On the Freedom of Thought and Nature: Freeman Dyson and Stephen Blackwoo‪d‬

“I think our consciousness is not just a passive epiphenomenon carried along by the chemical events in our brains but is an active agent forcing the molecular complexes to make choices between one quantum state and another. In other words, mind is already inherent in every electron and the processes of human consciousness different only in degree but not in kind…”

Stephen Blackwood speaks with the late mathematical-physicist and renowned free thinker. They begin with a discussion of education and of the formative experiences that inspired Dyson's intellectual curiosity and courage. The conversation then ranges from evolution to particle physics to consciousness as they discuss the free and non-reductive character of both thought and nature. Along the way, Dyson shares many stories from his long and adventuresome life; this interview was one of his last. One can only be astounded by the depth and breadth and fearlessness of his intellect and the power of his insight and example.

Requiescat in pace.

Image credit: Photo by Verena Huber-Dyson, 1951, courtesy of George Dyson

A Selection of Dyson's Work

• "Biological and Cultural Evolution: Six Characters in Search of an Author"
• Infinite in All Directions
• Disturbing the Universe

Timeline

• 0:00​ - Introduction
• 17:33​ - Perversities of the PhD System
• 23:13​ - Time at Winchester College; Education; Necessity of Boredom
• 28:58​ - The Napoleonic and Tolstoyan Worldviews
• 33:46​ - Role of Imagination in Discovery and Artistic Expression
• 43:22​ - Independence of Mind; the Non-Coercive Nature of Truth
• 55:35​ - The Non-Reductive Quality of Reality in its Richness
• 1:00:38​ - And its Relation to Thought as a Bottom-Up Activity
• 1:10:39​ - Coherence and Purpose in the World
• 1:15:29​ - Consciousness as Free; The Limits of Reductivist Materialism
• 1:23:47​ - Science as Subversion