All of the things that we put in the realm of mind, intelligence, intentionality, those things,

according to the Sonia tradition, are part of nature. What is missing that we have in us is pure consciousness.

Dr. Anand Vaidya is a professor of philosophy at San Jose State University, focusing on analytic philosophy, Eastern Vedic

philosophy, artificial intelligence, and consciousness. You can click on the timestamp here to

skip this introduction, though I don't recommend that as I'm going to be giving some context

for this talk. This was recorded at Mindfest at the Florida Atlantic State University, courtesy

of Susan Schneider. Anand's work delves into non-dualism, which is colloquially thought of as the interconnectedness of all things without separation of subject and object. Though there are several different kinds of non-dualism, not all are created equal. For instance, there's what I just mentioned, that is the Advaita approach, that subject and object are the same. Then there's also the mystical approach of union with God. There's the non-negation approach of there's no such thing as up or down or left or right, black or white, good or evil. There's the Edvaya approach to non-dualism, which says that the absolute and relative truths of non-Buddism are the same. And then there's a monism which says that all there is is one vellum. In other words, everything's cut from the same cloth.

Some proponents of non-duuddism are the same. And then there's a monism which says that all there is is one vellum.

In other words, everything's cut from the same cloth. Some proponents of non-dualism hold some, but not the other, and in fact see some as in conflict. Which is why it's imprecise to label oneself as a non-dualist. It's like if you were to say, I study science. Okay, well, which field in science and which subfield within that. Anand argues that Western concepts

often perceive consciousness as intentionally structured, well, which field in science and which subfield within that? Anand argues that Western

concepts often perceive consciousness as intentionally structured, digital, and also full of

qualities. Anand in this talk explores the Advaita Vedanta tradition, which in some ways

asserts the opposite, namely that consciousness is non-dual, its analog, and it's without

qualities. Now, this is interesting because it stands in contrast

with Bernard O'Castrup and Donald Hoffman, who frequently refer to qualities. Anand also extends into

the ethical domain, especially in the context of artificial intelligence. That is, how can an AI

have moral standing? He contrasts this with Jainism, which ties moral standing not to consciousness,

but to sensory capacity. Something you may want to ponder is, well, what the heck is the difference

between sensory capacity and consciousness? Anand made a compelling analogy to me off-air.

He suggested that the way that the East has been marketed, and marketed as an apt word here,

since the 50s or 60s, is about being almost entirely non-dualistic,

akin to how Italy has been reduced to pizza in modern culture. In fact, I think the phrase he said

...