You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Some years ago I put forward the concept of symmetrical frenzy (see Chapter 2, section 2, and Chapter 10, section 14). This corresponds to the deeper strata of the stratified structure and can be observed in confusional states. I shall make a brief mention of two examples.
This is a personal experience which led me to become aware of the question. Many years ago I was submitted to surgical anaesthesia by gas. I began this experience in perfect consciousness. After a few seconds I saw some things which seemed bright lines and, perhaps, other figures as well. These began to move, something like rotating. The movement became more and more rapid; the visual perceptions began to lose their neat distinction from one another, frantically whirling. Everything was losing its identity and fusing into everything else. My conscious awareness was losing its grip of reality, and I became more and more con-fused until I completely lost consciousness.
This example shows, I think, that our consciousness is intimately linked to or dependent on the perceptual distinction between things. Furthermore, we cannot become aware of the existence of the various perceptible objects if we do not have asymmetrical relations at our disposal, which enable us to distinguish one object from another. On the other hand, our thinking cannot make conceptual distinctions if asymmetrical relations are unavailable. We can conclude, therefore, that our consciousness, in the form of either