In this episode I explore the nature of consciousness and how it structures our experience. I first distinguish between consciousness itself and the content within it, following concepts from Kant and Buddhist philosophy. Then, I delve into the "smeared present," showing how we perceive moments as stretched over time rather than as single points. Drawing on insights from philosophers like Husserl, I then discuss how our perception of the present is actually the immediate past. Finally, I introduce the necessity of emotional processing in order to create a robust simulation of reality, and explain how we rely on a blend of past experience and instinct to navigate the future.
Philosophies mentioned:
- Immanuel Kant: Critique of Pure Reason
- Edmund Husserl: On the Phenomenology of the Consciousness of Internal Time (1893–1917)
- Detailed article about current research on time consciousness: https://plato.stanford.edu/ENTRIES/consciousness-temporal/
- Mahasi Sayadaw, The Progress of Insight: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/mahasi/progress.html
- Visuddhimagga, The Path of Purification: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/nanamoli/PathofPurification2011.pdf
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