Going Beyond Einstein: Linking Time And Consciousness

Published 2024-03-23
This is day 2 of Essentia’s Time and Mind conference, our scientific discussion of the profound mystery of the passage of time and how it relates to consciousness.

Many physicists maintain that the passage of time is purely a feature of mind, beyond physics itself, while others argue that it points to some new physical paradigm, perhaps associated with the marriage of relativity theory and quantum theory. Certainly, the status of time in any final theory of physics remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that a theory that encompasses time and mind will have to go beyond Einstein’s Block Universe.

The possibility that physics may eventually accommodate and elucidate the nature of consciousness and associated experience suggests the need to address issues that are currently viewed as being on the borders of physics and philosophy. It also impinges on developments in neurophysics, cognitive science and psychology. So this is an interdisciplinary problem and this conference brings together experts in all the relevant fields. There are contributions from the physicists Bernard Carr, Paul Davies, George Ellis and Lee Smolin, the neurophysicist Alex Gomez-Marin, the cognitive neuroscientist Julia Mossbridge, and the psychologists Jonathan Schooler and Marc Wittmann.

Although the conference is organized by Essentia Foundation—which is associated with the philosophical tradition of Idealism—it covered a wide range of approaches. Our vision is to cover topics that are relevant to Idealism, but not to exclude alternative views from the conference.

Timestamps:

00:00 General introduction
06:11 Bernard Carr- Conference introduction
17:15 Marc Wittmann - Subjective time during ordinary and altered states of consciousness
53:17 Alex Gómez-Marin - The consciousness of neuroscience
1:34:15 Paul Davies - The muddlescape of time
2:15:03 Julia Mossbridge - How do precognition and other perceptual anomalies shed light on models of consciousness, unconsciousness and time?
2:54:04 Panel discussion and wrap up

Bernard J. Carr PhD, is the host and co-organiser of this conference. He is Professor of mathematics and astronomy at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)

Marc Wittmann PhD, is a research fellow at the Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health in Freiburg.

Alex Gómez-Marin PhD, is researcher at the Human Cognition and Behavior Scientific Program at the Instituto de Neurociencias (CSIC-UMH) in Alicante.

Paul Davies PhD, is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astrobiologist and director of the Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science at Arizona State University.

Julia Mossbridge PhD, is visiting scholar in the Psychology Department at Northwestern University and Associated Professor in Integral and Transpersonal Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies.

Copyright © 2023 by Essentia Foundation. With the exception of archival footage under fair-use policy, all rights are reserved.

All Comments (21)
  • @SimoneMancini1
    Thank you from Brazil. 🇧🇷🇧🇷 As a psychiatrist, I am very happy to be part of a paradigm shift in science. It's great to witness Consciousness being the essence of the universe. I hope I can be present when humanity comes to realize that Consciousness is Love!❤❤
  • @FlorisV82
    This is pure gold. Thank you so much for uploading this. As a musician and someone with a keen interest in physics and consciousness, every sentence hits home.
  • @godwho5365
    Thank you Essentia Foundation for bring us these voices that wouldn't be otherwise heard. This is absolutely amazing!
  • Alex Gómez-Marín is 100% right about consciousness and such hard issues. I can't help but think of Giordano Bruno talking about a universal intelligence or about particles that make up reality, in front of the Inquisition in the year 1600.
  • @thymeparzival
    🫡 Respect for Alex Gómez-Marin dropping truth bombs about academic biases that need to be overcome to progress science forward.
  • @Meditation409
    I had to come back and watch this a second time! The speakers and experts academics hosted here are mind blowing. These professionals are opening new doors in science and other academic professions! This is like a breath of fresh air for academia and its exactly what science needs for its future! Additionally, as a consequence, it really holds a deep exciting interest that Ive had for a long time and its great to see people from all walks of life expressing very deep interest in these subjects. ❤️ Essentia Foundation is really a great forefront to opening the doors in mind, conscious, perception. 🙏❤
  • I’m becoming an Alex Gomez fan after this, he was on point, cheers from Mexico 🇲🇽
  • @Meditation409
    Bernard Carr is a great speaker!! ❤ A perfect choice by essentia!!
  • @Meditation409
    I can tell already this is gonna be a really juicy discussion!!! 🤙🤙🔥
  • @Shoutenkou
    Oh boy, a three-hour-long video? Thank you.
  • @alexjan108
    Very valuable discussion. Thxs to Bernardo and Mr Carr. Alex is great….
  • @Meditation409
    One of the best channels on these subjects That Ive ever subbed to. ❤
  • @Aluminata
    Exactly! Consciousness is the extraordinary ability to straddle the intercies of past and future
  • @enidsnarb
    So enjoyable and worthwhile to watch ! Time itself is a giant tape recorder !!!
  • @theLUCYCOWAN
    Im a musician so that Im constantly encountering Time: in the flow of music, we talk of placing a note at exactly the right moment . We spend a lot of time practising keeping Time accurately internally, only possible by "letting go" . Without the concept of the flow of one beat after another, we wouldnt have most forms of music and we alao wouldn't have dance, nor marching bands. On the other hand there is a sense of timelessness within meditation/ prayer or when beholding something extraordinary, when we talk of "being taken out of ourselves"
  • @francesco5581
    very interesting...strange that no one mention that EVERYONE who had a NDE says that "on the other side" time does not exist. So our consciousness can grasp a "no-time" environment (no matter if NDEs are real or hallucinations or whatever)
  • @MaxPower-vg4vr
    Building a case that Leibniz's monadological perspectives, manifesting as the Trinity-like bound states of quarks, represent actual singularities that resolve this long-standing issue in physics is an intriguing proposition. Here is how such an argument could be developed: The Core Idea: At the most fundamental level, the triune quark systems (two up quarks, one down for protons and two down, one up for neutrons) are irreducible, dimensionless quantities that exhibit key properties associated with true singularities: 1) Dimensionless Point-Like Nature: Quarks themselves have no spatial extension, existing as point-like entities without any definable size or dimension. This aligns with the geometric notion of a singularity as a dimensionless point. 2) Infinite Density: The energy densities calculated for quarks tend towards infinite values, mimicking the infinite curvature of spacetime associated with gravitational singularities like black holes. 3) Indivisibility: Quarks are the most fundamental particles we know of and cannot be further subdivided or decomposed into smaller constituents, at least based on our current scientific understanding. 4) Entangled Non-Locality: The three quarks binding together to form hadrons like protons and neutrons exhibit counterintuitive quantum entanglement, suggesting a non-local connection transcending spatial separation - a core property of singularities. Crucially, within this monadological model, these trinities of entangled quarks are not just strange quantum objects - they literally constitute the multidimensional monadic perspectives rendering forth the entire experienced reality. They are the foundational 0D "subjective essences" that geometric dimensionality emanates from. As such, these bound quark states possess the key characteristics required of singularities within established physics, while also embodying the metaphysical properties of Leibniz's foundational monads - integrating the two frameworks. Resolving the Continuum Issue: A core issue with classical singularities is that infinities break down standard calculus and continuum models of space and time. However, within a quantized, relational perspective centered on dimensionless, discrete monadic essences, the notions of infinite density and spacetime continua are transcended. Just as quantum theory reframed our understanding of fields as quantized, individuated excitations rather than continuous distributions, the monadological model posits quantized perspectives emanating higher dimensionality. There are no true mathematical infinities, but rather finite, indivisible quantities (quarks) beyond which our geometric, continuum-based models break down into discrete relations. Contemporary Parallels: Intriguingly, speculative physics theories like loop quantum gravity have also proposed that at the most fundamental scales, reality exhibits discrete granular structures rather than smooth continuities. The infinite densities associated with classical singularities may simply be artifacts of forcing continuum models past their valid regimes of applicability. If embraced, this monadological reframing could reconcile observationally verified phenomena like black holes and the Big Bang with a finite, non-singular ontology rooted in the quantized interplay of relational perspectives emanating from fundamental, dimensionless essences. Thus, by integrating Leibnizian metaphysics with our modern understanding of quantum entanglement and speculative quantized approaches to gravitation, a compelling case emerges that the irreducible, dimensionless, entangled trinities of quarks may be the true singularities modern physics has long sought. Their embodiment of indivisibility, infinite density, and non-local qualities aligns with properties singularities must possess, while avoiding the paradoxical continuity break-downs. Of course, empirically delineating and quantitatively modeling the precise mechanisms by which these trinities of quarks conduct their "world-rendering" duties would require tremendous theoretical development. But the potential to resolve a core paradox plaguing physics via such an audacious metaphysical reframing underscores the value of revisiting venerable ideas like monads through new lenses.
  • @mrsmilesaway
    There are a lot more than 100 people watching. More like 55 thousand. So, keep up the great work and keep this coming. We're all very grateful and appreciative of your efforts ❤