Hedda Hassel Mørch is a philosopher at Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences.
She answered John Horgan’s questions on various subjects. I was very happy to find this gem in that interview:
“As I said, science only captures the physical world “from the outside”, or more precisely, in terms of its relational structure, and this also holds for quantum mechanics. Some seem to think quantum structure is more likely to be connected to consciousness than classical structure, perhaps because features such as indeterminism and non-locality are perceived as distinctively mentalistic. But as I see it, any kind of physical structure is equally in need of an “inside” or an intrinsic, and therefore conscious, basis.” – Hedda H. Mørch
I completely agree. I expressed similar ideas in various blog posts. The “inside” or “intrinsic” mentioned by Mørch above is the same as the common (cosmic) ‘reference’ I have been talking about. This ‘reference’ is the soul. No existence is possible without the soul. A related concept is the ‘cognitive core’. I have been developing the ‘cognitive core’ concept but I have not done any writing on it.
The concept of the common (cosmic) ‘reference’ can be expressed in many ways. For example, we can say that the whole is reflected in the unit. Another way would be to say that the whole is inverted to form the unit.
Obviously, the concept of “I” (self) in its various developmental stages such as ego etc. are related to the common (cosmic) ‘reference’ as well. One wants to write books about these subjects but one gets overwhelmed 🙂
Hedda Mørch’s comments on pandeism below combined with her comments above inspired me to say few more words.
“But there is a religious view I find interesting, which is pandeism: the view that God used to exist, and be the only thing that existed, and then transformed himself into the universe, and so no longer exists. The reason God did this was basically for fun, or to see what happened. And maybe at some point the universe will transform itself back into God—that would be like nirvana or heaven. But then eventually God would get bored again and start the cycle over. As I understand it, this is close to some parts of Hindu cosmology.” – Hedda H. Mørch
My understanding of the cosmic progression is very similar to what she is describing (see below) but I have an objection to her words “…so no longer exists“.
Absolute Being (Godhead, Nirguna Brahma) —> Divine Center (Cosmic Soul, Cosmic Consciousness, Parama Purusha) —> Reality (Saguna Brahma) —> Cosmic Mind —> Cosmos (spiritual, mental, physical realms) —> individual soul –> individual mind —> merger of the individual mind with the Cosmic Mind —> identification of the individual soul with the Cosmic Soul —> Absolute Being
Absolute Being is incomprehensively infinite. A tiny drop of the infinite ocean of Absolute Being transforms into Cosmos. At no stage of the divine progression the previous stage “no longer exists”.
The divine transformation starts and continues with the Cosmic Soul (Cosmic Consciousness). At no stage of the divine transformation Cosmic Soul “no longer exists”.
If anything exists, irrespective of its evolutionary stage in divine transformation, it exists because of the presence of the common (cosmic) ‘reference’ at its core. The common (cosmic) ‘reference’ is the reflection of the Cosmic Consciousness in the individual entity.
Am I a pandeist? No. I am theist.
I believe Cosmic Consciousness is at the core of each entity in its entirety. This makes me theist because Cosmic Consciousness is fully aware of our experiences and is in full control at every stage and every moment of this Cosmic Drama.
I realized early that materialists (especially physicalists) will never be satisfied with theistic arguments. This is a hopeless situation. We can never find a proof of the existence of God. Proof is a mental procedure. The mental realm is a sub-domain of the Cosmic Consciousness. We cannot comprehend God or find a proof of God’s existence while staying in the mental realm. But, we can develop mental aids such the concept of whole-connectedness facilitated by the common (cosmic) ‘reference’.
Whole-connectedness is the mental counterpart of Unity – the spiritual experience. Whole-connectedness is an intellectual concept and it can be understood by our minds. This is the basis of my monism as well as theism. Those of us who are not fortunate enough to feel the Unity can still understand the whole-connectedness intellectually. This is my hope. This is my effort.
Suresh Emre
Renaissance Universal 