Who IS Federico Faggin?

A friend recently drew my attention to someone with whom I was not familiar, Federico Faggin. to my surprise. It is a name that we should all be as familiar with as  Eli Whitney, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and the Wright Brothers. He designed the first commercial micro processor and has been heavily involved in the emergence of personal computers and devices throughout the entire information age.

After a dynamic personal experience around Christmas of 1990 he became heavily involved in the study of consciousness. He recently released a book entitled Irreducible, which presents his theory of Quantum Information Pan psychism. It presents consciousness as a presence throughout the universe at the quantum level.

I have not been able to obtain a copy of his book in a format that I can read but have listened to several interviews with him.  The science he proposes is beyond my understanding. Nevertheless, it appears that this offers a scientific explanation for concepts of cosmic consciousness that have been expressed by religions and philosophies in various ways  for thousands of years.

The consciousness Faggin proposes does not appear to imply cognitive awareness.  Instead, it is more of a proto-conciousness that is merely a sensory awareness seeking to expand its understanding of itself.  Much like the tendrils of a climbing vine as they wave in the breeze. seeking an object on which to attach in its effort for vertical ascent towards sunlight. He asserts that this consciousness pervades the entire universe and is the underlying force that has produced the emergence of matter.

Although Faggin may be presenting new foundations for the concept, cosmic consciousness is not a new. Idea.  More than 3,000 years ago Hindu meditation was  introduced as a means of merging with universal consciousness.  Throughout the ages, various forms of spiritual practices have sought to accomplish the same. Prayer, meditation, singing, chanting, dancing, music, fasting, etc., have all attempted to transcend the intellect and engage with invisible universal forces. 

In the mid twentieth century, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin wrote The Phenomenon of Man in which he coined the term cosmogenesis to label the process by which the universe was engaged in progressive complexification that has led to human consciousness.  He further proposed that there was a field of consciousness which he called the noosphere  enveloping the earth that unified human thought. For decades, the Institute of Noetic Science (IONS) has been pursuing scientific evidence of this latter idea.

Just a casual search of the internet reveals a wealth of publications promoting Fagggin’s basic ideas.  For example, in 1993, Amid Goswami published The Self Aware Universe and has recently released a new edition.  What Faggim is bringing to the discussion may be a more thorough explanation of the scientific fundamentals.  It is all quite fascinating but still very controversial. 

Are Faggin and others right about consciousness being as integral to the universe as gravity?  I certainly hope so. It would transform spirituality from a metaphysical interest to a legitimate effort to unify with the cosmos.  As such, religion and science would no longer need to be mutually exclusive perspectives on reality. Furthermore, we might legitimately recognize that all of our efforts to explore our planet and universe are simply expressions of the cosmos seeking to understand itself.

What this means in the longterm is impossible to say.  However, monitoring the future development of these theories and potential supporting evidence certainly merits our attention.