Bernardo Kastrup

Bernardo Kastrup
Born
Bernardo Kastrup

(1974-10-21) October 21, 1974 (age 50)
Niterói, Rio de Janeiro (state), Brazil
NationalityDutch
Education
Occupation(s)Philosopher, Scientist, Author
Known forAnalytic Idealism
Websitewww.bernardokastrup.com

Bernardo Kastrup (born October 21, 1974) is a Dutch philosopher and computer scientist best known for his work in the field of consciousness studies, particularly his development of analytic idealism, a form of metaphysical idealism grounded in the analytic philosophical tradition. He has written several books and papers arguing against physicalism and proposing that consciousness is the fundamental aspect of reality. Kastrup is the executive director of Essentia Foundation, which curates and publishes "the latest analytic and scientific indications that metaphysical materialism is fundamentally flawed."[1]

Early life and education

Kastrup was born in Niterói,[2] in Rio de Janeiro (state), Brazil, and later moved to Switzerland, but currently lives in the Netherlands.

Kastrup graduated in electronic engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1997.[2] He received his Ph.D. in Computer Engineering with the thesis Automatic synthesis of reconfigurable instruction set accelerators from the Eindhoven University of Technology, where his research focused on reconfigurable computing and artificial intelligence.

He earned his second Ph.D. in Philosophy from Radboud University Nijmegen, with his research focused on philosophy of mind and ontology. His doctoral dissertation was Analytic Idealism: A consciousness-only ontology,[3] which articulated the metaphysical position he would continue to develop and for which he would soon become most widely known.[citation needed]

Career

Kastrup began his career in academia and technological research, contributing to areas such as artificial intelligence and information security. As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the Philips Research Laboratories, and as a technology strategist for ASML Holding. He co-founded parallel processor company Silicon Hive, which was acquired by Intel in 2011.[citation needed]

Kastrup later shifted the focus of his research to philosophy and has become a prominent voice in metaphysics and the debate over the nature of consciousness. With support from David Chalmers and funding from New York University's, Kastrup gave his first workshop on idealism in Shanghai in 2017.[citation needed]

Since the publication of his dissertation, Kastrup has continued to advance and popularize his theory.[4][5] He has written for numerous publications, including Scientific American,[6] where his articles critique physicalist interpretations of consciousness and offer an idealist alternative.[7] Kastrup is also a prolific author, with several books that explore consciousness and reality from the perspective of analytic idealism. His most popular books include Why Materialism is Baloney, The Idea of the World, and Decoding Jung’s Metaphysics.[citation needed]

Philosophical work

Kastrup is best known for the development of analytic idealism, a metaphysical and ontological framework that posits phenomenal consciousness is the fundamental "reduction base" of reality as a whole, and that individual minds are dissociations of the monist universal mind.[8][9][10]

Kastrup has engaged in a number of public debates with prominent figures in both science and philosophy, including neuroscientist Christof Koch, philosopher Graham Oppy, lecturer/writer Susan Blackmore, cognitive scientist Donald D. Hoffman, philosopher Philip Goff, and physicist and science educator Sabine Hossenfelder.[11][12][13][14] These debates have sometimes been adversarial and incited controversy.[15]

Selected published works

Some of Kastrup's notable works include:

  • —— (2011). Rationalist Spirituality: An Exploration of the Meaning of Life and Existence Informed by Logic and Science. Winchester, UK: IFF Books. ISBN 9781846947353.
  • —— (2014). Why Materialism Is Baloney: How True Skeptics Know There is No Death and Fathom Answers to Life, the Universe, and Everything. Collective Ink. ISBN 9781782793618.
  • —— (2016). More Than Allegory: On Religious Myth, Truth, and Belief. Winchester, UK: IFF Books. ISBN 9781785352874.
  • —— (2019). The Idea of the World: A Multi-Disciplinary Argument for the Mental Nature of Reality. Winchester, UK: IFF Books. ISBN 9781785357398.[16]
  • —— (2021). Decoding Jung's Metaphysics: The Archetypal Semantics of an Experiential Universe. Winchester, UK: IFF Books. ISBN 9781789045659.[17]

Published books

  • (2011) Meaning in Absurdity. Publisher: Iff Books.
  • (2011) Dreamed up Reality. Publisher: IFF Books.
  • (2011) Rationalist Sprituality. Publisher: Iff Books.
  • (2014) Why Materialism Is Balony. Publisher: Iff Books.
  • (2015) Brief Peek Beyond. Publisher: Iff Books.
  • (2016) More Than Allegory. Publisher: Iff Books.
  • (2019) The Idea of the World. Publisher: Iff Books.
  • (2020) Decoding Schopenhauer’s Metaphysics. Publisher: Iff Books.
  • (2021) Science Ideated. Publisher: Iff Books.
  • (2021) Decoding Jung’s Metaphysics. Publisher: Iff Books.
  • (2024) Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell. Publisher: Iff Books.

Personal life

Kastrup lives in the Netherlands and continues to write and lecture on philosophy, consciousness, and the nature of reality.

See also

References

  1. ^ "About Essentia". Essentia Foundation. Archived from the original on August 10, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Kastrup, B. (2001). Automatic synthesis of reconfigurable instruction set accelerators (Phd Thesis 2 (Research NOT TU/e / Graduation TU/e) thesis). Eindhoven: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. p. 129 (Curriculum Vitae).
  3. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo (2019). Analytic Idealism: A consciousness-only ontology (Thesis). Radboud University Nijmegen. ISBN 978-94-028-1400-2.
  4. ^ Christian, Jon (March 25, 2019). "Physicists Are Starting to Suspect Physical Reality Is an Illusion". Futurism. The Byte.
  5. ^ Bilderbeck, Poppy (October 30, 2023). "Scientist claims humans have no free will". Unilad.
  6. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo. "Author: Bernardo Kastrup". Scientific American. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  7. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo (March 2019). "Physics Is Pointing Inexorably to Mind". Scientific American. 2 (3): None. doi:10.1038/scientificamericanspace0619-34. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  8. ^ Davies, Alan (April 9, 2024). "The mysteries of near-death experiences". Letters. The Guardian. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  9. ^ Tizzard, David A. (May 4, 2024). "Bernado Kastrup and Korea's search for meaning". The Korea Times.
  10. ^ Berman, Robby (June 27, 2018). "Are we all multiple personalities of universal consciousness?". Big Think. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  11. ^ Goff, Philip (July 8, 2020). "Response to Bernardo Kastrup". Conscience and Consciousness. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  12. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo (February 9, 2022). "The fantasy behind Sabine Hossenfelder's superdeterminism". Essentia Foundation. Archived from the original on September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  13. ^ Jaimungal, Curt (February 25, 2022). Bernardo Kastrup vs. Sabine Hossenfelder: Superdeterminism. Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal. Archived from the original on August 3, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024 – via Youtube.
  14. ^ "Bernardo Kastrup Argues for a Universal Mind as a Reasonable Idea". Mind Matters. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  15. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo. "Some of my best adversarial debates, as captured in video". Bernardo Kastrup. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.[self-published source]
  16. ^ Bazaluk, O. A. (December 18, 2018). "The Ontology of Existence: The Next Paradigm. A Review of the Book "The Idea of the World: A Multi-Disciplinary Argument for the Mental Nature of Reality", by Bernardo Kastrup". Anthropological Measurements of Philosophical Research (14): 180–183. doi:10.15802/ampr.v0i14.151745. ISSN 2304-9685. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  17. ^ Heyning, Eduard C. (October 2, 2021). "Decoding Jung's Metaphysics: The Archetypal Semantics of an Experiential Universe. (2021). By Bernardo Kastrup. IFF Books". Psychological Perspectives. 64 (4): 593–595. doi:10.1080/00332925.2021.2044186. ISSN 0033-2925. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.