Bernardo Kastrup

Bernardo Kastrup
Kastrup in 2021
Born (1974-10-21) 21 October 1974
Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
NationalityDutch[1][2]
Education
Occupations
  • Philosopher
  • scientist
  • author
  • entrepreneur
Known forAnalytic idealism
Websitebernardokastrup.com

Bernardo Kastrup (born 21 October 1974) is a Dutch[1][2] philosopher and computer scientist[3] recognized for his contributions to consciousness studies, notably through his formulation of analytic idealism—a variant of metaphysical idealism rooted in the analytic tradition. He has authored numerous books and academic articles challenging physicalism and advocating for the view that consciousness constitutes the foundation of reality. Kastrup serves as the executive director of the Essentia Foundation.[4]

Early life and education

Kastrup was born in the Niterói municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[5] He later relocated to Switzerland, before settling in the Netherlands.[6]

He completed his undergraduate studies in electronic engineering at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in 1997.[5] He then earned a Ph.D. in computer engineering with the thesis Automatic synthesis of reconfigurable instruction set accelerators (2001) from the Eindhoven University of Technology,[7] where his research focused on reconfigurable computing and artificial intelligence. Subsequently, he obtained a second doctorate in philosophy,[8] from Radboud University Nijmegen, where his research centered on ontology and philosophy of mind. His dissertation, Analytic Idealism: A consciousness-only ontology (2019), laid the groundwork for the metaphysical framework he would continue to elaborate.[9]

Career

Kastrup began his professional journey in scientific research and technology by contributing to fields such as artificial intelligence and information security. He has held positions at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the Philips Research Laboratories, and as a technology strategist for ASML Holding. Additionally, he co-founded Silicon Hive, a parallel processor company acquired by Intel in 2011,[10] as well as the AI systems company Syncthetics B.V.[11]

Transitioning to philosophy, Kastrup shifted his focus to metaphysics and the nature of consciousness.[12] As executive director of the Essentia Foundation, he oversees initiatives aimed at challenging materialist assumptions in science and philosophy, curating research that questions the adequacy of physicalism.[13][14] Kastrup has published extensively in both academic and popular venues, including in Scientific American,[15] where he critiqued mainstream interpretations of consciousness and argued for an idealist alternative.[16] His books, such as Why Materialism is Baloney, The Idea of the World, and Decoding Jung's Metaphysics, explore the implications of analytic idealism for the understanding of mind and reality.[17]

Philosophical work

Kastrup is chiefly associated with analytic idealism, a philosophical system positing that phenomenal consciousness is the primary substrate of existence, with individual minds representing dissociated segments of a universal consciousness.[18][19][20]

He has participated in public debates with leading figures in science and philosophy, including Christof Koch, Graham Oppy, Susan Blackmore, Donald D. Hoffman, Philip Goff, and Sabine Hossenfelder.[21][22][23][24] These exchanges have sometimes been contentious and have sparked significant discussion within the academic community.[25]

Relation to Advaita Vedanta

Kastrup has expressed a connection between his philosophical views and Advaita Vedanta, a non-dualistic school of Hindu philosophy. He has participated in discussions with Swami Sarvapriyananda of the Ramakrishna Order, exploring the intersections between analytic idealism and Advaita philosophy.[26] In various interviews, Kastrup has stated that his concept of analytic idealism is a modern interpretation of ideas that were prevalent in the Indus Valley thousands of years ago, specifically referring to the non-dualistic teachings found in the Upanishads. In a YouTube video titled "Which religion would you choose?", Kastrup remarked, "Amongst the world religions, all of which I respect profoundly, intellectually I have profound affinity with the Indian tradition, and that's for obvious reasons. Analytic idealism is a modern dressing of what was known to the people in Indus valley".[27]

Selected published works

Some of Kastrup's works include:

  • —— (2011). Rationalist Spirituality: An Exploration of the Meaning of Life and Existence Informed by Logic and Science. Winchester, UK: IFF Books. ISBN 9781846947353.
  • —— (2014). Why Materialism Is Baloney: How True Skeptics Know There is No Death and Fathom Answers to Life, the Universe, and Everything. Collective Ink. ISBN 9781782793618.
  • —— (2016). More Than Allegory: On Religious Myth, Truth, and Belief. Winchester, UK: IFF Books. ISBN 9781785352874.
  • —— (2019). The Idea of the World: A Multi-Disciplinary Argument for the Mental Nature of Reality. Winchester, UK: IFF Books. ISBN 9781785357398.[28]
  • —— (2021). Decoding Jung's Metaphysics: The Archetypal Semantics of an Experiential Universe. Winchester, UK: IFF Books. ISBN 9781789045659.[29]

Books

  • Meaning in Absurdity (2011)
  • Dreamed Up Reality (2011)
  • Rationalist Spirituality (2011)
  • Why Materialism Is Baloney (2014)
  • Brief Peeks Beyond (2015)
  • More Than Allegory (2016)
  • The Idea of the World (2019)
  • Decoding Schopenhauer's Metaphysics (2020)
  • Science Ideated (2021)
  • Decoding Jung's Metaphysics (2021)
  • Analytic Idealism in a Nutshell (2024)

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Bernardo Kastrup's post". facebook.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2025. Retrieved 4 June 2025. officially I'm Dutch, van Lommel's compatriot
  2. ^ a b "Bernardo Kastrup's post on his nationality". facebook. Retrieved 4 June 2025. I don't have Brazilian nationality or passport; I just have the right to request it because I was born there, but that's all{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "Bernardo Kastrup". The Library of Consciousness. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Bernardo Kastrup". Iff Books. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b Kastrup, B. (2001). Automatic synthesis of reconfigurable instruction set accelerators (Phd Thesis thesis). Eindhoven: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. p. 129 (Curriculum Vitae).
  6. ^ "The Daimon and the Soul of the West". Iff Books. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  7. ^ Kastrup, B. (2001). Automatic synthesis of reconfigurable instruction set accelerators (Phd Thesis thesis). Eindhoven: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven.
  8. ^ "Analytic Idealism: A consciousness-only ontology" (PDF). Radboud University. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  9. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo (2019). Analytic Idealism: A consciousness-only ontology (Thesis). Radboud University Nijmegen. ISBN 978-94-028-1400-2.
  10. ^ Caulfield, Brian. "Intel Snaps Up Mobile Multimedia Specialist Silicon Hive". Forbes. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  11. ^ "Bernardo Kastrup's LinkedIn profile". LinkedIn. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  12. ^ Cathomas, Robert (31 October 2020). "Bernardo Kastorp: The Idea of the World | Beshara Magazine". Retrieved 10 May 2025.
  13. ^ Christian, Jon (25 March 2019). "Physicists Are Starting to Suspect Physical Reality Is an Illusion". Futurism. The Byte.
  14. ^ Bilderbeck, Poppy (30 October 2023). "Scientist claims humans have no free will". Unilad.
  15. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo. "Author: Bernardo Kastrup". Scientific American. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  16. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo (March 2019). "Physics Is Pointing Inexorably to Mind". Scientific American. 2 (3): None. doi:10.1038/scientificamericanspace0619-34. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Iff Books Author Page". Iff Books. Books by this author. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  18. ^ Davies, Alan (9 April 2024). "The mysteries of near-death experiences". Letters. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  19. ^ Tizzard, David A. (4 May 2024). "Bernado Kastrup and Korea's search for meaning". The Korea Times.
  20. ^ Berman, Robby (27 June 2018). "Are we all multiple personalities of universal consciousness?". Big Think. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  21. ^ Goff, Philip (8 July 2020). "Response to Bernardo Kastrup". Conscience and Consciousness. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  22. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo (9 February 2022). "The fantasy behind Sabine Hossenfelder's superdeterminism". Essentia Foundation. Archived from the original on 10 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  23. ^ Jaimungal, Curt (25 February 2022). Bernardo Kastrup vs. Sabine Hossenfelder: Superdeterminism. Theories of Everything with Curt Jaimungal. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024 – via Youtube.
  24. ^ "Bernardo Kastrup Argues for a Universal Mind as a Reasonable Idea". Mind Matters. 20 August 2020. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  25. ^ Kastrup, Bernardo. "Some of my best adversarial debates, as captured in video". Bernardo Kastrup. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  26. ^ Bernardo Kastrup, Swami Sarvapriyananda. Eastern and Western lenses to Analytic Idealism with Bernardo Kastrup and Swami Sarvapriyananda. YouTube. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  27. ^ Bernardo Kastrup. Which religion would you choose. YouTube. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  28. ^ Bazaluk, O. A. (18 December 2018). "The Ontology of Existence: The Next Paradigm. A Review of the Book "The Idea of the World: A Multi-Disciplinary Argument for the Mental Nature of Reality", by Bernardo Kastrup". Anthropological Measurements of Philosophical Research (14): 180–183. doi:10.15802/ampr.v0i14.151745. ISSN 2304-9685. Archived from the original on 9 August 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  29. ^ Heyning, Eduard C. (2 October 2021). "Decoding Jung's Metaphysics: The Archetypal Semantics of an Experiential Universe. (2021). By Bernardo Kastrup. IFF Books". Psychological Perspectives. 64 (4): 593–595. doi:10.1080/00332925.2021.2044186. ISSN 0033-2925. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
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