| Popis: |
A coincidence can be broadly defined as ‘a notable co-occurrence of events’ which may have causal or non-causal origins. Some coincidences have discernible causal connections, though these may be quite subtle and complex. Others are clearly attributable to the random play of chance or luck, while certain ostensibly random coincidences can be distinguished by the numinosity and meaning they hold for the individual involved. C. G. Jung coined the term synchronicity for such coincidences. However, there is currently no generally accepted overarching theoretical framework that deals comprehensively and inclusively with the several disparate categories under which different sorts of coincidences might be appropriately classified. The aim of this thesis is to remedy that omission.Just as planets and stars appear as points of light in the night sky and are indistinguishable to the untrained eye, so coincidences may seem on the surface to be all of one kind. This, unfortunately, has led to a tendency towards either/or explanations to account for them, a situation exacerbated by the ideological and metaphysical presumptions that have historically been equated with particular explanations. And there is more than a grain of truth to the notion that how we personally interpret coincidences is a reflection of our underlying beliefs about the nature of the universe and whether or not there is more to our existence than meets the eye.The study begins with a conceptual investigation into synchronicity and also the circumstances through which Jung came to develop the theory. His collaboration with the physicist Wolfgang Pauli is now well known and the subject of a number of scholarly and popular studies. However, it may well be that this association was not as important for Jung’s conceptualisation of synchronicity as his friendship with the sinologist Richard Wilhelm during the 1920s. Wilhelm bequeathed to Jung an intuitive understanding of the Chinese concept of tao, without which it is very likely he would not have conceived of his synchronicity principle. While synchronicity itself is the primary focus of the first chapter, the second explores, with particular emphasis on the tao, the possibility that mind and matter are dual aspects of an inclusive and irreducible reality, which is a key element of the synchronicity hypothesis.The analytical heart of the thesis is to be found in the third chapter, in which the different conceptions and explanations for coincidences are examined. Out of this, four explanatory categories are suggested for classifying coincidences, two causal and two non-causal, though it may be that a particular coincidence requires more than one category for a complete explanation. The focus of the fourth chapter is on the coincidences to be found within cosmology, and these are quite extraordinary, paling into insignificance the improbabilities of the popular coincidence stories that can seem so astounding. In the fifth chapter, the coincidences apparent within quantum physics are examined, specifically, entanglement and the double-slit experiment. Unsurprisingly, the potential implications of both the cosmic and the quantum coincidences are considerable, though in both cases there is by no means an agreed consensus as to what these implications might be.The sixth chapter, as well as providing examples of how particular coincidences might be categorised, also returns to the theme of synchronicity, clarifying its meaning and exploring some of its philosophical and experiential possibilities. It was Jung’s conjecture that synchronistic events point to an underlying psychophysical unity, which he called the unus mundus. This was a view also shared by Pauli, and is one that appears to sit comfortably with certain interpretations of quantum physics. Of course, such a study as this can provide no evidence for this or any other position, though it is able to point to some of the implications that might exist if meaningful coincidences really do convey more than simply the subjective interpretation of the individual involved. |
