Coherence in Art and in the Physical Basis of Consciousness

Abstract

If one thinks of collective phenomena in which discrete constitutive individuals are modified in their behaviour — the whole becoming more than and different from their parts — living organisms would seem to be an ideal example: “The Universe is an animal”, as Plato said in “The Timaeus”. At this degree of apparent complexity, relevance becomes an essential cognitive property, and some sort of overall insight into the whole situation becomes necessary in order to reveal the underlying simplicity amidst the more superficial mind-stunning complexity.