How Matter Became Conscious and AlivewithJames Cooke

Books Mentioned In This Interview

James Cooke PhD trained as a neuroscientist after an awakening as a teenager that showed him the reality of spiritual states of consciousness. He holds three degrees from Oxford University (a PhD and Masters in Neuroscience & a BA in Experimental Psychology). He has conducted scientific research for over a decade at institutions such as Oxford University, University of California, Berkeley, University College London, Trinity College Dublin, and Riken Brain Sciences Institute in Tokyo. James is the author of The Dawn of Mind: How Matter Became Conscious and Alive, which synthesizes science and spiritual insight to offer a radical solution to the Hard Problem of Consciousness. His website is https://www.drjamescooke.com/

Here he describes his position as a philosophical monist who maintains that life requires consciousness and that consciousness requires life. He sees himself as a “naturalist,” but only in the sense of rejecting dualistic interpretations of reality. If supposed supernatural evidence is genuine, he maintains that it will fit into a monistic description of the world.

00:00 Introduction

02:23 James’ spiritual awakening

06:41 Buddhism

15:45 Process philosophy and Alfred North Whitehead

18:29 The “hard problem of consciousness”

23:14 Naturalism and consciousness

34:13 Consciousness and the brain

39:59 Artificial intelligence and consciousness

44:51 Autopoiesis and phenomenology

52:11 Conclusion

(Recorded on November 30, 2024)

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Published on December 18, 2024

Transcripts

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