February: Week 1
Quantum Theory and Consciousness:
The contribution of quantum theory to the study and practice of nonviolence is significant. By breaking apart the mechanistic worldview long associated with colonialism and violence-based systems, quantum theory points us toward a deeper understanding of reality—one grounded in relationship and interconnectedness at the most fundamental levels.
The talk (below) by Dr. Vandana Shiva is a treat. Please take time to process and reflect on the connections she makes. You are invited to share your reflections below after listening to the entire talk (her portion ends about minute 46 but the Q and A is informative).
Vandana Shiva, a world-renowned environmental thinker, activist, feminist, philosopher of science, writer and science policy advocate, is the founder of Navdanya Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (India) and President of Navdanya International. Trained as a Physicist at the University of Punjab, she completed her Ph.D. on the ‘Hidden Variables and Non-locality in Quantum Theory’ from the University of Western Ontario, Canada. She later shifted to inter-disciplinary research in science, technology and environmental policy, which she carried out at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, India. In 1982 she founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE), an independent research institute that addresses the most significant problems of ecology of our times, and two years later, Navdanya (‘nine seeds’) the movement in defense of biodiversity and small farmers. In 2011 she founded Navdanya International in Italy and is Chairman of the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture, co-founded with the then President of the Region of Tuscany. Recipient of many awards, including in 1993 the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the ‘Alternative Nobel Prize’, and named among the top five “Most Important People in Asia” by AsiaWeek in 2001. She's is a prolific writer and author of numerous books and serves on the board of the International Forum on Globalization, and member of the executive committee of the World Future Council.
**This short article from the National Institute of Standards and Technology defines some terms used in this field and makes them easier to understand.
***She also references the “hard problem” of consciousness and it is a term that comes up again in the Q and A portion. It is the view, question, that consciousness emerges from something material or “upward causality.” However there is another view, that of “downward causality,” where consciousness creates mind creates matter.
