Advaita x Analytical idealism

Great question — you’re pointing at two deep philosophical systems that often get compared. Let me unpack them side by side:

Advaita Vedānta (Non-dualism, from Hindu philosophy)

• Core idea: Brahman (pure consciousness/absolute reality) is the only reality. The individual self (ātman) is not separate from Brahman — they are identical.
• Worldview: The world of appearances (Māyā) is not ultimately real, but a manifestation within consciousness.
• Epistemology: Liberation (mokṣa) comes from realizing one’s true nature as Brahman, dissolving the illusion of separateness.
• Metaphysics: Non-dual monism. There is only one consciousness that is real; multiplicity is an illusion.

Analytical Idealism (contemporary metaphysical model, esp. by Bernardo Kastrup)

• Core idea: Reality is fundamentally mind-like. Consciousness is the ontological primitive, and the physical world is a representation within mind.
• Worldview: Individual minds (us) are dissociated alters of a universal mind (like multiple personalities in a single psyche).
• Epistemology: We experience the world through representations (mental images of reality), not reality-in-itself. Science studies these representations, but their ground is consciousness.
• Metaphysics: Idealist monism. There is only one universal consciousness, from which apparent individuals emerge.

Similarities

• Both are monist idealisms → consciousness is fundamental, not matter.
• Both dissolve subject-object duality into a single ground.
• Both see individuality as a kind of illusion/dissociation within universal mind/consciousness.
• Both imply that “enlightenment” (Advaita) or “integration” (Analytical Idealism) comes from realizing unity.

Differences

Aspect	Advaita Vedānta	Analytical Idealism
Origin	Ancient Indian spiritual philosophy (~8th century, Shankara)	Contemporary philosophical framework (21st century, Kastrup & others)
Ontology	Brahman = pure being-consciousness-bliss (sat-cit-ānanda)	Universal consciousness = cosmic mind, modeled analogically on human mind
Illusion	World = Māyā (ultimately unreal)	World = mental representation (real, but derivative, not fundamental)
Goal	Liberation (mokṣa) via self-realization	Metaphysical clarity; not necessarily soteriological
Language	Religious-philosophical (Sanskrit, Upanishadic terms)	Scientific-philosophical (neuroscience, psychology metaphors)

👉 In short:

• Advaita: The universe is Brahman alone; the world is illusion (Māyā).
• Analytical Idealism: The universe is the mental activity of a universal consciousness; the world is its representation.

Both are saying reality is one consciousness, but Advaita is soteriological (for liberation), while Analytical Idealism is philosophical-scientific (for explaining mind & matter).

Would you like me to make a diagram comparing them visually — like a side-by-side model of how they see consciousness, self, and world?