Happy New Moon. This post may provoke, but I remind myself that Galileo also provoked.:D
Ever so often, I find it helpful (and fun!) to abandon an intellectual attachment to the limited perspectives of scientific materialism.Â
The universe is ever-expanding. Even as you read this, it is already getting bigger. So much so that the laws of matter can no longer fully explain it.
Nature holds deep mysteries toward which science sometimes seems arrogant and unjustifiably dismissive. And in the middle of cities where humans lead mostly by-rote lives, we forget to question existing paradigms.Â
I get it. We're all writing emails.Â
Qualia serves as a reminder. Besides being a beautiful-sounding word and the name of my future daughter, it is a concept that speaks to that fuzzy, dazzled feeling I get when I watch the moon.Â
British philosopher Galen Strawson describes qualia as the experiential aspect of phenomena - like comprehending a sentence or having an epiphany. He argues that these cannot be wholly explained by sensory experiences or mental images alone.
For centuries, humanity has meditated on the moon. The folklore on werewolves, witches, full moon rituals and dances didn't come from thin air. They came to be because we were all feeling something deeply as the moon waxed and waned.Â
Some cool (and some disquieting) things I’ve read:
A 2020 study published in Science Advances found a potential link between the moon's phases and human sleep patterns. It noted that people tend to sleep less and have lower sleep quality during the full moon phase.
The menstrual cycle and the lunar cycle are both approximately 29 days long. Several folk, beginning with Charles Darwin sought to draw a connection between them. This 2021 study suggests that human menstrual cycles may once have been synchronized with the lunar cycle, but that artificial light and modern lifestyles have disrupted that link. Personally, I love the idea that you can cycle sync. It makes me feel connected to something bigger. Qualia!
The word lunatic finds it etymological roots in the moon. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, wrote in the fifth century that "one who is seized with terror, fright, and madness during the night is being visited by the goddess of the moon."
In 18th-century England, those accused of murder could plead for a less severe punishment based on insanity if the crime occurred during a full moon. On the other hand, patients with mental illnesses at London's Bethlehem Hospital were restrained and beaten as a precautionary measure during certain lunar phases. Yikes.
Clearly, the moon has a profound impact on our culture and consciosuness. This notion of cosmic belonging etc. <3