The stream of consciousness, or the events under observation
Achille Varzi
Routledge eBooks October 9, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9781351232319-8 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Argues that iconic memory holds events under observation, with icons occupying definite positions in visible space, and that the sense of mysticism around observing events arises from assuming non-verbal, non-categorial content is mystical. Proposes that imagination in the strict sense sometimes resembles the observed event, faintly preserving certain qualities qualitatively. |
Abstract
The event located in the iconic memory is in front of the observer, and its life has the same duration as the possibility to observe it: it is an event under observation. In the world of events under observation, the icons – the examples of iconic memory – occupy a definite place in the visible space; different examples may occupy different places at the same time. As for the idea that executing observations on the events involves something mystical, the stems from the assumption that whatever is non-verbal, and more generally non-categorial, is mystical. Imagination in the strict sense, i.e., the attempt to see with our eyes closed or almost closed within a spatial location in front of us, is sometimes remarkably akin to the event under observation, for it palely preserves certain qualities in a qualitative way.