Kant, Maimon, Hinton, Ouspensky and the Fourth Dimension

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Kant, Maimon, Hinton, Ouspensky and the Fourth Dimension

Postby philtheo » Mon Nov 14, 2005 6:02 pm

Dear all,
I am currently writing an undergraduate research paper on the relationship betweens Kant's Transcendental Aesthetic (geometry and mathematics) and the Fourth Dimension. The pathway of the paper moves from the forms of sensibility Kant presents to us (Space and Time) to Maimon's critique of the transcendental deduction. From this critique I move towards a conception of the Fourth dimension in terms of understanding (determined by concepts rather than intuition) and address the affect of this idea of the fourth dimension in the modern esoteric current.
Ouspensky's conception of the Fourth Dimension concerns harnessing the power of intution and changing our sensible understanding of space - through psychological excercises (similar in a sense to Bhuddist meditation) Ouspensky aims to change the fundamental form of sensual intution (our 'sense' of three dimentsional space). In the esoteric current there are many visualisation excercises (i.e. Hinton proposes methods to visualise each side of a cube and then visualise the cubes dimensions simultaneously) presented before this change of sensibility can occur. He believes that with a psychological conception of the universe (since our sensuous experience of the world is determined by space and time) we can change this sensibility to such a degree that we might be able to perceive the fourth dimension.
Finally my question to the group - How do current mathematical understandings of the fourth dimension cohere with the idea of sensibly experiencing them? Since my speciality is philosophy rather than mathematics it is difficult for me to reconcile the two understandings when it comes to this issue. My concentration for research centres around the modern period 1800-1920 and as such ideas relating to this theme beyond these dates are beyond the scope of my research.

Thankyou very much in advance for any help,

Luke
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Postby wendy » Tue Nov 15, 2005 3:32 am

i had difficulty with the question. i don't know many of these words at 12 inches... Been to six dimensions often enough...

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Postby thigle » Tue Nov 15, 2005 9:24 pm

dear philtheo. i too don't grasp your question well. why is your interest focused on modern period exclusively ? dont you miss the roots and fruits ?

anyway, if i understand you correctly, you explore the possibility of accessing a spatial intuition different from the habitual (but when?) cartesian ortho3d grid, i.e. xyz orthogonal base (as that is Kant's 'Space'). your second question concerns (as i get it) the difference or distance between conceptual claims & understandings of higher dimensions and actual experiences of these, ie. the chiasm of higher-dimensional theory and praxis.

but what is it that you wanna know exactly ? what is it that is the most provoking issue of your research paper ?
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