Stuart Hameroff explains his groundbreaking work with Roger Penrose, and what it illuminates about panpsychism, the origins of life, psychedelics, and the viability of a soul which can exist beyond the grave.
With a free trial, you can watch Stuart deliver a full lecture on his work at
For decades, physicists have explored the idea that consciousness causes the collapse of the wavefunction— the moment quantum particles cease being in strange superpositions of states. Esteemed anesthesiologist Stuart Hameroff, following his collaboration with Roger Penrose, proposes a different story: consciousness is the collapse itself. Hameroff discusses compelling experimental evidence suggesting the process occurs within microtubules in the brain. He also explores the non-computable nature of consciousness, the connections between his research and his spirituality, as well as insights into his research relating to psychedelics.
#consciousness #quantummechanics #quantum
Stuart Hameroff is a Professor of Psychology and Anesthesiology, and Director of the Center for Consciousness Studies at The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. Interviewed by Ricky Williamson.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today!
00:00 Introduction
00:15 What makes your theory of consciousness the
best one around?
01:35 Is consciousness noncomputational?
05:22 Is the objective reduction the superposition collapse
from the subject’s side?
07:17 Is the platonic form consciousness?
07:58 How do spirituality and science mix?
13:00 How can you test this theory when consciousness is
famously unobservable?
15:12 Is consciousness a driving force in creating human life?
19:33 What would you say to people who ask for proof?
22:40 Can you explain the psychedelic rings on the asteroid?
23:32 Can the psychedelic experience be explained
by quantum collapses?
24:55 Have you done psychedelics, and how has that
informed your thinking?
25:58 How have your theories changed the way you see the world?
For debates and talks:
For articles:
For courses:
The Institute of Art and Ideas
source
