Dr. Bruce Damer, an origin of life scientist, has helped develop a leading hypothesis on life's emergence—a model that moves beyond simplistic "lightning strikes primordial soup" scenarios toward processes involving community dynamics and emergent complexity. His collaborator, process philosopher Matt Segall, places this empirical research in a cosmological context that allows us to understand how consciousness and agency evolved. Together, they exemplify a paradigm shift across scientific disciplines that transcends traditional boundaries between physics, chemistry, and biology while addressing both the "how" and "why" of life's origins—a collaboration where empirical investigation and metaphysical inquiry integrate to form a more complete understanding of our cosmic story.
This panel took place on Saturday, September 13, as part of Frontiers of Knowledge, a day-long symposium featuring an amazing collection of world-renowned speakers conceived by Candice Olson and co-produced by Aspen Public Radio, Center for MINDS, California Institute of Integral Studies and the Mays Family Foundation at the historic Wheeler Opera House in the heart of Aspen, Colorado. Learn more at: frontiersofknowledge.org
Speakers:
Bruce Damer is Canadian-American multidisciplinary scientist, designer, and author. Working as an Astrobiologist, Dr. Damer collaborates with colleagues developing and testing a new scenario for the origin of life on Earth and where it might arise in the universe. As a designer he has provided innovative spacecraft architectures to NASA and others which could provide a viable path for the expansion of life and civilization beyond the Earth. Dr. Damer has recently gone on public record that he has used a combination of mindfulness practices and psychedelics to achieve some of his key scientific and technical breakthroughs. His passion in co-founding MINDS is that many others with special capacities in these realms should have access to mentorship, scientifically validated protocols, and pathways to transform their own novel discoveries into solutions to bring about a brilliant future for Humanity. Together with his role at MINDS, he serves as Chief Scientist at the BIOTA Institute and Research Associate at the UC Santa Cruz Department of Biomolecular Engineering. He is an author of a number of seminal academic articles and a frequent speaker on topics in science, space, and the philosophical and spiritual implications of the discovery of our deepest origins.
Matthew David Segall is Associate Professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness department at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA. He is a teacher, transdisciplinary researcher and philosopher working at the intersection of the natural and social sciences, with a special focus on the study of human consciousness. He publishes on a wide-array of topics, including his most recent book Crossing the Threshold: Etheric Imagination in the Post-Kantian Process Philosophy of Schelling and Whitehead (Integral Imprint, 2023). He also blogs regularly at footnotes2plato.com.
Candice Carpenter Olson is the producer of an Emmy-winning documentary series; of companies designed to deliver deeper social connectedness and new kinds of education; and of over 100 public programs in Aspen, Colorado, on a broad range of topics including a 17-part series on psychedelics. A published author (Chapters) who has spoken at major convenings such as TED and Davos, she co-designed a program with HBS and the Harvard School of Divinity on the concept of “Enoughness,” and is currently a doctoral student at the California Institute of Integral Studies in Philosophy, Cosmology and Consciousness; serves as an Advisor to The Center for Minds, dedicated to advancing tools that catalyze breakthroughs in science; and is a Member of The 100 Year Committee for Family and Social Flourishing.