Scintillae of Light: Chaos and Emergence
Robin Robertson
Psychological Perspectives May 30, 2007 DOI: 10.1080/00332920701319541 (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 alchemy and chaos theory, despite their different eras, present remarkably similar descriptions of the key factors in all transformation, including consciousness. Proposes a four-stage process: iterative feedback, descent into chaos, sparks of light in chaos, and full emergence of consciousness. |
Abstract
Two models of physical transformation, one ancient—alchemy—and one current—chaos theory—present amazingly similar descriptions of the key factors in all transformation, including the emergence of consciousness. This paper concentrates on four stages in this process: (1) a series of steps in which the results of each step are “fed back” into the next step; (2) a descent into chaos; (3) the appearance of sparks of light in the chaos; and (4) a full emergence of consciousness. Short histories of both alchemy and chaos theory are also presented, as well as the path that led from alchemy to chaos theory.