The Science of New States of Consciousness | Andrés Gómez Emilsson

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/toe Join My New Substack (Personal Writings): https://curtjaimungal.substack.com Listen on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/SpotifyTOE Become a YouTube Member (Early Access Videos): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdWIQh9DGG6uhJk8eyIFl1w/join Timestamps: 00:00 The Most Important Problem 01:49 The Hard Problem and Ontologies 05:15 Journey into Consciousness 09:06 The Qualia Research Institute 10:49 Shattering Realities 17:12 Happiness vs. Meaning 19:15 Defining Happiness 25:28 Psychological Egoism 33:45 Understanding Consciousness 38:01 The Qualia Research Institute's Goals 49:21 Exploring Impedance Matching 58:25 The Dance of Dissonance 1:03:22 The Nature of Suffering 1:10:32 The Concept of Oneness 1:17:02 Zero Ontology Explained 1:27:20 The Nature of Reality 1:28:57 The Self and Sense of Self 1:30:53 Stages of Consciousness 1:37:35 Transformations in Consciousness 1:46:20 The Role of Psychedelics 2:02:01 Exploring 5-MeO-DMT 2:21:03 Psychedelics and Buddhist Philosophy 2:45:32 Insights on Jhana States 2:51:31 Conclusion and Reflections Links 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&notes=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin Support TOE on Patreon: https://patreon.com/curtjaimungal Twitter: https://twitter.com/TOEwithCurt Discord Invite: https://discord.com/invite/kBcnfNVwqs #science #consciousness #mind Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices