For centuries, humanity has pondered the mystery of consciousness and the relationship between mind and matter. Some have sought answers in the depths of religion, others in the abstraction of philosophy, and still others in the increasingly sophisticated tools of science. But there is one idea that spans the ages and seems to resurface periodically with renewed vigor: the possibility that consciousness, or at least a primitive form of experience, is a fundamental and omnipresent property of the universe. This primordial idea resurfaces powerfully in the debate currently involving neuroscientists and philosophers of consciousness. This debate, born in the wake of new quantum physics, has developed with such impetus that it has also attracted the interest of the general public.
Spinoza's concept of "Deus sive Natura" represents one of the most powerful and radical formulations of this vision: everything that exists is an expression of a single divine-natural substance, and what we call "spirit" or "consciousness" is not a rare accident, but the very fabric of being. From this perspective, the starry sky, the beating of a cell, the motion of subatomic particles, and the intuition of a poet are not separate phenomena, but manifestations of a vital and conscious continuum.
This book embarks on a journey from archaic thought to contemporary scientific debate, traversing the thinking of ancient philosophers, medieval mystics, modern idealists, and quantum mind theorists. The aim is to reexamine Spinozian thought beyond its historical dimension, initiating a reflection on its implications for the future of knowledge. This exploration will not be limited to description, but will seek to bring different traditions and disciplines into dialogue: philosophy, physics, neuroscience, and ethics.
The question that accompanies the narrative is simple and at the same time dizzying: what if consciousness were not a late product of evolution, but an original property of reality itself? If this were true, every fragment of the universe-from stone to thought-would participate in the same mysterious awareness. An awareness that unites us not only with other human beings, but with the entire cosmos.
Throughout its chapters, the book illustrates how this idea was born, transformed, criticized, and is still being revived today by scientists and philosophers. It is not a question of analyzing a dogma, but of opening up a space for reflection capable of overcoming the barriers between disciplines and worldviews. Because, perhaps, understanding consciousness means rethinking the entire fabric of reality-and perhaps, ultimately, it means rethinking ourselves.
