In this episode of Mind-Body Solution, Dr Tevin Naidu speaks with Dr Ruth Kastner, physicist and philosopher, about her groundbreaking Possibilist Transactional Formulation (PTF) of quantum theory. Kastner argues that quantum mechanics reveals a deeper realm of ontic possibilities, beyond spacetime, where transactions between emitters and absorbers give rise to the physical world we observe.

Together we explore:
- The history and foundations of quantum mechanics
- How the Transactional Interpretation explains wavefunction collapse
- Why the Born Rule emerges naturally in PTF
- Time-symmetry, retrocausality & free will
- Spacetime as an emergent structure from quantum transactions
- Consciousness and the mind-body problem in light of PTI
- How contemplative practices like yoga inform Kastner’s philosophy
- Cosmological implications: dark matter, dark energy & testability

This conversation bridges physics, philosophy, and metaphysics, offering a radical yet rigorous vision of reality as fundamentally processual, relational, and deeply mysterious.

Dr Ruth Kastner earned her M.S. in Physics and Ph.D. in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Maryland. She is the author of three influential books, including The Transactional Interpretation of Quantum Theory (Cambridge, 2012; 2nd edition 2022), Understanding Our Unseen Reality (2015), and Adventures in Quantumland (2019). Her research focuses on the interpretational challenges of quantum mechanics, especially the role of time symmetry, retrocausality, and quantum possibilities

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 - Introduction & Ruth Kastner's journey into quantum foundations
00:24 - Why quantum paradoxes grabbed her: entanglement, EPR & the measurement problem
03:04 - History, philosophy & foundations: why historical context matters for physics
04:11 - Discovering the Transactional Formulation: Kramer, Wheeler-Feynman & absorber theory roots
09:36 - The Transactional Formulation explained: emitters, absorbers, offers & confirmations
11:06 - Time-symmetric direct-action theory & the role of virtual photons
13:16 - Absorber response and the ‘handshake’: how transactions actualize energy transfer
17:47 - The Born Rule: why PTF gives a physical explanation for quantum probabilities
20:27 - Possibilist metaphysics: wavefunctions as ontic possibilities in Hilbert space
24:10 - Iceberg metaphor: spacetime as the measurable "tip" of quantum reality
26:24 - Objective reduction & von Neumann's "process 1" in the transactional picture
27:03 - Maudlin's critique & replies: causal loops, relativistic formulation & objections answered
31:19 - Retrocausality clarified: what retrocausation does and doesn’t mean in PTF
34:51 - Emergent spacetime from transactions: emission/absorption events & Einstein equations
43:54 - Consciousness & quantum theory: why mind is not a measurement "band-aid"
46:52 - The mind-body problem reframed: monism, receptivity & quantum possibilities
49:35 - Time symmetry, indeterminacy & free will: where physics leaves room for choice
52:15 - Yoga, receptivity & embodiment: contemplative practice informing Kastner’s thinking
58:14 - Cosmology & empirical prospects: dark matter, dark energy & testable predictions
1:03:51 - Further reading & resources: books, papers & the Possibilist Transactional Formulation

EPISODE LINKS:
- Ruth's Website: https://www.ruthekastner.org/
- Ruth's Academic Blog: https://transactionalinterpretation.org/
- Ruth's Publications: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=eCEoqOcAAAAJ&hl=en
- Ruth's Books: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Ruth-E.-Kastner/author/B008HTAV4G?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true

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