Anima Materia
Man’s general way of thinking of the totality, i.e. his general world view, is crucial for overall order of the human mind itself. If he thinks of the totality as constituted of independent fragments, then that is how his mind will tend to operate, but if he can include everything coherently and harmoniously in an overall whole that is undivided, unbroken and without border (for every border is a division or break) then his mind will tend to move in a similar way, and from this will flow an orderly action within the whole (Wholeness and the Implicate Order, p. ix).
This is why I say that one’s view of matter directly influences one’s ethics. If you believe you are not connected to the Earth, that you are its master instead of its brother or sister, then you will have no qualms about blowing off the tops of mountains for coal, or incinerating thousands of acres of rainforest, or dumping millions of gallons of crude oil into our oceans, or for that matter, allowing your fellow humans to starve to death just because you want wealth and success. When dualism is banished from the Earth, only then will we begin to live as we were meant to live.
Bohm’s contention is that a fragmented view of the totality of reality will lead to a disorderly way of thinking. The Earth has experienced the result of such thought for hundreds of years. But now, we are beginning to see the truth. Because of mass communication via the Internet, millions and millions are coming to the realization that reality is One, that all things are closely interconnected. The naysayers will eventually fade away. Our world is currently undergoing a tremendous transformation toward wholeness. We have great hope for the future.
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One thought on “Anima Materia”
the addiction to seeing subject as distinct from object is the disease of the west