The Sapient Cosmos: A Teaser
Ever since the human mind awoke to its own existence, it has wondered about its cosmic significance. By generating knowledge about the external world, the mind decoded the most intimate aspects of reality, nurturing ever more stunning technological prowess. In stark contrast, the mind’s apparent inability to comprehend its own nature appears bitterly cynical. Is consciousness really an unfathomable enigma? Are we condemned to inhabit a reality that denies us insights into the structure of our inner universe? Without any guiding principle, we seem lost in a futile battle of metaphysical convictions and clashing ontologies.
Before surrendering to this state of existential limbo, we must reconsider all options, even the most radical ones. Is it conceivable that our current state of ignorance about our minds is rooted in cultural idiosyncrasies, collective blind spots, illusions of knowledge, and artifacts of metaphysical prejudice? In short, are we currently victims of bad thinking, the hostages of systemic and structural cognitive biases?
We stand at the dawn of multiple paradigm shifts, imbued with the potential to fundamentally transform our understanding of the cosmos and our own consciousness. The contours of the information-theoretic paradigm shift unfolding in physics are becoming clearer, where the multifaced notion of information is not only a viable candidate for the very foundations of reality but also runs like a golden thread through the Book of Nature describing our universe. Then, the philosophy of mind is being fundamentally challenged by the hard problem of consciousness. This is the question of why we have phenomenal consciousness, in other words, the subjective experience of reality. This is a vexing enigma invoking the academically marginalized first-person perspective. Further emphasizing the shift in paradigm towards the subjective and phenomenal, there is a great wealth of other modes of sentience, conjuring up the philosophy of psychedelics and rendering sober waking consciousness a competing state in a vast transcendental multiverse of experiences.
Are these paradigm shifts insular occurrences accidentally unfolding at the same time? Or are we witnessing the birth of a new unified cosmology, informed by the nature of our own consciousness, remedying the deep nihilism of materialism and the rigid dogmatism of religion?
On the horizon, we see the unfolding of a new scientific narrative. One in which consciousness is fundamental. One which takes the ignored metaphysical implications of over a hundred years of quantum weirdness seriously. One that does not trivialize the subjective first-person perspective. One that sees profound metaphysical relevance in the phenomenal accounts of shamans, mystics, meditators, and psychonauts over the ages.
Enjoy the ride:)
—
See this post for more context.
