Why Materialism Is Baloney

How True Skeptics Know There Is No Death and Fathom Answers to Life, the Universe, and Everything

By: Bernardo Kastrup

Narrated by: Stephen Graybill

The present framing of the cultural debate in terms of materialism versus religion has allowed materialism to go unchallenged as the only rationally viable metaphysics. This book seeks to change this. It uncovers the absurd implications of materialism and then, uniquely, presents a hard-nosed non-materialist metaphysics substantiated by skepticism, hard empirical evidence, and clear logical argumentation. It lays out a coherent framework upon which one can interpret and make sense of every natural phenomenon and physical law, as well as the modalities of human consciousness, without materialist assumptions.

According to this framework, the brain is merely the image of a self-localization process of mind, analogously to how a whirlpool is the image of a self-localization process of water. The brain doesn't generate mind in the same way that a whirlpool doesn't generate water. It is the brain that is in mind, not mind in the brain. Physical death is merely a de-clenching of awareness. The book closes with a series of educated speculations regarding the afterlife, psychic phenomena, and other related subjects.

©2013, 2017 Dr. Bernardo Kastrup (P)2021 Tantor

Good read for consciousness enthusiasts

The author does a good job showing the problems or at least apparent problems with materialism. He does a good job trying to speculate a different worldview. While I’m not sure I buy his hypothesis, it’s worth a read.

Wow!

'I Am.'

'Eventually everything connects.'

'Everything is One.'

Those words have served as breadcrumbs I've followed in the dark throughout my life - even when it seemed pointless. Now science and philosophy is starting to describe where those inklings originate . This book came at exactly the right time in my life and is profoundly meaningful.

A Convincing Muse

Kastrup's propositons bring forth a much needed, if not desperately needed, quenching of the parched metaphysical view that is materialism. Analytic idealism, which he argues for, is a convincing metaphysics that needs not the acceptance of only the spiritually-endowed. Rather, he provides a refreshing ontology that invites honest, rational, and open empirical investigation into what is.

The strength of this piece lies mainly in Kastrup's refutation of materialism, in which he concisely and cogently dispells its ontological absurdities. As such, the narrative of materialism, which remains the dominant metamethod of our world, appears much less significant in my minds eye (or should I say, in Mind at Large ;)) than its shadow once casted.

Brilliant

There are few truly original thinkers in the world - the author of this book is one such person. There are some deep biases and blind spots, but this is to be expected when dealing with such arcane and subtle topics. Let’s hope more people awaken to the limitations and destructiveness of philosophical materialism

Kastrup Is Good Stuff

This is the second of Bernardo Kastrup's books I have read and I enjoyed it as much as the first. Each chapter is focused and clear, with a mix of specific examples and metaphors, but the book is also rich in speculation (a very good thing, IMO). I will continue to read more of Kastrup's work.