Adventures in Awareness Bernardo Kastrup: The Case for Idealism (Lecture 2 of 2)
Oct 14, 2024
Bernardo Kastrup, a philosopher and computer engineer with dual PhDs, dives deep into metaphysical idealism, asserting that reality is fundamentally mental. He critiques materialism and emphasizes consciousness as essential to understanding existence. The conversation explores how our experiences shape perception, the interplay between consciousness and matter, and the nature of fear. Kastrup also discusses the illusion of free will, suggesting that individual identities are interconnected with a universal consciousness. His insights prompt profound reflections on existence itself.
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Start From Experience Not Matter
- Experience is the one undeniable given; any theory must start there.
- From experience we infer an experiencer, making consciousness fundamental, not matter.
Experience As Excitation Of One Subject
- Experiences are excitations of the experiencer, like ripples in water or a dance of the dancer.
- Postulating a separate experiencer and experience creates unnecessary interaction problems.
Brain Function As Extrinsic Appearance
- Brain activity is the extrinsic appearance of a subject's inner life when observed from another perspective.
- Intrinsic and extrinsic perspectives are both experiential but differ by viewpoint.