Postmortem Survival and the Physical Universe with Ruth Kastner (4K Reboot)

Summary

Philosopher of physics Ruth Kastner joins Jeffrey Mishlove to ask whether quantum theory leaves room for consciousness to survive bodily death. She rejects Einstein's 'block universe' consolation and argues instead for a quantum substratum, a real domain of possibility outside space-time from which physical events emerge. In her view, most of reality lies beyond space-time, which opens the door to mental or spiritual dimensions and to postmortem survival.

Key takeaways

• 1Einstein wrote to the widow of his friend Michele Besso that the distinction between past, present and future is 'a stubbornly persistent illusion,' which Mishlove reads as implying a form of survival.
• 2Kastner disputes the 'block universe' (eternalist) view held by many physicists and links it to the Greek philosopher Parmenides and to superdeterminism.
• 3Kastner's books include 'Understanding Our Unseen Reality,' 'Adventures in Quantum Land,' and 'The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics: The Reality of Possibility.'
• 4Kastner proposes that space-time emerges from a 'quantum substratum' of possibilities, which she compares to minerals crystallizing out of fluid inside a geode.
• 5The domain of possibility is compared to Jung's collective unconscious (which Jung linked to the dead), the Tibetan Bardo, and Aboriginal Dreamtime.
• 6Freeman Dyson suggested quantum systems may have choice or mind; Arthur M. Young, inventor of the Bell helicopter, read the principle of least action as evidence of purpose; Bernardo Kastrup's idealism is cited, and Kastner tentatively accepts a form of idealism.

Glossary terms

Source

Transcript excerpt

Quantum theory is a physical theory, but clearly I think, and others think, it may be pointing to this greater reality, to this more subtle aspect of reality that could be possibility, that seems more abstract and transcends this very superficial, space-time, concrete world of appearance. So if that is what quantum theory might be telling us, that if in fact there is this subtler domain to reality, then it seems to make sense that that would be an area that could support the idea of the purely mental or even a spiritual dimension to life, so that you'd have room given to you courtesy of an actual physical theory, by which we don't mean dead matter, but a theory arrived at through science, that this theory may be telling us that reality has these subtler aspects, and in this domain, it's conceivable that, you know, if the concrete physical aspect of you falls away, that there's more to you than just that. Keep watching to learn more. The New Thinking Allowed magazine issue 10 on UFOs and UAP is now ready for free download, and you can also order beautiful printed copies. Go to newthinkingallowed.org. New Thinking Allowed is presented by the California Institute for Human Science, a fully accredited university offering distant learning graduate degrees that focus on mind, body, and spirit. The topics that we cover here, we are particularly excited to announce new degrees emphasizing parapsychology and the paranormal. Visit their website at cihs.edu. Book 4 in the new Thinking Allowed dialogue series is Charles T. Tartt, Seventy Years of Exploring Consciousness and Parapsychology, now available on Amazon. Think Thinking Allowed. Conversations on the leading edge of knowledge and discovery with psychologist Jeffrey Mishlove. Hello and welcome. I'm Jeffrey Mishlove. ...

Excerpt from New Thinking Allowed, Aug 23, 2026. Rights remain with the original creators. Hear the full episode at the source.