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Hoffman’s Conscious Realism vs Meijer’s Universal Knowledge Field

Hoffman’s Conscious Realism: The Case Against Reality and Meijer’s Universal Knowledge Field, compared field by field from their entries in the Atlas.

At a glance

Both belong to the Idealism family in Kuhn's Landscape of Consciousness.
Both treat consciousness as fundamental.
They give the same kind of answer on AI consciousness, life after death, mind uploading and meaning and purpose.

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Idealism Hoffman’s Conscious Realism: The Case Against Reality Donald Hoffman

Idealism Meijer’s Universal Knowledge Field Dirk K. F. Meijer

The claim

In brief

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismThis theory asserts that evolution selects for survival and reproductive fitness, not for veridical perception of reality; consequently, spacetime and physical objects function merely as an 'interface' or illusion guiding adaptive behavior. Ultimate reality is fundamentally composed of interacting conscious agents and their experiences, which are primary to, and generative of, the physical world.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldThis theory posits that consciousness exists within a Universal Knowledge Field (UKF), conceived as a collective storage of all information present and evolving in the universe. The UKF is consistent with fundamental physics and cosmological models, and human consciousness is understood as an integral part of this universal consciousness, which interfaces with the brain primarily through harmonic resonance patterns involving specific electromagnetic field frequencies.

What consciousness is

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismConsciousness is identified as the fundamental reality, structured as a vast social network of interacting 'conscious agents' and their experiences.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldConsciousness is identified as a Universal Knowledge Field (UKF) that stores and evolves all information in the universe, of which human consciousness is an integral part.

Big questions

Can AI be conscious?Both agree

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismLikelyAs consciousness is fundamental (Idealism), it is not restricted to biological matter. If an artificial system achieves the organizational complexity characteristic of a 'conscious agent', it could potentially tap into the fundamental consciousness field, regardless of its physical substrate.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldLikelySince consciousness is fundamental (Idealism) and relies on informational/field properties, advanced AI systems capable of achieving the necessary complexity and interacting with the UKF could likely achieve consciousness, though this is not strictly proven by the sources.

Does consciousness survive death?Both agree

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismLikelySince consciousness is fundamental and generates the physical interface, the individual conscious agent is likely to persist beyond the disintegration of the biological body/interface.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldYesAs consciousness is fundamental reality (UKF), individual consciousness (soul/spirit) is an integral part of this ultimate consciousness, persisting beyond the dissolution of the biological body/brain.

Could a mind be uploaded?Both agree

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismLikelyIf the brain is merely an interface for fundamental consciousness, virtual immortality becomes a matter of reproducing the necessary structures or functions (the 'icon' or interface) needed to manifest the individual conscious agent in a non-biological medium.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldLikelyGiven that consciousness is a permanent informational field (UKF) that the brain interfaces with, duplicating the informational structure and function of the 'holofractal memory workspace' could allow the specific individual consciousness pattern to be maintained in a non-biological substrate.

Does it give life meaning?Both agree

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismCosmic/UltimateIdealism fundamentally supports ultimate meaning and purpose. Reality is composed of interacting conscious agents whose existence and actions (influencing other agents) imply inherent value and purpose.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldCosmic/UltimateConsciousness (UKF) is the ground of all being and the organizing principle of the universe, suggesting inherent cosmic meaning and purpose.

Nature of mind

Ontology

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismIdealism

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldIdealism (Consciousness/Mind is fundamental reality)

Mind and body

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismConsciousness is fundamental and creates spacetime and objects, reversing the conventional arrow of causation. Brain activity correlates with mental states because consciousness creates the brain activity/physical world interface.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldConsciousness (a scale-invariant mental attribute of reality) is fundamentally non-physical and operates through a holofractal memory workspace associated with the brain (pilot-wave-guided supervenience).

Fundamental or emergent

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismPrimitive

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldPrimitive

Qualia

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismQualia are implied to be the fundamental experiences inherent to the conscious agents, which are then translated into simplistic icons (like colors or objects) within the spacetime interface.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldThe origin of qualia is hypothesized to arise from the field-receptive holofractal memory workspace, which functions as a scale-invariant mental attribute of reality associated with the brain.

How it works

Mechanism

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismThe principle of evolution favoring fitness over veridical perception leads to the construction of a simplified, illusionary 'interface' (spacetime and physical objects) that guides adaptive behavior.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldConsciousness arises from the non-physical Universal Knowledge Field interfacing with biological systems via harmonic resonance patterns (tonal projections) and integral information processing.

Where it is

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismConsciousness is fundamental in the universe. It is not a product of space and time or anything inside space and time; spacetime is merely a format for conscious experiences (the interface).

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldUniversal (UKF stores all information in the universe). Locally, it is associated with a 'holofractal memory workspace' associated with the brain, which mirrors this cosmic connectivity.

What it does

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismConsciousness is causally fundamental. The functional role of the perceived physical world is solely to enhance fitness and reproductive success by guiding behavior.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldThe UKF/Consciousness organizes and guides synchronicity, both spatially and temporally, in essential organs such as the heart and brain, acting as a organizing field.

Evidence and criticism

Testability

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismHighly speculative/ontological. Conceptually testable via the mathematical formulation of consciousness agents. Empirical evidence relies on common perceptual illusions (reinterpreted to support Idealism).

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldArguably empirically testable through investigating the specific effects of electromagnetic field frequency patterns in animate and non-animate systems.

Tests so far

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismNot stated

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldInvestigating the effects of discrete electromagnetic field frequency patterns on animate and non-animate systems (to verify harmonic resonance patterns).

Criticisms

Hoffman’s Conscious RealismCriticized for interpreting empirical evidence (like user illusions) diametrically opposite to materialist accounts (such as Dennett's and Graziano's eliminative materialism). It requires reversing the conventional causal relationship between brain and mind.

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge FieldThe reliance on a fundamental non-physical Universal Knowledge Field and the explicit incorporation of transcendental human experience and psi phenomena lead to significant tension with conventional physicalism.

Sources

Key sources

Hoffman’s Conscious Realism

The Case against Reality: How Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes, D. Hoffman (2019)
Conscious realism and the mind-body problem, D. Hoffman (2008)
Fact, fiction, and fitness, C. Prakash, C. Fields, D.D. Hoffman, R. Prentner, M. Singh (2020)

Meijer’s Universal Knowledge Field

Universal consciousness: collective evidence on the basis of current physics and philosophy of mind. Part 1 (2018)
Consciousness in the universe is tuned by a musical master code, Part 3: a hydrodynamic superfluid quantum space guides a conformal mental attribute of reality (2020)

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