2002-12-15Z2011-03-11T08:55:07Zhttp://cogprints.org/id/eprint/2660This item is in the repository with the URL: http://cogprints.org/id/eprint/26602002-12-15ZWhat is Real ? Conscious Experience Seen as Basic to Ontology. An Overview\*
The idealist attitude followed in this paper is based on the assumption that only conscious experience
in the Now is real. Conscious experience in the Now is supposed to be known directly or intuitively, it
can not be explained. I think it constitutes t he basis of all ontology. Consciousness is conceived as
the total of conscious experience in the Now, the ontology of consciousness is thus derived directly
from the basis. The ontology of nature is derived more indirectly from the basis. Science is regar ded as
a catalog of selected conscious experiences (observations), acknowledged to be scientific and
structured by means of concepts and theories (also regarded as conscious experiences). Material
objects are regarded as heuristic concepts constructed fr o m the immediate experiences in the Now and
useful for expressing observations within a certain domain with some of their mutual relations. History
is also regarded as a construct from conscious experiences in the Now. Concepts of worlds without an
ego a re seen to be in harmony with immediate egoless experiences. Worlds including spirituality are
conceived as based on immediate spiritual experiences together with other immediate experiences.
Idealist or immaterial philosophies have been criticized for im pl ying solipsism or "solipsism of the
present moment". This critique is countered by emphasizing the importance of intersubjectivity for
science and by introducing the more precise concepts of collective conscious experience and collective
conscious expe rie nce across time. Comprehensive evidence supporting the heuristic value of these
concepts is related.
I conclude that the idealist approach leads to a coherent comprehension of natural science including
mind-brain relations, while the mainstream materi alis t approach entails contradictions.and other
problems for a coherent understanding. The idealist approach and the notion of collective conscious
experience also facilitates cross-cultural studies and the underestanding of intersubjectivity.
K\Dr. Axel RandrupUsername: Axel randrup