Is There a World Beyond Individual Minds?

This week my guest is Bernardo Kastrup, who has an impressive background of working for CERN, the world’s largest and most advanced particle physics laboratory, has written 10 books, and holds a PhD in both computer engineering and philosophy.

During these years of honing his unique expertise, Bernardo developed his ideas of analytical idealism, building on the philosophy of metaphysical idealism. In the simplest terms I can explain it, Bernardo basically believes that there is no physical world, but rather that all of existence is experiential, a mental construct given form through our perceptions. We explore this idea in much more detail in the first half of this episode, and for the second half we discuss the implications of this worldview on innovation, technology, and culture. This includes exploring why Bernardo believes it’s impossible for an artificial intelligence to ever gain consciousness.

While Bernardo does a fantastic job explaining his ideas, I’ll warn listeners now that at times this is a very philosophical and potentially challenging conversation, as it demands questioning our foundational awareness of reality and consciousness. But for those who are interested in the topic, it is rich with thought-provoking ideas. 

Learn more about Bernardo and his work at essentiafoundation.org or bernardokastrup.com

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Host: Steven Parton - LinkedIn / Twitter

Music by: Amine el Filali