Bounded in a nutshell and a king of infinite space: the embodied self and its intentional world.

The paper argues that developments in phenomenological biology, particularly the enactive approach of Maturana and Varela, offer a way to reconsider synchronicity and the self. This approach breaks down the Cartesian division between mind and world, viewing meaning as a function of how an organism engages with its environment. The self is inherently embodied and engaged with material, cultural, and social worlds, yet infinitely extended through imagination, enabling adaptation to diverse environments. Understanding other animals requires immersion in their environmental milieux, while understanding other humans requires recognizing that different socio-cultural milieux create significantly different worlds of meaning and experience.

Study at a glance

Abstract

This paper explores the implications of developments in phenomenological biology for a reconsideration of synchronicity and the self. The enactive approach of Maturana and Varela aims to reformulate the relation between biological organisms and the world in a non-Cartesian way, breaking down the conceptual division between mind and world so that meaning can be seen as a function of the species-specific way in which an organism engages with its environment. This leads to a view of the self as inherently embodied and engaged with the particularities of its material, cultural and social worlds, while being infinitely extended through the power of imagination; this enables humans to adapt to many different social and material environments. In order to understand these differences, we need to 'enter into the world of the other'. Where understanding of other animals requires immersion in their environmental milieux, understanding other humans requires us also to recognize that differences in socio-cultural milieux create significantly different worlds of meaning and experience.