Life is fully experiential.
Through physical sensation and action, the mind can make sense of its surroundings. Everything from feeling the sun and wind on your face to the feelings of love and anger. It’s all physical and material. This cannot be denied.
But our technological world is increasingly taking us out of our natural environment. Away from the rising and setting sun and into fluorescent lit office buildings and black mirrored screens. Completely unnatural.
Not only are our professions becoming less natural, our social life is too. Dating and social network sites create a sort of artificial crowd of people. The creators of the sites tell us it’s the best way to live and connect with people. So we do. We stay. Sometimes way too long and too frequent. We invite others to stay. We even let our children grow up in this cyber environment and they end up teething on iPads.
We now know that children who spend an enormous amount of time with screens from a young age are different from children that do not. Their brains are wired differently and their social skills are muted. To them, the social media, gaming and communication platforms are real life. They know nothing else. But it isn’t just children...adults are just as trapped in the web.
I liken it to a dream state. It’s real, but it isn’t really living. The tactile experiences that are felt by the body help the mind process data. Important data. The senses are the keys to living.
So as we study Epicurus and natural philosophy, always keep in mind that we are meant to be in nature and not in artificial cybernetic environments. Use the Canon to enrich your life and live it!
My PSA for the day to get out, unplug and enjoy the pleasure of the day.
