Bernardo Kastrup (born 21 October 1974) is a Dutch philosopher and computer scientist recognized for his contributions to consciousness studies, notably through his formulation of analytic idealism—a variant of metaphysical

idealism Idealism in philosophy, also known as philosophical realism or metaphysical idealism, is the set of metaphysics, metaphysical perspectives asserting that, most fundamentally, reality is equivalent to mind, Spirit (vital essence), spirit, or ...

rooted in the

analytic tradition Analytic philosophy is a broad movement within Western philosophy, especially English-speaking world, anglophone philosophy, focused on analysis as a philosophical method; clarity of prose; rigor in arguments; and making use of formal logic, mat ...

. He has authored numerous books and academic articles challenging

physicalism In philosophy, physicalism is the view that "everything is physical", that there is "nothing over and above" the physical, or that everything supervenience, supervenes on the physical. It is opposed to idealism, according to which the world arises ...

and advocating for the view that consciousness constitutes the foundation of reality. Kastrup serves as the executive director of the Essentia Foundation.

Early life and education

Kastrup was born in the

Niterói Niterói () is a List of municipalities in Rio de Janeiro, municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast Region, Brazil, southeast region of Brazil. It lies across Guanabara Bay, facing the city of Rio de ...

municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He later relocated to Switzerland, before settling in the Netherlands. He completed his undergraduate studies in electronic engineering at the

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (, UFRJ) is a public university, public research university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the largest federal university in the country and is one of the Brazilian centers of excellence in teaching and r ...

in 1997. 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 The Eindhoven University of Technology (), Abbreviation, abbr. TU/e, is a public university, public technical university in the Netherlands, situated in Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its Bachelor of Science, BS ...

, where his research focused on reconfigurable computing and artificial intelligence. Subsequently, he obtained a second doctorate in philosophy, from

Radboud University Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, , formerly ) is a public university, public research university located in Nijmegen, Netherlands. RU has seven faculties and more than 24,000 students. Established in 1923, Radboud University has consistentl ...

, where his research centered on

ontology Ontology is the philosophical study of existence, being. It is traditionally understood as the subdiscipline of metaphysics focused on the most general features of reality. As one of the most fundamental concepts, being encompasses all of realit ...

and

philosophy of mind Philosophy of mind is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of the mind and its relation to the Body (biology), body and the Reality, external world. The mind–body problem is a paradigmatic issue in philosophy of mind, although a ...

. His dissertation, ''Analytic Idealism: A consciousness-only ontology'' (2019), laid the groundwork for the metaphysical framework he would continue to elaborate.

Career

Kastrup began his professional journey in scientific research and technology by contributing to fields such as

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

and

information security Information security is the practice of protecting information by mitigating information risks. It is part of information risk management. It typically involves preventing or reducing the probability of unauthorized or inappropriate access to data ...

. He has held positions at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the

Philips Research Laboratories Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, and as a technology strategist for

ASML Holding ASML Holding N.V. (commonly shortened to ASML, originally standing for Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography) is a Netherlands, Dutch multinational corporation that specializes in the development and manufacturing of photolithography mach ...

. Additionally, he co-founded Silicon Hive, a parallel processor company acquired by

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

in 2011, as well as the AI systems company Syncthetics B.V. Transitioning to philosophy, Kastrup shifted his focus to metaphysics and the nature of consciousness. 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. Kastrup has published extensively in both academic and popular venues, including in ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...

'', where he critiqued mainstream interpretations of consciousness and argued for an idealist alternative. 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.

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. He has participated in public debates with leading figures in science and philosophy, including

Christof Koch Christof Koch ( ; born November 13, 1956) is an American cognitive scientist, neurophysiologist and computational neuroscientist best known for his work on the neural basis of consciousness. He was the president and chief scientist of the All ...

Graham Oppy Graham Robert Oppy (born 1960) is an Australian philosopher whose main area of research is the philosophy of religion. He is Professor of Philosophy and Associate Dean of Research at Monash University, CEO of the Australasian Association of Phi ...

Susan Blackmore Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and a visiting professor at the University of Plymouth. Her fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best known f ...

, Donald D. Hoffman, Philip Goff, and

Sabine Hossenfelder Sabine Karin Doris Hossenfelder (born 18 September 1976) is a German theoretical physicist, author, science communicator, and YouTuber. She is the author of '' Existential Physics: A Scientist’s Guide to Life’s Biggest Questions''. Earl ...

. These exchanges have sometimes been contentious and have sparked significant discussion within the academic community.

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 The Ramakrishna Order ( Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ সংঘ) is the monastic lineage that was founded by Ramakrishna Paramhansa, when he gave the ochre cloth of renunciation to twelve of his close disciples, in January 1886 at the Cossip ...

, exploring the intersections between analytic idealism and Advaita philosophy. 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 The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...

thousands of years ago, specifically referring to the non-dualistic teachings found in the

Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...

. 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".

Selected published works

Some of Kastrup's works include: * * * * *

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)

References

External links

*
Academic papers on Academia.edu
*
Essentia Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kastrup, Bernardo 1974 births 21st-century Brazilian philosophers 21st-century Dutch philosophers Living people Radboud University Nijmegen alumni Philosophers of mind