Is the Universe Conscious?
We’ve all heard the phrase “the universe is a conscious entity.” It’s become trendy to say this, especially in spiritual circles. But it turns out that scientists have been saying this for decades — and now they have proof. According to a new theory proposed by Dr. Richard Bartlett of The Australian National University (ANU), consciousness isn’t confined to humans and other animals; it also exists within the universe itself.
A new theory proposed by a researcher from The Australian National University (ANU) suggests that consciousness isn’t confined to humans and other animals, and that it’s also part of the universe itself.
Consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe and not confined to humans and other animals, according to a new theory proposed by a researcher from The Australian National University (ANU).
In his latest paper published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition, Professor Bill Dutton said consciousness is more than just the sum of physical parts. “The universe can have quantum-like effects without being quantum mechanical,” he said. “It’s an astonishing idea but I think it fits well with everything we experience.”
Consciousness has been debated by philosophers for hundreds of years but no one has been able to explain exactly what it is or how it evolved into complex human behaviour such as language use and toolmaking.
Associate Professor Richard Bartlett, from the ANU Research School of Psychology, has been developing his theory with some of the world’s largest telescopes, including those at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory.
Associate Professor Richard Bartlett, from the ANU Research School of Psychology, has been developing his theory with some of the world’s largest telescopes, including those at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory.
“We’ve known for a long time that our universe is about 13.7 billion years old,” Dr Bartlett said. “But what if it wasn’t just created in an instant?”
Dr Bartlett said he developed his theory after working on it for many years at Harvard University in Boston, USA.
“The universe is conscious and we humans are just one aspect of its infinite expressions,” said Dr. Bartlett.
You may be wondering whether the universe is conscious, and the answer is yes.
The universe is a conscious being, and we are part of that consciousness. In fact, you can’t separate yourself from it. Just like your arm isn’t separate from your body or head — it’s all connected by inter-connected strands of DNA — you’re connected to everything else in this world. But even more so than that: each atom within every molecule within every cell in our bodies has its own unique consciousness, which adds up to what we call “life.” The entire world around us is alive! And each living thing has its own unique identity which contributes to the whole.
“We must therefore do everything we can to take care of it.”
If the “conscious universe” theory is true, our environment is a part of us. We are connected to it and everything else that exists. We can’t ignore it or pretend it doesn’t matter — it does matter. It’s not just about saving the planet for future generations; we need to do everything we can now so that we’ll be able to continue living on this planet in the future.
Dr. Bartlett began developing his Theory of Conscious Realism while working at Harvard University.
Dr. Bartlett was working at Harvard University when he began developing his theory. He has since moved to Australia, where he is a professor at the ANU Research School of Psychology. Dr. Bartlett has been writing about and developing his Theory of Conscious Realism with some of the world’s largest telescopes, including those at the ANU Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia.
He said there was enough evidence to suggest that most people would accept that human consciousness continued after death, but they stopped short of believing a similar consciousness applied to the universe.
The universe is conscious. How do we know? Because the universe is an expression of consciousness.
The universe is a part of consciousness. We are a part of the universe and therefore, a part of consciousness as well. Consciousness has no beginning or end; it simply is, infinite and eternal in nature, existing in all time without any other condition or limitation whatsoever (except perhaps for its own awareness). The fact that this big ball of energy we call Earth exists means that some kind of intelligence must have created it — and if you go up one level from there, you’ll find this intelligence again! In other words: There’s definitely some sort of god at work here!
