New Science on Consciousness and Quantum Physics: Implications for Buddhism

Dakini

First half of film discusses how research in neuroscience explains various phenomena of awareness and consciousness.
Second half discusses quantum physics, and ties it in with consciousness to form a "Theory of Everything".

Ideas relating to Dependent Origination, perceptions of being in the "Now", and other principles that we regard as Buddhist are discussed. Fascinating. Enjoy.

person

Nice video. I remember this guy from when I played World of Warcraft, he has some videos from the game and came across to me as an arrogant gamer type. I'm really surprised at the level of understanding and the clarity of his presentation.

Overall the production value is really high and the visuals and music kept me interested. I liked the first half about the brain more than the second about QM. Mostly I think the QM stuff was over my head. Also his conclusions about the theory of everything were things I don't remember hearing before though he did state that they were his own conclusions, so who knows but they were certainly well thought out and presented.

What stuck out to me personally in a video about the theory of everything was a complete omission any mention of qualia or the hard problem of consciousness. I think this is a phenomena that in general is simply ignored and gets lumped in with any talk about consciousness without anyone anywhere having explained how it arises, its just assumed that it does.

I give it a 4.253967 neutron stars out of a possible 5. :thumbup:

Dakini

lol! Precisely a 4.253967?
Well, I was frequently struck by the Buddhist elements that kept coming up in the consciousness part of it. I still haven't heard the QM part of it all the way to the end.

MaryAnne

I got about half way through before I had to attend to something else.... But WOW, I think it's fantastic so far! I also see the Buddhist themes of self-awareness, selfless-ness etc, infused into the consciousness explanations.
I will be able to finish it tomorrow.

ThailandTom

@Dakini thank you for the link, I watched it in 3 parts across I think 3 days lol. It is very interesting and somewhat at the cutting edge of what science is coming to realise. The only thing that I can put down about it tbh is the robotic voice narrating.

karmablues

For those interested on the topic of Buddhism and modern science, you may want to take a look at the following videos recorded during a 2-day colloquium at Oxford University involving leading scientists, philosophers, Buddhist scholars and Buddhist practitioners in deep debate on the perceived convergence of modern science (relativity theory, quantum mechanics, systems biology, cognitive psychology, clinical science) with some of the traditional ideas of Buddhism (anti-metaphysical stance, interdependence, emptiness, no-self):

Introduction
voicesfromoxford.org/video/B-S-Introduction/87

1. Is there a Buddhist science?
voicesfromoxford.org/video/buddhism-and-science-1-is-there-a-buddhist-science/108

2. Relativity and emptiness
voicesfromoxford.org/video/B-S-Nottale/86

3. Systems Biology and relativity
voicesfromoxford.org/video/buddhism-and-science-3-systems-biology-and-relativity/180

4. Systems Biology and no-self
voicesfromoxford.org/video/B-S-Noble/85

5. Towards a 3-dimensional science of the mind
voicesfromoxford.org/video/buddhism-and-science-5-toward-a-3-dimensional-science-of-the-mind/118

6. Mindfulness in Clinical Psychology
voicesfromoxford.org/video/buddhism-and-science-6-mindfulness-in-clinical-psychology/106

7. Cognitivism and Buddhist psychology
voicesfromoxford.org/video/B-S-Peacock/84

8. Interdependence: from classical causality to quantum entanglement.
voicesfromoxford.org/video/B-S-Bitbol/91

9. General discussion
voicesfromoxford.org/video/B-S-Gen-Discussion/90

10. Response by Peter Hacker
voicesfromoxford.org/video/B-S-Hacker/88

11. Closing discussion
voicesfromoxford.org/video/buddhism-and-science-11-closing-discussion/109

12. Conversation with Stephen Batchelor
voicesfromoxford.org/video/buddhism-and-science-12-discussion-with-stephen-batchelor/110

person

Thanks @karmablues that looks interesting, I'll check it out. I hope its not too stuffy, I find presentations when professors talk to each other can get rather dry and obscure.

federica

Of course, we all know about he book Quantum and the Lotus? Or is that ancient history now...? I know NOTHING really about science as a whole. Or in general. Or at all, even.....

Arthurbodhi

federica said:

Of course, we all know about he book Quantum and the Lotus? Or is that ancient history now...? I know NOTHING really about science as a whole. Or in general. Or at all, even.....

Really good book, but misleading tittle tough. The original tittle translated from French is "The Universe in the hand's palm". Isn't just about quantum physics, that is just one theme and not the main among many others.

Maybe the English editors thought that adding Quantum to the tittle make this more attractive to general public.

buddhitakso

The Cycle of Dependent Origination

Every existence does contain with the three basic elements - energy, matter and space. These basic elements would subject to the balance and the imbalance phenomena. Under a balance phenomenon, these elements would start to integrate with each other to create an aggregate activity. Under an imbalance phenomenon, these elements would start to disintegrate from each other to create a segregate activity. These conditional phenomena can be depicted in the following cycle of dependent origination: -

Balance leads to stability. Stability leads to aggregation. Aggregation leads to agitation. Agitation leads to information. Information leads to knowledge. Knowledge leads to representation. Representation leads to memory. Memory leads to compulsion. Compulsion leads to ignorance. Ignorance leads to blindness. Blindness leads to disorientation. Disorientation leads to confusion. Confusion leads to irrationality. Irrationality leads to impulse. Impulse leads to sparkle. Sparkle leads to inkling. Inkling leads to volition. Volition leads to awareness. Awareness leads to consciousness. Consciousness leads to manas. Manas leads to mind and body. Mind and body lead to sensation. Sensation leads to six sense bases. Six sense bases lead to conductivity. Conductivity leads to contact. Contact leads to stimulation. Stimulation leads to feeling. Feeling leads to experience. Experience leads to craving. Craving leads to grasping. Grasping leads to clinging. Clinging leads to unsettling. Unsettling leads to becoming. Becoming leads to creation. Creation leads to birth. Birth leads to energising. Energising leads to mobility. Mobility leads to hauling. Hauling leads to aging. Aging leads to draining. Draining leads to death. Death leads to fragility. Fragility leads to segregation. Segregation leads to diffusion. Diffusion leads to imbalance. Imbalance leads to adjustment. Adjustment leads to alignment. Alignment leads to new balance.

The principle in effect: -

A stream of balance phenomena would conjure up aggregate activity,
A stream of aggregate activities would conjure up information,
A stream of information would conjure up memory,
A stream of memories would conjure up ignorance,
A stream of ignorance would conjure up volitional impulse,
A stream of volitional impulses would conjure up consciousness,
A stream of consciousness would conjure up body and mind,
A stream of body and mind would conjure up six sense bases,
A stream of six sense bases would conjure up contact,
A stream of contacts would conjure up feeling,
A stream of feelings would conjure up craving,
A stream of cravings would conjure up clinging,
A stream of clinging would conjure up becoming,
A stream of becoming would conjure up birth,
A stream of births would conjure up aging,
A stream of aging would conjure up death,
A stream of deaths would conjure up segregate activity,
A stream of segregate activities would conjure up imbalance phenomenon,
A stream of imbalance phenomena would conjure up new balance phenomenon.

Thus the conditional phenomena would continue repeatedly to depict the rising and the falling activities in the dependent nature.

karmablues

person said:

Thanks @karmablues that looks interesting, I'll check it out. I hope its not too stuffy, I find presentations when professors talk to each other can get rather dry and obscure.

As a non-scientist, I did find it difficult to keep interested with some of the discussions but i did enjoy the Mindfulness in Clinical Psychology vdo.