Mathematical Structure and Vedanta Philosophy

If the universe can be reduced to a pure mathematical structure, then descriptions of enlightenment within the Vedanta tradition gain a new fresh perspective

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I’m about three-quarters of the way through MIT physicist Max Tegmark’s book called: Our Mathematical Universe. In it, he argues that the universe can be fundamentally thought of as a pure mathematical structure. He defines this as: a set of abstract entities with relations between them. He begins his argument by outlining three levels of reality — Internal, Consensus and External.

Internal Reality consists of our subjective perceptions of the world. It is plagued by our own personal biases, as well as the multitude of heuristics embedded in our cognition.

Consensus Reality is the world as we experience it collectively. This is reality independent of our subjective lens. It is governed by the laws of classical physics. This reality isn’t free from illusion — but it aims at being free from personal distortion. It is determined collaboratively, answering the question: what is a stable conception of the world that the majority of humans can agree on.

External Reality is the way reality actually is. Once we try to see beyond our subjective position and…