Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Philosophy Club

[Eckhart Aurelius Hughes]

This is a discussion forum topic for the November 2022 Philosophy Book of the Month, In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All.


In the same sense leftness is not real, time is not real.

Objectively, the universe has no 'now' (versus 'then') in the same way it has no left side (versus right side).

Einstein showed that the difference between space and time is as much an illusion as the difference between left and right. Change your speed or direction and suddenly what was once space becomes time (or vice versa), what was once future becomes past (or vice versa), and what was once left becomes right (or vice versa).

The illusions/appearance of leftness, hereness, & nowness emerge from subjectivity (a.k.a. 'consciousnesses', or 'subjective experiences', or 'conscious presences'), with each instance of such subjectivity/consciousness having its own left, right, here, now, and present.

Even terms like "the present" are in and of themselves misleading at best if not inherently nonsense. Such illusions and/or emergent appearances are by definition not singular or definite. There is no "the present" nor "the past" nor "the left" nor "the right". Insofar as there are consciousnesses (i.e. conscious presents), then each has its own corresponding unique relative subjective present, and its own relative subjective emergent leftness, etc.

Insofar as there are countless or even infinite consciousnesses scattered in the otherwise timeless eternal 4D spacetime, there are countless infinite presents in 4D spacetime. There is no 'the present' or 'the past' nor 'the left', but rather there are infinite relative subjective emergent presents, pasts, lefts and rights all existing together as part of the eternal timeless whole that is holistic reality. There is no singular special 'the present' that exists as some special piece or slice of the whole universe, but rather the universe as a whole is revealed as a patchwork of countless and presumably infinite presents. The temporal-based dualism that would seem to separate present from non-present does not really exist, but is rather analogous to an optical illusion, emerging from a distorted and inherently subjective perspective.


How consciousness fits into it is perhaps best explored and explained by my book, "In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All". As explained in the book, you, meaning the real you (i.e. 'consciousness' or 'conscious presence' itself), are what makes the now now and makes the here here. Without you, there is no now, there is no here, there is no present, and there is no time. And, yet, most interesting the real you and the real I are (as shown in the book) one and the same.

What it means for the simpler narrower area of objective physics (i.e. when excluding conscious subjectivity from the description of fundamental reality) is perhaps best explored and explained in the following three forum topics:

- Would Flat-Land Four-Eyed Freddy Notice a Difference?

- Objective Leftness and Rightness Do Not Exist

- Neither time, time-ness, unconscious here-ness, unconscious now-ness, nor any unconscious presence exist.

^ Please do read and reply to each of the above three forum topics, preferably in the order listed. I look forward to discussing these interesting issues with you.



The book is available for purchase from all major book retailers in both ebook and hardcover format.

[Surabhi Rani]

I do know from my experience that there no such reality called time but only changing things and phenomena. It needs intense study and learning to assimilate knowledge.

[OTrain M]

Reality is indeed a fickle phenomena that wll puzzle you as soon as you think you have it figured it out. Your points blow my mind because I thought reality was everything physical that we can see, touch, feel, and all these other senses we possess. But the way you break it, leave me to re-think the stance I have upheld all my life.

[Olga_Markova]

I agree with this concept - to the extent of "the same sense", i.e. that it is the subjective consciousness that creates the illusions of leftness and time. On the other hand, I would not agree if it were claimed as an "absolute" concept that leftness and time are absolutely not real. Because both leftness and time are anchors that help humans - or, in the book's terms, consciousness, navigate space and time. If I were to imagine for a moment that leftness absolutely does not exist, I would find myself in the chaos similar to that in which Lewis Carroll's Alice found herself talking with Cheshire Cat - that if you don't know where you want to get, any road will take you there.

I am more inclined to think of leftness and time as relative anchors that define the reality for the consciousness - if the anchor of time did not exist, for example, there would be no tie of consciousness to the events meant to happen at any particular time anchor - be it sleep, awakeness, and any activities. But I think the book places this concept in the frames of "subjective" which is conceptually the same as "relative", so I agree.

I'll look at the three suggested forum threads too.

[Onyango Victor]

This is a discussion forum topic for the November 2022 Philosophy Book of the Month, In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All.


In the same sense leftness is not real, time is not real.

Objectively, the universe has no 'now' (versus 'then') in the same way it has no left side (versus right side).

Einstein showed that the difference between space and time is as much an illusion as the difference between left and right. Change your speed or direction and suddenly what was once space becomes time (or vice versa), what was once future becomes past (or vice versa), and what was once left becomes right (or vice versa).

The illusions/appearance of leftness, hereness, & nowness emerge from subjectivity (a.k.a. 'consciousnesses', or 'subjective experiences', or 'conscious presences'), with each instance of such subjectivity/consciousness having its own left, right, here, now, and present.

Even terms like "the present" are in and of themselves misleading at best if not inherently nonsense. Such illusions and/or emergent appearances are by definition not singular or definite. There is no "the present" nor "the past" nor "the left" nor "the right". Insofar as there are consciousnesses (i.e. conscious presents), then each has its own corresponding unique relative subjective present, and its own relative subjective emergent leftness, etc.

Insofar as there are countless or even infinite consciousnesses scattered in the otherwise timeless eternal 4D spacetime, there are countless infinite presents in 4D spacetime. There is no 'the present' or 'the past' nor 'the left', but rather there are infinite relative subjective emergent presents, pasts, lefts and rights all existing together as part of the eternal timeless whole that is holistic reality. There is no singular special 'the present' that exists as some special piece or slice of the whole universe, but rather the universe as a whole is revealed as a patchwork of countless and presumably infinite presents. The temporal-based dualism that would seem to separate present from non-present does not really exist, but is rather analogous to an optical illusion, emerging from a distorted and inherently subjective perspective.


How consciousness fits into it is perhaps best explored and explained by my book, "In It Together: The Beautiful Struggle Uniting Us All". As explained in the book, you, meaning the real you (i.e. 'consciousness' or 'conscious presence' itself), are what makes the now now and makes the here here. Without you, there is no now, there is no here, there is no present, and there is no time. And, yet, most interesting the real you and the real I are (as shown in the book) one and the same.

What it means for the simpler narrower area of objective physics (i.e. when excluding conscious subjectivity from the description of fundamental reality) is perhaps best explored and explained in the following three forum topics:

- Would Flat-Land Four-Eyed Freddy Notice a Difference?

- Objective Leftness and Rightness Do Not Exist

- Neither time, time-ness, unconscious here-ness, unconscious now-ness, nor any unconscious presence exist.

^ Please do read and reply to each of the above three forum topics, preferably in the order listed. I look forward to discussing these interesting issues with you.



The book is available for purchase from all major book retailers in both ebook and hardcover format.

Leftness is a subjective interpretation based on spatial orientation, while time is a more complex and abstract construct rooted in physics and our perception. Some argue time is a human-made concept, while others see it as a fundamental aspect of the universe. It's a philosophical and scientific debate with various perspectives.

[Surabhi Rani]

The real me or the consciousness is what makes the 'now' now and what makes the 'here' here. Without me, there is no now, there is no here, there is no present, and there is no time. I liked reading how you explained the science behind it and understood a little bit as well.

[Sushan]

Fascinating points you raise about the fluidity of time and space and their dependence on subjective experience. Einstein's insights into the nature of space-time truly transformed our understanding of reality, blending the boundaries we traditionally perceive. It's compelling to think about 'leftness' and 'nowness' as constructs shaped by our consciousness. Your reference to each consciousness experiencing its own unique 'present' within a timeless 4D spacetime adds a profound layer to how we might understand existence beyond our intuitive senses.