Comparing the Long-Term Evolution of ``Cognitive Invariances' in Physics with a Dynamics in States of Consciousness

It is shown that the evolution of physics canin several regards be described by elements of``regression', i.e., that within a certaintradition of ideas one begins with theconstruction of most ``plausible' statements(axioms) at hand, and then ``works onselfbackwards' with respect to developmental terms.As a consequence of this strategy, the furtherwork proceeds along such a ``regressive' path,the more one arrives at concepts andrelationships which are unexpected or evencounter-intuitive in terms of our everydayexperiences. However, a comparable phenomenology is wellknown from studies on states of consciousness.In particular, the evolutionary logic of theconstructions of major ``cognitive invariances'in physics, which is in part due to everincreasing rates of data processing, ismirrored in a logic of states of consciousnesswhich deviate from a ``normal' state of dailyroutine along increasing levels of centralnervous arousal. Examples are given from the evolution ofphysics, and future perspectives are brieflyoutlined on the basis thereof.