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Science Ideated: The Fall of Matter and the Contours of the Next Mainstream Scientific Worldview
Leading-edge empirical observations are increasingly difficult to reconcile with 'scientific' materialism. Laboratory results in quantum mechanics, for instance, strongly indicate that there is no autonomous world of tables and chairs out there. Coupled with the inability of materialist neuroscience to explain consciousness, this is forcing both science and philosophy to contemplate alternative worldviews. Analytic idealism the notion that reality, while equally amenable to scientific inquiry, is fundamentally mental is a leading contender to replace 'scientific' materialism. In this book, the broad body of empirical evidence and reasoning in favor of analytic idealism is reviewed in an accessible manner. The book brings together a number of highly influential essays previously published by major media outlets such as Scientific American and the Institute of Art and Ideas. The essays have been revised and improved, while two neverbeforepublished essays have been added. The resulting argument anticipates a historically imminent transition to a scientific worldview that, while elegantly accommodating all known empirical evidence and predictive models, regards mind not matter as the ground of all reality.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2021
66 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
Bernardo Kastrup
36 books648 followersBernardo Kastrup is the Executive Director of Essentia Foundation and Founder/CEO at AI systems company Euclyd BV. His work has set off the modern renaissance of metaphysical idealism. He has a Ph.D. in philosophy (ontology, philosophy of mind) and another in computer engineering (reconfigurable computing, artificial intelligence). As a scientist, Bernardo has worked for the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Philips Research Laboratories (where the 'Casimir Effect' of Quantum Field Theory was discovered). He has also been creatively active in the high-tech industry for almost 30 years, having founded parallel processor company Silicon Hive (acquired by Intel in 2011) and worked as a technology strategist for the geopolitically significant company ASML. Most recently, he has founded AI hardware company Euclyd BV. Formulated in detail in many academic papers and books, Bernardo's ideas have been featured on 'Scientific American,' the magazine of 'The Institute of Art and Ideas,' the 'Blog of the American Philosophical Association' and 'Big Think,' among others. His most defining book is 'Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell: A straightforward summary of the 21st-century's only plausible metaphysics.' For more information, visit www.bernardokastrup.com.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 10, 2023
Bro read the Wikipedia page of idealistic monism and decided to write 8 books about it
https://homework.study.com/explanatio...
https://homework.study.com/explanatio...
September 6, 2021
The reality we believe in is an illusion. Mystics have said so for millennia, but philosopher and computer scientist Dr. Bernardo Kastrup shows us the anomalies in our reigning materialist worldview using compelling evidence from quantum mechanics, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and philosophy. More importantly, he proposes an alternative view—analytic idealism—and transforms the foundation of reality from matter to consciousness (but probably not the kind you’re thinking of). In this mental world, the “hard problem of consciousness” disappears, quantum mechanics becomes comprehensible, absurd brain imaging studies are explained, and we find answers to humanity’s oldest questions about identity and meaning.
”Our metaphysical views, even if implicit and unexamined, color every aspect of our lives, from our moral values to our sense of meaning.”
Science Ideated builds on a large body of earlier work yet remains fresh and approachable to newcomers. It is structured as a series of essays, most of which were previously published in respected magazines and journals. They spotlight analytic idealism from its field of competing metaphysics, demonstrate its many benefits for the scientific establishment, and present an exciting vision of the meaning and destiny of Western culture.
”To free the West from illusion, we must first break into the prison wherein the West finds itself, and then break out again carrying the rest of the culture with us.”
Kastrup doesn’t just challenge the world’s favored scientific paradigm—he does it with passion. He knows our culture is so psychologically invested in our myopic view of the world that only a brutal demolition of it will free us to adopt an elevated perspective, and he delivers. Freed from our materialist conditioning, we can begin to heal the dissonance between our head and our heart.
I have been following Kastrup’s work for several years now, and I have adopted his ideas as part of my personal worldview. The result is a seamless union between the rationality of Western science and the spiritual fulfillment of Eastern mysticism. Kastrup was the key to my personal Theory of Everything. I recommend his work to anyone struggling to square science with soul. For a gentler and less technical introduction, I recommend Brief Peaks Beyond or More Than Allegory.
”Our metaphysical views, even if implicit and unexamined, color every aspect of our lives, from our moral values to our sense of meaning.”
Science Ideated builds on a large body of earlier work yet remains fresh and approachable to newcomers. It is structured as a series of essays, most of which were previously published in respected magazines and journals. They spotlight analytic idealism from its field of competing metaphysics, demonstrate its many benefits for the scientific establishment, and present an exciting vision of the meaning and destiny of Western culture.
”To free the West from illusion, we must first break into the prison wherein the West finds itself, and then break out again carrying the rest of the culture with us.”
Kastrup doesn’t just challenge the world’s favored scientific paradigm—he does it with passion. He knows our culture is so psychologically invested in our myopic view of the world that only a brutal demolition of it will free us to adopt an elevated perspective, and he delivers. Freed from our materialist conditioning, we can begin to heal the dissonance between our head and our heart.
I have been following Kastrup’s work for several years now, and I have adopted his ideas as part of my personal worldview. The result is a seamless union between the rationality of Western science and the spiritual fulfillment of Eastern mysticism. Kastrup was the key to my personal Theory of Everything. I recommend his work to anyone struggling to square science with soul. For a gentler and less technical introduction, I recommend Brief Peaks Beyond or More Than Allegory.
April 27, 2022
FUCKKKK this man is a class A mindblower sent from the heavens above. It's like if Newton and Buddha had a child together.
Every god damn page you read, you will make a 180 degree turn
And not just on inconsequential & lame philosophical ideas that only an old man in an ivory tower would care about (like "what is math?")
Bernardo sticks to ideas that really matter, e.g.
Do we have free will?
What are the limits of logic?
How much do humans know about reality?
And his magnum opus question: what is the universe made out of?
The man is just tearing up the worldview of the average scientifically-minded atheist.
Christ alive, every essay I read I felt bowled over mentally.
In a good way.
Like he was pointing me towards something better.
But he does manhandle you there.
He writes so clearly you can't help but be yanked in the direction he's going in.
As you can probs tell, I'm smitten. So in love. I'm convinced that this man is the Messiah of the Enlightenment. The first big moment of Western history was the instalment of rational values into our culture.
The next will be Bernardo opening everyone up to a post-rational era where other forms of knowing are honoured and analytic idealism is the newly accepted metaphysic.
In this era, spirituality and rationality aren't seen as "non-overlapping magisteria" anymore.
Because we acknowledge there are other ways of knowing than what is strictly rational, it becomes rational to delve into these areas beyond rationality (AKA delve into spirituality).
It only makes sense avoiding spirituality if you think there's nothing of substance there.
As soon as you acknowledge there is, then you must make it a part of your life.
Rationalist spirituality is gonna take off, and Bernardo = the Messiah or cult leader.
Just calling it here on Goodreads b4 it happens...
Remember: you like, totally owe me if you read this prediction and it actually happens...(it will btw)
Every god damn page you read, you will make a 180 degree turn
And not just on inconsequential & lame philosophical ideas that only an old man in an ivory tower would care about (like "what is math?")
Bernardo sticks to ideas that really matter, e.g.
Do we have free will?
What are the limits of logic?
How much do humans know about reality?
And his magnum opus question: what is the universe made out of?
The man is just tearing up the worldview of the average scientifically-minded atheist.
Christ alive, every essay I read I felt bowled over mentally.
In a good way.
Like he was pointing me towards something better.
But he does manhandle you there.
He writes so clearly you can't help but be yanked in the direction he's going in.
As you can probs tell, I'm smitten. So in love. I'm convinced that this man is the Messiah of the Enlightenment. The first big moment of Western history was the instalment of rational values into our culture.
The next will be Bernardo opening everyone up to a post-rational era where other forms of knowing are honoured and analytic idealism is the newly accepted metaphysic.
In this era, spirituality and rationality aren't seen as "non-overlapping magisteria" anymore.
Because we acknowledge there are other ways of knowing than what is strictly rational, it becomes rational to delve into these areas beyond rationality (AKA delve into spirituality).
It only makes sense avoiding spirituality if you think there's nothing of substance there.
As soon as you acknowledge there is, then you must make it a part of your life.
Rationalist spirituality is gonna take off, and Bernardo = the Messiah or cult leader.
Just calling it here on Goodreads b4 it happens...
Remember: you like, totally owe me if you read this prediction and it actually happens...(it will btw)
August 13, 2024
Idealism is more plausible than most people think. Kastrup is an important voice in the new revival of the matter sceptics who believe that consciousness is all there really is in the universe. Their voices are more important now than ever when the "objective viewpoint" of empirical science has become so authoritative. At the same time, idealism needs to distinguish itself from superstition and religion, and it is not clear whether it can do so. Kastrup gives it a go, but ultimately succumbs in the latter task. This is a collection of some of Kastrup's writings, mostly in semi-popular prints, addressing a wide variety of topics, but all of them relate to the central question: How should we conceive of the link between consciousness and matter, or between subject and object?
Kastrup is an engaging writer. He tackles complex topics in a simple way. The essays are mostly short, suave, and to the point. They are mostly lighthearted and conversationalist in tone, and yet they tackle complex questions. Unfortunately, this also leads to simplification and slippery language. Maybe this is an artefact of his writing for a popular audience. Maybe; but I think he also lacks the patience for sustained analysis. Indeed, the quality of his arguments ranges from the serious and the well thought-out to the silly and the superficial. He seems quite dismissive towards many alternative theories and counterarguments to his theory. He also has the annoying habit of engaging in vitriolic, ad hominem attacks on his scientific opponents. This does not make him look strong; it only makes his theory look weak. Furthermore, he seems quite willing to embrace various forms of supernatural and religious interpretations. Indeed, he even partly aligns himself with Deepak Chopra, New Age quantum philosophy, and the like. Nonetheless, at his best, his essays flow like the river and his passionate arguments soar in the sky. He infuses his soul into his words. I can see students and laypeople being amazed and thrilled by his passion and vision. However, although I highly recommend reading some of Kastrup's essays, readers who wish to tackle the Big Question need to keep on reading elsewhere. Kastrup paints a beautiful, challenging picture that embodies the passion of the author, but is ultimately too superficial to challenge existing philosophy.
Although in the final analysis I believe that "the scientific image" (as Sellars called it) can and should be able to accommodate phenomenal consciousness, it certainly has trouble doing so at the moment. This means that we need to ask whether idealism, panpsychism, illusionism, dual aspect monism, or some other radical theoretical alternative holds the key to the riddle. I consider myself a pretty hard-nosed materialist and naturalist, but I am not sure if consciousness easily fits it. I have been attracted to idealism in the past, but I cannot get behind Kastrup's version of it. He asks the right questions and probes the right angles, but his arguments are filled with lazy logical fallacies, ad hominem attacks on his theoretical opponents, and an attraction to mumbo jumbo. My hunch is that we should be looking at a unified theory of naturalism that accommodates and "demystifies" phenomenal consciousness into a general theory of information, representation, and semiosis. It seems to me that if some version of phenomenalism or idealism is correct, it probably looks different from the version that Kastrup presents. Idealism must escape Deepak Chopra.
Kastrup is an engaging writer. He tackles complex topics in a simple way. The essays are mostly short, suave, and to the point. They are mostly lighthearted and conversationalist in tone, and yet they tackle complex questions. Unfortunately, this also leads to simplification and slippery language. Maybe this is an artefact of his writing for a popular audience. Maybe; but I think he also lacks the patience for sustained analysis. Indeed, the quality of his arguments ranges from the serious and the well thought-out to the silly and the superficial. He seems quite dismissive towards many alternative theories and counterarguments to his theory. He also has the annoying habit of engaging in vitriolic, ad hominem attacks on his scientific opponents. This does not make him look strong; it only makes his theory look weak. Furthermore, he seems quite willing to embrace various forms of supernatural and religious interpretations. Indeed, he even partly aligns himself with Deepak Chopra, New Age quantum philosophy, and the like. Nonetheless, at his best, his essays flow like the river and his passionate arguments soar in the sky. He infuses his soul into his words. I can see students and laypeople being amazed and thrilled by his passion and vision. However, although I highly recommend reading some of Kastrup's essays, readers who wish to tackle the Big Question need to keep on reading elsewhere. Kastrup paints a beautiful, challenging picture that embodies the passion of the author, but is ultimately too superficial to challenge existing philosophy.
Although in the final analysis I believe that "the scientific image" (as Sellars called it) can and should be able to accommodate phenomenal consciousness, it certainly has trouble doing so at the moment. This means that we need to ask whether idealism, panpsychism, illusionism, dual aspect monism, or some other radical theoretical alternative holds the key to the riddle. I consider myself a pretty hard-nosed materialist and naturalist, but I am not sure if consciousness easily fits it. I have been attracted to idealism in the past, but I cannot get behind Kastrup's version of it. He asks the right questions and probes the right angles, but his arguments are filled with lazy logical fallacies, ad hominem attacks on his theoretical opponents, and an attraction to mumbo jumbo. My hunch is that we should be looking at a unified theory of naturalism that accommodates and "demystifies" phenomenal consciousness into a general theory of information, representation, and semiosis. It seems to me that if some version of phenomenalism or idealism is correct, it probably looks different from the version that Kastrup presents. Idealism must escape Deepak Chopra.
May 7, 2022
Mindblowing, like Upanishads and Newton combined.
The Western world is steeped in physicalist materialism -- that is the view that matter is the fundamental ontological substance, comprising all things. However, this view is riddled with contradictions and irreconcilable inconsistencies such as the hard problem of consciousness -- how is it that experienceless atoms, with properties like form, charge and spin, can generate subjective experiences and consciousness? Modern science has no answer.
Instead, Kastrup implodes this "hard problem" from the inside, suggesting it's no hard problem at all. It just begins from a false premise. What if instead of matter being the ground of being, consciousness is? The most incontrovertible evidence is that "I am". Everything else is an inference. We pretend like we have a clear view of the "outside world" but instead the senses are really like a dashboard, constructing icons of the world in our mind. Materialism cannot explain this experience, which is all that we know.
"physics is indulging today in the most farfetched feast of appeals to magic ever concoted by the human mind: imaginary parallel universes, origin and evolution of the universe, dark matter and energy"
All there is, according to Kastrup, is universal consciousness. One thing, that whose excitations gives rise to different so called objects, like waves in the ocean.
If true, this has radical implications. Because if all there is is one, that means that WE are all that one thing. How could something that is all possibly be lacking, or incomplete, needing anything or seeking anything else? All sense of individual identity and differences are due to illusion, like a whirlpool that believes it is different from the river that supports it.
What's amazing is that his science seems to justify what many believe science today disproves -- religion. Kastrup's science sounds like it is pulled right out of the Upanishads and Buddhism, espousing the nondual metaphysics they described 2500 years ago. This may be exactly what we need to turn away from the dead end of materialism that's hollowing out the lives of most people today.
The Western world is steeped in physicalist materialism -- that is the view that matter is the fundamental ontological substance, comprising all things. However, this view is riddled with contradictions and irreconcilable inconsistencies such as the hard problem of consciousness -- how is it that experienceless atoms, with properties like form, charge and spin, can generate subjective experiences and consciousness? Modern science has no answer.
Instead, Kastrup implodes this "hard problem" from the inside, suggesting it's no hard problem at all. It just begins from a false premise. What if instead of matter being the ground of being, consciousness is? The most incontrovertible evidence is that "I am". Everything else is an inference. We pretend like we have a clear view of the "outside world" but instead the senses are really like a dashboard, constructing icons of the world in our mind. Materialism cannot explain this experience, which is all that we know.
"physics is indulging today in the most farfetched feast of appeals to magic ever concoted by the human mind: imaginary parallel universes, origin and evolution of the universe, dark matter and energy"
All there is, according to Kastrup, is universal consciousness. One thing, that whose excitations gives rise to different so called objects, like waves in the ocean.
If true, this has radical implications. Because if all there is is one, that means that WE are all that one thing. How could something that is all possibly be lacking, or incomplete, needing anything or seeking anything else? All sense of individual identity and differences are due to illusion, like a whirlpool that believes it is different from the river that supports it.
What's amazing is that his science seems to justify what many believe science today disproves -- religion. Kastrup's science sounds like it is pulled right out of the Upanishads and Buddhism, espousing the nondual metaphysics they described 2500 years ago. This may be exactly what we need to turn away from the dead end of materialism that's hollowing out the lives of most people today.
January 4, 2026
Decent overview of how (Analytic) Idealism is compatible with modern science. In Parts 1 & 2, Bernardo explains what 'Scientific' Materialism (Physicalism) is, explains a massive common error many physicalists (especially casual physicalists) make in their understanding of physicalism & refutes popular rebuttals from eliminative physicalists (aka illusionists like the late Daniel Dennett). Part 3 is about Panpsychism, Part 4 is an elaboration on his version of Idealism (Analytic Idealism) & Parts 5-7 are about physics, psychology & neuroscience & culture respectively.
For me the best parts of the book were Parts 1, 2 & 7. I really liked his thorough explanation of physicalism in Part 1 in that he makes it clear that for physicalism, the qualities that we experience (i.e. the taste of chocolate ice cream, the color of the sunrise, the smell of Christmas dinner, the sound of Beethoven's Symphony, etc.) are not 'out there' in the world but are really inside our skull (for qualities cannot be quantified) & what's really 'out there' are abstract quantities like mass, spin, electric charge, etc. And if these quantities were to be fully specified in the context of math equations underlying our physics then nothing else would need to be said about the world. This is something that took me years to wrap my head around but once I encountered Alfred North Whitehead & his critique of physicalism (i.e. The Bifurcation of Nature) then it really started to click.
Part 2 on Illusionism was strong, but I mostly skipped over it as I already have a decent understanding of the arguments against Illusionism. I loved Part 7 as Kastrup really explains why & how the discipline of Philosophy is important for life in general (despite it not being as economically productive as engineering, medicine, law or finance) because philosophy explains what our motivations for living are. He does rightfully mention that a big problem with the discipline is the constant use of convoluted jargon, arguments & complex/abstract concepts.
Solid text overall for understanding that science is metaphysically neutral (though it does need to work on the assumption that there is a world outside individual minds/psyches) & addressing how (Analytic) Idealism is a rational, logical & coherent metaphysics.
For me the best parts of the book were Parts 1, 2 & 7. I really liked his thorough explanation of physicalism in Part 1 in that he makes it clear that for physicalism, the qualities that we experience (i.e. the taste of chocolate ice cream, the color of the sunrise, the smell of Christmas dinner, the sound of Beethoven's Symphony, etc.) are not 'out there' in the world but are really inside our skull (for qualities cannot be quantified) & what's really 'out there' are abstract quantities like mass, spin, electric charge, etc. And if these quantities were to be fully specified in the context of math equations underlying our physics then nothing else would need to be said about the world. This is something that took me years to wrap my head around but once I encountered Alfred North Whitehead & his critique of physicalism (i.e. The Bifurcation of Nature) then it really started to click.
Part 2 on Illusionism was strong, but I mostly skipped over it as I already have a decent understanding of the arguments against Illusionism. I loved Part 7 as Kastrup really explains why & how the discipline of Philosophy is important for life in general (despite it not being as economically productive as engineering, medicine, law or finance) because philosophy explains what our motivations for living are. He does rightfully mention that a big problem with the discipline is the constant use of convoluted jargon, arguments & complex/abstract concepts.
Solid text overall for understanding that science is metaphysically neutral (though it does need to work on the assumption that there is a world outside individual minds/psyches) & addressing how (Analytic) Idealism is a rational, logical & coherent metaphysics.
September 6, 2023
This is another compilation of essays and papers by Kastro and coauthors, but they have been revised and updated accordingly. Chapter 2 is entitled "Ignorance." It is a civil (sort of) but brutal criticism of two of Kastro's critics (or rather Idealism's critics), Keith Frankish and Michael Graziano, a philosopher and neuroscientist, respectively. I rather doubt that either one of them is a fool, but neither is suffered gladly by Kastro. The rest of the book (the entire book) aligns well, as expected, with The Idea of the World, although as a layman I would recommend the reading the latter before the current book.
There is no doubt that Kastro is an effective communicator, but it is also the case that (in both books) much of the writing is directed toward philosophers (and maybe scientists). Some of the logic threads in the more technical philosophical portions seemed (to my layman's brain) difficult to comprehend.
Nevertheless, as with The Idea of the World, Science Ideated does provide even the layman with a general understanding of (Analytical) Idealism as an ontology. I look forward to Kastro's next book.
There is no doubt that Kastro is an effective communicator, but it is also the case that (in both books) much of the writing is directed toward philosophers (and maybe scientists). Some of the logic threads in the more technical philosophical portions seemed (to my layman's brain) difficult to comprehend.
Nevertheless, as with The Idea of the World, Science Ideated does provide even the layman with a general understanding of (Analytical) Idealism as an ontology. I look forward to Kastro's next book.
December 8, 2022
An essential for anyone who has a 21st Century mind and wants to know what the 21st Century science says about reality. The universe, the living being, and human civilization have a meaning, which needs to be unravelled, and this book can help you get started. It will be of immense benefit to scientists to read this book, for it will inform on the central dogmas, and often falsehoods, that can trap the scientific pursuit. In that sense, understanding the reality is not just a philosophical curiosity, it can be a worthwhile enterprise for everyone. I suggest this book be thought at senior school level, so that blossoming minds are not caught in the delusion most solitaries entertain today.
March 25, 2023
It’s a very good book, in wich kastrup makes a resume of his thought appeared in his other works. He writes very well, making easy to understand dificult concepts. By another way, his main theory, called “Analytical Idealism” have the same weak point that the others theories he analyzes: indemostrability. This has dessapointed me a little , but, nevertheless, I understand the difficulty to find the final truth that is hidden under everything, if it exists. I’m looking forward the next works of this brilliant thinker. Thanks for your book, Bernardo!!
October 10, 2021
Wide ranging and very readable. This is a collection of essays and articles written for websites and magazines. As a result Bernardo is very succinct in making the case and summing up the main points. Having read all his other books I found that this book then becomes a refresher course on his core understandings of our perception of the world.
October 5, 2021
Great, bite-sized chapters of Kastrup's philosophy. A must-read, must-understand metaphysics for anyone serious about making new breakthroughs in scientific understanding. Reading Kastrup is like a palette-cleansing drink of water for the mind before considering new theories and ideas.
April 19, 2022
Enlightening
Clear, concepts of reality pushing the limits of our imagination. His ideas are difficult because they conflict with what we experience. But mind expanding that now I've completed the book I will have to go back and read it with my stretched sense of reality.
Clear, concepts of reality pushing the limits of our imagination. His ideas are difficult because they conflict with what we experience. But mind expanding that now I've completed the book I will have to go back and read it with my stretched sense of reality.
May 29, 2024
Even more lucid as a writer
October 18, 2024
Yeah, I was thinkin the same thing…
August 30, 2025
I dare you to read these books and not have your mind opened
September 2, 2021
Koans for the western mind
I’ve been reading Kastrup’s writings and listening to him speak for a year now and feel Science Ideated is the most accessible and exciting exploration of the mindscape of Analytic Idealism I’ve come across. What’s especially challenging and energising is how Kastrup used the very essence of western culture ie reasoning and logic, to unlock the rigid mindset of materialism to reveal an idealist’s heart. Thoroughly enjoyed this book, which has profoundly inspires me in my own research and work to use self-reflexive consciousness as meta-cognitive tool for exploring reality.
I’ve been reading Kastrup’s writings and listening to him speak for a year now and feel Science Ideated is the most accessible and exciting exploration of the mindscape of Analytic Idealism I’ve come across. What’s especially challenging and energising is how Kastrup used the very essence of western culture ie reasoning and logic, to unlock the rigid mindset of materialism to reveal an idealist’s heart. Thoroughly enjoyed this book, which has profoundly inspires me in my own research and work to use self-reflexive consciousness as meta-cognitive tool for exploring reality.
October 6, 2021
Paradigm Shifter
Dr. Kastrup's writings have transformed my life. I have practiced Buddhism for over fifty years now. In the last five years I have read all of his books. I feel now that I understand my life and practice in a radically different, better and more meaningful context.
Dr. Kastrup's writings have transformed my life. I have practiced Buddhism for over fifty years now. In the last five years I have read all of his books. I feel now that I understand my life and practice in a radically different, better and more meaningful context.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews