Consciousness and Material Reality | Avshalom Elitzur

Physicist Avshalom Elitzur faces the existential problems posed by consciousness, and blesses a baby.

Consciousness is widely seen as an impossible problem for materialism. Furthermore, the phenomenon of consciousness disobeys the laws of physics. Join physicist and philosopher, Avshalom C. Elitzur as he makes a radical new proposal about the relationship between consciousness and material reality.

Avshalom C. Elitzur is a Professor in the Centre for Quantum Studies at Chapman University in the United States. He is best known for his work on the Elitzur–Vaidman bomb-testing problem in quantum mechanics.

00:00 Introduction
00:12 Physics leaves no room for consciousness
02:25 Romeo's love has no impact on his behaviour
03:52 When does fear become real?
05:19 Where, in evolution, does consciousness begin?
07:02 Philosophical explanations of consciousness reviewed
09:12 Avshalom blesses a baby
09:45 Non-interactionist dualism, epiphenomenalism, parallelism
12:42 Pan-psychism
13:34 The consciousness inessentialism postulate