After a political career as a Member Parliament in the Tasmanian House of Assembly in which he served as a Cabinet Minister and Speaker of the House, Andrew Lohrey returned to university and in 1993 gained his Ph.D. in Communications from the University of Technology, Sydney. He is the editor of Alex Carey’s (1994) Taking the Risk out of Democracy, Sydney: UNWS Press. This book was republished in the US by the University of Illinois Press in 1996. In 1997 the University of Michigan Press published his doctoral thesis, The Meaning of Consciousness. In 1991 Andrew wrote a chapter for Travesty: Miscarriages of Justice, Sydney: Academics for Justice, and two chapters for Bridging Science and Spirituality, published in 1999 by Noetic Press, and again in 2004 he wrote a chapter for The John Eccles Centennial Volume, published by Noetic Press. Andrew has written papers on consciousness and meaning for a range of journals. In 2018 The Evolution of Consciousness: A New Science, was published by Princeton, ICRL Press, and in 2020 his latest book, Five Realities One Truth: The Human Condition was published by Rishi Publications. He has four daughters and lives on the east coast of Tasmania with his wife, the writer Amanda Lohrey. Address: P.O. Box 249 St Marys TAS. 7215. Australia
This paper is critical of reductionist theories of everything (TOE) and proposes instead an outli... more This paper is critical of reductionist theories of everything (TOE) and proposes instead an outline for a holistic TOE based on symmetry. Symmetry is entirely omnipresent in the universe, it has a relational architecture and can be characterised by its formative, energetic and infinite potentials as well as its basis in meaning and consciousness. These inclusive and generic features combine to provide the necessary holistic attributes for a successful theory of everything. The history of physics is a history of the unification of science. Newton, Maxwell, Einstein, and Bohr each developed a series of symmetrical connections which were previously unknown. Perhaps because of these isomorphic developments the search for a theory of everything (TOE), a theory that can explain the basic laws of the entire universe in all its infinitely subtle detail, appears more than an act of faith. At the heart of a TEO are the concepts of unity and unification and these have been the outcomes of physics for the last three hundred years.
In order to understand the world, we should begin to understand how language works. It is the mos... more In order to understand the world, we should begin to understand how language works. It is the most abstract context of mind and involves the symbols of discourse, measurement, mathematics, and money, as well as every sign we use to signify something. However, the primary purpose of language is to make and convey meaning. So, two questions arise: how does language work, and what is the meaning of meaning?
This paper proposes a new systemic view of order and disorder that is based on meaning. Meaning i... more This paper proposes a new systemic view of order and disorder that is based on meaning. Meaning is defined as a singular, general system that has universal dimensions. Two outcomes of meaning are the capacities to order and disorder. It is suggested that the balance of these two tendencies provides every system with its organization. Some of the generic principles of meaning are discussed in terms of the metaphors of the 'tree of knowledge' and the 'cross'. These Christian icons provide a holistic method for discussing 'system' and 'organization'. The anatomy of order and disorder are also described.
This paper argues that all scientific research is framed by one of two organizing principles that... more This paper argues that all scientific research is framed by one of two organizing principles that underpin and shape almost every aspect of scientific research as well as nonscientific inquiry. The most commonly employed principle within mainstream science is content determines content. This is a closed, circular principle that is usually unstated within hypotheses but plays a major role in developing methodologies and arriving at conclusions. The second more open principle is context determines content. This principle represents the implied background embedded within hypotheses. The difference between these two principles revolves around the issue of context, with the first principle closing off contexts by ignoring, erasing, or devaluing them, while the second more holistic principle explicitly takes them into account. Each of these research principles has a focus on the explicit detailed nature of 'content' while differing in relation to the source and cause of such content. We argue that the more open and holistic principle of context determines that content is superior in producing reliable evidence, results and conclusions.
We present a general discussion concerning the wholeness of what has been called infinite awarene... more We present a general discussion concerning the wholeness of what has been called infinite awareness, but here is called Omni-local consciousness. This model of consciousness has an interconnecting structure that has both local and nonlocal features, that is, the model contains local conscious human minds and locates them within an infinite (Omni) background context of consciousness. This holistic model of Omni-local consciousness is exemplified through an examination of its internal structures of meaning, evident in the exchange relations between its two polarities: local minds and nonlocal, Omni consciousness. Following David Bohm's assertion that, ‘The activity of consciousness is determined by meaning’ [10, p. 102], we propose that the content of consciousness in every circumstance is always defined by the metaphysical conditions of meaning.
In order to understand the world, we should begin to understand how language works.
It is the mo... more In order to understand the world, we should begin to understand how language works.
It is the most abstract context of mind and involves the symbols of discourse, measurement, mathematics, and money, as well as every sign we use to signify something. However, the primary purpose of language is to make and convey meaning. So, two questions arise: how does language work, and what is the meaning of meaning?
We present a general discussion concerning the wholeness of what has been called infinite awarene... more We present a general discussion concerning the wholeness of what has been called infinite awareness, but here is called Omni-local consciousness. This model of consciousness has an interconnecting structure that has both local and nonlocal features, that is, the model contains local conscious human minds and locates them within an infinite (Omni) background context of consciousness. This holistic model of Omni-local consciousness is exemplified through an examination of its internal structures of meaning, evident in the exchange relations between its two polarities: local minds and nonlocal, Omni consciousness. Following David Bohm's assertion that, 'The activity of consciousness is determined by meaning' [10, p. 102], we propose that the content of consciousness in every circumstance is always defined by the metaphysical conditions of meaning.
In this paper, we argue that Bohm's unbroken and undivided totality he called the holomovement, t... more In this paper, we argue that Bohm's unbroken and undivided totality he called the holomovement, the title he gave to the concept of the self-organizing universe, is more coherently understood when viewed as universal consciousness. Bohm's understanding of consciousness oscillates around being a quality of local minds and the interconnected totality of the holomovement. We suggest such equivocations impose limitations on Bohm's general holistic framework because they import into his model the limiting restrictions of Cartesian separation and are, therefore, incongruous for use within his holistic model of the holomovement. We also argue that the term 'meaning' has a structural and functional agency appropriate to Bohm's model of the holomovement, while also reflecting the living characteristics of this organic totality that is full of meaning.
Critical Literacy: a Professional Development Resource, 1998
This booklet, which is intended as a support to the delivery of professional development of Austr... more This booklet, which is intended as a support to the delivery of professional development of Australian literacy educators on critical literacy, presents a seven-step systematic model of all contexts through which a text may be constructed and studied. The first two sections discuss the model's use as a comprehensive framework for future teaching, learning, and assessment activities and the importance of viewing critical literacy as a generic learning ability that is valuable across the curriculum.
In this paper, we argue that Bohm's unbroken and undivided totality he called the holomovement, t... more In this paper, we argue that Bohm's unbroken and undivided totality he called the holomovement, the title he gave to the concept of the self-organizing universe, is more coherently understood when viewed as universal consciousness. Bohm's understanding of consciousness oscillates around being a quality of local minds and the interconnected totality of the holomovement. We suggest such equivocations impose limitations on Bohm's general holistic framework because they import into his model the limiting restrictions of Cartesian separation and are, therefore, incongruous for use within his holistic model of the holomovement. We also argue that the term 'meaning' has a structural and functional agency appropriate to Bohm's model of the holomovement, while also reflecting the living characteristics of this organic totality that is full of meaning.
We propose that the universe is nonlocal and that the appropriate worldview for this understandin... more We propose that the universe is nonlocal and that the appropriate worldview for this understanding is nonlocal realism. Currently the worldview of local realism guides and frames the understanding and interpretations of science. Local realism was the worldview employed by Einstein in his relativity theories, but the principles of this paradigm have operated as the guiding framework for the rest of classic science for more than a century. This paper points to incoherencies in local realism and to the violation of its principles by recent experiments and suggests these negative effects have undermined the credibility and legitimacy of this worldview. We offer a more inclusive worldview for the future of science called nonlocal realism. Unlike local realism, the worldview of nonlocal realism encompasses meaning, mind and universal consciousness.
We propose that the universe is nonlocal and that the appropriate worldview or paradigm for this ... more We propose that the universe is nonlocal and that the appropriate worldview or paradigm for this understanding is nonlocal realism. Currently the worldview of local realism guides and frames the understanding and interpretations of science. Local realism was the worldview employed by Einstein in his relativity theories, but the principles of this paradigm have operated as the guiding framework for the rest of classic science for more than a century. This paper points to incoherencies in local realism and to the violation of its principles by recent experiments; it suggests that these negative effects have undermined the credibility and legitimacy of this worldview. We offer a more inclusive worldview for the future of science called nonlocal realism. Unlike local realism, the worldview of nonlocal realism encompasses meaning, mind and universal consciousness.
Conventionally, physicists have not accounted for language, meaning or mind in their theories or ... more Conventionally, physicists have not accounted for language, meaning or mind in their theories or experiments. What these three have in common is reflexivity, which is the key self-referencing component of each. Reflexivity is a circular movement of meaning. In the past circularity has had a bad press. An argument that is circular is commonly seen to add nothing new, or worse, to be false. Whatever the criticism of circularity, reflexivity is a key aspect of language, meaning and mind and those scientific discourses that erase or ignore these important features present an incomplete picture of reality.
This paper is critical of reductionist theories of everything (TOE) and proposes instead an outli... more This paper is critical of reductionist theories of everything (TOE) and proposes instead an outline for a holistic TOE based on symmetry. Symmetry is entirely omnipresent in the universe, it has a relational architecture and can be characterised by its formative, energetic and infinite potentials as well as its basis in meaning and consciousness. These inclusive and generic features combine to provide the necessary holistic attributes for a successful theory of everything. The history of physics is a history of the unification of science. Newton, Maxwell, Einstein, and Bohr each developed a series of symmetrical connections which were previously unknown. Perhaps because of these isomorphic developments the search for a theory of everything (TOE), a theory that can explain the basic laws of the entire universe in all its infinitely subtle detail, appears more than an act of faith. At the heart of a TEO are the concepts of unity and unification and these have been the outcomes of physics for the last three hundred years.
In order to understand the world, we should begin to understand how language works. It is the mos... more In order to understand the world, we should begin to understand how language works. It is the most abstract context of mind and involves the symbols of discourse, measurement, mathematics, and money, as well as every sign we use to signify something. However, the primary purpose of language is to make and convey meaning. So, two questions arise: how does language work, and what is the meaning of meaning?
This paper proposes a new systemic view of order and disorder that is based on meaning. Meaning i... more This paper proposes a new systemic view of order and disorder that is based on meaning. Meaning is defined as a singular, general system that has universal dimensions. Two outcomes of meaning are the capacities to order and disorder. It is suggested that the balance of these two tendencies provides every system with its organization. Some of the generic principles of meaning are discussed in terms of the metaphors of the 'tree of knowledge' and the 'cross'. These Christian icons provide a holistic method for discussing 'system' and 'organization'. The anatomy of order and disorder are also described.
This paper argues that all scientific research is framed by one of two organizing principles that... more This paper argues that all scientific research is framed by one of two organizing principles that underpin and shape almost every aspect of scientific research as well as nonscientific inquiry. The most commonly employed principle within mainstream science is content determines content. This is a closed, circular principle that is usually unstated within hypotheses but plays a major role in developing methodologies and arriving at conclusions. The second more open principle is context determines content. This principle represents the implied background embedded within hypotheses. The difference between these two principles revolves around the issue of context, with the first principle closing off contexts by ignoring, erasing, or devaluing them, while the second more holistic principle explicitly takes them into account. Each of these research principles has a focus on the explicit detailed nature of 'content' while differing in relation to the source and cause of such content. We argue that the more open and holistic principle of context determines that content is superior in producing reliable evidence, results and conclusions.
We present a general discussion concerning the wholeness of what has been called infinite awarene... more We present a general discussion concerning the wholeness of what has been called infinite awareness, but here is called Omni-local consciousness. This model of consciousness has an interconnecting structure that has both local and nonlocal features, that is, the model contains local conscious human minds and locates them within an infinite (Omni) background context of consciousness. This holistic model of Omni-local consciousness is exemplified through an examination of its internal structures of meaning, evident in the exchange relations between its two polarities: local minds and nonlocal, Omni consciousness. Following David Bohm's assertion that, ‘The activity of consciousness is determined by meaning’ [10, p. 102], we propose that the content of consciousness in every circumstance is always defined by the metaphysical conditions of meaning.
In order to understand the world, we should begin to understand how language works.
It is the mo... more In order to understand the world, we should begin to understand how language works.
It is the most abstract context of mind and involves the symbols of discourse, measurement, mathematics, and money, as well as every sign we use to signify something. However, the primary purpose of language is to make and convey meaning. So, two questions arise: how does language work, and what is the meaning of meaning?
We present a general discussion concerning the wholeness of what has been called infinite awarene... more We present a general discussion concerning the wholeness of what has been called infinite awareness, but here is called Omni-local consciousness. This model of consciousness has an interconnecting structure that has both local and nonlocal features, that is, the model contains local conscious human minds and locates them within an infinite (Omni) background context of consciousness. This holistic model of Omni-local consciousness is exemplified through an examination of its internal structures of meaning, evident in the exchange relations between its two polarities: local minds and nonlocal, Omni consciousness. Following David Bohm's assertion that, 'The activity of consciousness is determined by meaning' [10, p. 102], we propose that the content of consciousness in every circumstance is always defined by the metaphysical conditions of meaning.
In this paper, we argue that Bohm's unbroken and undivided totality he called the holomovement, t... more In this paper, we argue that Bohm's unbroken and undivided totality he called the holomovement, the title he gave to the concept of the self-organizing universe, is more coherently understood when viewed as universal consciousness. Bohm's understanding of consciousness oscillates around being a quality of local minds and the interconnected totality of the holomovement. We suggest such equivocations impose limitations on Bohm's general holistic framework because they import into his model the limiting restrictions of Cartesian separation and are, therefore, incongruous for use within his holistic model of the holomovement. We also argue that the term 'meaning' has a structural and functional agency appropriate to Bohm's model of the holomovement, while also reflecting the living characteristics of this organic totality that is full of meaning.
Critical Literacy: a Professional Development Resource, 1998
This booklet, which is intended as a support to the delivery of professional development of Austr... more This booklet, which is intended as a support to the delivery of professional development of Australian literacy educators on critical literacy, presents a seven-step systematic model of all contexts through which a text may be constructed and studied. The first two sections discuss the model's use as a comprehensive framework for future teaching, learning, and assessment activities and the importance of viewing critical literacy as a generic learning ability that is valuable across the curriculum.
In this paper, we argue that Bohm's unbroken and undivided totality he called the holomovement, t... more In this paper, we argue that Bohm's unbroken and undivided totality he called the holomovement, the title he gave to the concept of the self-organizing universe, is more coherently understood when viewed as universal consciousness. Bohm's understanding of consciousness oscillates around being a quality of local minds and the interconnected totality of the holomovement. We suggest such equivocations impose limitations on Bohm's general holistic framework because they import into his model the limiting restrictions of Cartesian separation and are, therefore, incongruous for use within his holistic model of the holomovement. We also argue that the term 'meaning' has a structural and functional agency appropriate to Bohm's model of the holomovement, while also reflecting the living characteristics of this organic totality that is full of meaning.
We propose that the universe is nonlocal and that the appropriate worldview for this understandin... more We propose that the universe is nonlocal and that the appropriate worldview for this understanding is nonlocal realism. Currently the worldview of local realism guides and frames the understanding and interpretations of science. Local realism was the worldview employed by Einstein in his relativity theories, but the principles of this paradigm have operated as the guiding framework for the rest of classic science for more than a century. This paper points to incoherencies in local realism and to the violation of its principles by recent experiments and suggests these negative effects have undermined the credibility and legitimacy of this worldview. We offer a more inclusive worldview for the future of science called nonlocal realism. Unlike local realism, the worldview of nonlocal realism encompasses meaning, mind and universal consciousness.
We propose that the universe is nonlocal and that the appropriate worldview or paradigm for this ... more We propose that the universe is nonlocal and that the appropriate worldview or paradigm for this understanding is nonlocal realism. Currently the worldview of local realism guides and frames the understanding and interpretations of science. Local realism was the worldview employed by Einstein in his relativity theories, but the principles of this paradigm have operated as the guiding framework for the rest of classic science for more than a century. This paper points to incoherencies in local realism and to the violation of its principles by recent experiments; it suggests that these negative effects have undermined the credibility and legitimacy of this worldview. We offer a more inclusive worldview for the future of science called nonlocal realism. Unlike local realism, the worldview of nonlocal realism encompasses meaning, mind and universal consciousness.
Conventionally, physicists have not accounted for language, meaning or mind in their theories or ... more Conventionally, physicists have not accounted for language, meaning or mind in their theories or experiments. What these three have in common is reflexivity, which is the key self-referencing component of each. Reflexivity is a circular movement of meaning. In the past circularity has had a bad press. An argument that is circular is commonly seen to add nothing new, or worse, to be false. Whatever the criticism of circularity, reflexivity is a key aspect of language, meaning and mind and those scientific discourses that erase or ignore these important features present an incomplete picture of reality.
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Papers by Andrew Lohrey
It is the most abstract context of mind and involves the symbols of discourse, measurement, mathematics, and money, as well as every sign we use to signify something. However, the primary purpose of language is to make and convey meaning. So, two questions arise: how does language work, and what is the meaning of meaning?
It is the most abstract context of mind and involves the symbols of discourse, measurement, mathematics, and money, as well as every sign we use to signify something. However, the primary purpose of language is to make and convey meaning. So, two questions arise: how does language work, and what is the meaning of meaning?