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The amazing parallels between the Kabbalah and physics

Posted on 2024-04-072024-04-07 by Natalia Vorontsova, MA

The amazing parallels between the Kabbalah and physics

Seeing | Metaphysics | 2024-04-07

Natalia Vorontsova, MA

Prof. Hyman M. Schipper, MD, PhD, FRCPC

In this interview, Natalia Vorontsova discusses consciousness and science from the perspective of Kabbalistic Panpsychism with Prof. Dr. Hyman Schipper. The parallels between quantum physics and the ancient Kabbalah are astonishing. Having studied the Kabbalah for many years, Dr Schipper also explains how this knowledge is applicable to many areas of thought and how it has impacted his life. It’s a frank and heart-warming conversation. You can view this video directly on YouTube as well.

Going beyond Einstein: Linking time and consciousness

Posted on 2024-03-242024-03-24 by Prof. Paul Davies, PhD

Going beyond Einstein: Linking time and consciousness

Seeing | Physics | 2024-03-24

Prof. Paul Davies, PhD

Julia Mossbridge, PhD

Marc Wittmann, PhD

Alex Gomez-Marin, PhD

Here is day 2 of Essentia Foundation’s Time and Mind conference, our scientific discussion of the profound mystery of the passage of time and how it relates to consciousness. Many physicists maintain that the passage of time is purely a feature of mind, beyond physics itself, while others argue that it points to some new physical paradigm, perhaps associated with the marriage of relativity theory and quantum theory. Certainly, the status of time in any final theory of physics remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that a theory that encompasses time and mind will have to go beyond Einstein’s Block Universe.

The possibility that physics may eventually accommodate and elucidate the nature of consciousness and associated experience suggests the need to address issues that are currently viewed as being on the borders of physics and philosophy. It also impinges on developments in neurophysics, cognitive science and psychology. So this is an interdisciplinary problem and this conference brings together experts in all the relevant fields. There are contributions from the physicists Bernard Carr, Paul Davies, George Ellis and Lee Smolin, the neurophysicist Alex Gomez-Marin, the cognitive neuroscientist Julia Mossbridge, and the psychologists Jonathan Schooler and Marc Wittmann.

Although the conference is organized by Essentia Foundation—which is associated with the philosophical tradition of Idealism—it covered a wide range of approaches. Our vision is to cover topics that are relevant to Idealism, but not to exclude alternative views from the conference.

Time & Mind: Finding a theory that closes the gap (2023 work conference, day one)

Posted on 2024-02-112024-02-12 by Prof. Bernard Carr, PhD

Time & Mind: Finding a theory that closes the gap (2023 work conference, day one)

Seeing | Physics | 2024-02-11

Prof. Bernard Carr, PhD

Prof. Lee Smolin, PhD

Prof. George Ellis, PhD

Prof. Jonathan Schooler, PhD

This video contains all the presentations and debates of day one of Essentia Foundation’s 2023 work conference, on the topic of time and mind. Speakers include Prof. Bernard Carr, Prof. Lee Smolin, Prof. George Ellis, and Prof. Jonathan Schooler.

The role of time in mainstream physics—as it arises in Newtonian theory, relativity theory, quantum theory, and the 2nd law of thermodynamics—is relatively well understood. However, there is a profound mystery concerning the passage of time associated with consciousness. Many physicists maintain that this passage is purely a feature of mind, going beyond physics itself, while others argue that it points to some new physical paradigm, perhaps associated with the marriage of relativity theory and quantum theory. Certainly, the status of time in any final theory of physics remains unclear.

It’s Time for Mindful physics! An introduction to the Time and Mind conference

Posted on 2024-01-142024-01-14 by Prof. Bernard Carr, PhD

It’s Time for Mindful physics! An introduction to the Time and Mind conference

Seeing | Physics

Prof. Bernard Carr, PhD | 2024-01-14

We begin our coverage of Essentia Foundation’s 2023 work conference with host, Prof. Bernard Carr’s introduction to the conference. He highlights how fundamental mind is to physics, and then elaborates on the intimate relationship between mind and time, suggesting that only a better understanding of time will allow us to make sense of individual minds. The full program of the conference can be found here.

Higher dimensions of consciousness

Posted on 2023-12-31 by Natalia Vorontsova, MA

Higher dimensions of consciousness

Seeing | Cosmology | 2023-12-31

Natalia Vorontsova, MA

Prof. Bernard Carr, PhD

Our brains do not produce consciousness, they ‘filter’ it and consciousness is related to the higher dimensions in string theory. In this thought-provoking conversation, distinguished Professor of mathematics and astronomy Bernard Carr explains his theory of consciousness and psi-phenomena. Happy new year from all of us at Essentia Foundation!

In this final video of 2023, Natalia Vorontsova interviews Bernard Carr, emeritus professor of mathematics and astronomy at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), about how physics can accommodate consciousness. Carr started his career as a pupil and close friend of Stephen Hawking and has combined a distinguished career in cosmology with a serious interest in consciousness research and psi-phenomena like telepathy, out-of-body experiences and precognition. Long before it became an acceptable idea amongst physicists, Carr became convinced that a unifying theory of physics should accommodate consciousness. From his work in Brane cosmology—a branch of cosmology that builds on the higher dimensions of string theory and M-theory—Carr argues that it is completely reasonable to argue that consciousness relates to a higher dimension from which spacetime emerges. If so, his theory is highly compatible with objective idealism and paves the way for a future physics that can make sense of the qualities of experience.

In this long conversation, Carr not only shares his views on psi-phenomena, consciousness and Brane cosmology, he also touches on the specious present: the shortest time span of immediate consciousness. For humans, under normal mental conditions, the specious present is around one tenth of a second. According to Carr, the concept of the specious present could account for the fact that separate, localized forms of consciousnesses experience the same world. Also, the specious present opens the idea of levels of consciousness with a much expanded or contracted specious present, which could account for well-documented cases in which people experience the slowing down of time, or the extreme speeding up of time. Could it be that, to the universe as a whole—say, the universal Mind—billions of years pass in the blink of an eye?

As 2023 comes to an end, Prof. Carr’s insightful views on the passage of time might be a nice way to look back and celebrate what is to come. Whatever 2024 holds in store for us, wonderfully enough, we find ourselves in exactly the same specious present, which makes it possible to consciously interact within an objective world that most probably is Mind.

UAPs, NDEs, and foundations of physics: it all makes sense under Idealism

Posted on 2023-12-10 by Hans Busstra

UAPs, NDEs, and foundations of physics: it all makes sense under Idealism

Seeing | Philosophy | 2023-12-10

Hans Busstra

Bernardo Kastrup, PhD, PhD

Only a form of objective idealism can account for UAPs, NDEs, and the latest discoveries in foundations of physics and the neuroscience of consciousness, while remaining consistent with the whole of science and rational inquiry. Learn more in this discussion between Hans Busstra and Bernardo Kastrup.

Analytic Idealism is the new worldview that can make sense of anomalous phenomena—whether it is NDE’s, altered mental states or UAP’s—whilst remaining 100% compatible with our current understanding of physics.

In this video Hans Busstra discusses questions from viewers of our channel with Bernardo Kastrup (director of the Essentia Foundation).

Physicalism offered an equilibrium for around two hundred years. But if one closely looks in the fields of neuroscience, physics and philosophy, anomalies are piling up. The only way to still entertain the idea that physicalism can make sense of unexplainable empirical phenomena—ranging from loophole-free Bell inequality tests, to altered mental states, to undeniable new evidence around Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP’s)—is to literally ‘don’t look up,’ to paraphrase the hilarious Netflix film that actually was a painfully accurate cultural critique of our times.

In this Q&A Hans Busstra and Bernardo Kastrup discuss questions coming in around anomalies in the fields of NDE’s, UAP’s and fundamental physics. Though analytic idealism can’t offer clear-cut answers to most of these questions, it can—and this is a crucial difference with physicalism—in principle build testable theories around these phenomena. For instance, if nature consists of mental states, it is not unthinkable that when dissociative processes weaken—for instance, during NDE’s—that people can experience other people’s experiences. And if UAP’s in some cases seem to present themselves as mental phenomena, under idealism it doesn’t follow that they are imaginary.

If we want to continue the scientific endeavour of accurately describing and predicting the behaviour of nature, we need to ‘look up’ under all circumstances; analytic idealism offers us a new telescope to do so confidently. Our YouTube channel is the place where we look through the telescope playfully, allowing ourselves to be troubled as well as excited: a revolutionary shift in science seems ahead and we want to report it to you from the forefront.

Does the Renaissance have roots in Islamic philosophy?

Posted on 2023-11-19 by Natalia Vorontsova, MA

Does the Renaissance have roots in Islamic philosophy?

Seeing | History of Philosophy | 2023-11-19

Natalia Vorontsova, MA

Prof. Peter Adamson, PhD

Natalia Vorontsova interviews Prof. Peter Adamson about the importance of Islamic philosophy for Western thought. Although little known in the West, philosophers such as Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) and Ibn Rushd (Averroes) played an absolutely crucial role in preserving, building on, and transmitting to the West the wisdom of Aristotle, Plato, and the Neoplatonists during the Middle Ages. Similarly, Suhrawardī’s Philosophy of Illumination and Ibn Arabī’s doctrine of the Unity of Being continue to influence Western thought to this day. If we want to understand the history of European philosophy, we cannot ignore these influential scholars and sages. You can also view the interview directly on YouTube.

God’s dark side: A review of Jung’s ‘Answer to Job’

Posted on 2023-10-292023-11-09 by Hans Busstra

God’s dark side: A review of Jung’s ‘Answer to Job’

Seeing | Depth Psychology

Hans Busstra | 2023-10-29

As part of our book club on YouTube, Hans Busstra has made a book review of ‘Answer to Job’ by Carl Gustav Jung. Regarded by Jung as his most important work, Answer to Job is a tour de force in which classical Christian doctrine is turned upside down: Jung argued that the incarnation of Christ was not to redeem humanity for its sins against God, but to redeem God for his sin against Job. In the Book of Job it became clear to Jung that Yahweh, though omniscient, had not consulted his own omniscience, remaining ‘unconscious’ of a dark side within himself—i.e. his fallen son Satan. In the language of analytic idealism: mind at large is not meta-cognitive. In almost all of Christian theology the Book of Job is analyzed as an example of God’s mysterious ways, his unfathomable masterplan for the universe. Ergo, Job suffers purposefully, but will never be able to grasp the higher divine reason of his suffering. Yet, Jung concluded exactly the opposite: Yahweh does not have a full picture, he is an amoral force of nature ‘that cannot see its own back.’ Job is morally superior to Yahweh as he does see the inner antinomy within Yahweh. According to Jung, if held up to his own standards, Yahweh had sinned against Job, and Job subtly confronted Yahweh with this fact. This made the incarnation of Christ not a story about the redemption of humanity for its sins against God, but a redemption of God for his sin against Job. To Hans Busstra, who has a Christian background, this ‘blasphemous’ analysis of Jung made a deep impact, in a positive sense. Though it is highly unlikely that the Church will ever accept Jung’s reading, the new depth he saw in Christian mythology makes the tradition urgently relevant again for this day and age. Nature, God, Mind at Large becomes meta-cognitive through us, and this makes the human experience of crucial importance in our universe. You can watch this video also directly on YouTube.

The heart and the mind: Our founding story

Posted on 2023-10-082023-10-15 by Hans Busstra

The heart and the mind: Our founding story

Seeing | Philosophy

Hans Busstra | 2023-10-08

The Essentia Foundation’s origin story is the story of Dutch entrepreneur and humanitarian Fred Matser meeting philosopher Bernardo Kastrup. In this video, Hans Busstra narrates how the meeting of these two men stands for the connection between heart and mind. For Fred Matser, embracing the worldview of idealism has always been a journey of the heart: through profound transcendent experience he came to the insight that reality is fundamentally mental and unitary. When Fred met Bernardo Kastrup a decade ago, he immediately recognized that Bernardo had exactly the same worldview, but had arrived at it from the other direction: via the mind. He convinced Bernardo Kastrup to quit a flourishing career in high-tech to lead the Essentia Foundation. The friendship between Fred and Bernardo symbolises what the Essentia Foundation stands for: heart and mind can fully connect, without compromise. Idealism is a worldview that honors human intuition as presented in religious and philosophical traditions worldwide (the heart), as well as human rationality, on which science builds. As the latter is mistakenly associated with materialism, the Essentia Foundation specifically focuses on analytic idealism. It was due to the wisdom of the heart, namely Fred Matser’s insight that the world needs a scientific platform bringing together metaphysical idealists, that the Essentia Foundation was born.

The meaning of life, beyond the false free will vs determinism dichotomy

Posted on 2023-10-01 by Hans Busstra

The meaning of life, beyond the false free will vs determinism dichotomy

Seeing | Philosophy | 2023-10-01

Hans Busstra

Bernardo Kastrup, PhD, PhD

In mainstream culture there is a strong association between free will and the meaning of life in general, and between free will and moral responsibility in particular. It is this assumed connection that makes, for instance, Daniel Dennett argue that it is immoral to tell people they don’t have free will, as this may cause them to act unethically. A couple of weeks ago Bernardo Kastrup, the executive director of the Essentia Foundation, wrote an essay arguing that, under objective idealism, the whole convulsiveness around free will is a meaningless red herring. In his opinion, the free will vs determinism debate misses the point, because fundamentally there is no distinction between nature’s will and what nature is necessitated to do. In other words: what we assume to be free will is, on a universal level, exactly the same as determinism. In this video, Hans Busstra sits down with Bernardo Kastrup to discuss this line of reasoning, while also trying to make it personal: why do we want free will so badly on a psychological level? Why, as a culture, do we usually associate determinism with nihilism and meaninglessness? The conversation covers Laplace’s Demon, computational irreducibility, and works towards Kastrup’s main point: if you can accept that, on a personal level, you don’t have free will, you realize that you are being ‘played’ by a universe that—due to computational irreducibility—cannot ‘see’ where it’s going before it goes. Instead of suffering as an effect of ‘bad’ free will decisions by human agents, suffering becomes part of the inevitable evolution of the universe.