dream design to be able to face a problem.
In symbolic images, they show us our life's formations in their good and burdensome forms. Dreams reveal backgrounds to us, they show and correct aberrations and insufficiencies. Dreams do not originate from an unconscious, but they help to build consciousness. This has already been reported on in chapter 1.
With this I contradict many theories of dream interpretation. Fixed dream symbols, as you often read, are meaningless. Dreams can only be interpreted in the individual context of a person's life and experiences, which I have been able to prove in hundreds of dreams. I have cited a variety of examples in my studies. We recognise a very similar design and meaning in the mythological tales.
Among Africans, I found a world that was able to consciously grasp and shape ways of life in all areas symbolically and mythologically.(2) This insight opened up the world of dream symbolism to me.
In the case of psychological disorders, dreams appear that reveal the background of the illness and can be used as a healing factor. They open up a way out of difficulties and also reveal our shortcomings. I have been able to tackle the problems of psychosomatic disorders in many patients thanks to their dreams. I have been able to tackle the problems of psychosomatic disorders in many patients in my Swiss practice.
In order to demonstrate the uniqueness of dreams, I requested dream interpretations of my efforts to date. The following four dreams form a partial synopsis of my studies. With them, I would like to highlight the depth and significance of the dream world.
The first dream represents my entry into the symbolism of an African worldview, in which I was not only able to escape the clutches of the unconscious, but also gain a new perspective. The comprehensive account of her life can be found in the aforementioned studies (Symbols of Life, Symbols of Death, Karanga Mythology (see books, reviews).
Dream 1: A new view
I wander around in an African bush landscape, looking for something that is difficult to discover. Suddenly I recognise an entrance and slowly descend a steep slope. In the process, a fascinating landscape opens up to me. As I begin to wander in it, I suddenly see a huge gravel pit. In the middle of it stands a large, tower-like building, which I enter. Through many doors, staircases and corridors, I climb with difficulty and arrive in a room where I find a seriously ill African friend. My wife is also present. The friend is happy despite his serious illness and always brings a joyful smile to one's face. After a long conversation with him, I return to the countryside. I am amazed that I only had to step out of the door of his room to be back in the open air, the difficult climb into the room had disappeared.
Interpretation:
The dream reflects my explorations of the world view of an African culture. Access to it is not easy to find (hidden and difficult descent over the slag heap), but it surprises you when you begin to penetrate this foreign world (wandering through the fascinating landscape). Likewise, the difficult ascent in the tower of the gravel pit not only represents the problematic of the unconscious, but it also symbolises the difficulties of my ethnological research that I was able to carry out among the Africans (depicted as a visit to a friend), because - shaped by one's own culture - one has to enter a completely new world.
The friend I visit represents the Africans who have fallen into modernity (the gravel pit) due to inhumane colonisation and whose lives have led to severe confusion (my friend's illness). Nevertheless, I was always amazed at their infectious joie de vivre, which surprises every unprejudiced European. which I was often able to experience with our many visitors.
With the many African friends and the patients in the hospital, I was able to familiarise myself with the foreign world view over many years. As I wander back into the landscape, I no longer have to descend via the many corridors and stairs, but after opening the door I find myself directly in the newly discovered "landscape". How can this simplification be explained?
With the insights I gained with my "friend", I was able to put a new face on the many representations of the unconscious. The Africans opened up alternative interpretations that led me into another world, which saved me the descent through the many doors and corridors (western theories of the unconscious). I have presented the comprehensive view of this world in my studies Symbols of Life, Symbols of Death, Karanga Mythology (see: Books and Reviews).
My wife, who was present in the room, symbolises my theoretical efforts.
Dream 2; The repression of the unconscious
I enter a dark and gloomy hall that exists underground. I leave it and look for a room where I discard some things. I wander on and enter another room in which I feel comfortable. Here I put down the rest that is important to me, which I carry in my arms. As I look around the room, I discover a square opening at the bottom of the wall. Something strange happens: a small animal with a long tail jumps towards the opening. At the last moment I can hold it by the tail and pull it back. Then I kneel down in front of the small opening to find out what is hidden behind it. To my astonishment, I recognise the dark hall I had first entered.
Interpretation:
The gloomy hall symbolises the depth-psychological interpretations of the unconscious. I leave the room. Then I look for a new room. It represents fundamental insights of the sciences. They lead me into the next room. I can build alternative insights in it.. The dream here captures the two aspects mentioned in the section 3a: The second room, however, also refers to the interconnectedness of the four phenomena described in section 3d: The extended view. I try to penetrate the secrets of consciousness, which repeatedly leads one into the mystery and interpretation of the unconscious. The little animal, which I just manage to catch before it disappears into the gloomy room, symbolises the ever-present temptation to interpret with an existential unconscious.
The following dream I asked for sent me on a journey. It's about the unsolvable riddle of the matter-mind problem.
Dream 3: The journey
I am asked to embark on a journey in a large and beautifully shaped passenger bus with the assignment of travelling to the capital of the country. Having never driven a bus, I am unsettled by the journey ahead.. Nevertheless, I get on and begin the journey. After a while, I feel increasingly confident. I drive for hours through many areas and towns. Suddenly I come to a big wooden wall with only a small door, through which the bus could never continue. Some men appear who build a new and fascinatingly shaped door frame that fits exactly to the bonnet only. Unfortunately, the opening remains far too small and I turn back. As I continue my journey, I come across a safe place to park the bus.I get out and check the underside of the bus, where I try to push a displaced lid into the right position. I know that I still don't know the way into the city, it remains a mystery to me. But I am reassured that the bus is in a safe place.
Interpretation:
What does the big bus mean? First of all, it points to the size of the problem when one tries to penetrate the question of human consciousness, because it shapes our lives in a great and often difficult to grasp variety. But it seems disturbing that I made the journey alone, although the bus would have had room for many people? Was this trip just an egoistic venture? Due to my stressful youth experiences, I was forced to take the "wheel" into my own hands. Anyone who reads my biography Armut und Reichtium des Lebens will find in it the answer for my "going it alone", until my wife also gave me the beauty of life.
The journey by bus represents especially my theoretical work, which was not always easy to manage. The size of the bus therefore also refers to the many experiences and events that influence the journey through our lives. With it, however, I was able to gain new insights, especially through my many years of work in Africa.
The wall I come up against represents the boundaries of science. The small and beautifully shaped door in the wall, into which only the bonnet fits, shows me the fascination of scientific knowledge, but it only conveys a small part of the mysterious creation to me, because it is limited to the brain as the ‘engine’ when interpreting consciousness.
The bus, which I was able to park in a safe location, points to the basis of my theoretical endeavours for a new insight. But there are always still ‘repairs’ to be done. The corrective shift of the lid on the underside points to the unconscious. However, the main problem of finding the way to the ‘capital’ remains unsolved.
Many times I asked for a dream that would open the way to the ‘capital, but I never received an answer. One day I turned my question round. It was: Why can't I get to the city? I finally received an answer, but it only addressed the spirit-matter problem.
Dream 4: The identifying connection
I enter my doctor's surgery, which is being remodelled. Three women are sitting in the anteroom. I start the consultation. The problems of the first two women are easy to recognise, they express themselves clearly and the disorders can be treated.
Then the third woman comes into the room. I ask questions, but I realise more and more that she can't explain her problem clearly in a comprehensible form. Something mysterious and inscrutable remains. But as I work my way deeper into her problem, it also becomes part of me, in which I can empathise with its symbolic realisations and statements. The ‘field of the psyche’ opens up, as it were, in transference, which helps us both to interpret and classify the symbolic manifestations of her symptoms
Some boys are playing in front of the window, they are trying to get into our room, I had to send them away.
Interpretation:
The reconstruction of the practice symbolises the construction of my theoretical efforts.
The question of why three people appear in the dream is difficult to answer. One possible interpretation would be that the I and the you in the we represent the problem (I + You = We). The three concepts - symbolised in the three patients - capture an integrated basis of our consciousness of human consciousness.
In the foreground are the symbolic images that arise from the problem of the third patient, who is exposed to a We-conflict.
She symbolises in my dream the identifications and represents the mysteriousness of consciousness, which builds up a phenomenology that leads people into their unconscious and conscious experience and being, which builds up a consciously experienced symbolism. This is because we use it to experience the identifications of our lives in which we search for answers and solutions. The symbolic images characterise human relationships in our everyday lives, in the sciences as analytical symbolism, in dreams, in intuitions, in mythologies and in psychological disorders.
The human being thus identifies with a form of consciousness that opens up a new dimension in symbolic connections, the meaning of which cannot be predicted and is often difficult to grasp. They form a perspective that builds up in the psychic "space". This leads us back to the statements from section 3d, where spacetime was mentioned as the fourth dimension, which we also recognise as a structural connection with consciousness through identification.
The person thus identifies with a form of consciousness that opens up a new dimension in symbolic connections, the meaning of which cannot be predicted and is often difficult to grasp. They create a fourth perspective that builds up in the psychic "space". This leads us back again to the statements from section 3d, where space-time was mentioned as the fourth dimension, which we also recognise as a structural relationship with consciousness through identification.
To simplify matters for the reader, I will repeat - slightly modified - the earlier presentation. Space and time cannot be considered independently of each other, as they are inextricably linked. Space-time can be deformed by the gravitational field. In our psychic "gravitational field" and experience, changes are also constantly occurring that result in symbolic formations, i.e. in identifications that lead to the multifaceted organisation of our lives. Even evolution, with its almost infinite variety of innovations, is reflected in the constantly changing symbolic forms of the human being.. Construction and deconstruction constantly lead us to new symbolic forms in all areas of our existence. The identifications are the unspeakable, which creates a two-unit, which corresponds to the unpredictable symbol design. Linked to this is the unsolvable matter-spirit problem and the identifying connection. The title of this essay is: The consciousness of man in the universe. The same applies: The universe in the consciousness of man. We are one and we are two - the symbolism of comprehensive creation. This once again points to an underlying intention that could explain the meaningful one-ness and two-ness.
But the essential difference: The psychic formations in the identifications transcend the theory of the connecting physical fields of quantum physics, because the spiritual cannot be scientifically objectified. This expanded aspect also shows us the limits of the sciences. This is symbolised by the disruptive youths outside the window; they cannot enter this world.
This once again emphasises the relationship and difference with the quantum world. I will summarise a statement by G. Börner (astrophysicist) in simplified form. [16] Ectromagnetic waves propagate in space without a material substrate, they exist as pure form, immaterial, but nevertheless as real objects of the physical world. The electromagnetic current acts on matter and causes the electrons to oscillate, but is itself immaterial and determines the form of possible effects on the charged particles. This cannot really be "understood" because the solid classical world is crumbling, the author emphasises. Enigmatic phenomena therefore already appear in the physical world, but they are transcended by the human mind, otherwise it would not be able to penetrate them retrospectively.
The physicist Charles Wood quotes Emanuel Katz (physicist): "We do not know how to simulate the world - not even in principle, even with unlimited computing capacities". [17] In contrast, my interpretation says that we simulate the world with the symbol formations because the structural relationship between the two worlds provides the decisive basis for the symbol formations. There is no doubt that this is not a problem of computational capacities.
This reveals the basis of the two-part creation, as already mentioned in the third chapter (presented in detail in a study.[2]) Just as creation was built from the quantum world, man builds his world of consciousness with the symbolic formations. They enable humans to intervene in creation. The quantum world reveals to us the structure of the material world, the symbolic forms in all their shapes show us the structure of our life in the material and human field, for which we bear responsibility.
But one question remains. In the third dream, the omnibus has been parked in a safe place, it is not taking me to the ‘capital’. And the fourth dream does not tell me what might be special about the ‘capital’. As already mentioned, it only gives an interpretation of the matter-spirit problem. But this opens up the possibility for me to search for the road to the ‘capital’. There is nothing tangible that opens the way for me, except my conviction that I can discover it. This road also has a name:
5. Nothingness - the path to the "capital"
Nothing is a word, a symbol for something without content, without any being. But why should we be able to reach the "capital" by following this path? The contradiction in this statement is obvious. Perhaps there is no "capital". But the problem of the dualism of being and nothingness remains, which leaves us searching for an answer.
We cannot conceive of a nothingness, because every imagination already blows away the nothingness. It reveals to us an absolute limit, because we are not able to penetrate a nothing with our consciousness in order to create something completely different in it - beyond space, matter, energy etc. We fail because we are firmly embedded and limited in the phenomena of the existing world. That is why an immaterial creator remains unrecognisable; it represents a nothingness that remains a mystery to us. This insight relativises the concept of nothingness, because the question of whether there is nothingness at all remains open. One way out would be to make the Creator identical with the existing world (pantheistic or panentheistic interpretations). An even simpler way is to bring God directly to earth, which has led people to mythological creations. The simplest solution is: there is no creator.
Some scientists deny nothingness because it cannot be grasped. They claim that there are things that have no cause, such as quantum fluctuations or a universe without a starting point. Quantum fields, for example, as energy-charged particles, are supposed to explain the origin of the universe. A completely empty space is not nothing, because there is always space and quantum phenomena always appear in the empty space of physicists. Where do they come from?
But could a creator create something that arose from a nothing, or did he create a nothing in order to realise creation in it? As long as there was no universe, we would have to assume that it was created from nothing. But since we only grasp it from the aspect of our being, we explain its creation with a metaphor, since being and nothingness are completely different and mutually exclusive aspects, but ultimately there seems to be a connection between them.
I draw a conclusion from this that can be derived from the structure of consciousness. The Creator created the universe from nothing in a projection, as it were. This makes it a symbol of the Creator that opened up a horizon for mankind. This means that in the course of evolution, the ‘animal’ was given a special ‘quantum’ as mentioned earlier. Thanks to it, the ‘animal’ became creative.
Something contradictory remains, which we can freely revitalise or deny. We recognise the Creator in nothingness, which confronts us with the riddle of being and nothingness. We cannot grasp God as a being. Only in faith do we fill the nothingness. The metaphor of being and nothingness dissolves, which leads to a coincidence of opposites (coincidentia oppositorum) or to a unity, as Nicholas of Cusa captured in God. With the connection between scientific knowledge and the spiritual legacy of man, I recognise the Creator who lets us step onto the ‘main road’, and the name of the city is transcendence, the incomprehensible and the divine.
God created a world that man can invent with his consciousness.
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Footnotes;
[1] Information on the author: Wikipedia Herbert Aschwanden
[2] Aschwanden H., Symbols of Life, 1982; Symbols of Death, 1987; Karanga Mythology, 1989, Shona Heritage Series, Gweru, Zimbabwe
3] Hübl P., Der Untergrund des Denkens. Eine Philosophie des Unbewussten. Hamburg 2017, S. 368
[4] Aschwanden H., Vom Leben und Sterben des Bewusstseins. Die Verdrängung des Unbewussten. Deutscher Wissenschafts-Verlag (DWV), Baden-Baden 2016
[5 ] Sartre J.P., Das Sein und das Nichts. Philosophische Schriften, Band 3, Hamburg 1993, S. 978
[6] Jaspers K., Allgemeine Psychopathologie. Berlin 1946, S. 276
[7] Frankl V. E., Der unbewusste Gott. München 2018, S, 94
[8] Aschwanden H.; In der Falle des Seins. Die Symbolwelt des Menschen und der Schöpfung. Kapitel
3. Deutscher Wissenschafts- Verlag (DWV), Baden-Baden 2019
[9] Edelmann G.M., Tononi G.; Gehirn und Geist. Wie aus Materie Bewusstsein entsteht. München 2002
[10] Esfeld M.; Philosophie der Physik. Suhrkamp Taschenbuch Wissenschaft. Berlin 2013
[11] Zeilinger A.; Interview in: Wiener Zeitung. Das Loch im Verständnis der Welt. 6.12.2012
[12] Eidemüller D.; Quantensprung – Einstein Stiftung Berlin (einsteinfoundation.de)
[13] Köchy K.; In: Gehirn und Geist. Nr.1-2008 S.50
[14] Tomasello M., Die Ursprünge der menschlichen Kommunikation, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a.M. 2011, S. 12 ff.
[15] Deeg J.; Human Brain Project: Die Vision vom simulierten Gehirn. Spektrum.de. 2023, . 15. 9. 2023
[16] Börner G., Schöpfung ohne Schöpfer? Deutsche Verlagsanstalt 2006, S.14f.
[17] Wood Ch., Eigenbrötler besiegt die Unendlichkeit. Spektrum.de, 19.03.2024
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