Existence without space or time
Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2021 5:07 am
This is how I try to imagine existence/causality without space or time.
First, existence without time. This can be modeled as something like a block universe, where time is represented spatially as a series of snapshots that follow in sequence. In the block universe, time does exist as a dimension, but I think it's intuitively useful for understanding how causality can be preserved without needing to appeal to change or the passage of time.
Next, existence without space. The contents of your own mind have no spatial relation to one another, yet do still have causal relations. Thoughts and emotions evoke and influence one another without needing spatial extension.
Now we can combine the two. The resulting model is a mental space whose thoughts are connected to one another through associative links. These links are causal in a sense, while still existing outside of time.
This is, of course, similar to what Kastrup proposes as the end of More Than Allegory. I just find it to be a helpful way of framing it.
First, existence without time. This can be modeled as something like a block universe, where time is represented spatially as a series of snapshots that follow in sequence. In the block universe, time does exist as a dimension, but I think it's intuitively useful for understanding how causality can be preserved without needing to appeal to change or the passage of time.
Next, existence without space. The contents of your own mind have no spatial relation to one another, yet do still have causal relations. Thoughts and emotions evoke and influence one another without needing spatial extension.
Now we can combine the two. The resulting model is a mental space whose thoughts are connected to one another through associative links. These links are causal in a sense, while still existing outside of time.
This is, of course, similar to what Kastrup proposes as the end of More Than Allegory. I just find it to be a helpful way of framing it.