Multidimensional reality

A discussion document.

Links To Other Pages

There are many profound theories around, but no unanimity, among the

specialists.

 Figure 1 illustrates my interpretation of the reductionist  view.   It suggests 

that  the whole of reality is physical in nature.  The division into two parts is 

just a reflection of our current understanding.  Part of  reality we do understand; 

part of it we don’t.  The division moves to the right as our understanding

grows. Whilst parts of the brain are understood,  the full workings of the human

mind/brain system are not.   Thus human beings lie across the division and are

represented by the circle in the centre. 

Reductionists expect that an understanding of reality calls only for more time,

and increasingly complex applications of the current set of scientific laws.  In

particular, there are neuroscientists who maintain that the mind emerges from 

the from brain, so that all our subjective perceptions (qualia) are physical in

origin, even though we do not yet understand the mechanisms involved.  How

qualitatively different dimensions associated with subjective experience can 

emerge from a purely physical reality, I fail to see.

Figure 2 illustrates another view, according to which reality possesses more

 dimensions than those of space and time, with which we are intimately 

familiar and with which our limited senses interact.  In  this case the whole 

physical reality may itself emerge from the greater reality  as a special case.  

Metaphorically we may be living on one facet of a multi-faceted crystal.  After

all, the physical universe alone is beyond  imagination; the vastness of the 

cosmos; the detail of the sub-nuclear world; and the complexity of the biological

realm.   

For a popular yet profound treatise on multi-dimensionality refer to the book: -

Warped Passages, Unraveling the Universes Hidden Dimensions; Lisa Randall; Allen Lane, 2005

Prof. Lisa Randall, Web Page

The mind/body  interface is beyond man’s current knowledge and understanding.    In Fig. 2, 

two human beings are represented by circles which are located in part in space-time, 

and in part, in non-physical dimensions.  The  brain inhabits the physical world, whilst 

the 'mind' exists in other dimensions.  The subjective mind is somehow partitioned within

these other dimension.  It must be, otherwise we would be aware of everyone else’s 

thoughts as well as our own; perish the thought!  

The physical dimensions are known to deceive our senses, for when we examine 

very different scales, the nature of reality become  becomes counter-intuitive.  

Einstein showed on a cosmic scale  light beams bend in gravity and on the small 

scale  no generally agreed interpretation of the bizarre  laws of quantum mechanics 

has yet been found. There is  moreover no agreement yet among specialists on the 

number of dimensions that make up the whole physical world or even on the number 

of spatial dimensions, let alone the dimensions of reality as a whole. Tegmark makes 

an interesting case that human life is of necessity restricted to three dimensions of space

plus one  one of time. (or four of spacetime according to Einstein)..

 Tegmark's figure reproduced with permission.  For detailed explanations visit

Tegmark's site.

• Tegmark

• Matti Pitkanen

• Brian Greene

See also The Search for Extra Dimensions;  Abel and March-Russel;Physics World, p 39; Physics World; Nov 2000

In any event, we can be sure the fabric of space is far more intricate than our senses

 suggest, and that the physical world is just one special component of  a greater 

reality.   Science cannot provide a compete picture of reality  until it can embrace the 

mind and subjective experience, and that could be never.  How can one give a

description of subjective experience, which is true for all observers as science demands?   

My suggestion is that the mind belongs to other dimensions which are non-physical in 

character, and that the mind communicates with the physical brain through some form 

of interface, like a television transmitter and receiver.  This interface may or may not be

explicable in terms of quantum theory, it remains to be discovered.

See also the  mathematical model proposed by R. P. Stanley:-

Qualia Space,  Journal Of Consciousness Studies; 6, No. 1; 1999; pp 49 - 60

Mystics and esoterics provide insights into the realms beyond the physical world and 

thereby provide subjective evidence of their existence.  Also the bizarre world of quantum 

theory may be pointing towards them, but there are different interpretations of quantum 

theory which have yet to be resolved, and at this point in time there are strongly held 

and conflicting views about whether quantum theory has any  potential to explain 

consciousness.

The fuzzy link between the two subjects represents such phenomena as telepathy and 

healing.   Such links are not well understood and empirical investigations of them prove to 

be far less reliable than investigations physical phenomena like electromagnetic or acoustic 

links.  The rules of cause and effect may be different in these other realms. Yet evidence 

that this kind of  link exists between minds is strong, both subjectively and objectively.  

Because the link is weak and not comparable to physical sensory links, I label it as 

'fuzzy'.   Healers refer to "subtle" links.  Anecdotal evidence of  such links is extensive and 

evidence from scientifically conducted tests continues to accumulate.  Links to various 

laboratories performing scientific studies are in the section:-

•  Aspects of reality and the Mind

Society will need to experience a major shift of perception before such a multidimensional

concept can be accepted, but it may well be essential to get a grip on the wider reality.  

Subjective experience still  remains outside the domain of science and so long as it does 

Reductionists will never be able to explain it. A further illustration of the concept of extra 

dimensions is given in Figure 3.

Two questions:-

Science deals only with objective phenomena.

Humans experience embraces objective and subjective phenomena.

1) Does all of objective reality and all of subjective experience emerge 

from a common source?

2) Does  reality extend beyond both the domain of science and the domain 

of subjective experience?

(Introductions to pantheism, scientific pantheism and panentheism will be found at:-

http://members.aol.com/Heraklit1/index.htm )

"Panentheism" maintains that there are aspects of reality both beyond our experience

and beyond our rational understanding.  Thus ultimate reality, represented by the

ball at the base of the figure, contains a number of dimensions represented by the 

yellow band.   Nobody knows how many dimensions are involved: the number could

even be infinite.   The magenta strip represent the dimensions required to represent 

the whole of human experience, subjective and objective.  Qualia are non-physical 

items such as love, truth and beauty.  They are not in themselves dimensions, but the

suggestion is that they can be expressed in terms of fundamental dimensions, 

(R. P. Stanley, Qualia Space,  J. Consciousness Studies; 6, No. 1; 1999; pp 49 - 60)

paralleling science in this respect.   Think of vision.  There are only three primary colours

yet we can distinguish between over a million different hues.  Perhaps feelings likewise 

have only a few primaries which give rise to our vast spectrum of experience.  The cyan 

strip represents the number of dimensions required to represent the physical world alone,

and even this number is unknown at present. Particle physicists and cosmologists are still 

developing their models but the number of dimensions required is  reported to be in excess 

of ten, the actual  number depending on the model.

For a diagrammatic description of Eastern concepts of the individual and the surrounding 

reality see Leon Maurer's Web page

• Leon Maurer