Bernardo Kastrup vs. Susan Blackmore: Idealism Meets Illusionism

Susan Blackmore, a psychologist known for her work on consciousness, joins former computer scientist turned philosopher Bernardo Kastrup to examine the illusionist view of consciousness. They debate materialism, idealism, and phenomena such as telepathy, psi, and near-death experiences, exploring how mindfulness and dissociative boundaries shape our understanding.

- 00:00:00 - Introduction
- 00:05:04 - Illusionism is misunderstood
- 00:07:40 - Who is the "illusion" happening to?
- 00:09:20 - Bernardo's disagreements with illusionists
- 00:19:35 - Materialism doesn't work
- 00:28:21 - Mindfulness and mind-altering experiences aid the philosophy?
- 00:30:34 - Why aren't you a panspsychist?
- 00:38:27 - The regularity of the laws of nature in Idealism
- 00:49:45 - The simplest understanding of a "dissociative boundary"
- 00:54:57 - Telepathy in Idealism and in science
- 01:06:21 - The "self"
- 01:15:04 - Psi phenomenon (NDEs, Precognition, ...)
- 01:17:32 - What would convince you to believe the opposite of what you think?
- 01:21:44 - Bernardo witnessed the miraculous (personal story)

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RESOURCES:

- Daniel Dennett - "Consciousness Explained": https://amzn.to/3Nxz2Pa
- Susan Blackmore - "The Meme Machine": https://amzn.to/3oYdthy
- Susan Blackmore - "Conversations on Consciousness": https://amzn.to/448ohIR
- Schooler - "Dissociations Between Awareness and Meta-Awareness": https://labs.psych.ucsb.edu/schooler/jonathan/sites/labs.psych.ucsb.edu.schooler.jonathan/files/pubs/1-s2.0-s1364661302019496-main.pdf
- William James - "The Principles of Psychology": https://amzn.to/443nmcA
- Richard Feynman - "QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter": https://amzn.to/3Pg8W4I

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal features long-form, technically detailed interviews with leading researchers in physics, mathematics, consciousness, and philosophy, exploring topics at the level of active research. For academics, graduate students, and anyone seeking depth beyond popular science.

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