"Dan writes for us surfers, though his concepts will be understood and debated by existential philosophers."
Pierce Flynn, Ph.D
"I think the greatest minds are those who can draw the broadest analogies and metaphors between apparently unrelated stuff. In fact, it is pretty amazing that the mind is capable of such things! In this regard, Surfism is a veritable tour de force!"
Steven Lehar, Ph.D
Surfism is a philosophy that views existence in terms that correspond to surfing. Portrayed metaphorically as a breaking wave, the mind emerges from the confluence of spatial and temporal relations. The link between reason and perception is represented by the surfboard responding to the wave as the wave responds to the reef.
The relationship between the wave and the reef represents perception, where the mind apprehends its surroundings.
The relationship between the surfboard and the wave represents reason, where the mind determines how to engage those surroundings.
These spatio-temporal relations provide the structure for a model of the
mind, depicting the cognitive processes that influence what we 'make' of reality.
In this video, renowned surfboard shaper, Greg Webber, describes the extraordinary connection he feels when riding a surfboard of his own design. The surfboard shaper's ability to invoke the link between spatial and temporal relations validates the surfing metaphor as a tool for visualising the spatio-temporal structure of experience.
Dan Webber is one of the six Webber Bros, an Australian family of surfers, sculptors, film makers and designers, who have been making surfboards since the 1970s. Today, Webber Surfboards are known throughout the surfing world, with a reputation built on high performance, innovative designs. Dan is also part of the team that developed the Webber Wave Pool, a visionary enterprise reflecting the family’s avant-garde values and uncompromising creativity.
