In his book "The Conscious Mind", philosopher David Chalmers writes:
"...every mental property is either a phenomenal property, a psychological property, or some combination of both" (pp16-17).
These distinctions are fundamental to Chalmer's book, but what Chalmers (and many others) seems to have failed to notice is that his assertions are based on the using of dichotomy (pairs) and that dichotomous analysis has structure that includes properties that are often confused with properties of the things under analysis, and this includes a structured form of 'meaning' that is linked to the method.
In Chalmer's case, the dichotomy is that of phenomenal/psychological and the recursive use of this dichotomy is the mixing of these elements. As a result of this mixing so 'meaning' emerges that is in fact part of the METHOD and not necessarily 'out there'. The 'mixing' means that the elements of the dichotomy are not as 'pure' as we imagine in that we find one 'in' the other.
The elements of the dichotomy can be analysed into text/context distinctions in that phenomenal is concerned with the totality of the moment and so an emphasis on text (foreground) compared to psychological that is more concerned with what is behind the moment - and so an emphasis on context (background).
through the repeated (recursive) use of ANY dichotomy so 'meaning' emerges in the form of the making of analogies, symbols and metaphors.
Whenever we make maps of reality, usually for the purpose of prediction, we often fail to recognize that the maps are metaphors for how 'in here' interprets 'out there'. This is the case not only for the esoteric maps (e.g. The I Ching, Astrology) but also for the scientific maps (e.g. Mathematics, Physics). I have discovered that underneath all of these maps is a template which allows one to easily make analogies; it is a template of meaning that appears to be shared by all of these categorisation systems. Simply put, all maps of reality are metaphors for the way the brain categorises wholes and their aspects, and the template emerges from this process.
At this site we introduce the template from which all analogy is based and all symbols and metaphor seems to emerge. This template is to neurology/psychology what chemistry is to physics/biology - it is a table of elements for processing information, and by reviewing ancient (I Ching) as well as modern categorisations systems (MBTI, mathematics, physics) so we demonstrate the 'chemistry' of information and thus the source of 'meaning' and how Chalmers et al will 'naturally' use dichotomies in attempts to 'map' 'out there' and 'in here' only to end-up facing ourselves.
Using the template, we demonstrate a method to enable us to be more selective and give some forsight and 'meaning' into possible things to come as well as offer some depth into fully understanding current situations or past events. We also show how any use of dichotomy to describe things leads to 'predetermined' results and 'senses' of meaning since these are all tied to the method.
We do not deal with 'synchronicities' nor 'chance', but with methods that seem to be very much part of 'in here' and ultimately 'out there', thus explaining the degree of resonance these methods elicit (as well as going towards explaining how 'chance' or 'synchronistic' processes can elicit 'meaning').
Some Neurology and Psychology background
Relevant Essays (also see below...)
E-mail Chris Lofting
A HEURISTIC DERIVATION OF NEO-CORTICAL FUNCTION
A COMMON LANGUAGE
ON METHODS
NUMBER, THE BRAIN, AND SCIENCE