A Place Hidden From Everyday Reality

The Gnömic Issue 007

By Scottish landscape artist James Morrison, titled; from the studio gate 1981

Physicalism is a philosophical position suggesting that everything forming our reality (and the entire universe) is physically based. It is a one-substance (monistic) view of reality closely related to materialism which can be considered a more hard-line position. Physicalism and materialism are often used interchangeably, however, physicalism differs in that it allows for other aspects of reality such as the social, psychological, moral, energetic and so on. Regardless, physicalists insist that these things are based in the physical world, or at least bear an important relation to it. For example, gravity is considered a physical phenomenon even though it has no material form.

Now, let’s not get too involved in all of that. If you’d like to delve deeper into this craic, here’s a good resource. For me, these philosophical explorations amount to little more than intellectual masturbation and I’m not for it at all. Suffice to say that the surface level reality of our world and the common sense of almost everyone we meet, is grounded in physical reality. It is a ceramic view of the universe within which we are held and is contained all the solutions to our problems and the gratification of all our needs and desires…once, that is, we are willing to “work” hard enough and perhaps even trample over others to gain.

But of course, you know that’s hardly the case. There is simply more to reality than that which lies in front of our eyes. Progress in this world, self-progress and subsequently collective human progress, comes about not by linear advancement in the physical world—the development of technology, the accumulation of stuff, of idols and symbols of wealth, status and power—but instead from inner exploration. If we are to find out the truth of the matter (pardon the pun), we must be prepared to, metaphorically speaking, go off into the wilderness, like James Morrison appeared to have done.

What I experience, what I am doing, is something which is for me. It’s not for anyone else. If someone else can enter into this world I’m trying to build for myself, then this is fine. But I can't emphasise enough, it’s for me, it’s my argument with myself - James Morrison