The 11th Swiss Biennial On Science, Technics + Aesthetics, 16 January 2016, Abstracts

The philosophical dispute between the British mathematician Sir Roger Penrose and the Austrian quantum physicist Anton Zeilinger, which took place on stage in the Lucerne Theatre 15 years ago at the noteworthy Biennial The Engima of Consciousness, is legendary. The hot epistemological question at stake back then, whether there might exist a world "out there"--a world beyond human observation--remains undecided to the present day. The origin and nature of consciousness--the awareness of being aware--possessed perhaps by humans only, is still one of the most intriguing and complex issues posing a big challenge to science. It is a question--I suggest--, which can only be answered satisfactorily with the knowledge from diverse research fields by focussing on life and its holistic dimensions. We are living in a time when millions of people still believe in horoscopes, feng shui, fortune telling, and tarot cards. For many, a new form of "quantum spirituality", which could just as well be attributed to the presently rampant varieties of esoterism, has become a substitute for religion. The Biennial is deliberately committed to setting a counterpoint to this cheerful market of world interpretations and "weak thought" (Eduard Kaeser, NZZ, 16 May 2012), which sometimes produces rather strange effects. Top representatives from quantum physics, neuroscience, philosophy, anthropology, systems theory, ecology, and Buddhism as well as from the wide field of research about the effects of consciousness-expanding substances are invited to Lucerne. I wish you a spiritually rewarding day with many inspiring talks and conversations. Dr. René Stettler, Founder, Swiss Biennial on Science, Technics + Aesthetics