When Robert says, "I wonder about these things ALL the time." I KNOW he is telling the truth, because I wonder about these things ALL the time too. I used to think everyone must think like this. Now, I'm just glad people like Robert are out there, even if I have met only 1 or 2, personally, in my entire lifetime.

This channel is the greatest nonphysical gift ever..

It's amazing this kind of content exists, and that it's available so easily.

This series is like a warm shower for the mind.

At 72, I have had 2 profound experiences in my life. The first was a glimpse into my future that happened at 40 that lasted a micro second, was in black and white, was was exactly like the movie The Ring, when he looked into the well and saw a black and white image. This happened to me but 20 years before the movie was made. The second was a feeling of how death feels. The answer I was given was a peace devoid of any emotion both positive or negative. The elimination of any emotion was a load lifted from my psyche or consciousness. Devoid of any emotion, like a straight white line on the scope that they show in movies. I was everywhere and nowhere at the same time with no hurt, memory, or self awareness, I just existed in an other worldly state. I look forward to it.

Ah good old Closer to Truth. I wish I knew people showcased in these videos in real life. When I talk about all these topics I mostly end up talking to myself.

i love this show!!

I have to say this is one of the best CTT episodes...I actually could agreee with Colin McGinn, J.P. Moreland on most of what they said, which is unusual for me...Congrats Robert!

This is back when David Chalmers looked like was auditioning to be a member of Iron Maiden.

This is some of the best material I have ever seen in my life. Thank you for producing these amazing works. To answer your question, decisively, and correctly, you will get an answer in a format that is totally unexpected and you will not be able to embrace at first glance. You only need to consider whether probabilistic potentials are tangibly real or not. This example will literally solve everything. First you need an Axiom that says that The Discrete Set {0,1} and the Continuous Open Interval (0,1) are Equivalent. You can now devise parallel logics, one which applies to a hard deterministic universe, and the other is consistent with hard stochastic universe. To make a long story short, both of these logics yield the same quantitative answers. And so it is profoundly ambiguous, or profoundly indeterminate whether the universe is deterministic or stochastic. And you need to get to the point where you accept that there is a Duality happening here ... due to a more fundamental Equivalence. Once you have done this, then many things like the Wave-Particle Duality will appear to make perfect sense, through the lens of this paradigm. It actually does make sense. Lastly ... we come to probabilistic potentials which was our original subject which we were looking at. Clearly probabilistic potentials cannot exist in a hard deterministic universe. And clearly probabilistic potentials MUST be tangibly real in a genuinely hard stochastic universe. Now since we have constructed a dualistic logic which could be used to model a universe which is inherently both, simultaneously, then it is easy to see that there is a way to say that probabilistic potentials are physically existent, and also are not. That both are valid simultaneously. IMPORTANT NOTE that we have NOT violated the Law of Non-Contradiction because of the way that we set up our Axiom of Equivalence. and arranged this "dualistic logic" which is really two totally independent logics which are not merged into a single logic, they are separate - and Equivalent. And now I'll shut up. That's the solution - it's right there.

Minski is always amazing...thanks Robert.

Regarding McGinn's remarks: "As we will see later, fields have energy. They therefore are a form of matter; they can be regarded as the fifth state of matter (solid, liquid, gas, and plasma are the other four states of matter)." (Marc Lange - An Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics)

Brilliant interview thanks.

Just as the list of elements slowly built up, maybe so too with the list containing metaphysics

Now we are getting somewhere mr. Kuhn ....great episode

thank you Robert for this amazing video

Killer thumbnail! Thanks for opening minds.

Science is always about something .. mind is full of things 😊

Robert is great .. I love his searching probing nature ...

Fascinating series.

Big ups for the microtonal piano music in the score!

He asks excellent questions to which there cannot be a one size fits all answer, even though that's what he seeking.

You know, Robert Kuhn is a great human being. These videos have filled my world with joy. My three categories are Spirit, Love and Matter as reflected in our language structure of Subject (spirit), verb or predicate (love) and object (matter). Just a hunch.

Robert, you ask many great questions. You might try putting this one to Christof Koch (who I imagine you know). He and Colin McGinn had a heated debate about this in a panel discussion, where Koch said there were two domains - the physical and the mental - and McGinn claimed him of being a dualist, to which Koch said he didn't care :) I'm inclined to agree with Christof. We cannot deny the existence of mentality; our conscious existence is said to be the one thing of which we can be certain. Yet the physical reality of stars and planets is also indisputable, at least without significant sophistry and, arguably, over-complication. The question, then, is whether any other domains exist. Weirdly, I tend to agree with Plato that forms are fundamental. Forms are shapes and dynamics that either peter out after a while or keep on repeating and complexifying over time. The universe, galaxies, stars and planets each go through their own particular life cycles. Ditto organisms. In some cases we may truly say "we will never see the like of them again" and in other cases, their likes will keep on re-appearing, often in a more complex form. Generally we can be sure of seeing at least aspects of "the like of them" in the future, just not all of them within the same body.

I love how none of these series actually ever answer any question )))). So the most honest answer is: I don't know. Funny how this makes a man trying to know a mere clown in the exercise of knowing. And this makes me laugh and despair at the same time.

I like two categories... (1) Consciousness and (2) everything else.

As a 75 yo, and struggling to maintain my waining intelligence, I believe through the struggles of an extremely difficult life; is that there is more dimensions than physics presents allows humanity to realize. I say this because, I have been brought back to life, when I was six years old. Throughout my life visualizations of a “simulation of realities” were communicated.

What a wonderful episode!

One definition I've seen of existence is if a thing has a measurable influence it exists. By this definition the past and the future both exist, as do many other non-physical 'things' like justice, love, mercy, freedom, various gods etc.

I have had four or five extraordinary experiences in my life, which opened up in me an understanding that there are realms that we do not yet understand. For example, in one of my experiences, my nephew who was about 15 at the time was asleep. He began to talk in his sleep and he was speaking in a language that sounded very much like old or middle English. He seemed to be having a conversation and this went on for about one or two minutes. He said several sentences. I could not understand what he was saying but could clearly identify it as a language. When he awoke, I asked him if he had any dreams to which he could recall. He said, no, and when I told him about what I heard, he had no idea or connection to it. Any ideas on what it could be that I witnessed would be appreciated. Thank you.

Great episode.

Excellent.... thanks 🙏.

“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.” - Max Planck, father of Quantum Physics

Any thoughts are non-material. Words and description is formed from thoughts. Communication is just thoughts. The mind is material but thoughts are not material. So is consciousness just thoughts? Thought is the process to make it possible to become material, through action?.

I agree with mr marvin. Furthermore, i'd like to add, for objects that has some sort of sentience or character or personality in the games, from the point of view of each character, they are real. To us, it's like we live in higher planes of existence compared to said characters, but between themselves, they are as real as we are toward each other. This is why those religious or spiritual point of view cannot be dismissed that lightly.

Very nice journey, which led to an amazing video. Thank you so much for sharing. That said, and with all respect, I must note that there is an approach that goes beyond the whole debate as put. It is the idea that the starting point for this quest should be information. Information is not just a concept about message (Shannon) and order (modern physics), but a concept about what manifests itself and for that reason computes. You should check, no wonder it has become mainstream.

For there to be a "thing" in our reality it must be able to be defined with some form of information system even if it is not physically perceptible to an animate being. Like various sub-atomic particles being mathematically defined although being imperceptible to a pigeon or chimpanzee. Or a dream being portayed in a painting using pigments. Or in poetry words used to create a known physical structure ... rivers, moons fields of flowers etc. In our mythical stories strange creatures may exist using a description with a concoction of known objects - a horn and a horse = unicorn. in a similar way, "gods' exist in the Hindu religion with constructs using known bodily structures like elephants and snakes. In Buddhist philosophy disfigured humanoid creatures called "hungry ghosts". In Christiany, human formed "angels" with attached wings. The Sufi mystic Hazrat Inayat Khan - "There is nothing in this world which is devoid of form except God who is formless, although the form of some things is visible, and that of other things invisible." In mystical sects there is a concept of "god" which is left to the disciple to imagine in a form most suitable and approachable to him. "Consciousness" is really just a term to describe our ability to be aware of ourselves in space and time. But according to the believers, "God" is even beyond quantum superposition. Hazrat Inayat Khan again ... "The God-ideal was taught to man gradually. There was a time when a certain rock was recognized as God. People at one period considered certain plants as sacred. At another time, certain animals and birds were considered sacred. For instance, the cow and the eagle were considered as sacred creatures. Many worshipped the primal elements in nature, such as earth, water, fire, and air. People worshipped the spirits of mountains, hills, trees, plants, birds, and animals, until the God-ideal was raised to the Absolute. The planets and their gods were worshipped, and prayer was offered to the moon and sun. This lasted until God was realized in man. The light of the soul of man was recognized as higher than the light of the sun. Then came hero worship. Warriors, speakers, physicians, musicians, poets, prophets, and teachers were idealized and worshipped by Hindus as incarnations of God, until from the Semitic race came Abraham, the father of religions, who taught the ideal of the formless God, which was explained gradually by different prophets who came after him. It was openly proclaimed by Moses and spiritually taught by Christ. This same truth was disclosed in plain words by Muhammad, who bore the final message: 'None exists save God.' This final message expands the ideal of worship to the invisible as well as to the visible being, in other words to the Absolute." So ... there cannot be "things" which are not material but there are "beliefs" which are unable to be verbalised or contextualised because they only exist and can only exist in the mind of the believer.

Numbers are human constructs. They don't exist outside of human minds. Inside human minds they exist as concepts

The guy with Lawrence it's perfect for political parties

I like this channel and how they tackle these big questions and I like the goal of getting closer to truth. If I had to answer the question in the title for myself I would phrase it as following: how can only there be physical/material stuff without beginning? As far as I know, there is no evidence of energy/material popping out of nothing and staying for good. Therefore there must be more than just the physical/material stuff to make it work in order for the material universe to exist. Is there a flaw in this thinking?

ive always felt like "the universe is alive"

I challenge all those that think that matter is all there is: Define matter without consciousness in its definition.

Is material collecting together on large scales of universe, galaxies, space, time and any others important for this question?

Good topic!

Curiosity and Imagination are two of Mind’s mental abilities. Consciousness is nothing but an integration of mental abilities, no mystery about it. Thus, understand the Mind is the first (fundamental) thing to do for exploring all of the mental abilities, such as Observation, Comprehension and etc.

This would've been better if an ad didn't exist every 2 minutes

I agree with McGinn. I have always considered the category of the divine to be mental.

“Things” by definition are materials, up down quark plus electron. They manifest themselves by way of existence. Of course there are other “stuff” out there such as love/hate, but I won’t call them things, they should be called phenomena. Phenomena don’t “exist”, they “happen“. How about light or heat? They are phenomena also. But they don’t happen, it’s more like “occur”. There’s a subtle difference. Everything has a reason, so does every phenomenon. Things exist, phenomena emerge, simple as that, there’s nothing to be confused.

How the heck is it you've never been on the Joe Rogan podcast ? Keep up the great work!

Very interesting .. when you think about all living creatures and things in this world such as trees living growing ants , worms and so on .. are these creatures here just for us to see or use ? Or do they have a soul . will they die and go to heaven and what is everyone to do in heaven or even hell if that’s what they prefer what’s the purpose and the point ? what we see in touch and feel now Should not be taken for granted because this may be all we may have. Everything around us has a life but it’s so easy for us to take that such as plants and animals. Does God put these creatures before us to sacrifice to benefit our own needs and why ? .. why are they the unlucky ones

In the past months experience incredible moments of my own reality. It had nothing to do with deities or short influence of philosophical guides. It was just trough my own existence. I believe complex thinking is the primary reason of our limitations!

Conflating what's logically true with what's real.

“Christian philosopher”: it is important not to live in fantasy. Also: angels and demons are real persons who can affect the world of space and time.

Category is a human construct, existing only in discourse (and mind by extension). Derrida and the post-structuralists blew category out of the water decades ago. "The center is not the center": platonic structure is self-contradictory and invalid. The world is wide open, there is no "category."

My mind thinks all the same things! ❤️

Yes. Energy, forces, fields....

Maybe the real question is, "Are there things material?"

I always go back to, "it depends how we define X." So if things are immaterial it depends on the criteria of our definitions.

Audio 2x louder than the last CTT episode. A fun surprise.

Awesome

I would say "Does anything Physical" actually exist. Or... We don't exist in a Physical World we exist in a construct we call Physical using the same mechanism as we do in dreaming states.

Is consciousness not enough for you?!

Well what is energy? This is the first thing I think of. And obviously consciousness

Time is not material. Space is not material. Your thoughts and feelings are not material.

"Things" are material. Matter is real within reality. From a cluster of galaxies all the way down to the subparticals of atoms. All this material originates from energy. No matter how high a number can be counted to, you can always add one more forever and ever. Infinity, eternity, universality and immortality will find their way to their first source and centre origin. I call it Paradise. The never beginning, never ending reality where time stands still and space vanishes.

Yes. Delusions are not material.

In terms of categories, where would you put things like eletromagnetic waves and other field like quantities and interactions which are certainly imaterial but seem to exist only in the physical world?

Best ever. I agree with and disagree with all your experts. Here's my take - is consciousness a product of the physical world, or is the physical world just in the imagination of my consciousness, even to the point that my brain and psyche are things imagined in my conscious existance! Which is real , my consciousness or what it perceives?

“Brain can’t produce consciousness, there must be a soul” sounds to me like “super heavy aircraft made of iron can’t fly in the sky, there must be a magical power in it”. Each part of the plane can’t fly by itself but the whole thing can. There are so called emergent properties in complex systems, which are impossible to derive from system’s structure. Similarly, consciousness is a complex of emergent properties of brain.

10:47 seemingly smart guy believes in angels and demons.

The universe absolutely has a mind of its own. Its us. Rather you are materialistic or spiritual, the way I see it, there is no getting around the fact that we are the universe that has become aware of itself. "We are made of starstuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself." - Carl Sagan

I agree I believe the universe does have a mental apparatus. I'd be willing to take it one step further and say that it makes every living thing in the universe.

I don’t agree with his conclusion. The human mind could be completely material and the non material could still exist. Most Christian physicalists hold this view.

How does he knows angel and demons are real ... has he ever seen one or talked to them..He is just making it up as he goes along.

The questions that need to be asked

Yes

All non-physical things are still physical... ...because physical things can change states... ..like matter into energy into space-time!

I would suggest: "Thinking and Destiny" by Harold W. Percival

I think the material scientific perspective is a bit more nuanced than it’s represented here. Materialists such as myself don't simply believe that matter/energy is the only thing that exists, there is also information. Yes actually matter/energy are the same, they can be converted from one to the other and share a fundamental nature. Information is real, ideas, numbers, algorithms all exist through encoding in the arrangement of matter and energy. So both the material domain and the information domain are two sides of the same material coin. I think that's really all we need. All these other 'realms' or 'categories' are simply some combination of material and/or informational content, and I think that includes consciousness.

The answer is of course. Matter has to come from somewhere obviously

This is a lovely channel! Nice people!

Finally you get to interview someone I can relate to JP Morgan around 7.57

In the ultimate analysis non-physical is literally all there is.

All is consciousness, subjective and objective. Life is a play of ideas on substance, both being consciousness.

Awareness is known by awareness alone.

Love.

If You had to choose between a material bucket of Extra Crispy and a immaterial bucket of the Colonel's Original Recipe, which would you choose and why?

Our consciousness and mind don’t aged, it’s only affected with disease etc, so this tells me it’s either the mind physically don’t aged or it’s possessed with some spiritual being that we cannot understand..if I were to venture to answer this burning question of us having a spirit I would say this spirit hovers over our head in a dimension we don’t understand in our lifetime until we die..just a hypothesis..

Chalmers hair is something else.

We could see minimal amount of the light spectrum and hear to a certain hertz. So most probably there are things we couldn't see & hear

What if at the BigBang time started in two directions forward and backwards ? So if you want to look back past the big bang you could do it and it would look like a past. It doesn’t mean it appeared from nothing because you would need an empty space and time for that to precede the BB but this hypothesis doesn’t allow it. Now if you go forward in time it never stops it’s what we call infinite but basically no matter how far we go it will always be a finite number of years passed. We have a strong intuition for a universal time that goes regardless of anything that happened or will happen but it’s strongly rejected by scientific evidence and I’m not sure if it works even philosophically when you think of the beginning of the universe. It’s so strong I personally can’t reject it as a possible alternative

Engaging and mentally stimulating; reminiscent of a book that was both engaging and insightful. "The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Living Guide" by Matthew Cove

I love your channel and your perseverance in your search. About this video is another question that I wonder myself, I wanted to say that if you think about Spiritual been they sure are some kind of material, like us; I mean everything that once was in this Universe is material. And after watching so many of your videos I think the answer to the question Why There Is Something Rather Than Anything is that nothing is the initial stage, but then consciousness emerge, so I don't know, maybe there is a God. Another way to view this, is that, if nothing is the beginning so the only thing that could 'move' something would be some conscious. I think your talks are very interesting and sorry my English, I`m not American. Edit: I should add about that hairy guy in the interview, that that everything is Stuff, I mean material.

According to Chat gpt; Quantum physics does indeed suggest the possibility of a separate reality. According to the Copenhagen interpretation, which is one of the widely accepted interpretations of quantum mechanics, the act of observation or measurement can affect the outcome of a quantum system. This implies that until observed, quantum particles exist in a superposition of multiple states simultaneously. The concept of superposition and the existence of multiple states for quantum particles suggest the potential for parallel or separate realities.

I liked the conclusion from Dyson. We are material bodies, no arguing about that. But universe is also collection of material objects. So those two principles must be connected somehow, like purpose is inbuilt into energetic substance we call matter. Than we have two categories, but not in dualistic relation to one another. There's stuff in general and things only certain stuff can do, because it belong to higher scheme of things, in a sense it's part of ongoing physical process, different from general chaos.

How and what do we feel ?

The vast majority of All that is is immaterial. Most of the things we use in the world are also immaterial. Things like maths, logic, joy, pain, reason, love, feelings, instincts, doubt, curiosity, care, trepidation, desire etc. And if you take matter down to its most fundamental level, then matter isn't even material either. It is just little balls of energy known as quarks and electrons.

This question is yet another obscure question and can be turned around quite easily by asking what are Material things instead? I am sure the experts are not sure either and it's even worse when one asks what Energy really is...information is the new toy in town but I am not sure that clarifies anything either...but oh well, wait, the point is not to defend spiritualism here but rather to ask what is of essence and weather whatever it is can be compatible with any duality that can possibly make sense. Personally I don't think so. You see, the irony about nowadays scientists speaking of language on holidays as per Wittgenstein did first is that I like language on holidays as it exposes the limits of our own embodied cognitive experience. And no, in case you are wondering I don't think consciousness is any more fundamental as I see no point in an agent that mimics computing and thinking without any free will and with a future already existing somewhere in spacetime. The second irony is to realize that we live in a fantasy and that the fantasy is the point by which reality "worked" on us, not reality per se. Timeless full fledged Reality has no empirical questions...brut facts do not wonder!

By material I understand anything that is part of the physical universe:space, time, forces, particles, light, gravity and anything that makes the universe work or what would make other universes work if there are other dimension. I don’t know any real (not hypothetical) example of something immaterial. I can’t imagine something immaterial either. What about consciousness? Consciousness doesn’t exist without a brain imo. It can’t be that the brain just evolved and now has access to a consciousness, it must be the direct cause of it. Then the brain is clearly material so consciousness is derived from brain activity. I also think consciousness is a mystery that I don’t think we will be able to solve, I mean how it really works

If conciousness is fundamental, would the mind then be only taking advantage of conciousness and expanding it to help itself survive?