The Library of Consciousness

Evolution isn't done yet, it's just getting started.

The universe is aware of itself through all of us. Come get lost in The Library’s virtual aisles to find out more about this astounding revelation.

It is more than poetry to say we are children of the stars: the elements that make up our bodies were formed inside those blazing infernos.

Gregory Stock

Metaman

1993

Explore Topics

Astronomy

7 documents

Scientific study of celestial objects, space, and the physical universe as a whole.

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Consciousness

43 documents

The subjective experience of internal and external existence as processed by the mind, marked by awareness, perception, reasoning, knowledge, and judgment arising from sensory input and sophisticated brain functions.

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Overview Effect

3 documents

A cognitive shift in awareness and perspective reported by some astronauts while viewing the Earth from orbit, often leading to profound changes in how they understand and relate to the planet and humanity.

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Extended Mind

19 documents

A theory that cognitive processes extend beyond the brain and skull, incorporating external items such as computers to multiply the mind’s abilities.

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Emergence

30 documents

Novel and coherent structures, patterns, and properties arising during the process of self-organization in complex systems.

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Ontology

44 documents

The philosophical study of being, existence, and reality.

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Cosmology

30 documents

A field studying the birth, layout, development and potential end states of the physical universe encompassing all matter and energy through scientific models and observation.

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Autopoiesis

25 documents

The concept that living systems self-organize by creating their own components and subsystems such that the network of production processes recursively generate the system’s identity.

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Artificial Intelligence

21 documents

Engineered non-biological systems which can perform functions and behaviors typically requiring intelligence when performed by humans, such as reasoning, planning, learning, perception, creativity, and problem-solving.

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Transhumanism

18 documents

Enhancing human capacities through technology to transcend biological constraints and evolve into a superior, post-human state.

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Cosmic Consciousness

106 documents

An intuitive sense of the universal order, unity, and connection which arises through elevated spiritual awareness and mystical experience of the cosmic whole.

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Mindfulness

56 documents

Focusing conscious awareness on the present moment non-judgmentally, observing sensations, thoughts, and feelings as they unfold to gain greater clarity, insight, and self-understanding.

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Neuroscience

7 documents

The scientific study of the nervous system, encompassing its structure, function, development, and the relationship between brain and behavior.

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Entropy and Syntropy

13 documents

The inevitable progression towards randomness and disorganization, and the counteracting emergence of order, complexity, and structured systems from chaotic states.

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Metaphysics

47 documents

A branch of philosophy concerned with the fundamental nature of reality, being, and existence.

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Ecology

24 documents

The scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.

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Eastern Philosophy

61 documents

Philosophical traditions originating in Asia and the Indian subcontinent, characterized by concepts such as nondualism, enlightenment, karma, and the transitory nature of the world.

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Architecture

5 documents

The art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures to serve human needs and purposes.

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Abiogenesis

5 documents

The process by which life arose from non-living matter on early Earth, marking the transition from chemistry to biology.

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Evolution

73 documents

The process through which biological populations undergo transgenerational genetic change over time through mechanisms like natural selection and genetic drift.

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Epistemology

6 documents

A branch of philosophy focused on the nature and justification of knowledge, including the study of its scope and validity.

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Social Science

23 documents

A branch of science devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within them.

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Global Brain

49 documents

The emergent network of information and communication technologies linking humans and machines into an integrated, collective intelligence.

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Psychedelics

39 documents

Psychoactive substances that profoundly alter perception, mood, cognition, and other mental processes by activating brain receptors and causing changes in cognitive functioning and connectivity.

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Noösphere

41 documents

The sphere of human thought and collective consciousness that emerges from the interaction of minds on a global scale.

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Telepathy

10 documents

Linking multiple minds to share thoughts and subjective states amongst each other, both indirectly through spoken and written language, as well as directly with various sophisticated technologies.

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Technology

52 documents

The practical application of aggregated scientific knowledge and tools by organized human enterprise to leverage control over aspects of reality for solving problems and achieving desired outcomes.

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Accelerating Change

40 documents

The observed exponential nature of the rate of technological and social change over time.

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Mythology

19 documents

The collective narratives, symbols, and beliefs of a culture or civilization, often explaining natural phenomena, origins, and societal values through symbolic storytelling.

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Omega Point

38 documents

A spiritual concept describing the maximum level of complexity and consciousness which the universe is evolving towards.

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Futurism

33 documents

A philosophy focused on envisioning, articulating, evaluating, and guiding the current epoch towards generating maximal thriving for the whole of humanity and nature across all time horizons.

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Zen

15 documents

A school of Mahayana Buddhism that aims to awaken enlightenment by directly pointing to the inherent wakefulness of the mind through meditation, practice, and transcendental wisdom passed from master to disciple.

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Economics

6 documents

The study of how people and systems manage resources, make decisions, and balance needs with scarcity, focusing on production, trade, and the flow of goods, services, wealth, and energy.

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Superorganism

46 documents

A highly interconnected and organized community of individuals functioning as a single organism.

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Systems Theory

23 documents

An interdisciplinary field that studies complex systems in nature, society, and science, analyzing the relationships between the parts and how they give rise to the collective behaviors of a system as a whole.

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New Additions

The Old and the New Vision

Herbert Günther

The Old and the New Vision

1981

Herbert Günther reveals how ancient Tibetan Buddhist texts offer insights into consciousness that parallel modern scientific discoveries. The Tibetans viewed humans not as isolated beings, but as expressions of universal intelligence, describing three levels: the physical body, an experiential “phantom-like” body, and a mysterious deep structure. Their texts suggest that the universe itself is conducting a grand experiment through human consciousness—playfully creating new possibilities and evolving toward higher forms of order.

Essay
4,293 9

A Beautiful Loop

Ruben Laukkonen and Shamil Chandaria

A Beautiful Loop

An Active Inference Theory of Consciousness

2024

Laukkonen and Chandaria propose that consciousness arises from a recursive brain process involving three key elements: a reality model, competitive inferences reducing uncertainty, and a self-aware feedback loop. This framework explains various states of awareness, including meditation, psychedelic experiences, and minimal consciousness. It also offers insights into artificial intelligence by connecting awareness to self-reinforcing predictions. The authors’ theory suggests that consciousness emerges when the brain’s reality model becomes self-referential, creating a “knowing itself” phenomenon. This recursive process underlies different levels of conscious experience and potentially informs AI development.

Research Article
11,708 20

The Living Machine

Warren McCulloch

The Living Machine

1962

Warren McCulloch, a pioneering neurologist and mathematician, discusses his lifelong quest to understand the nature of numbers and human cognition. He explores the parallels between the human brain and complex computing machines, emphasizing the brain’s unique “anastomotic” structure. McCulloch ponders the future of artificial intelligence, suggesting that machines might one day surpass and outlive humans. His ideas blend mathematics, theology, and neuroscience, painting a thought-provoking picture of consciousness, technology, and the potential evolution of intelligence beyond human form.

Discussion
09:35 1,134 3

Unity in Contemplation

Alan Watts

Unity in Contemplation

1973

Imagine peeling away the layers of your social self to reveal a cosmic peephole—that’s meditation, says Alan Watts, where you become the universe’s own eyeball, winking at itself. And here’s a divine chuckle: God’s not all furrowed brows and thunderbolts. Watts nudges us to float, not flail, through life’s spiritual circus. In a world gone madcap, he prescribes a dose of quiet contemplation—not as a grim duty, but as a playful plunge into life’s delicious absurdities.

Seminar
02:00:02 12,771 7

I Am That

Nisargadatta Maharaj

I Am That

1973

In the heart of Mumbai’s bustling streets, a humble beedi shop owner named Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj delved deeply into the nature of existence, emerging with profound insights that have since captivated spiritual seekers worldwide. I Am That is a collection of his dialogues, where complex metaphysical concepts are unraveled with startling clarity and simplicity. Through conversations steeped in Advaita Vedanta, Maharaj guides readers beyond the illusion of individuality to the realization of their true, unbounded self. Each page invites you to question, reflect, and ultimately transcend the confines of the mind, offering not just philosophical musings, but a transformative experience that promises to change the very way you perceive reality. If you’re seeking a profound spiritual awakening, I Am That is not just a book—it’s a portal to understanding your true nature.

Book
3

Physics of Life, Time, Complexity, and Aliens

Sara Walker and Lex Fridman

Physics of Life, Time, Complexity, and Aliens

2024

Sara Walker and Lex Fridman explore life’s grand mysteries, touching on the nature of existence and the origins of life to the potential of artificial intelligence and the future of consciousness. Walker’s unique perspective challenges conventional wisdom, inviting us to reconsider our place in the cosmic dance.

Discussion
02:51:58 28,330 32

Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine

Irving John Good

Speculations Concerning the First Ultraintelligent Machine

1965

An ultra-intelligent machine is a machine that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man however clever. The design of machines is one of these intellectual activities; therefore, an ultra-intelligent machine could design even better machines. To design an ultra-intelligent machine one needs to understand more about the human brain or human thought or both. The physical representation of both meaning and recall, in the human brain, can be to some extent understood in terms of a subassembly theory, this being a modification of Hebb’s cell assembly theory. The subassembly theory sheds light on the physical embodiment of memory and meaning, and there can be little doubt that both needs embodiment in an ultra-intelligent machine. The subassembly theory leads to reasonable and interesting explanations of a variety of psychological effects.

Research Article
3

Why a Science of Mind Implies the Transcendence of Nature

Francisco Varela

Why a Science of Mind Implies the Transcendence of Nature

God and Computers: Minds, Machines, and Metaphysics (Part 5)

1997

Have you ever wondered how your brain creates your conscious experience? Francisco Varela explores the intersection of science and spirituality, offering a fresh perspective on the age-old mind-body problem. Drawing inspiration from Buddhist teachings, he argues that our everyday human experience is the key to unlocking the mysteries of consciousness. Varela proposes a research program called neurophenomenology, which aims to bridge the gap between brain activity and subjective experience. Through engaging examples and insightful explanations, he demonstrates how the exploration of consciousness can lead to both scientific advancements and a deeper understanding of ourselves.

Lecture
01:11:42 9,131 5

How It Is

Viola Cordova

How It Is

The Native American Philosophy of V. F. Cordova

2008

Viola Cordova was the first Native American woman to receive a PhD in philosophy. Even as she became an expert on canonical works of traditional Western philosophy, she devoted herself to defining a Native American philosophy. Although she passed away before she could complete her life’s work, some of her colleagues have organized her pioneering contributions into this provocative book. In three parts, Cordova sets out a complete Native American philosophy. First she explains her own understanding of the nature of reality itself—the origins of the world, the relation of matter and spirit, the nature of time, and the roles of culture and language in understanding all of these. She then turns to our role as residents of the Earth, arguing that we become human as we deepen our relation to our people and to our places, and as we understand the responsibilities that grow from those relationships. In the final section, she calls for a new reverence in a world where there is no distinction between the sacred and the mundane. Cordova clearly contrasts Native American beliefs with the traditions of the Enlightenment and Christianized Europeans (what she calls “Euroman” philosophy). By doing so, she leads her readers into a deeper understanding of both traditions and encourages us to question any view that claims a singular truth. From these essays—which are lucid, insightful, frequently funny, and occasionally angry—we receive a powerful new vision of how we can live with respect, reciprocity, and joy.

Book
2

Ecstasy of Beings

Vilayat Inayat Khan

Ecstasy of Beings

1974

For those intoxicated by life’s seeming meaningfulness, there is only utter shattering of the false self, without compromise. The ego is annihilated in love for the divine beloved, so that one becomes egoless, the beloved all. Ecstasy is the greatest force, breaking the prison of selfhood to merge with the ever-present mystery. In solitude’s wilderness within, one experiences God manifesting through all beings as oneself. Dogma is abandoned for pure knowing—the divine perfection working through human limitation.

Lecture
20:35 1,988 5

In Defence of the Hivemind Society

John Danaher and Stephen Petersen

In Defence of the Hivemind Society

2020

The idea that humans should abandon their individuality and use technology to bind themselves together into hivemind societies seems both farfetched and frightening—something that is redolent of the worst dystopias from science fiction. In this article, we argue that these common reactions to the ideal of a hivemind society are mistaken. The idea that humans could form hiveminds is sufficiently plausible for its axiological consequences to be taken seriously. Furthermore, far from being a dystopian nightmare, the hivemind society could be desirable and could enable a form of sentient flourishing. Consequently, we should not be so quick to deny it. We provide two arguments in support of this claim—the axiological openness argument and the desirability argument—and then defend it against three major objections.

Article
10,737 24

Merging Minds

David Lyreskog

Merging Minds

The Conceptual and Ethical Impacts of Emerging Technologies for Collective Minds

2023

A growing number of technologies are currently being developed to improve and distribute thinking and decision-making. Rapid progress in brain-to-brain interfacing and swarming technologies promises to transform how we think about collective and collaborative cognitive tasks across domains, ranging from research to entertainment, and from therapeutics to military applications. As these tools continue to improve, we are prompted to monitor how they may affect our society on a broader level, but also how they may reshape our fundamental understanding of agency, responsibility, and other key concepts of our moral landscape.

Research Article
9,919 14

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