1. The Fluid Dynamic Analogy
In fluid mechanics, the Eulerian perspective analyzes a fixed point in space and examines how the properties of the fluid (e.g., velocity, pressure, vorticity) evolve at that location as the flow passes through it. By contrast, the Lagrangian perspective tracks individual fluid particles along their trajectories, focusing on the identity and evolution of a specific element as it moves.
This dichotomy provides a fertile analogy for contrasting two paradigms of consciousness:
2. Eulerian Consciousness in the Indo-Iranic Worldview
In the Indo-Iranic cosmology, especially through the concept of Ṛta (Sanskrit) or Arta (Avestan), reality is structured by an all-encompassing, lawful order, a kind of cosmic field of intelligence and balance. This law is not merely legalistic or moral, but ontological: it is the very rhythm, logic, and intelligence of existence.
Within this frame:
The individual mind is not an isolated originator of thought or intelligence, but a stationary locus within which the universal consciousness flows.
This aligns with Eulerian framing, in that awareness does not follow the ego or self as a particle, but instead arises at a fixed point in the universal field as consciousness flows through.
In the book Planetary Foresight and Ethics (2025), this is likened to the field-like presence of mind, akin to how ancient seers viewed the human being as a channel or node in the cosmic order—not as a self-contained substance, but as an event of participation in Ṛta.
Thus:
Just as a meteorological station records the changing winds and pressure at a fixed location, the mind records the passing structures of universal intelligence. The structures arise and dissolve, but the field remains.
This view resonates with:
Advaita Vedanta: where Atman is not the isolated self but identical with Brahman, the field-like absolute.
Zarathustrian thought: where the ethical asha/arta is simultaneously cosmic and mental—conscious order is woven into the structure of existence.
3. Lagrangian Consciousness in the Western Individualist Frame
The Western intellectual tradition, particularly after Descartes, has leaned toward a Lagrangian view of the self and mind:
The ego is seen as an individuated center of cognition and volition, moving through time and space.
Consciousness is tethered to identity, tracking the continuity of a subject through various experiences—analogous to following a particular parcel of fluid along its unique path.
In this worldview:
The mind is a container of experience, memories, and agency.
Intelligence is internal and private, and consciousness is a property of the individual.
Western psychology and even many AI theories adopt this Lagrangian logic of self-contained agents acting in a world.
4. Implications for Intelligence and Planetary Ethics
The Eulerian-Arta view carries major implications for how we think of intelligence and ethical agency:
Intelligence is non-local and field-embedded; it emerges not from isolated minds but from the harmonization with the field of cosmic order.
Ethical foresight, then, is not about the linear projection of self-interest or control (Lagrangian planning), but about attuning to the deeper flows—as one would read changing wind patterns to navigate with the current rather than against it.
This underpins the ethical orientation of Planetary Foresight and Ethics: we do not "own" intelligence; we participate in it. Just as a river flows through a landscape, consciousness flows through the mind. The task is not to dominate the flow but to align with its deeper order.
Conclusion: Metaphysical Cartographies
By mapping Eulerian and Lagrangian frames onto Indo-Iranic and Western worldviews, we gain:
A more nuanced philosophical physics of consciousness, linking metaphors across disciplines.
A framework for reconciling individual autonomy (Lagrangian) with planetary belonging and non-dual ethics (Eulerian).
Ultimately, the vision emerging from Indo-Iranic metaphysics—and echoed in Planetary Foresight and Ethics—invites us to imagine intelligence not as a possession, but as a flow, and the mind not as a traveler, but as a witnessing locus within the great current of the Cosmos.
Explore how we might relate whole and fractioned aspects of nature:
- Motti, Victor V. (2025), Planetary foresight and ethics: A vision for humanity’s futures, USA: Washington, D.C., Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
- Kineman, J.J. (2012), R-Theory: A Synthesis of Robert Rosen's Relational Complexity. Syst. Res., 29: 527-538. https://doi.org/10.1002/sres.2156
- Rizvi, S. H. (2009). Mulla Sadra and metaphysics: Modulation of being. Routledge
