Show notes
Andrés Gómez Emilsson, director of the Qualia Research Institute and a pioneering researcher in the mathematical study of consciousness, explores the nature of awareness from both philosophical and scientific angles. He recounts his journey that led to founding the Qualia Research Institute—aimed at reducing suffering and enhancing experience. He discusses the transformative potential of psychedelics, the view of the self as a series of experiences, and how sensory resonance ("impedance matching") shapes our awareness.As a listener of TOE you can get a special 20% off discount to The Economist and all it has to offer! Visit https://www.economist.com/toeJoin My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.comListen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOEBecome a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos):https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/joinTimestamps:00:00 The Most Important Problem01:49 The Hard Problem and Ontologies05:15 Journey into Consciousness09:06 The Qualia Research Institute10:49 Shattering Realities17:12 Happiness vs. Meaning19:15 Defining Happiness25:28 Psychological Egoism33:45 Understanding Consciousness38:01 The Qualia Research Institute's Goals49:21 Exploring Impedance Matching58:25 The Dance of Dissonance1:03:22 The Nature of Suffering1:10:32 The Concept of Oneness1:17:02 Zero Ontology Explained1:27:20 The Nature of Reality1:28:57 The Self and Sense of Self1:30:53 Stages of Consciousness1:37:35 Transformations in Consciousness1:46:20 The Role of Psychedelics2:02:01 Exploring 5-MeO-DMT2:21:03 Psychedelics and Buddhist Philosophy2:45:32 Insights on Jhana States2:51:31 Conclusion and ReflectionsLinks Mentioned:- Qualia Research Institute (website): https://qri.org/- Andres’s Qualia profile: https://qri.org/people/andr%C3%A9s-g%C3%B3mez-emilsson- David Chalmers’s 2024 presentation at Mindfest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r9V1ryksnw- Bernardo Kastrup on TOE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAB21FAXCDE- The Hedonistic Imperative (book): https://amzn.to/3Di7Xx5- Why Does Anything Exist? (book): https://www.amazon.com/Why-Does-Anything-Exist-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0DKBHMC3C- Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha (book): https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Core-Teachings-Buddha-Unusually/dp/1911597108- Andres on The DemystifySci Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjWDURKNe2Q- ‘Replications’ group on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/replications/- Stuart Hameroff’s Mindfest presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_bQwdJir1o- The Doors of Perception (book): https://amzn.to/4ijduTb- From Neural Activity to Field Topology (article): https://qualiacomputing.com/2025/02/09/from-neural-activity-to-field-topology-how-coupling-kernels-shape-consciousness/- Seeing That Frees (book): https://amzn.to/43fm15m- Practicing the Jhanas (meditation series): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO6hhaAzLmiqUzBYuLLJQ8FexOTRxz8xF- The Dalai Lama, Psychedelics & Cher (article): https://tricycle.org/article/dalai-lama-psychedelics-cher/- Advice to Sigālaka (article): https://suttacentral.net/dn31/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latinSupport TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurtDiscord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs#science #consciousness #mind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices