On the Nature of Consciousness

Please Note: This live online conversation was recorded on our CIIS Public Programs YouTube Channel. It is also available on our podcast.

Both science and philosophy have traditionally conceived of the self as though it were separate from the world. Italian philosopher, psychologist, and AI engineer Riccardo Manzotti asks us to consider consciousness in a radical new way: Our conscious experience is actually one and the same with the external world.

In his Spread Mind Theory, Riccardo asserts that we are the starry sky, the clouds, a rainbow, trees, people, even simple objects such as an apple or a stone. We are not inside our bodies, we are out there, in the world. Perceiving is being.

In this unique conversation, philosopher Abre Fournier joins Riccardo as he offers an exploration of the nature of consciousness and our everyday life through Spread Mind Theory. He discusses how Spread Mind Theory allows us to find our true nature in the very world that surrounds us. He shares insights into the issue of consciousness and the structure of reality, tackling questions such as: What is consciousness? What is the relationship between experience and the physical world? Is there a separation between our experience of the world and the world?

Riccardo invites you to dive into a radical new way of thinking about consciousness, dreams, illusions, and your physical experience.

Please note that this talk/conversation will be hosted live online and includes an audience Q&A. Instructions on how to join the conversation will be included in your event confirmation email. If you need additional assistance finding or joining the event, please email publicprograms@ciis.edu.

Riccardo Manzotti is a philosopher, psychologist, AI expert, and the author of The Spread Mind: Why Consciousness and the World Are One. He is professor of theoretical philosophy at the IULM University (Milan). He has been Fulbright Visiting Scholar at MIT (Boston). He is executive editor of the Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness, has published several books and many papers on the topic of consciousness, machine consciousness, perception, philosophy of mind, aesthetics, media, and philosophy of art. His current research focuses on the issue of consciousness and the structure of reality: What is consciousness? Is there a separation between our experience of the world and the world? Does the present have a fixed time span? Can we design and build a conscious machine? What ethical questions do consciousness and technology raise in the 21st century?


Abre Fournier is a scientifically oriented philosopher of consciousness with a focus on mind transformation that builds on the teachings and practices of Asian wisdom traditions directed to states of awakening. Through teaching and facilitation, she leads explorations in the self-evolution of human consciousness in half a dozen countries around the world. Her work draws on several Eastern spiritual traditions and contemporary theories of mind from the cognitive sciences. She is currently synthesizing in her research the transformative meditation praxis of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness with theories of dynamical systems, extended mind, and predictive coding. Abre has also been active in the visual and media arts with a career in higher education in executive management and as a faculty member ­­at the State University of New York (SUNY). Her work as a practicing artist in films and new-media collaborations with musicians and composers has been shown in art museums and galleries, film festivals, and in live concerts in the US and abroad. Originally from France, Abre currently lives in New York.