Examining Coincidences: Towards an Integrated Approach Laurence Browne MA (London), MA (Griffith)
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Examining Coincidences: towards an integrated approach Laurence Browne MA (London), MA (Griffith) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2013 School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics Abstract A coincidence can be broadly defined as ‘a notable co-occurrence of events’ which may have causal or non-causal origins. Some coincidences have discernible causal connections, though these may be quite subtle and complex. Others are clearly attributable to the random play of chance or luck, while certain ostensibly random coincidences can be distinguished by the numinosity and meaning they hold for the individual involved. C. G. Jung coined the term synchronicity for such coincidences. However, there is currently no generally accepted overarching theoretical framework that deals comprehensively and inclusively with the several disparate categories under which different sorts of coincidences might be appropriately classified. The aim of this thesis is to remedy that omission. Just as planets and stars appear as points of light in the night sky and are indistinguishable to the untrained eye, so coincidences may seem on the surface to be all of one kind. This, unfortunately, has led to a tendency towards either/or explanations to account for them, a situation exacerbated by the ideological and metaphysical presumptions that have historically been equated with particular explanations. And there is more than a grain of truth to the notion that how we personally interpret coincidences is a reflection of our underlying beliefs about the nature of the universe and whether or not there is more to our existence than meets the eye. The study begins with a conceptual investigation into synchronicity and also the circumstances through which Jung came to develop the theory. His collaboration with the physicist Wolfgang Pauli is now well known and the subject of a number of scholarly and popular studies. However, it may well be that this association was not as important for Jung’s conceptualisation of synchronicity as his friendship with the sinologist Richard Wilhelm during the 1920s. Wilhelm bequeathed to Jung an intuitive understanding of the Chinese concept of tao, without which it is very likely he would not have conceived of his synchronicity principle. While synchronicity itself is the primary focus of the first chapter, the second explores, with particular emphasis on the tao, the possibility that mind and matter are dual aspects of an inclusive and irreducible reality, which is a key element of the synchronicity hypothesis. i The analytical heart of the thesis is to be found in the third chapter, in which the different conceptions and explanations for coincidences are examined. Out of this, four explanatory categories are suggested for classifying coincidences, two causal and two non-causal, though it may be that a particular coincidence requires more than one category for a complete explanation. The focus of the fourth chapter is on the coincidences to be found within cosmology, and these are quite extraordinary, paling into insignificance the improbabilities of the popular coincidence stories that can seem so astounding. In the fifth chapter, the coincidences apparent within quantum physics are examined, specifically, entanglement and the double-slit experiment. Unsurprisingly, the potential implications of both the cosmic and the quantum coincidences are considerable, though in both cases there is by no means an agreed consensus as to what these implications might be. The sixth chapter, as well as providing examples of how particular coincidences might be categorised, also returns to the theme of synchronicity, clarifying its meaning and exploring some of its philosophical and experiential possibilities. It was Jung’s conjecture that synchronistic events point to an underlying psychophysical unity, which he called the unus mundus. This was a view also shared by Pauli, and is one that appears to sit comfortably with certain interpretations of quantum physics. Of course, such a study as this can provide no evidence for this or any other position, though it is able to point to some of the implications that might exist if meaningful coincidences really do convey more than simply the subjective interpretation of the individual involved. ii Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. iii Publications during candidature No publications Publications included in this thesis No publications included Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None iv Acknowledgements I would like above all to thank my supervisor, Phil Dowe, both for encouraging me to pursue this topic and, crucially, for being with me each step of the way. His guidance has been invaluable especially in regard to the scientific aspects of the research and, most importantly, the fine-tuning of my overall approach. In addition, I would like to thank Dominic Hyde and Michelle Boulous Walker for their kind and consistent support, and also Gary Malinas for taking a genuine interest in my work. I was very fortunate to have been awarded an APA scholarship, and for this I am extremely grateful as it has allowed me to pursue this study with considerable freedom and without having to worry unduly about finances. The School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics hosts a very friendly and congenial environment, epitomised by the helpfulness of the administrative staff, and I would like in particular to thank Judy King for her care and concern. A special thank you to Victor Marsh for inspiring me to pursue this course of study in the first place; to Adam Williams, Dieter Graf, John Stanley, Garnet Brose, Colin Biggs, Michael Muirhead, and Carole Ramsey for reading and commenting on individual chapters as they came through; and to Günther Schöll for the Flammarion teleidoscope and poster. Lastly, I would also like to express my heartfelt appreciation to my wife, Tianyan, for having to bear the brunt of the emotional intensity that seems for me to have been part and parcel of the creative process. v Keywords coincidence, synchronicity, tao, unus mundus, chance, common cause, fine-tuning, constants of nature, double-slit experiment, quantum entanglement Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 220309 Metaphysics, 100% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 2203, Philosophy, 100% vi Contents Abstract i Declaration by author iii Acknowledgments v Chapter One The Composition of Synchronicity 1 Chapter Two The Possibility of an Underlying Unity 29 Chapter Three The Dance of Chance 47 Chapter Four Cosmic Coincidences 77 Chapter Five Enigma Variations 107 Chapter Six Coincidence Explanations 135 Chapter Seven Afterword 165 Bibliography 169 Appendix A The Flammarion Woodcut 187 Appendix B The Uroborus and the Spheres of Time 193 vii Figures and Illustrations Fig. 1 T’ai-Chi T’u 37 Fig. 2 Fishermen's evening song 38 Fig. 3 English speaking alien 58 Fig. 4 Invention pyramid 62 Fig. 5 Shooting a blow gun in the Amazon and in Borneo 64 Fig. 6 Goldilocks and the fine-structure constant 86 Fig. 7 The crescent Earth 99 Fig. 8 Interference pattern 111 Fig. 9 Box-pair experiment 116 Fig. 10 Delayed choice with a vengeance 119 Figs. 11-20 The Oxherder* 161-63 Fig. 21 Flammarion woodcut (original) 187 Fig. 22 Flammarion woodcut (coloured) 189 Fig. 23 Double mandala 191 Fig. 24 Uroborus 193 Fig. 25 Cosmic Spheres of Time 194 *The oxherding pictures, or 10 Bulls, as depicted by the woodblock artist, Tomikichiro Tokuriki, are reproduced here by kind permission of Tuttle Publishing, Vermont, USA. viii ‘You never enjoy the world aright, till the sea itself floweth in your veins, till you are clothed with the heavens and crowned with the stars… till you are intimately acquainted with the shady nothing out of which the world was made.’ Thomas Traherne (17th C) ix Chapter One The Composition of Synchronicity While there are a number of possible approaches to the whole question of coincidences, this study begins with an attempt to understand the concept of ‘synchronicity’, the term coined by C. G. Jung to refer to the phenomenon of meaningful coincidences. The focus of the current chapter will be on this topic, not least to try to clarify Jung’s writings on synchronicity, which tend to be rather obscure. Indeed, one might reasonably ask why he thought it necessary to present to the public a new word for a familiar notion.