Table Of ContentNEW DIRECTIONS IN
CONSCIOUSNESS STUDIES
New Directions in Consciousness Studies presents some original ideas which
will significantly advance scientific understanding of human nature. Written
in non-specialised language, the book draws upon concepts and research
from history, philosophy, neuroscience and physics to delineate new
approaches to the study of consciousness.
Early chapters deal with a range of ideas about our nature, and suggest
that the mind can usefully be viewed as a type of dynamic landscape. The
account shows how our minds relate to their societies, brains and bodies,
and how they differ from computers. Later chapters develop a theory
of the basis of consciousness (SoS theory). Using the physical concept of
broken symmetry the author shows how the conscious mind may be
rooted in temporality; a view that is supported by the occurrence of a wide
range of anomalous phenomena. Potentially valuable future lines of research
are also identified in this innovative text.
This is a unique and engaging book that will appeal to students and
academics in the field of consciousness studies and to anyone who is
curious about how consciousness fits into the physical world.
Chris Nunn is a retired Consultant Psychiatrist who used to work in
association with the Medical School at Southampton University, UK. He
has been Associate Editor of the Journal of Consciousness Studies for the past
fifteen years.
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NEW DIRECTIONS
IN CONSCIOUSNESS
STUDIES
SoS theory and
the nature of time
Chris Nunn
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Chris Nunn
The right of Chris Nunn to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nunn, Chris, 1940-
New directions in consciousness studies : SoS theory and the
nature of time / Chris Nunn.—1 Edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Consciousness. 2. Time perception. I. Title.
BF311.N86 2016
153—dc23 2015017475
ISBN: 978–1–138–92385–0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978–1–138–92388–1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978–1–315–68474–1 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Keystroke, Station Road, Codsall, Wolverhampton
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 Swings and roundabouts 4
A brief survey of the various ideas about human
nature that have come and gone since the seventeenth
century, ending with a description of principal scientific
and other views prevailing at the end of the twentieth
century.
2 Picturing ‘mind’ 18
An account of the usefulness of describing our minds
as ‘landscapes’ in dynamic state spaces that encompass
their environments along with brains. Discusses
differences between minds and computers.
3 Wetware 29
Describes the neural basis of mental ‘landscapes’,
emphasising the central importance of calcium-ion
dynamics in their construction and the essential roles
of astrocytes along with neurons.
vi Contents
4 On time 40
Explores the characteristics of clock time (i.e. the time
of relativity theory and quantum dynamics) and its
differences from experiential time. The chapter ends
with a brief description of ‘pre-sponse’ findings.
5 New frontiers 49
Briefly describes the currently most popular
philosophical, neuroscientific and physics-based lines of
thought about the basis of consciousness. Touches on how
these ideas fit in with a ‘landscape’ picture of mentality.
6 Broken symmetry 65
A proposal that a fundamental neutral monism breaks into
subjective and objective aspects coincidentally with energy
eigenstate measurements. Subjective aspects are thus
founded in temporality and objective ones in spatiality. The
resultant picture of ‘subjectivity’ is dubbed ‘SoS theory’.
7 Qualia 73
Briefly describes the concept of ‘qualia’. Then discusses
what could differentiate one quale from another.
Concepts of ‘qualia spaces’, or alternatively
considerations to do with knot theory, offer potentially
useful approaches to the differentiation problem.
8 Rocks from the sky (part 1) 82
How best to conceptualise ‘reality’, followed by
discussion of anomalous events of types that interested
Victorian investigators. Physical anomalies provide
evidence that is probably of greatest relevance to SoS
theory, not least because the theory shows, in principle,
that energy conservation need not always apply in
situations in which the anomalies occur.
9 Rocks from the sky (part 2) 92
A discussion of the possible relevance of findings suggestive
of ‘reincarnation’ and those associated with alleged ‘spirit’
communications. Some of the evidence from cases of alleged
Contents vii
childhood reincarnation and from mediumistic activities is
surprisingly robust; possible implications are identified.
10 Life at the edge 99
An account of near-death and end-of-life experiences,
emphasising the puzzling nature of the memories
associated with them. A discussion of the neural basis
of memory and memory-associated phenomena suggests
that some of these phenomena are mediated by
influences that are independent of clock time.
11 New directions 108
Violations of energy conservation, if conscious-mind
associated, would provide evidence to distinguish SoS
theory from any conceivable ‘quantum consciousness’ theory.
Suggestions about where to look for them are made.
Other especially relevant lines of research include trying to
ascertain where the information in near-death experiences
(NDEs) comes from and how it gets remembered. There’s a
possibility that psychedelic-drug experiences might provide
a useful substitute for NDEs in enquiries of this sort.
12 Speculations and implications 116
A discussion of implications of SoS theory for
understanding social history and the frequent horrors of
human behaviour, in so far as it adds further deterministic
influences to those with origins in objective aspects of culture.
13 Loose ends and new beginnings 124
Points out that no account has been offered in previous
chapters of how any ‘back action’ of conscious mind
on neurology might be mediated. There is, however, a
physical idea that might just conceivably provide
a basis for explanation. Finally summarises the various
experimental approaches needed for further progress.
Appendix: synopsis of the arguments 131
Index 137
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to everyone who has submitted papers to the Journal of Consciousness
Studies over the past twenty years. Whether subsequently published or
remaining unpublished, your enthusiasm and ideas have been inspiring. I’m
very grateful also to mentors who have been especially influential in
shaping my thinking via online fora and personal contacts. They include
Harald Atmanspacher, Erhard Bieberich, Chris Clarke, Jo Edwards, Tal
Hendel, Peter Henningsen, Stanley Klein, Alfredo Pereira Jr, Jack Sarfatti
and Max Velmans. Many thanks also to the Routledge editorial team,
especially Sarah Willis. They suggested detailed amendments that have
certainly improved the book in all sorts of ways.
I’d like to remember, too, my first maths teacher who never did manage
to convey much in the way of mathematical technique, which I think
bored him. What he got across to me instead was the existence and value
of broad concepts. He was a roll-your-own, chain-smoking refugee from
Vienna who had met Wittgenstein in happier days, but later lost his family
to the concentration camps and had somehow ended up in a small school
in West Cumbria. He was known to us children only as ‘Mr Philip’.
