Mind and the Cosmic Order

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Charles Pinter

   Pages 1-5

3. The Visual World

   • Charles Pinter

   Pages 7-28

4. Gestalt

   • Charles Pinter

   Pages 29-50

5. The Animal Sensorium

   • Charles Pinter

   Pages 51-66

6. The Mind-Made Firmament

   • Charles Pinter

   Pages 67-87

7. In Search of Reality

   • Charles Pinter

   Pages 89-104

8. Materialism: The Brain As Computer

   • Charles Pinter

   Pages 105-119

9. The Universe Observed and Unobserved

   • Charles Pinter

   Pages 121-142

10. Mind, Life, and the Universe

    • Charles Pinter

    Pages 143-159

11. Back Matter

    Pages 161-176

    PDF

The topic of this book is the relationship between mind and the physical world. From once being an esoteric question of philosophy, this subject has become a central topic in the foundations of quantum physics. The book traces this story back to Descartes, through Kant, to the beginnings of 20th Century physics, where it becomes clear that the mind-world relationship is not a speculative question but has a direct impact on the understanding of physical phenomena. 


The book’s argument begins with the British empiricists who raised our awareness of the fact that we have no direct contact with physical reality, but it is the mind that constructs the form and features of objects. It is shown that modern cognitive science brings this insight a step further by suggesting that shape and structure are not internal to objects, but arise in the observer. The author goes yet further by arguing that the meaningful connectedness between things — the hierarchical organization of all we perceive — is the result of the Gestalt nature of perception and thought, and exists only as a property of mind. These insights give the first glimmerings of a new way of seeing the cosmos:  not as a mineral wasteland but a place inhabited by creatures.  

• Philosophy of Mind
• Quantum theory
• Processing of sensory information
• Animal vision
• Quantum Bayesianism
• QBism
• Bayesian theory of percepion
• World models
• Nature of reality
• Philosophical worldviews
• Ontological status of perceptions
• Perceptual models

• Lewisburg, USA

  Charles Pinter

Charles Pinter was raised in Tangier, Morocco and educated at the French Lycée there. He has a doctorate in mathematical physics from the University of Paris, as well as a degree in journalism. He is known for his work in mathematical logic and model theory. He is professor emeritus at Bucknell University.

Policies and ethics