Scientific Materialism, Consciousness and the New Idealism: An exploration of some implications for education
International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education January 1, 2023 Terry Hyland
A number of scientists and philosophers—Bernardo Kastrup, Steve Taylor, Donald Hoffman, and Iain McGilchrist—argue that scientific materialism is not metaphysically justified by its technological achievements and that its failure to solve the hard problem of consciousness is a major shortcoming. They propose new forms of idealism, claiming consciousness is the sole ontological primitive, offering a more cogent and parsimonious foundation for knowledge. The article examines these neo-idealist arguments and explores their implications for education, particularly in epistemology, ethics, and spirituality.