Consciousness: First Principles and Human Futures

​Consciousness: First Principles and Human Futures - hosted by Pedram Shojai and Aneil Mallavarapu.

​Consciousness remains one of the deepest unsolved problems in science. Its investigation reaches across physics, neuroscience, biology, computation, and philosophy, while its implications extend far beyond science itself—challenging our understanding of intelligence, identity, ethics, and the nature of human experience.

​We are bringing together a small group of scientists, academics, and independent thinkers to explore both the scientific foundations of consciousness and the broader consequences of understanding it.

​There has been "internal science" for millennia with thousands of serious practitioners around the world. Honoring their subjective experience and transmitted lineage, we can set a path for objective data and scientific understanding of these conscious states.

​A central purpose of this gathering is to explore the creation of a new research center and school dedicated to the study of consciousness—grounded in fundamental physics, honoring and spanning disciplines, and committed to rigorous scientific inquiry.

​Our discussion will consider what such an institution could become: the foundational questions it should address, the research programs it might pursue, the intellectual community it could cultivate, and the role it could play in shaping scientific and societal understanding.

​This is not a conventional conference, nor an attempt to establish consensus around a particular theory. It is a private, exploratory conversation among people who believe the subject warrants a more ambitious and integrated scientific effort.

​Our aim is to begin defining an intellectual agenda, a community, and an institution capable of advancing the science of consciousness and engaging seriously with its implications for society.