What on earth is going on here? What absurd amnesia! To our observer, its as though the peasant had said, "In five minutes, the goodwife is going to bring me some hot cider 'n' brandy; I want it now, so I shall close my eyes and travel to the future" and closed his eyes for five minutes, opened them, and declared "Oh good, it worked! [In sooth, it hath surely worketh!]." What should our observer think? He sees one continuous person (body?) the whole time.
Does the sleeper experience the normal course of time, and then retro-actively experience the time-warp? How closely is my wakeful consciousness tied to my person? Without memory, my own actions might not seem to be 'mine' at least in the present. Consciousness seems very closely tied, for it is in wakefulness that I relate with other persons...I think. On the other hand, maybe this slumbering personhood is a deeper window into what a person is, or maybe the waking perception of time is too narrow.
I'm drifting now, because I actually am heading to bed, so I leave off this incoherent rambling in the hopes I may have sparked the interest of a mind better held together.
Wonderful conversation, Basil. I shall consider your hypothetical example in more depth when I have a little more time. However, one thing came to mind already: In the morning, it doesn’t feel like it has only been a moment or minute since I put my head down. (At least, this is my experience.) Yes, there are bizarre things going on with consciousness, memory, etc. , but I’m not sure “time-warp” is the appropriate analogy or image. When I awake, I feel as if a large amount of time has elapsed, even if I can’t tell you what happened. Of course, this is usually the case. Sometimes it feels less, and I may have made the comment that I feel like it was only a moment ago I put my head on the pillow. But that’s an exaggeration. I don’t think this taints the investigative-ness of your hypothetical situation, but it does change it.
ReplyDeleteWonderful conversation, Basil. I shall consider your hypothetical example in more depth when I have a little more time. However, one thing came to mind already: In the morning, it doesn’t feel like it has only been a moment or minute since I put my head down. (At least, this is my experience.) Yes, there are bizarre things going on with consciousness, memory, etc. , but I’m not sure “time-warp” is the appropriate analogy or image. When I awake, I feel as if a large amount of time has elapsed, even if I can’t tell you what happened. Of course, this is usually the case. Sometimes it feels less, and I may have made the comment that I feel like it was only a moment ago I put my head on the pillow. But that’s an exaggeration. I don’t think this taints the investigative-ness of your hypothetical situation, but it does change it.
ReplyDelete