Summary of Of Nagarjuna, Sunyata and Stardust| Carlo Rovelli & Priyamvada Natarajan|

00:00:00 - 00:40:00

In this video, Carlo Rovelli and Priyamvada Natarajan discuss the philosopher Nagarjuna's concept of sunyata and Stardust. They discuss how these concepts can help us to understand the nature of reality and our relationship to it.

• 00:00:00 Carlo Rovelli and Priyamvada Natarajan discuss the nature of the universe and our place within it. Rovelli draws inspiration from Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, and Natarajan discusses the radical scientific ideas that reveal the cosmos.
• 00:05:00 Carlo Rovelli discusses how his work on quantum mechanics has led him to explore Buddhist philosophy and Sunyata as a way to better understand and make meaning of the complex concepts therein.
• 00:10:00 Nagarjuna's philosophy of emptiness is important to understanding quantum mechanics, as it provides a way to think about the observer's impact on the system being observed. Additionally, the lack of determinism and the observer's ability to alter the system he or she is observing are both mind-boggling.
• 00:15:00 The video discusses the influence of Nagarjuna on modern science, and Carlo Rovelli's opinion that the scientist is not a lone genius, but a vessel that brings in ideas from different parts of the world.
• 00:20:00 This video discusses the interpretations of quantum mechanics, which are similar but not the same. The video discusses how Nagarjuna's reading of reality can help reconcile these two views.
• 00:25:00 Nagarjuna argued that all notions are provisional and that emptiness is the most fundamental concept. Sunyata and Stardust are similar concepts because they share the idea that there is no essence to anything. However, Stardust is more comprehensive because it includes the idea that everything is empty of inherent qualities.
• 00:30:00 The video discusses the history of attempts to find knowledge about the world on a single basic concept, and how none of them have been convincing. It goes on to say that one way to take Nagarjuna's philosophy is to say that that question is a wrong question. Nagarjuna is not saying that reality is all false and wrong, but that it is reality itself. The philosophical thinking in general has been helpful in this regard because it helps us to see that the boundaries between disciplines are often artificial.
• 00:35:00 The video features Carlo Rovelli and Priyamvada Natarajan discussing Nagarjuna's philosophy of "sunyata" and Stardust. They note that while time and space are "mixed" in relativity, quantum gravity does not allow for space itself to be located or defined. Instead, space is "fuzzy" and something that can only be observed when one interacts with it. Rovelli recommends Carlo's latest book, Helgoland, which discusses the history of astronomy and the importance of finding the right problem to solve. He also recommends that anyone interested in supporting the arts make a donation to Jaipur Literature Festival 2021.
• 00:40:00 In this video, Carlo Rovelli and Priyamvada Natarajan discuss the philosopher Nagarjuna's concept of sunyata and Stardust. They discuss how these concepts can help us to understand the nature of reality and our relationship to it.