"We started out saying the trouble is that the world is in chaos, but I think we end up by saying that thought is in chaos. Thats each one of us. And that is the cause of the worlds being in chaos. Then the chaos of the world comes back and adds to the chaos of thought."
David Joseph Bohm was an American physicist who has been described as one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century and who contributed unorthodox ideas to quantum theory, neuropsychology and the philosophy of mind. Among his many contributions to physics is his causal and deterministic interpretation of quantum theory known as De Broglie–Bohm theory.
"...we see a rainbow, but what we have is drops of rain and light – a process. Similarly, what we see is a self; but what we actually have is a whole lot of thoughts going on in consciousness. Against the backdrop of consciousness, we are projecting a self, rather than a rainbow."
David Bohm"Then there is the further question of what is the relationship of thinking to reality. As careful attention shows, thought itself is in an actual process of movement. That is to say, one can feel a sense of flow in the stream of consciousness not dissimilar to the sense of flow in the movement of matter in general. May not thought itself thus be a part of reality as a whole? But then, what could it mean for one part of reality to know another, and to what extent would this be possible?"
David Bohm"There is no reason why an extraphysical general principle is necessarily to be avoided, since such principles could conceivably serve as useful working hypotheses. For the history of scientific research is full of examples in which it was very fruitful indeed to assume that certain objects or elements might be real, long before any procedures were known which would permit them to be observed directly."
David Bohm"Deep down the consciousness of mankind is one. This is a virtual certainty because even in the vacuum matter is one; and if we dont see this, its because we are blinding ourselves to it."
David Bohm"Dialogue is really aimed at going into the whole thought process and changing the way the thought process occurs collectively. We havent really paid much attention to thought as a process. we have engaged in thoughts, but we have only paid attention to the content, not to the process. Why does thought require attention? Every thinking requires attention, really. If we ran machines withinout paying attention to them, they would break down. Our thought, too, is a process, and it requires attention, otherwise its going to go wrong."
David Bohm"We have reversed the usual classical notion that the independent "elementary parts" of the world are the fundamental reality, and that the various systems are merely particular contingent forms and arrangements of these parts. Rather, we say that inseparable quantum interconnectedness of the whole universe is the fundamental reality, and that relatively independent behaving parts are merely particular and contingent forms within this whole."
David Bohm