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What we observe as material bodies and forces are nothing but shapes and variations in the structure of space.
Erwin Schrodinger
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote suggests that physical reality is merely a manifestation of the underlying fabric of space.

Erwin Schrodinger's quote highlights the idea that what we perceive as physical objects and forces in the universe are actually just different configurations of space itself. This implies a deeper philosophical understanding of reality, where material existence is not as concrete as it appears, emphasizing the importance of the fundamental structure of space in shaping our perceptions of the world.

Themes

RealitySpacePerceptionScienceMaterial

In practice

Example use cases

During a lecture on quantum physics, one could use this quote to illustrate the nature of reality.

More from Erwin Schrodinger

Quantum physics thus reveals a basic oneness of the universe.
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A careful analysis of the process of observation in atomic physics has shown that the subatomic particles have no meaning as isolated entities, but can only be understood as interconnections between the preparation of an experiment and the subsequent measurement.
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I am very astonished that the scientific picture of the real world around me is deficient. It gives a lot of factual information, puts all our experience in a magnificently consistent order, but it is ghastly silent about all and sundry that is really near to our heart, that really matters to us. It cannot tell us a word about red and blue, bitter and sweet, physical pain and physical delight; it knows nothing of beautiful and ugly, good or bad, God and eternity.
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There is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction... The only solution to this conflict insofar as any is available to us at all lies in the ancient wisdom of the Upanishad.
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Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happenings are played out in one universal consciousness and there is no multiplicity of selves.
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Consciousness is a singular for which there is no plural.
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