Diabetic Foot.
I was seated for a half an hour today to write an article and, It started to hurt my legs. I felt my sciatic nerve getting compressed too much from my own weight sandwiched between my pelvic bone and the plastic chair, and I did not move until I was done. Maybe I was in the zone of 'Flow'. So, I ended up having a temporary paresthesia when I tried to walk. Initially it was tingling sensation and then it went totally numb for five minutes. And gladly I was mindful about it hence made following observations. I am sure most of you would relate this with your past similar experience. Specially if you have some 'peripheral neuropathy' like in long standing diabetic patients. This is one part of having so called 'Diabetic foot'. As this is a philosophical article we do not have to go into details of diagnoses and causes, however knowing this would help us to understand the philosophy of perception.
When I tried to walk, during so called numb period of my paresthesia, I felt like I am walking on a cushion. While actually I was walking on the tiles. I knew the sensation I am getting is wrong. I should feel the tiles 'hard' not soft. However, I could not deny, nothing has changed except my perception. This provokes some deep questions about philosophy of perception.
Diabetic foot and Philosophy of Perception.
I will stick to the facts first and separate my judgements on what happened.
facts.
The temporary paralysis has caused, some change in my perception of foot nerves. However, tiles, remains the same, Foot remains grossly same.
Same tile, which was 'Hard' before is now 'Soft'. If I forget my previously learned idea that 'Tiles are hard'. I can now say 'Tiles are soft'. And this is true to the whole time my legs are numb.
Tiles are hard' Is a judgment made in my consciousness. Although I felt hardness is in the tiles. This is a wrong idea. As hardness is not a property of the tile. It is a property of the brain. So, if we stick to the above facts we can say. Tiles are not hard or soft. Or we can say tiles are both hard and soft.
Not think about this conclusion again.
Tiles are not hard or soft.
Tiles are both hard and soft.
Imagine you go to your friends now, in a coffeehouse, you look at the tiles on the floor and say, "These tiles are not hard, or soft". And your friends will say you are mad. What nonsense are you talking about. But I was neither drunk nor was dreaming when I observed above facts. And we have done a rational conclusion with true facts. So, what is wrong?
Let's expand this into a mental experiment now.
Let's imagine a person who had a peripheral neuropathy all his life. He would perceive tiles as soft objects. They are soft, when he touches and walk on them. He would touch cloths and feel the same. But, as he has vision, he would see, Tile is not bendable, while cloth is. And if you throw a tile at someone, it will harm the person, but not the cloth. But obviously he is disadvantaged against survival. Similarly, some patients with peripheral neuropathy would not feel pain, or temperature in their hands and legs. They would injure themselves, burn themselves and later get even amputated due to these injuries getting worse. As you can see 'The tile being soft is wrong, as it clearly has a disadvantage on survival.'
In conclusion we can say that, saying tile is hard is wrong. Tile seems neither hard, nor soft. It's just interaction with it generates the sensation. Truely speaking "Hardness" is only associated with this interaction. Hence, if there is no interaction, no Hardness. But somehow our minds tend to forget these simple facts and attribute hardness is a persistent property. However, it is temporary, when we understand it lasts only for the duration of the interaction.
You can try this yourself. Look at some simple object on your table and understand why it feels hard, when even you are not touching it?
The sky.
I was looking at the sky, from the same spot, two days in a row. Yesterday sky seems to be beautiful than today. There was a golden cloud far away in the horizon, while today it was only gloomy clouds. Like the sky is sad. And I noticed all of these are just assumptions made by the mind process. The sky is not inherently good or bad. Just like a tile which is not hard or soft. It's just my mind playing tricks.
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