In this chapter, Wilber explains how the information given in the previous chapters relate to the spectrum model of consciousness. He summarizes the previous chapters and shows how they relate to the creation of the spectrum. Wilber describes the spectrum as an infinitely long continuum in which every possible state of consciousness is organized based on the number of "dualisms" needed to experience that state of consciousness. He defines a dualism as a separation of the universe into two opposing entities, which forces the self to identify with only one entity, because the self cannot be separated. Thus, dualism splits the originally infinite concept of the Self into ever smaller, finite pieces. The size of the "piece," or the amount of reality that is considered to be the self is termed self-identity. Self-identity is directly proportional to the idea of dualisms because each successive dualism further diminishes the scope of what is considered to be the self. The lower levels of consciousness are more aware of reality as it truly is than the higher ones because there are fewer dualisms separating one's own consciousness with the infinite consciousness associated with the universe as only one entity.
[...] The scientific method is one of the greatest achievements of the human mind. Until the European Enlightenment, human experience was only vaguely transferred between individual minds through unorganized stories that were sometimes mixed with real observation. With the invention of the scientific method, an organized system of experiences started to appear in the form of scientific data. Data are only valid if it is repeatable by multiple people, and it must be written down so that other people can see it. [...]
[...] Smell is a sense that detects the numerical proportion of different gasses in the air, and taste is similar to smell in that it detects the numerical proportion of chemicals that make up a substance. Even color, a difficult concept to imagine as a number, can be reduced to a line of consecutive numbers that constitute a spectrum, in which certain overlapping bands, or ranges of numbers, are perceived as distinct. It is important here to notice that the universe can only be described through numbers, and does not inherently contain the numbers with which it can be described, a point which cannot be elaborated upon without further insight, and will be explained after a few more ideas are conveyed. [...]
[...] While there are only a finite number of neurons in the human brain, there are an infinite number of intimately connected parts in the entire universe. The best explanation I can offer to the problem of subjective experience is that our core awareness of reality is not a result of the finite complexity of the brain, but of the infinite complexity of the universe. Many people's vision of the creation of the universe is guided by the Big Bang Theory. [...]
[...] It is possible for material to be arranged in an exact replica of my body with the exception of four arms instead of two. It should be noted that many people would consider this idea ridiculous because they see that it is extremely unlikely for me to ever have four arms. They can make this assumption because of their knowledge of causality: it would take an extremely unusual situation to cause me to have four arms, whether that cause be a genetic mutation, surgery, or spontaneous materialization. [...]
[...] Wilber points out that different consciousnesses are at unique and specific places along the spectrum, and it is even possible for the individual to move from one level to another, so people can occupy different levels of the spectrum at different times. He predicts that most people are at the level of the Ego most of the time, but also acknowledges that there is no external evidence of any level of consciousness, so it is impossible to determine with certainty that any particular person is at any particular level. [...]
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