Com 420 - Philosophy of Communication - Week 04

Week 4

Radford writes that we process information by sensing our world, and then mentally organizing the sensations into long-term memory.   Sensory memory is brief, and it is associated with satisfying our primary drives.  Short-term memory is the association of sensory memory and consciousness.  It is the way station between sensory and long-term memory.  Long-term memory establishes meaning through classification and differentiation and it serves as the forge of knowledge.

In short, information processing is how we organize and construct our world.  Information processing uses conscious experience, the unconscious, and numerous cultural and personal filters to form meaning and relationships.

An article from last week explains Kant’s position nicely.  Sartre was contrasting Husserl and Hegel’s position that our being is alone and everything else, including other people, is only knowledge, or information (Sartre).  I believe Hegel’s position was derived specifically from Kant.  Heidegger believed in being-with and that people could realize others with equal existence because we were part of the same world.   Information Processing and Kant suggest our being is the only thing we recognize as real, and everything is derived from knowledge.  If I understand correctly, we can’t see beyond ourselves because nothing else is real; it’s only information.

I don’t necessarily agree with Kant, but his thoughts became revelatory when I stepped into the argument.  If our world is based on information that is processed through filters, then we can redirect our input sensors and hone our filters to create more meaningful information.

If our primary drives motivate our sensory explorations, then I ask if it’s possible to inform our drives, or our unconscious, to seek out new or alternate sensory experiences.

If short-term memory is associated with consciousness, then I ask how can we modify or enhance our awareness to intensify encounters in an effort to fully realize long-term memory.

If long-term memory is derived from classification and differentiation, then I would ask what is the impact to the formation of meaning when we increase our mental diversity by exploring and accruing alternate points of view.

The unconscious is considered something that lies below or something that works independent from our conscious.   It is associated with our primary drives and a motivator that guides us.  I view the unconscious as a collection of alternate modes of thought that can be tapped and informed.  My creative side has found a rather active unconscious that speaks quite clearly when I quite my mind during encounters.  I’m not saying I understand it or can articulate it, but its impacts are becoming more positive the more I let go an use it.

References

Radford, G.P. (2005). On the Philosophy of Communication.  South Bank, Vic., Australia: Thomson Wadsworth.

Sartre, J.P. (2004) “Husserl, Hegel, Heidegger.” In D.K. Keenan. Hegel and Contemporary Continental Philosophy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.