Tamlyn Merryan Hunt
Tamlyn Merryan Hunt
Tam Hunt, smiling, in a woven jacket

Writer, lawyer, philosopher and activist; co-developer of the General Resonance Theory of consciousness.

“A fascinating blend of personal history and rigorous science.”Christof Koch
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About

A voice for the hopeful thinkers

Science
General Resonance Theory, with Prof. Jonathan Schooler
Law
Decades in renewable energy law and policy
Books
Four nonfiction books; a second novel, Leilani, in progress
Home
Hawaiʻi Island since 2016
Tam among wind turbines in Hawaiʻi
Among the wind turbines, Hawaiʻi
Tam on the summit of Mauna Loa
Summit of Mauna Loa, 2023

Tam Hunt works at the intersection of law, science and philosophy. His “special sauce” is the ability to bridge fields, cultures and languages, and to find the core commonalities among them.

As a lawyer he fights for affordable green energy, local food and resilience.

As a scientist and philosopher he studies how minds arise from rhythm and resonance, and has pioneered the General Resonance Theory of consciousness.

As a writer and activist he asks how we can live well together, and with the technologies we are building, on a finite planet where AI is fast becoming dominant and dangerous.

For more than two decades Tam has practiced renewable energy and public interest law and policy, working on regulations and legislation in California and Hawaiʻi. He has pushed for more rooftop solar, battery storage and community microgrids, and against rules that favor utilities over people. Through his law firm, Grid Justice Law, he now works to make AI data centers pay their own way and to keep electricity affordable in California, Hawaiʻi and across the West.

With Prof. Jonathan Schooler of UC Santa Barbara, Tam co-developed General Resonance Theory, which holds that consciousness arises when the rhythmic parts of a system fall into shared resonance. His peer-reviewed work, in journals including Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Perspectives on Psychological Science and the Journal of Consciousness Studies, explores electromagnetic field theories of mind, ephaptic coupling and how small minds combine into larger ones. His books and articles carry these ideas, and their roots in process philosophy, to a general audience.

Tam writes regularly on AI safety and consciousness, including for Scientific American and Nautilus, as well as on democratic theory and public policy. He is a board member of the Hawaiʻi EV Association and a co-founder of Think BIG, a Big Island nonprofit for sustainability, equity and resilience. A U.S. Army veteran, he has lived on Hawaiʻi Island since 2016, where he is finishing his second novel, Leilani, and working on several nonfiction books.

Tam as a ten-year-old with other children of the Love Family commune
Love Family commune, age 10

Books

Books by Tamlyn Merryan Hunt

Cover of The Hippies Were Right!

The Hippies Were Right!

About consciousness and everything else: resonance, the counterculture’s intuitions, AI, peace, and Love with a capital L.

Cover of Mind, World, God by Tam Hunt

Mind, World, God

Questions in science and spirituality: the nature of mind, what is real, and what God is, and how to bridge the language of reason and the language of faith.

“Hunt, dissatisfied by the dichotomy between traditional religion and scientific atheism, has chosen to follow…”Kirkus Reviews

Cover of Eco, Ego, Eros by Tam Hunt, foreword by Christof Koch

Eco, Ego, Eros

A voyage of discovery that pairs the great Western thinkers with experimental and theoretical study of nature to make sense of the riddle of human existence.

“By reading Eco, Ego and Eros, you are about to embark on such a voyage of discovery.”Christof Koch, foreword

Cover of Solar: Why Our Energy Future Is So Bright by Tam Hunt, foreword by Dan Kammen

Solar: Why Our Energy Future Is So Bright

A refreshingly hopeful look at solar energy’s success and its growing importance to the nation’s future.

“This book shows the sizzling future of clean energy with enough enthusiasm to dispel the doom-and-gloom.”Durwood Zaelke, President, Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development

In the press

What people are saying

“A fascinating blend of personal history and rigorous science.”
Christof Koch, on The Hippies Were Right!
“Not only is his science top notch, but his ability to write for a popular audience is impeccable.”
Jonathan Schooler, Distinguished Professor, UC Santa Barbara
“This book shows the sizzling future of clean energy.”
Durwood Zaelke, on Solar
Tam and his mother on a hike on Oʻahu
With his mother on Oʻahu, 2022
Tam and his father at a Thanksgiving dinner in Pai, Thailand
With his dad in Pai, Thailand, 2017

Blog

Essays and commentary

Consciousness, energy, AI, democracy and life in Hawaiʻi. New posts on Medium appear here automatically.

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Tam with colleagues at The Science of Consciousness conference
The Science of Consciousness, 2018
Tam at dinner with colleagues in Barcelona
With colleagues at TSC Barcelona, 2025

Scholarship

Recent publications

Tam Hunt is a public policy lawyer and philosopher, and the co-developer, with Prof. Jonathan Schooler, of General Resonance Theory of consciousness. He has published peer-reviewed articles on this approach and on other topics.

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Tam presenting General Resonance Theory to a conference audience
Presenting General Resonance Theory, 2017

Speaking & media

Topics of discussion

Reconciling science and spirituality

Finding the connections between science and spirituality, and applying them to personal growth and a grounded sense of connection to something larger.

Consciousness and neuroscience

How the structure and function of the brain and body relate to conscious experience, and why resonance may be the key.

Technology

How to coexist with emerging technologies, especially AI, without being used by them, and where to slow down and proceed with caution.

Public policy

Responding to current affairs and shaping policy around the long-term wellbeing of people and the environment.

Recent conversations

Media inquiries

For guest or speaker requests, email tam.hunt@gmail.com with the date, format and audience.

Tam with friends at sunset on the Kohala coast
Sunset with friends at Puakō, 2023

Contact

Get in touch

For speaking, interviews, podcasts and guest requests, or just to say hello, email Tam directly.

tam.hunt@gmail.com