- WHATI

STHEPRESENTORNOW?

- WHEREAREMEMORI
ESSTORED?

- HOW DOSEANYTHI
NGBECOMEI
NTELLI
GIBLE, BLEORGETUNDERSTOOD?
SENSI

- HOW CANMI NTERACT?

NDANDBODYI

- WHATAREOTHERS?ARETHEYREAL?

- HOW DOESPROBABI
LITYWORKANDREALLYWHY?

THEPRESENT

ThePr esent
,ifsuchaloadedwordmaybeusedatal l
topointt
othemat t
erunderconsi
derat
ion
mustbehandl edwi t
hutmostcaut
ion.Thatwhichisbeingi
nvesti
gat
edhereisnotthose
phenomenonwhi chhavemadethemselvespresentatanyspeci
fi
cinst
ance,butt
hev er
yfactof
presence.

Wecani mmedi atelyseethatt

heterm weusedt osi gnif
yhasalr
eadyimport
edwithit
,the
conceptofli
neartimewi t
hapastt ofut
uredirect
ionalit
yandpresentast
henexus.YetasI
observeexperi
enceasi tmanif
eststome, i
tistotall
ydev oi
dofanysuchconcept
ion.Atbesti
tis
anopeningwhicht hingsseem t
ooccupyforadur at
ion.

Wit
houthur
ryingint
oitweshal
li
nvest
igat
etheconceptsl
i
kedur
ati
on,
thi
ngsandopeni
ngwhi
ch
ar
ebeingunveil
edaswedivedeeperi
ntothepr
esent.

Theassumpt i
oncall
edfutur
eiscl
earl
yabsentintheexperi
encebutt hei
risananal
ogueorat
l
eastabasi st
osuchconceptswhichispresent
ingit
selfasanti
cipati
on.Asenseofhavi
ng
somet hinginawayofbeingwhichisnotyetpresentbutwil
leventual
lybe.Thi
sisal
soall
owing
met or elat
etotheexperi
enceasanindependentagencyburdenedwi t
hchoicetomani
festone
possibili
tyandcloseal
lother
s.

Addit
ional
lyt
herearethought
swhi chconst
ructpossibi
li
tyt
hatdesi
gnateev ent
st oapresent
whichisnotyetbutevent
uall
ywillormayoccur.Thoughtsandthei
rrol
einfabricati
ng
temporari
l
ywillneedamor edeepereval
uat
ion,butfornowwesi mplyacknowledgetheirr
ole.

Thef utureisthefieldofpossibi
lit
iesort hecanbeofwhi chfewar ebeingactuali
sed
moment ari
lyinthedi mensionoropeni ngwecal ledpresent.Apor t
ionofwhathasmani fest
ed
organisesitselfasast ructur
ecall
edmemor yort hepast.Theuncer t
aint
yinregardst owhatis
noty etpresentispossibili
tyofwilloraction.Thepastbei ngaknowndoesnotal l
owf orany
suchchoi ce.Itisinsomesenseseal edof fandcannotbeal t
ered.Keepingwil
last hecoreof
analysisonecanr egardtimeisjustFut urewithpastastheaspectwher epossibi
li
tieshave
playedoutandpr esentwher ewilli
sact iv
e,therestisunplayedpossibili
ti
esandpot enti
al
choices.

ThePastcast
samor
eopaqueshadowonpr
esent
.Whi
l
ewecanseet
hati
nwhati
sNow
thereisnopast ,i
tseemshar dertogetridof f.Thepastimposesi t
selfonpresentbyal l
owing
forrecognit
ionofwhati spr esentincl
udingpr esenceitsel
f.I
nthissensebot hpresentand
futurearebutpast!Al i
ttl
ecl ari
fi
cati
onmaybenecessar ytograspthissubtl
ebuti mportant
point.InwhatIam exper i
enci ngasmypr esent,thati
sbeingabodydi sposedi naspecifi
c
postureinar oom withobject sli
kechair
,f an,windowsandwal ls-all
arebutr ecognisedas
beingwhatt heyare,namel yabodyorachai rbyaidofmemor ywhichisthepast .Thefuturet
oo
i
nasf arasitisconceivedofi nanypossi blewayi scomposedofmodi fi
cat
ionst oelementsof
memor y.Fi
nall
ythev er
yconceptoff ut
ure, presentandpastcanber ecognisedonl ybyusing
memor y.

Toext r
actr udiment aryconcl usionfrom theabov eanalysis,
thedi mensioncal ledpastallows
anythingtobewhati tis,theintelli
gibi
l
ityorsenseofaconcepti sderivedfrom this.Present
all
owsf orexistenceormani festationofwhati s,anopeni ngforspecificinstancesof
phenomenat ooccurandbeact edupon.Thef utureal l
owsf orwillandchoi cebyr etai
ningwhat
i
spossi bleandunt ouchedbyexi st
ingorbei ngknown.Herwear enotr eall
ylookingatt hr
ee
dist
inctfactsbutdwel lingdeepl yonspeci fi
cat t
ributesoft i
measwei nvestigateintoitfr
om
diff
erentperspectives.Thedi fferencetheni npast ,presentandf ut
ur eturnoutt obeamat terof
themodeofi nspectionandt heassoci atedwayi nwhi chattent
ionist husgui ded.Allt
hewhi le
thefactsthemsel vesar einsepar ablefrom anunbr eakablewhol e.Letuscal lthi
swhol easitis
commonl ydenoted, Ti
me.

Wit
hsomecl ar
it
yont i
meascomposedofmemor y/i
ntel
li
gibil
i
tyaspast
,existence/knowing
aspresentandwil
l/
anticipat
ionasfutur
ewehav esosomeext entcometoseet hesubjecti
ve
genesi
soft empor
ali
ty.Thissubject
ivet
imewhileconcealedbyconceptofchronologicalti
me,
al
lowsforsuchconception.Yetareweanyclosertoapprehendingthe'
Now'?

Anotherimportthatthei nvest
igati
onnat urall
ydrawsusi nevit
ablyintoisthequest ionof
absence, t
heverynegat i
onofpr esence.Absenceappear stobenegat i
ngpr esencebuti nfacti
t
provi
desi tgr
oundingf oronlyinrelat
iont otheiropposi
tescant hingsbesensi ble.Yeti
fwego
anyfurtherontheselineswewi l
lfindour sel
finav i
scouscircl
eofappr ehendingabsencef r
om
presenceandv i
cev ersa.Isthereany t
hingmor eontol
ogical
lyprimor di
althanabsencei n
rel
ationtowhichitcanbeunder stood?( Nothingisnodiffer
entint hati
tisabsenceoft hings!)

Thef actofi ntell

igibil
i
tyofabsenceasbei ngdi ff
erentf r
om pr esencei ndicatest hatdifferingis
mor efundament althanbot htheconcept sasi tal lowst hem tobewhatt heyar e(
oraren't!).
Intell
igibi
lit
yitselfalsoseemst ohav eamor efundament alnaturet hant heabov ement i
oned
phenomenon.Thoughaswel ookf urtheri ntell
igibili
tydependsonappr ehensi onofsi milariti
es
anddi f
ferencesbet weenphenomenon.Al soev enassi mi l
ari
tyori dentityprovidebasi sfor
differencebyopposi ngit,thei
rv erydi fferi
ngf r
om di fferencepl acesdi f
ferenceast hemost
fundament al f
orcei nnat ure.Witht hisnewbasi sletusdi vebacki nt oourpr imar yinvesti
gat ion.
Differencewheni tisnott otal
lysoorf ull
yi t
selfleav essi mil
arit
yasr esidue.Onceadi st
inct i
on
bet weenabsenceandpr esencei sf oundani nfi
nitedi fferenti
ationnat urall
yf ollowsasv ar ious
i
nt ermedi atesshowupl ikeabsent lypr esentorpr esent lyabsent .Theaspect sofpastwhi ch
happent obeabsent lypresentmani festt hedi mensi onofpast .Theaspect sofpr esently
absentconst it
utei magi nationandf utur ebydi fferingf ur t
herinr el
at i
ont oconcept sofl i
kel yand
unlikely.Her eagai nwecanseet hatthet hreedi mensi onsoft imear enotdi stinctwithclear
def
inedboundar
iesbutt
heyi
nter
mingl
eandent
eri
ntoeachot
her
.

Aswepr ogresswi thunderstandingpresentinitsrelati

ont oordi f
ferencefrom absenceand
theconsequent ialbeingofpastandf uture,weareconf rontedwi thyetanotherimpor tofthe
wor d,present.Her ewhi l
ethewor di ssamewhati sunderscr uti
nyist hatwhichpresentsitsel
f
bybei ngpresent .Toav oidlinguist
icconf usi
onitisbet t
erheret ouset hewor dAppear anceto
refertowhatpr esent si
tsel.Appear
f ancei schosenov erwor dslikeThingsorObj ectsduet othe
fragment arynat ureoftheconcept smaki ngitdi
ffi
culttoappr ehendt hepresentasawhol e.
Appear ancepr eser vestherecognitionthatitappearsinpr esenceandt hendisappearsinto
variousf msofabsence.Appear
or ancei salsofr
eef r
om bei ngpur el
yobj ect
iveorbeingt otal
l
y
subjective,i
trepr esentscloselyhowwhati spresent,factuall
yis.

Theex istenceofobj ectsbeyondthei

rphenomenal Appear ancei sinconceivableaspr esenceis
theveryex i
stenceofappearance.Whatexistsdoessobyappear ng.Pr
i esencei nitsf ul
lness
andast helimiti
ngcaseofi tsopposieorabsence,
t becomesexi stenceandal lowsf or
perceptionwhi chisactuali
zatonofappear
i ance.Thephy sicalwor l
disnotbei ngdeni ed, butnor
canitbet akenatitsfacevalue,assomethi
ngexi st
ingfori tsel
f.Itmustbeunder st
oodanewas
arelati
onshi pbetweenpr esenceandabsence, assomet hingwhi chappear sanddi sappear s.
Theor dinaryconcept onofwor
i l
dwhi l
espeakingofi t
scausal i
tyandchange, factuallystripsit
outofTi mebypl aci
ngt i
measbackgr oundforchangei nsteadofr ecogni
singt hatti
mei s
change, thev erywayofbeingofwhati s.

Thepr esentasappearanceisinseparablefrom thefactofpresence.Withi

nappearancesthere
Isi
nfiniedi
t ffer
encewhichallowsforpossi bil
it
yofconceivi
ngdi ffer
entthi
ngs.Ever
ycolour,
soundorsensat ioni
sdiff
erentfrom allothersatleasti
nrelati
velocati
on,durat
ionor
chronologyofoccurance.
Thisleadstodi versi
tyandconsequent lytheworl
d.Yetinit
sinfi
nit
e
compl exi
tyit
’sremainswhatitalwaysis,anappear anceoccurringNow.

UNDERSTANDI
NG

Not hingcanbeunder st
oodatal l
understandingisthinking.Sot ooar eal
l experi
encesand
memor i
esinasf arastheyar eknown.Whati snotknowncannotbemeani ngful
lysaidtohave
happened.Theai m ofanyt hought-whichi stheproblem tryingtofindthesol uti
on-isto
appr ehendi t
sownst ructureandmov ement ,i
t'
sverymechani sm.Tr uethatev ery
thing
under stoodismor efoodf orthought,butitisestabli
shingmor eandmor erelati
onsand
reduci ngthetimeittakesfort houghttothinkthatiti
st hinkingandt hatisallthereistoit
.Andif
anyt hingelseeverwasorcoul dbe,it
'sexistenceornon- existencedependent sont houghtfor
beingappr ehended.
 MEMORI
ES

Limi t
at i
oni st hebi rthofact ualization.Ifev ery
thingi sequal lyli
kelynothingcanev erhappen.
Differencesi nl i
kelihoodofoccur renceofev entsal lowcer tainpossibil
it
iest omani f
est .Justl i
ke
theskel etal sy stem byr estr
ict
ingsomebendi ngandi mposi ngvariousli
mi tati
onsal lowsf or
bodyt oactandassumecer tai
npost ur
essot oomi ndi scomposedofv ariousl imit
at ionsand
condi ti
onswhi chal lowi ttobeandt akeupcer tainf orm.Wor dsandgr ammat icalsy nt ax
const rainthef lowofi deasinmi ndandt huscr eatet heskeletalsystem formi nd.Thewor d
bindssi mi l
ari mpr essionsandi magesf rom sensesi ntosingularconcept s.Ever yrecogni sable
concepti ssigni f
iedusi ngauni quewor d.Thewor di snotj ustthenameofat hing, ital lowst he
thingt obebymaki ngi sappeardi sti
nctf rom allelse.Thecapaci t
yt ocapt uret hefluxof
appear ancesi nf ixedwor dsandconcept scr eatesani mpr essionofhav ingast ablewor ldwith
staticobj ects.Fact uallyabatofey eli
der asesal lvisual appearanceandi t
’sonl ythest abi l
i
ty
prov i
dedbyconcept st hatcontr i
but etosenseofcont i
nuityofobject swithwor ldast hehor izon.
Thisappar entst eadi nessnotonl yper v
er tsourconcept ionoft hewor ldbutl eadsusi ntobel i
ef
thatthepr esence-whi cht ooisr ecogni sedonl ybyconcept i
on–i sal soasel fident i
cal fact.The
presenceor' Now' asunchangi ngi saf undament al form ofdel usi
onwhi chi satt hev er yrootof
concei t'Iam' .

Alessoftenassoci
atedbutmor epri
mor dialfor
m ofmemoryishabit.Habithereisusedto
denotesheerphysi
cal i
mpul sesoforganism whichal
lowi
ttobehav einrelat
iontot hewor
ldi
n
fi
xedmechanicalway s.I
niti
ationofaspeci f
icimpul
seoreventofaspeci f
icsti
mul ati
onl
eadsto
unfol
dingofveryspecifi
cpat hwaysofact i
onswhichmaynotber epresentedinform ofi
mages
orwordsasincaseofpsy chologi
calmemor y.

I
tmaybeworthwhi
let
obeginwi
thsi
mplehabi
tswheret
hebodyrel
atestoi
tsel
fhabi
tual
l
yand
uset
heunder
standi
ngthedomai
nofr
elat
ingt
oobject
sandconcept
sintheworl
d.

Asi mplehabi tofscr at chingani tchorbi tingafi

ngernai lturnsoutt obeanal readychal lengi
ng
task.Ani tchisf orinst ancer epr esent edt oconsciousnessasadi scomf or tav eryr udi mentary
form ofr el
at i
velocat ionont hebodyi sal sosimultaneouslypr esent edwi t
ht hef eel i
ngof
discomf ort.Thecapaci tyoft hedi scomf orttograspat t
entionov erv ar
iousot hersensor y
i
mpi ngementi st herel ativ
ei nt ensi t
yoft hesensation.Propor tional t
ot hei ntensit yanur geor
i
mpul set or eactbui l
dsupi nt heor ganism.Thei mpul seit
sel fisbl i
ndandneedgui danceof
perceptiont obecomeanef fect ivei nt
ention.Withrecognitionofl ocati
onofdi scomf ortandt he
apprehensi onofpr oximat eandsui tabl
el imbtoempl oyfort het askorr eli
ev i
ngt hei t ch,a
mov ementi sini
tiatedandt hel imbscr atchesthear ea.Thispr ocesscont i
nuesempl oyingrel
ay s
ofinformat ionusi ngaf eedbackl oopt i
lltheimpingementofsensat ionisl esspr omi nentand
someot herst i
mul ationhasbecomemor eint
enseandgr absat t
ent i
on.Consci ousappr ehension
hasav erymi nimal rolei nthispr ocessandonl yasai nt
ermedi ator.Thoughtandr eflectionare
compl etelyabsent .Suchact i
oncanexpl ainmuchofani mat elife.Insimpl ersy stemsof
organisat i
onsl i
kepl ant s,thepr ocessesoff eedbackcompl etelylackt henecessi tyofanyf orm
ofrepresent ati
ont oconsci ousness.Thecompl exityoffl
owofi nformat ioninapl antdoesnot
al
lowf oranint
egralrepresentat
ionasiscaseofanimal.Miner
al pr
ocessesontheextremit
yare
compl et
elymechanicalandst i
mulati
onandreacti
onaresimultaneouseradi
cat
inganyneedof
ti
me.Ti mebeingtheappr ehensionofchangeal
lowsforappearancestobemoment ar
il
y
presentinthei
rful
lnessandabsent l
ypresent
(asal i
ngeri
ngandi nf
luenci
ngpast)consequent
ly.

Sowhi lewebegant oinvesti

gatei ntobaffl
i
ngpr obl emati
coft hestruct
ureofmemor y(anthe
numer ousconsequencest hereof),fr
om theor ganism ofourcompl exit
ywer eali
set hatit’
stobe
bestunder st
oodfrom pointofv i
ewofanev ol
utionofcompl exit
yandnecessi t
yofor ganism t
o
i
ntegrateandr epr
esentinformationt oi
tselfandt husgenerateeffi
cientbehaviour.Caut i
on
mustbeexer ci
sedindeali
ngwi tht hewordor ganism whichher eonlyrel
atestostruct ur
eof
organi
sationandisdev oi
dofanymy sti
calanimat ingfor
celikelif
eofsoul.

Alsowhilewebeganwi t
hthequesti
onofmemorywer eal
i
sethatconcept
soft
ime,
consci
ousness,per
cepti
on,under
standi
ngandi
ntent
ionarei
nseparabl
efr
om memoryast
hey
si
mul t
aneousl
yconsti
tut
eitanddependonit
.

Appr
ehensi
on

Conceptoft
emperatur
eisanabstract
ioni
nthoughtfrom t
heexperi
encefeelinghotorcol
d.
Wit
houttheembodiedexperi
enceofheataconcepti
onofitwil
lbeimpossible.The
obj
ecti
fi
cati
onoft
heexperienceofheatasbel
ongingtoobject
iver
eali
tyi
st emperatur
e.