Exploring Idealism: Books and Interviews on Consciousness and Reality

Live the questions now. Maybe in the future, gradually, without noticing, one day away, you will live the answers.

—Rainer Maria Rilke, ‘Be Patient’

I am a huge fan of the philosopher Bernardo Kastrup.
His stance is that the world as we perceive it is not made of solid material ‘stuff’ existing out there whilst we reside inside our heads, a product of neurological activity.

Instead, we and everything we experience are part of a fundamental, universal consciousness. In philosophy, this theory is known as idealism.

Each individual consciousness is a ‘dissociated’ localised formation within that flow, analogous to a whirlpool in a stream.
The brain doesn’t generate mind in the same way that a whirlpool doesn’t generate water.
It is the brain that is in mind, not mind in the brain.

Idealism is not just some hippy-dippy philosophical thought experiment. It is becoming a more and more popular belief amongst serious academics and physicists and neuroscientists (not to mention contemplatives).

If you want to know more about this topic I can highly recommend the following book (or you can tackle the video interview at the bottom of this post.)

Why Materialism is Baloney.

There are now two new books covering or adjacent to this topic that I can also recommend.

Federico Faggio is a physicist (he was the original inventor of the microprocessor). In this book (which I have only just started reading) he looks at the origins of consciousness and its relationship to quantum science artificial intelligence and spiritual contemplation. Like Bernardo, he believes consciousness to be an irreducible property of matter, energy, space and time.

Irreducible.

Christof Koch is a neuroscientist who has worked most of his life searching for the neural correlates of consciousness.

More recently he has been working on integrated-information theory (IIT)
In this book he delivers a summary of IIT as well as exploring his own transformative ‘mystical’ experiences. He discusses the roles of meditation, psychedelics and near death experiences in better understanding reality.

Then I am myself the world. .

And if you really want to dive into the deep end of the pool. I would say this massive two volume masterpiece covering ‘life the universe and everything’ is well worth your efforts. It is a big commitment. Think war and peace.

I rate ‘The Matter With Things’ in the top 3 books I have ever read.

…

Video: interview with Bernardo Kastrup.

Ian Miller

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3 responses to “Exploring Idealism: Books and Interviews on Consciousness and Reality”

  1. Tony C Avatar
    Tony C

    I’m also a huge fan of Kastrup, possibly even a fan boy (at 67). I’ve read four of his books and just ordered ‘Why materialism is baloney’ which I plan to review for my site. He helped me convert from militant materialism to Idealism. I also recommend Donald Hoffman, whose theories intersect a lot with Bernardo. I will be reviewing Donald’s book in a few days.

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    1. Ian Miller Avatar
      Ian Miller

      Thanks Tony. Yup me too. I think Bernardo and Donalds ideas converge on many aspects.
      But Mr Kastrup will be looked back on as a paradigm shifter on the topics of consciousness and reality.
      I would also recommend tackling the HUGE read of “the matter with things” by Iain McGilchrest. This is probably the most important book written this decade IMHO.

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      1. Tony C Avatar
        Tony C

        Yep, I’m right with you on Mr G. I have been tempted to get his books but have digested plenty of his videos. Bernardo introduced me to more polished gems like him. I’d also recommend Patrick Harpur. He’s done a few interviews with Patrick on the notion of a daimonic reality. I’ve got two of his books and reviewed his novel on my site. BK also has a book on the daimon coming out soon.

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