Donald Hoffman and John Vervaeke: Is Reality Made of Consciousness?

Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal

Curt Jaimungal

Physics, Philosophy, Society & Culture, Science

4.6 • 606 Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2022

⏱️ 133 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Donald Hoffman and John Vervaeke explore infinity, non‑dualism, the ego, and the nature of reality, debating whether spacetime is fundamental and how consciousness relates to physics. The conversation weaves philosophy, mathematics, and personal experience, challenging conventional views of truth and meaning.- 00:00:00 - Introduction- 00:03:10 - Zen, intelligibility, and Neoplatonism- 00:05:26 - Physics and consciousness- 00:07:16 - Spacetime and Nima Arkani Hamed- 00:09:34 - Impactful aspects of each other's work- 00:14:27 - Meaning of "fundamental"- 00:22:08 - Reality vs. Fundamentality- 00:25:07 - Gödel's incompleteness NOT about TOEs- 00:35:49 - Science predicts its own demise- 00:46:00 - Psychosis, derealization, and terror of TOEs- 01:08:04 - Morality and "the ego"- 01:08:04 - Infinity and "the one"- 01:28:47 - Coleman Mandula theorem- 01:31:59 - Debate: Spacetime is real vs. unreal- 01:52:03 - Reality, evolution and infinity- 02:08:35 - Truth, misframing, and loveSPONSORS:- Brilliant: 20% off at https://brilliant.org/TOE - Masterworks: promo code TOE at https://www.masterworks.com - Shopify: free trial at https://www.shopify.com/theories RESOURCES:- YouTube link: https://youtu.be/EwTpdCVsttI - *New* TOE Website (early access to episodes): https://theoriesofeverything.org/ - Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal - Crypto: https://tinyurl.com/cryptoTOE - PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/paypalTOE - Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt - Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs - iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/better-left-unsaid-with-curt-jaimungal/id1521758802 - Pandora: https://pdora.co/33b9lfP - Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4gL14b92xAErofYQA7bU4e - Subreddit r/TheoriesOfEverything: https://reddit.com/r/theoriesofeverything - Important TOE ep: Lilian Dindo: https://youtu.be/L_hI7JNsbt0 - Important TOE ep: Karl Friston (Part 2): https://youtu.be/SWtFU1Lit3M - The Meaning Crisis: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLND1JCRq8Vuh3f0P5qjrSdb5eC1ZfZwWJ - Donald Hoffman theolocution w/ Joscha Bach: https://youtu.be/bhSlYfVtgww - John Vervaeke theolocution w/ Joscha Bach: https://youtu.be/rK7ux_JhHM4 - John Vervaeke theolocution w/ Bernardo Kastrup: https://youtu.be/zw6BFDJ765w - John Vervaeke solo TOE podcast: https://youtu.be/3p8o3-7mvQc - Donald Hoffman solo TOE podcast: https://youtu.be/CmieNQH7Q4w 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. SPONSOR: I personally subscribe to The Economist. TOE listeners get 35% off the annual subscription. No other podcast has this! https://economist.com/TOE FOLLOW: Substack | Spotify | YouTube | Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	So the bigger question for me is if I am and you are this unlimited intelligence that transcends concepts,
0:10.0	why does that unlimited intelligence engage in using concepts? For me, that's the big question.
0:18.0	This is the, well first of all, you're in good company.
0:22.2	This is an ancient problem.
0:23.8	This is why does the one become many.
0:28.2	If you're intrigued by the nature of consciousness, its origins, and how it may relate to physics,
0:33.1	meaning, and purpose, then this conversation is a dream team.
0:36.4	John Verviki is an award-winning lecturer at the
0:38.7	University of Toronto and a professor of cognitive science, Buddhism, and psychology. With wide-reaching
0:44.1	research, advancing an argument that explains the mindfulness revolution, as well as the current
0:49.0	meaning crisis. His lecture series, The Meaning Crisis, is on YouTube and is exquisite. I highly recommend it if you'd like to see one of the brilliant minds of our generation sharing his process of universal interpretation.
1:01.0	Links as usual to every reference in this podcast or in the description.
1:05.0	Donald Hoffman is a professor of cognitive science at UC Irvine and is the author of the case against reality. Don argues that
1:11.7	reality is not what you see. Instead, it's an interface of icons. Hoffman has appeared on Ted, co-authored
1:18.1	over 100 scientific articles, and is back along with John Vervaki. Don's previous appearance on
1:23.7	theories of everything, this podcast, where we go over the mathematical details of his
1:27.6	conscious agent theory, is in the description, as well as the other podcasts with him,
1:31.9	with Don Hoffman and Yoshabakh. And also John Verveke has appeared with Yoshabakh. John has also
1:36.9	appeared with Bernardo Castro, as well as solo. Every episode is linked in the description.
1:41.1	Note that around the 30, 35 minute mark, you'll hear two sponsors,
1:45.4	Shopify and Masterworks. They're brief, and I request that you don't skip as watching them directly
1:51.1	contributes to this channel having more quality, in-depth technical podcasts, and we select sponsors
	...

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