shared physical world

 The first DOMAIN OF KNOWING in which we lack awareness is:

SHARED PHYSICAL WORLD

• we are not aware that the matter of our shared physical world is "formally indefinite" = does not have the "universal forms" that we unwarily attribute to it.

 This claim uses five terms (expressions) that need to be explained:

1. shared physical world 
2. matter (of the shared physical world) 
3. formally indefinite (matter)  
4.  universal forms (of matter) 
5.  attributing forms (to the shared physical world)

Before explaining them verbally, I will present an example that will help later in the explanation.

Figure 1 – Example 1

 What is this (Fig.1)? Looks like a clear glass pepper shaker with a metallic cap with “P”, right? Yes, but now let us focus on the cap.

Figure 2 – Example 1, detail

Could we “read” this “P” in Fig. 2 as a different letter?  Of course, we can read it in Fig. 2 as an upside down “d”. In Fig. 3 the same image rotated through 180º makes the reading “d” easier:

 Figure 3 Example 1, detail rotated 180º

 And besides letters of the Latin alphabet, how could we interpret this dot pattern, if we transfer it to a sheet of paper, as a sketch?  Fig. 4 shows two variations in two new positions, because that makes it easier to see some other interpretations:

a)

b)

Figure 4 Two new positions

 And by combining two patterns we could have for instance:

a)

   b)

Figure 5 Two combinations

I suggest that you now stop here and try by yourself to see something in these 4 patterns of Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, before reading further.

…..

How was it? What did you see?

What I see is: 

• sectional sketch of a train tunnel, with an underground exit to the right (4a); 
• floor plan of a bungalow, with a path arriving to the door from left (4b); 
• floorplan of two bungalows, with a shared yard (5a); 
• two short poles with flags, like in the flag semaphore system (5b). 

Moreover

• Pattern 4b can also be seen as an upside down 4a (the tunnel); 
• and 4a, 4b and 5a can be seen as one of the flags of 5b. 
• And of course, all patterns can be seen just as a “P” or a “d” in different positions and/or combinations.

What does this mean? Try yourself to make sense of the above facts. I will propose some conclusions in a future post, after explaining all the four DOMAINS OF KNOWING in which we lack awareness.

With the background of the previous example, we are now ready for explaining the mentioned terms relating to the FIRST DOMAIN OF KNOWING in which we lack awareness: 

1. shared physical world: the metal (cap), the glass (shaker), the paper (sheet) and the dots (in the cap, on the sheet) are elements of the shared physical world; “shared” because anyone can perceive them;  
2. matter (of the shared physical world): metal and glass 
3. formally indefinite (matter): metal and glass have shapes, but not what we call here “forms” 
4. universal forms (of matter): the forms “cap”, “shaker”, various “dots patterns”; they are "universal " in the sense that anyone can use them successfully as forms of this matter with its shapes. 
5. attributing forms (to the shared physical world): the human mind performs the process of perceiving by producing the “forms” (“cap”, “shaker”, various “dots pattern”) and applying them to the appropriate matter: metal, glass, paper and dots.