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A Proposed Relation Between Intensity of Presence and Duration of Nowness

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Recasting Reality

Abstract

It is proposed to translate the mind-matter distinction into terms of mental and physical time. In the spirit of this idea, we hypothesize a relation between the intensity of mental presence and a crucial time scale (some seconds) often referred to as a measure for the duration of nowness. This duration is experimentally accessible and might, thus, offer a suitable way to characterize the intensity of mental presence. Interesting consequences with respect to the idea of a generalized notion of mental presence, with human consciousness as a special case, are outlined. Our approach includes some features consistent with other, related ideas which are indicated.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Aided Architecture and Planning, Vienna University of Technology, Austria

    G. Franck

  2. Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology, Freiburg, Germany

    H. Atmanspacher

Authors
  1. G. Franck
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  2. H. Atmanspacher
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Grenzgebiete der Psychologie und Psychohygiene e. V. Abt. Theorie und Datenanalyse Wilhelmstr. 3a, 79098 Freiburg, Germany

    Harald Atmanspacher (Dr) (Dr)

  2. Kusenstr. 21, 8700 Kuesnacht, Switzerland

    Hans Primas (Prof.Dr) (Prof.Dr)

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Franck, G., Atmanspacher, H. (2009). A Proposed Relation Between Intensity of Presence and Duration of Nowness. In: Atmanspacher, H., Primas, H. (eds) Recasting Reality. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-85198-1_10

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