Four: A Reflection on the Wholeness of Nature, Part II
Christophe Le Mouël
Psychological Perspectives October 1, 2011 DOI: 10.1080/00332925.2011.623470 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that the alchemical axiom of Maria Prophetissa formulates a worldview rooted in the principle of life, and that after the Enlightenment the alchemical goal became objectivity. Contends that mechanical objectivity in nineteenth-century science morally rejected subjectivity, but that subjectivity has gradually returned to physical science through recent advances in quantum mechanics, a context in which the author investigates the concept of a physoid reality. |
Abstract
This meditation on the symbol of the number four is based on a series of personal dreams that came in August of 1999, after I completed my Ph.D. in quantum physics. Weaving around a second dream in this series, I explore the alchemical axiom of Maria Prophetissa and argue that it formulates a worldview rooted in the principle of life. After the Enlightenment, the alchemical goal transformed into what we value the most in our modern world: objectivity. Describing first the rise of mechanical objectivity in the nineteenth century, with its moral rejection of all forms of subjectivity, I show how subjectivity gradually returned to the scene of physical science by considering recent advances in the understanding of quantum mechanics. The concept of a physoid reality introduced in the first article of this series is investigated in this context of a return of the subjective.