Consciousness Is Fundamental

If we start from consciousness, free will, and creativity as irreducible properties of nature, the whole scientific conception of reality is overturned. In this new vision, the emotional and intuitive parts of life—ignored by materialism—return to play a central role. Aristotle said: 'To educate the mind without educating the heart means not educating at all.' We cannot let physicalism and reductionism define human nature and leave consciousness out from the description of the universe. The physicalist and reductionist premises are perfect for describing the mechanical and symbolic-informational aspects of reality, but they are inadequate to explain its semantic aspects. If we insist that these assumptions describe all of reality, we eliminate a priori what distinguishes us from our machines and we erase our consciousness, our freedom and, above all, our humanity from the face of the universe.

If, on the other hand, we take our inner world seriously and begin to investigate it with love and determination, we will discover a new Weltanschauung that promises a creative and cooperative future for humankind, full of profound satisfactions. Life cannot be defined only by mere biological aspects, but, above all, by the triumph of the spiritual nature of the universe which silently guides us.

Federico Faggin is an Italian-American physicist, engineer, and entrepreneur best known for leading the design of the first commercial microprocessor, the Intel 4004, at Intel in 1971. Before that, he created silicon-gate technology (SGT) at Fairchild Semiconductor, a key innovation that made modern integrated circuits and microprocessors possible. Faggin later co-founded Zilog, where he led the design of the Z80 microprocessor, and went on to co-found Synaptics, pioneering the development of touchpads and touchscreens. A recipient of numerous awards, including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, he now heads the Federico and Elvia Faggin Foundation, dedicated to the scientific study of consciousness.

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