What is material? This is an externally perceived world, given in external sensations (five sense organs), consisting of material forms.
What is immaterial? This is something that a person directly perceives (some internal perceptions), but has no material form (for example, mood). In the world originally given in external sensations, there is nothing immaterial.
Thus, the material and non-material do not touch. The question arises: where is the border between them? It can be assumed that the boundary is external sensations, and thus everything that is not given in them is not matter. But this is not the case. By themselves, external sensations do not allow us to perceive material forms (at least, in the usual form for a person). They are only a primary perception of the world, which is subsequently given a certain ordered state. The world of matter for a person is not a chaotic, meaningless stream of external sensations. Matter without thought simply does not exist for a person (even if he never went to school). Perceptions outside of thought (and also outside of the forms of perception – space-time) cannot become forms of matter. Any form becomes a form only within a logical construct that defines its boundaries, its properties, its interactions with other forms, its changes, and all this is built on the basis of cause-and-effect relationships that are understandable to thought. Thought is inextricably linked with external sensations. It is their continuation, a superstructure over them. And so its images are no less tangible than the external sensations themselves.
Moreover, logical thinking, in order to create a complete picture of the material world, always fills it with its own fictions, for example, general concepts, without which it does not work. These general concepts are perceived as actually existing and no less material than what is directly perceived, but they are not present in any perceptions. We believe that, for example, the blue color exists no less materially than the concretely perceived blue ball, but no one has ever directly seen blue in itself outside of any form, blue is a general concept that is not directly perceived in any way, which has acquired a place in the material world due exclusively to logical thinking.
Thus, the material is the forms of matter created by logical thinking, both on the basis of direct perceptions and independently.
It may seem that thought sometimes reflects what is directly perceived, even if it fills it with its own fantasies – and this is the world of matter, and sometimes it quite frankly fantasizes about something that has never been perceived – and this is already something immaterial. But again, this is not the case. It is almost impossible to separate outright fantasy from the reflection of the externally directly felt, objectively. A single world in which fictions about the non-existent in external sensations are mixed with fictions about these sensations themselves is divided into matter and fantasies about it always subjectively, depending on the belief of one or another person in this or that material reality. You can believe in an evil force that violates the externally logically constructed world, or you can believe that the laws of logical thinking of a person apply to the whole world as a whole, as science does (often logically justifying the existence of something that is not represented in any direct perceptions, for example, the existence of a whole microcosm). The criterion of reality is belief in a particular reality, but not something that can be unambiguously and objectively present in direct external perceptions.
Only the person himself can convince himself that something of his own creation is immaterial. But he can only create the material, since any of his creations are based on logical thinking, which operates only with what belongs exclusively to matter, because it is thought that finally forms for a person both material forms and his external material world as a whole.
At the same time, thought itself is immaterial, it only creates the material. Of course, the imagination can come up with a form for it, but it is too obvious that it cannot be in any external sensations (reasoning must stop somewhere). It seems that the boundary between the material and the immaterial passes precisely in the thought of a person, it somehow incomprehensibly combines the material and the immaterial, in fact, it is what lets matter into the immaterial essence of a person (however, this is not essential).
In other words, it does not matter what a person perceives – what is given in the immediate sensations themselves or what is fictional about them – all this is material. It is not for nothing that today such outright fictions as, for example, the subconscious or superindividual consciousness, despite the fact that they are not directly perceived in any way, are considered objective phenomena by modern science and, after it, are perceived by everyone as something that really exists in the world of matter. The concept of “society”, which is not directly perceived in any way, which cannot be seen in any particular form, which cannot be touched in order to feel it, is perceived no less (if not more) as actually existing in the material world than the person directly perceived. And it is not known what is more in our material world today – what we directly perceive or our fictions about the directly perceived. In fact, this is why it is not surprising that in such a world it is not clear what is real existence for us, what really is for us, and what is matter for us, and what is immaterial.
But everything is much simpler. Matter is that which is externally perceived in the form of direct external perceptions and their explanations. The immaterial is something that is perceived internally in an inexplicable way, such as feeling exactly like yourself, regardless of who you look like to the outside eye (even if it belongs to you, because we are used to looking at ourselves from the point of view that those who might see us from the outside might have). Both exist for every person. Both are available for every person.
In this way, the immaterial exists and is perceived directly, but in an indescribable way.�
Moreover, it may even seem that it has a more complete existence than the material one, because it may be a kind of unchanging perception of itself by the unchanging Self throughout its entire life. The material is always mobile and exists in a certain form only for a moment (or a little longer if it turns into a fixed fiction, which always changes sooner or later).�
And then a more interesting question arises: does the material exist? After all, it turns out that this is an illusion, and only intersubjective reality, based on people's agreements and which has become a habitual perception of the external world, gives it a certain objective appearance.
Yes, the material (as well as the immaterial) is an illusion, but this illusion is as much an illusion as we want to perceive it as an illusion. Why does our true existence have to be unchangeable and unambiguously explicable? It is unlikely that such a view of the world corresponds to his direct perceptions.
There is only what is. This is something that happens directly to a person, nothing else is given to a person. And something indescribable and inexplicable happens to him – a certain combination of all his perceptions (both material and not), forming his world in some special and unique way, but authentic at every moment. This is the unchangeable being, which is unchangeable only for a moment, but is always what it is, and therefore is the real existence… but that is another matter…
If existence is understood as being involved in a cause-and-effect process, then non-material phenomena exist in the same way as material ones. For example, in the material world, there is an evolution of organisms due to physical processes. In the non-material world, there is an evolution of ideas — the birth, aging, and death of memes, traditions, and stereotypes caused by the processes of mass thinking. Ideas can persist and survive by migrating to different material media. Material phenomena by their existence provide the possibility of their perception. Non-material phenomena provide different qualities of perception of material elements. As a result, we perceive the material world through the filter of non-material ideas. If we compare matter with a distant star, and ideas with the only telescope that can show it, then it turns out that the star exists only in the form in which it is visible in this telescope. That is, matter exists only in the form in which it is perceived when viewed according to some ideas.
I have to say the same thing every time, but this time I will give you more diverse examples.
Does the simplicity of number, which has filled me with boredom, exist in the mind?
Is dark energy material?
Is evolution material? And the law of conservation of energy?
And Sherlock Holmes – in whose particular mind does he exist?
What is material? This is an externally perceived world, given in external sensations (five sense organs), consisting of material forms.
What is immaterial? This is something that a person directly perceives (some internal perceptions), but has no material form (for example, mood). In the world originally given in external sensations, there is nothing immaterial.
Thus, the material and non-material do not touch. The question arises: where is the border between them? It can be assumed that the boundary is external sensations, and thus everything that is not given in them is not matter. But this is not the case. By themselves, external sensations do not allow us to perceive material forms (at least, in the usual form for a person). They are only a primary perception of the world, which is subsequently given a certain ordered state. The world of matter for a person is not a chaotic, meaningless stream of external sensations. Matter without thought simply does not exist for a person (even if he never went to school). Perceptions outside of thought (and also outside of the forms of perception – space-time) cannot become forms of matter. Any form becomes a form only within a logical construct that defines its boundaries, its properties, its interactions with other forms, its changes, and all this is built on the basis of cause-and-effect relationships that are understandable to thought. Thought is inextricably linked with external sensations. It is their continuation, a superstructure over them. And so its images are no less tangible than the external sensations themselves.
Moreover, logical thinking, in order to create a complete picture of the material world, always fills it with its own fictions, for example, general concepts, without which it does not work. These general concepts are perceived as actually existing and no less material than what is directly perceived, but they are not present in any perceptions. We believe that, for example, the blue color exists no less materially than the concretely perceived blue ball, but no one has ever directly seen blue in itself outside of any form, blue is a general concept that is not directly perceived in any way, which has acquired a place in the material world due exclusively to logical thinking.
Thus, the material is the forms of matter created by logical thinking, both on the basis of direct perceptions and independently.
It may seem that thought sometimes reflects what is directly perceived, even if it fills it with its own fantasies – and this is the world of matter, and sometimes it quite frankly fantasizes about something that has never been perceived – and this is already something immaterial. But again, this is not the case. It is almost impossible to separate outright fantasy from the reflection of the externally directly felt, objectively. A single world in which fictions about the non-existent in external sensations are mixed with fictions about these sensations themselves is divided into matter and fantasies about it always subjectively, depending on the belief of one or another person in this or that material reality. You can believe in an evil force that violates the externally logically constructed world, or you can believe that the laws of logical thinking of a person apply to the whole world as a whole, as science does (often logically justifying the existence of something that is not represented in any direct perceptions, for example, the existence of a whole microcosm). The criterion of reality is belief in a particular reality, but not something that can be unambiguously and objectively present in direct external perceptions.
Only the person himself can convince himself that something of his own creation is immaterial. But he can only create the material, since any of his creations are based on logical thinking, which operates only with what belongs exclusively to matter, because it is thought that finally forms for a person both material forms and his external material world as a whole.
At the same time, thought itself is immaterial, it only creates the material. Of course, the imagination can come up with a form for it, but it is too obvious that it cannot be in any external sensations (reasoning must stop somewhere). It seems that the boundary between the material and the immaterial passes precisely in the thought of a person, it somehow incomprehensibly combines the material and the immaterial, in fact, it is what lets matter into the immaterial essence of a person (however, this is not essential).
In other words, it does not matter what a person perceives – what is given in the immediate sensations themselves or what is fictional about them – all this is material. It is not for nothing that today such outright fictions as, for example, the subconscious or superindividual consciousness, despite the fact that they are not directly perceived in any way, are considered objective phenomena by modern science and, after it, are perceived by everyone as something that really exists in the world of matter. The concept of “society”, which is not directly perceived in any way, which cannot be seen in any particular form, which cannot be touched in order to feel it, is perceived no less (if not more) as actually existing in the material world than the person directly perceived. And it is not known what is more in our material world today – what we directly perceive or our fictions about the directly perceived. In fact, this is why it is not surprising that in such a world it is not clear what is real existence for us, what really is for us, and what is matter for us, and what is immaterial.
But everything is much simpler. Matter is that which is externally perceived in the form of direct external perceptions and their explanations. The immaterial is something that is perceived internally in an inexplicable way, such as feeling exactly like yourself, regardless of who you look like to the outside eye (even if it belongs to you, because we are used to looking at ourselves from the point of view that those who might see us from the outside might have). Both exist for every person. Both are available for every person.
In this way, the immaterial exists and is perceived directly, but in an indescribable way.�
Moreover, it may even seem that it has a more complete existence than the material one, because it may be a kind of unchanging perception of itself by the unchanging Self throughout its entire life. The material is always mobile and exists in a certain form only for a moment (or a little longer if it turns into a fixed fiction, which always changes sooner or later).�
And then a more interesting question arises: does the material exist? After all, it turns out that this is an illusion, and only intersubjective reality, based on people's agreements and which has become a habitual perception of the external world, gives it a certain objective appearance.
Yes, the material (as well as the immaterial) is an illusion, but this illusion is as much an illusion as we want to perceive it as an illusion. Why does our true existence have to be unchangeable and unambiguously explicable? It is unlikely that such a view of the world corresponds to his direct perceptions.
There is only what is. This is something that happens directly to a person, nothing else is given to a person. And something indescribable and inexplicable happens to him – a certain combination of all his perceptions (both material and not), forming his world in some special and unique way, but authentic at every moment. This is the unchangeable being, which is unchangeable only for a moment, but is always what it is, and therefore is the real existence… but that is another matter…
If existence is understood as being involved in a cause-and-effect process, then non-material phenomena exist in the same way as material ones. For example, in the material world, there is an evolution of organisms due to physical processes. In the non-material world, there is an evolution of ideas — the birth, aging, and death of memes, traditions, and stereotypes caused by the processes of mass thinking. Ideas can persist and survive by migrating to different material media. Material phenomena by their existence provide the possibility of their perception. Non-material phenomena provide different qualities of perception of material elements. As a result, we perceive the material world through the filter of non-material ideas. If we compare matter with a distant star, and ideas with the only telescope that can show it, then it turns out that the star exists only in the form in which it is visible in this telescope. That is, matter exists only in the form in which it is perceived when viewed according to some ideas.