Consciousness and the world

Consciousness and the world

Almost from the outset of Western thought we have distinguished between our experience and the world, between the subjective and the objective, between consciousness and material reality. Yet, the connection remains profoundly puzzling. We have sought solutions - from modern day materialists and neuroscientists who argue the self is an illusion, to philosophical idealists who claimed everything is subjective, to the mind/body dualism of Descartes.Yet, none have managed a credible solution to the mystery of consciousness and its relationship to an external reality.

Might the very distinction between subject and object, conscious experience and the world, be the mistake? Can we formulate a new conceptual framework that might enable us to escape the puzzle? Or will advances in neuroscience and AI enable us find an answer to a puzzle that has dogged us for millennia?

The Panel

Post-postmodern philosopher and renowned critic of philosophical realism Hilary Lawson, author of the NYT Bestseller '‘Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind’ Annaka Harris, Iranian philosopher and the author of 'Intelligence and Spirit' Reza Negarestani, and computer scientist, researcher, and proponent of "metaphysical idealism" Bernardo Kastrup debate Consciousness and the World. Mary-Jane Rubenstein hosts.

I often think about this and I tend to think the universe, us included, is an entire unit that functions as an entire unit but in order to function at all, many of its parts need to be self-governing.  Consciousness achieves this by polarizing everything - creating a kind of organic binary, wherein it sees itself as separate from the rest of the universe and behaves accordingly.

I often think about this and I tend to think the universe, us included, is an entire unit that functions as an entire unit but in order to function at all, many of its parts need to be self-governing.  Consciousness achieves this by polarizing everything - creating a kind of organic binary, wherein it sees itself as separate from the rest of the universe and behaves accordingly.

Who knows. Even if we only take a physicalist perspective, reality is so absurd and there's so many wild ideas that already exist and are taken seriously. And that's without throwing consciousness into the mix.

Who knows. Even if we only take a physicalist perspective, reality is so absurd and there's so many wild ideas that already exist and are taken seriously. And that's without throwing consciousness into the mix.

Absolutely!  I try to think from many perspectives and they all come out as absurd at some stage.