Disorientation and self-consciousness: a phenomenological inquiry

Abstract

The present paper explores the phenomenology of disorientation and its relationship with self-consciousness. Section 1 discusses previous literature on the links between self-location and self-consciousness and proposes a distinction between minimal selflocation (which requires only an ego-centric frame of reference) and integrated selflocation (which requires the integration of egocentric and allocentric frames of reference). The double aim of the paper is to use this distinction to deepen our understanding of spatial disorientation, and to use the phenomenology of disorientation to elucidate the role that integrated self-location plays in shaping self-consciousness. Section 2 starts by looking at the experience of being "turned around", which is a common experience of disorientation. This analysis leads to the conclusion that integrated selflocation is transmodal and depends on all three egocentric axes, and that disorientation destabilizes this integrated self-location. Section 3 explores a corpus of reports of disorientation episodes and highlights four key characteristics of these experiences (anxiety, vulnerability, confusion and diminishment) and their links to self-consciousness, focusing on the transformations in both the lived body and the experience of space. The central thesis of this paper is that during disorientation a destabilization of integrated self-location results in a diminished form of self-consciousness.

Disorientation and time distortions during the metro commute: An analysis of 456 responses to a questionnaire distributed in real time on Twitter during traffic disruptions in the Paris area

“…In fact, time dilation in general isn't itself a strong predictor of the overall confusion during traffic disruptions, despite a significant association, and as seen with the very low R² in multivariate regression analysis with PoT and TD as independent variables and confusion as the dependent variable. This seems odd, as confusion (or perplexity) is a central feature of disorientation (Fernández Velasco, 2022), and as both PoT and TD were strongly associated with temporal disorientation during the Covid-19 pandemic (Chaumon et al, 2022;van Wassenhove, 2022;[authors]). Recall that we just found two strong pieces of evidence that passage of time and temporal distance judgements within the episodic memory get distorted over time, both in terms of quantity (more compressed over time), and quality (more diverse over time).…”

“…Temporal disorientation partly comes from the severance induced by such unexpected events between ourselves and a future onto which we cling when we act (Game, 1997). Episodes of disorientation can be mild, merely conscious metacognitive feelings about being off from just a bit during navigation (Fernández Velasco, 2022), but also linger as existential feelings (Stegmaier, 2019), incorporating "a sense of being unable to depend on others" (Ratcliffe, 2021). With temporal disorientation comes a host of time distortions, such as an altered sense of the passage of time or of temporal distances, phenomena which have been investigated through isolation studies or life-shattering events like the Covid-19 pandemic (van Wassenhove, 2022).…”

“You Are Essentially Just a Number”: Discourse Elaboration and Devaluation among Natural Science Students

“…Consequently, to explain students' online experiences of crises and suffering during COVID-19, this study activates Roth's [14] phenomenological concepts to illustrate academic streams of consciousness (see Figure 1). The notion of streams of consciousness is central to phenomenological projects [15]. In the phraseology of McGilvary [16], a founding phenomenological theorist, streams of consciousness are intersections between time, experience, emotions, and sensations.…”

Mental maps, practical mastery and environmental experience: an analysis of the wayfinding culture of Evenki reindeer herders and hunters

“…This still raises the question of the role of allocentric and egocentric frames of reference during wayfinding for the Evenki. A recent proposal defends that the link between environmental experience and the integration of allocentric and egocentric frames of reference (during navigation reliant on survey knowledge) can be elucidated through the concept of the horizon of experience (Fernández Velasco, 2020). The horizon of experience is the Husserlian idea that every experience takes place within a particular framework of reference (Husserl, 2012).…”