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Quantum Physics in Consciousness Studies. The Quantum Mind Extended
Abstract and Figures
Contents:
Introduction in Quantum aspects of brain function, p 1-19
Quantum approaches to neurobiology: state of art, p 19-31
David Bohm: Wholeness and the implicate order, p 30-39
Henry Stapp: Attention, intention and quantum coherence, p 39-44
Roger Penrose: Consciousness and the geometry of universe, p 45-54
Stuart Hameroff: Objective reduction in brain tubules, p 55-68
Hiroomi Umezawa and Herbert Frohlich: Quantum brain dynamics, p 69-72
Mari Jibu & Kunio Yasue: Quantum field concepts, p 72-76
Johnjoe McFadden: Electromagnetic fields, p77-80
Gustav Bernroider: Ion channel coherence, p 80-85
Chris King: Cosmology, consciousness and chaos theory, p 85-92
Piero Scaruffi: Consciousness as a feature of matter, p 92-94
Danko Georgiev: the Quantum neuron, p 94-98
Andrei Khrennikov: Quantum like brain and other metaphoric QM models, p 98-102
Hu and Wu/ Persinger: Spin mediated consciousness, p 103- 106
Chris Clarke: Qualia and free will, p 106- 109
Herms Romijn: Photon mediated consciousness and recent models, p, 110-114
Stuart Kauffman: Consciousness & the poised state p, 114-116
Post-Bohmian concepts of an of a universal quantum field, p 117-121
Dirk Meijer: Cyclic operating mental workspace, p 121-131
Amit Goswami: The vacuum as a universal information field, p 132-146
Simon Raggett: A final attempt to a theory on consciousness p, 146-157
Note on cited sources, p 158
References, p 158-175
Internetsites, p 175
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... The main objective of this trial is to develop a model based on the description of hierarchical levels of Consciousness, taking into account the accumulation of only in the mind of the conscious being, man (Meijer & Raggett, 2014). There is no such thing as meaningless communication, even in one direction, from sender to receiver (Burgin, 2003;Irwin, 2014). ...
... Consciousness is the intelligent agent of the universe. It is man clothed in mat- Principle of life is an omnipresent entity that exists in its own right, seen as a fundamental property of the universe (Meijer & Raggett, 2014;Irwin, 2014;Lake, 2014). He is the highest instance of the person, the origin of all intentions, the totality of our physical and psychic existence (Bischof, 2003). ...
... Seen in another way, the body works as an obstacle or a very dense "shadow", given the low vibrations of the matter that composes it (Camelo, 2022a). Undoubtedly, the body cannot live without Consciousness, but Consciousness can live without the body, for it is life itself (Meijer & Raggett, 2014;Camelo, 2022a;Oliver & Hari, 2017), here or in any dimensions in space/time (Camelo, 2022a;Levin, 2011;Chung, 2014b;Lommel, 2011) (see Table 1). Consciousness, as an Intelligent Principle Subjective reality for human beings is equally objective reality for Consciousness. ...
... We have no doubt that scheme theory will play and increasing role in other fields such as cosmology [44] and the field of 'quantum consciousness' [45]. One possible field of application is the so-called 'quantum consciousness' [45]. ...
... We have no doubt that scheme theory will play and increasing role in other fields such as cosmology [44] and the field of 'quantum consciousness' [45]. One possible field of application is the so-called 'quantum consciousness' [45]. ...
Revealing the time structure of physical or biological objects is usually performed thanks to the tools of signal processing such as the fast Fourier transform, Ramanujan sum signal processing, and many other techniques. For space-time topological objects in physics and biology, we propose a type of algebraic processing based on schemes in which the discrimination of singularities within objects is based on the space-time-spin group SL(2,C). Such topological objects possess an homotopy structure encoded in their fundamental group, and the related SL(2,C) multivariate polynomial character variety contains a plethora of singularities somehow analogous to the frequency spectrum in time structures. Our approach is applied to a model of quantum computing based on an Akbulut cork in exotic R4, to an hyperbolic model of topological quantum computing based on magic states and to microRNAs in genetics. Such diverse topics reveal the manifold of possibilities of using the concept of a scheme spectrum.
... Obviously, limited "mind space" is required for a simple task like bending a finger. More complex decisions might require a "larger space of the personal universe" [147] and more processing time. Regarding these phenomena, Roger Penrose [119] suggested that the brain sends unconscious quantum information even backwards through time. ...
The present review attempts to find out what are basic elements of consciousness-that is, what are the characteristics of purposeful perceptions and "reactive" actions observed in living beings. The difference between consciousness and intelligence is also dealt with in this respect. These considerations are based on previous work on feedback loops in "active" matter leading to "living matter". To follow this line, we briefly look at the development of information processing and the formation of neural networks in evolution, culminating in the formation of the human brain. As a synthesis, we deal with current hypotheses of biophysical processes that take place in the human brain in connection with consciousness and intelligence. Furthermore, it discusses basic principles of information processing in artificial intelligence and the difference between human consciousness and intelligence compared to AI. In doing so, we touch on philosophical questions such as the relationship to "minimal physicalism", which is related to teleonomy as a "weak form" of "panpsychism". Thus, the present review can also add some aspects to a lively discussion that has recently erupted on animal consciousness, culminating in the "New York Declaration on Animal Consciousness."
... Such a holographic and field receptive workspace would even provide the basis for the cosmic relation and generation of a universal consciousness of which we all are participating (Kastrup, 2018;Meijer and Raggett, 2014;Meijer, 2019). Such a brain supervening modality is also assumed directly in various brain/consciousness models, as proposed by Amoroso, Sarfatti, Fingelkurz, De Wilde, Hameroff, Ho, Irwin, Keppler, Wahbeh, Wong, and in fact is implied in many of the other models listed in Table 3, including the Global /Neuronal Workspace models of Baars and Dehaene, who never did clarify their supposed broadcasting of wave activity, requires for brain binding of distant brain centers. ...
... Other researchers have suggested that the phenomenon of quantum tunneling, in which particles can pass through barriers that they would not be able to overcome using classical mechanics, may play a role in the brain's ability to generate conscious experience [67,155]. ...
Bioinformatics has revolutionized biology and medicine by using computational methods to analyze and interpret biological data. Quantum mechanics has recently emerged as a promising tool for the analysis of biological systems, leading to the development of quantum bioinformatics. This new field employs the principles of quantum mechanics, quantum algorithms, and quantum computing to solve complex problems in molecular biology, drug design, and protein folding. However, the intersection of bioinformatics, biology, and quantum mechanics presents unique challenges. One significant challenge is the possibility of confusion among scientists between quantum bioinformatics and quantum biology, which have similar goals and concepts. Additionally, the diverse calculations in each field make it difficult to establish boundaries and identify purely quantum effects from other factors that may affect biological processes. This review provides an overview of the concepts of quantum biology and quantum mechanics and their intersection in quantum bioinformatics. We examine the challenges and unique features of this field and propose a classification of quantum bioinformatics to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and accelerate progress. By unlocking the full potential of quantum bioinformatics, this review aims to contribute to our understanding of quantum mechanics in biological systems.
... Information can be processed at the quantum level orders of magnitude more rapidly than it can be processed classically, and discrete systems make use of phenomena such as superposition, entanglement, and tunnelling to enhance their performance (Meijer and Raggett, 2014;Davies, 2005). Brain function requires complementary information processing mechanisms both at iso-energetic and quantum levels, enabling bottom up and top-down information processing, which requires a nested organization of fine-tuned neural micro-sites that enable coherence/de-coherence transitions as a basis for information transfer (Meijer, 2014). ...
This study was initiated to establish whether spatio-spectral Eigen-modes of EEG brain waves can be described by an Acoustic Quantum Code of Resonant Coherence, as found by us earlier in a spectrum of animate and inanimate systems. Presently available EEG-and MEG recordings were analyzed as to their peak frequencies in relation to our Quantum Code coherence values. Both the EEG-and MEG studies of healthy persons exhibited quantum coherence of EEG peaks with mean quantum coherence of 0.95 (an average of 90-100% showed coherent peak values), while in patient groups with various mental disorders, a significant decrease of coherence correlation was found. ADHD subjects show a moderate change in peak coherence, being in the range of 1.0 to 0.83, while during epileptic seizures the degree of peak coherence is reduced to a range of 0.94 to 0.75. Depressed patients have EEG peaks with a consistently lower coherence values than healthy persons: 0.77-0.88, while autistic persons show an even lower coherence of 0.50 till 0.75. Patients with severe psychiatric disorders, such as depression, show a coherence of only 0.49-0.61. The importance of EEG brain coherence for conscious states was demonstrated in patients under anaesthesia that exhibited a very low coherence level of about 0.25. The graded loss of brain EEG coherence combined with alterations in Phi based EEG wave separation, can therefore be of value for differentiation in severity and nature of neurological disorders. The value of our frequency algorithm was also shown for trans-cranial therapy: the presently chosen frequencies of rTMS therapy in clinical practice correspond very well with the values of our algorithm. Of interest, the Acoustic Quantum Code pattern was also shown to describe neuronal microtubular (MT) wave frequencies, as measured in vitro by others. MT oscillations were claimed by Hameroff and Penrose to be instrumental in the creation of brain consciousness through alignment with gravity fluctuation at the Planck scale. Our results on brain EEG coherence are therefore discussed in relation to the current models for understanding the nature of (self)-consciousness. We regard the potential relation between neuronal coherence/decoherence balance and conscious states as a central mechanism for producing quantum entanglement in the brain as related to long-distance neuro-communication and brain binding. As postulated earlier, consciousness can be modelled by a 5D brain-associated, toroidal workspace, that provides quality control and monitoring of integral brain function, according to holographic principles and was earlier framed as the "Event Horizon Brain". Consciousness, in this concept, requires photon/phonon mediated and resonant communication with this field-receptive holographic workspace, seen as associated with but not reducible to the human brain. The related brain supervening role of the event horizon workspace requires the collective conscious and unconscious states and realizes a total holographic modality of consciousness that enables effective predictive coding. This 5D, scale invariant, memory workspace, therefore, can be instrumental in the manifestation of Psi phenomena and experiences of cosmic consciousness. At the sub-atomic level, gravity guided quantum tunnelling and coherence of micro-tubular oscillations may produce neuronal entanglement. The latter represents a dominant factor in long distance neural information transfer and functional brain binding. The resulting synchronization of neural network frequencies is likely reflected in the abovementioned brain coherency of EEG peaks, as well as in various mental states that promote feelings of mental wholeness in meditation and psycho-mimetic drug therapy. 2
The present avalanche of Digital information and AI-related technologies, invites an urgent rebirth of the Meme concept in which, in the present paper, the Virus is conceived as the Bio-a rchetype of the Meme. The creation of related memory modalities form the very basis for our cultural and political worldviews, that in turn determine the scene of our daily human interactions in the world around us. Yet, all this occurs partly from a subconscious source, implying that their potential consequences are largely hidden from us. Virus-like information replication in culture, modeled here as internet memes, currently serve as an essential and useful communication instrument in our digitalized world, yet can also be greatly misused for criminal or political reasons. The various steps in the viral replication process are pictured and compared with congruent processes in neurological and societal processing of meme-like information.. In the present paper, the Virus/Meme analogy is applied to the current status of production and use of modern medicines in relation to potential benefits, but also the known adverse aspects of drug utilization. The implicit analogy is discussed in relation to modern developments in anti-viral therapy and vaccination technologies, but also requires improved insight in the nature of human consciousness and memory. For example, we should stay alert with regard to the inherent dangers of AI technology, that is helped by the frightening rise in screen times of our students. It is mandatory, in this respect, to foster the ability for independent data search and integration for academic knowledge acquisition. A solid analysis of the meme/virus replication process may provide clues for the design and development of efficient digital software programs for upstream identification of potential toxic/distorted information. In neurological terms, memes are viewed as quasi-stable attractor associative memory states in brain, that also can distort endogenous information. Brain scanning technology and the use of congruent mirror memes could assist in mental neutralization following human brain infections. The latter may also reduce further societal multiplication and amplification of such detrimental modalities. In this framework, we advocate the creation of a permanent and sophisticated detection and neutralization platform, against internet-born fake news and conspiracy theories, as well as to stop the unwanted intrusion of unwanted data in our private life. Implementation of such a worldwide digital immunity, could be largely supported by dedicated Academic research, as part of a broad public initiative, to cope with the commercial aims of the telecom/media industry and/or the severe threats by autocratic and anti-democratic regimes that, unfortunately. inhabit our precious planet. Present Internet, with its extremely complex branched and layered structure can be conceived as a living organism that needs basic health and thus requires a versatile immune defense system, in order to cope with common toxic/ false/evil infiltrates. It is hoped that Internet, now equipped by many modalities of A I, may serve and not dominate mankind, maintaining its values in the exploration of truth. 2 Contents:
This paper pays special attention to the interfacing of the field of universal consciousness and our personal brain in relation to a potential afterlife and postulates a toroidal event horizon workspace of the brain that allows a symmetric 4-Dimensional (4-D) to 3-Dimensional (3-D) quantum information flux and holographic personal memory integration. The geometry of a 3-D brain, embedded in a 4-D realm, may explain the phenomena of functional brain binding, qualia, intuition, serendipity, synchronicity, extra-sensory perception, and other well-established parapsychological phenomena. Brain function is conceptualized as guided by the Zero-point Energy (ZPE) Field (ZPF)-derived pilot waves that support consciousness, even in the absence of neuronal activity, such as in Near-Death Experiences (NDE). The brain's toroidal organization exhibits quaternionic dynamics and thereby allows an opening to 4-D geometry and, consequently, to universal consciousness and the ZPF. This personal holographic workspace, that is associated with but not reducible to the brain, collects active information in a "brain event horizon," as an internal and fully integral model of the self. At death or transition of our material body, this personal mental knowledge domain dissociates from the body, yet it is retained because entangled and meaningful quantum information can never be destroyed. In NDE, this uncoupling is only temporal, but reveals universal consciousness in a fully transparent manner, since in this condition non-neuronal information processing is preserved. This preservation occurs through fractal semi-harmonic frequencies, from the ZPE field, that reflect an entangled personal register of each conscious being. The proposed concept, therefore, contradicts the tentative and promissory materialist solution to the mind-body problem. Instead, it substantiates the notion that the brain can act as a kind of "receiver" by filtering (sub)conscious states through holographic resonance with universal consciousness through specific coherent oscillation domains in the body. Yet, it is recognized that our self-consciousness can also act as a damping filter for information from this universal knowledge field. The latter aspect of a "dual filter theory" is apparently perturbed at states of modified brain function such as NDE, deep meditation, and use of psychomimetic drugs, that all expose us to an unknown cosmic perspective. The presence of a mental, field-receptive, resonant workspace, might be termed our "supervening double" (or "soul," not implying religious doctrine), and provides an interpretation framework for widely reported but poorly understood transpersonal conscious states. These may even imply that death can be conceived as a transition to another state of existence, yet we realize that all of us already belong to such an eternal domain in our present lives. Therefore, the present model may imply the potential for the survival of individual consciousness, qualifying conscious individuals as designated survivors and eternal beings. La survie de la conscience et l'anticipation d'une vie après la mort d'après la physique actuelle Résumé Cet article accorde une attention particulière à l'interface entre le champ de la conscience universelle et notre cerveau individuel en relation avec une éventuelle vie après la mort. Il postule un espace de travail toroïde de l'horizon des événements du cerveau qui permet un flux d'information quantique symétrique de 4 dimensions (4-D) à 3 dimensions (3-D) et une intégration holographique de la mémoire individuelle. La géométrie d'un cerveau tridimensionnel intégrée dans un domaine quadridimensionnel peut expliquer les phénomènes de liaison fonctionnelle du cerveau, de qualia, d'intuition, de sérendipité, de synchronicité, de perception extra-sensorielle et d'autres phénomènes parapsychologiques avérés. La fonction cérébrale est conceptualisée comme étant guidée par des ondes pilotes dérivées du champ d'énergie du point zéro (en anglais : ZPE Zero-point Energy, ZPF Zero-point Energy Field) qui assistent la conscience même en l'absence d'activité neuronale, comme dans les expériences de mort imminente (EMI). L'organisation toroïde du cerveau présente une dynamique de quaternions permettant ainsi une ouverture à la géométrie quadridimensionnelle et, par conséquent, à la conscience universelle et au ZPF. Cet espace de travail holographique personnel-à savoir associé au cerveau mais non réductible à celui-ci-recueille des informations actives dans un "horizon d'événements cérébraux", en qualité de modèle interne et totalement intégral du soi. Lors de la mort, ou transition, de notre corps matériel, ce domaine de connaissance mentale individuelle se dissocie du corps physique, mais il est conservé parce que l'information quantique intrinsèque, significative, ne peut être détruite. Dans l'EMI, ce découplage n'est que temporel, mais il révèle la conscience universelle de manière totalement transparente, puisque dans cet état, le traitement de l'information non-neuronale est conservé. Ceci se produit par le biais de fréquences semi-harmoniques fractales, issues du champ d'énergie du point zéro, qui reflètent un registre personnel intriqué de chaque être conscient. Le concept proposé contredit donc l'option de solution matérialiste, éphémère, momentanée, au problème corps-esprit. En effet, il étaye la notion selon laquelle le cerveau peut agir comme une sorte de "récepteur" en filtrant les états (sub)conscients par résonance holographique avec la conscience universelle, à travers des domaines d'oscillation cohérente spécifiques situés dans notre corps. Ceci étant, nous savons actuellement que notre conscience de soi peut également agir comme un filtre d'amortissement pour les informations provenant de ce champ de connaissance universelle. Ce dernier aspect de la "théorie du double filtre" est apparemment perturbé dans des états de fonction cérébrale modifiée, tels l'EMI, la méditation profonde et l'utilisation de drogues psychomimétiques, du moment qu'ils exposent à une perspective cosmique inconnue. La présence d'un espace de travail mental, réceptif au champ et résonnant, que nous pouvons appeler "double survenant" (ou "âme", sans toutefois impliquer de doctrine religieuse) fournit un cadre d'interprétation pour les états de conscience trans-personnels fréquemment signalés mais encore mal compris. Ces modèles peuvent même impliquer que la mort peut être conçue comme une transition vers un autre état d'existence, bien que nous puissions nous rendre compte, de notre vivant, que nous appartenons tous déjà à un tel domaine éternel. Par conséquent, le modèle que nous proposons peut impliquer le potentiel de survie de la conscience individuelle, qualifiant les individus conscients de survivants désignés et d'êtres éternels.
In the present review/literature compilation*, we submit that a cosmological acoustical background field underlies the fabric of reality and that this field was and is instrumental in the guiding of biophysical processes during pre-biotic era's, biological evolution, as well as in the world we know now and anticipate in the future. The idea of some recipe for life, seen as a set of primordial rules, has clear connections with the earlier proposed pilot wave theory of David Bohm, who framed the supposed field as an implicate order. Implicitly, such theories invite the question whether they imply a deterministic and even super-deterministic constellation of the cosmos we live in. Of note, the super-determinism debate is related to quantum mechanical properties such as non-locality, the measurement (observer) problem, statistical independence of the observer, potential vectorial influences on a distance, free will (choice) of observers and the potential involvement of hidden variables in quantum physics, all this related to potential violation of Bell's Theorem. The latter item was recently treated by Hossenfelder, Palmer, t' Hooft, and Smolin among many others. We postulate that the initiation and further evolution of the cosmos was predetermined by an underlying information field that is hidden for us and which is considered as primordial attribute of a cyclic (rebounce) universe. This concept was earlier described by us as a symmetry breaking from a 5D sub-quantum phase space, that is connected to a 4D superfluid quantum domain with features of the known Zero-point-energy Field (ZPEF). Our theory can, in principle, be viewed upon as a superdeterministic phenomenon, as currently debated in physics. Yet, we rather propose that potential super-determinism is relaxed by a dynamic information field that is retro-causally updated(back-reaction). This, through choices made by intelligent life systems that collect, use and dissipate information, including the human species. This dynamic process can be envisioned as a permanent retro-causally actualised information domain that is instrumental in the ongoing evolution of our world. This implies a relaxed superdeterministic mode, collectively defined by us as a retro-causally reconstructive universe, that allows human free choice. It is postulated that crucial processes such as the Primordial Creation of our Universe (so-called Big Bang), Anthropic Fine Tuning of the Universe, Biological Evolution and the Manifestation of Consciousness should not be regarded as coincidental, but rather as a manifestation of a Grand Design on the basis of of an Acoustic Cosmic Recipe for guiding the Fabric of Reality.
The anatomicalAnatomical view is the approach often used to understand the brainBrain. This view largely relies upon brainwavesBrainwave, their relation to neuropsychiatric disordersNeuropsychiatric disorder, namely epilepsyEpilepsy, and their application to brain mappingBrain mapping, brainBrain-computer interfaces, and consciousnessConsciousness. The researchResearch and our knowledgeKnowledge in consciousnessConsciousness are, however, currently limited. The reason for that perhaps lies in our initial perceptionPerception of how the brainBrain works. Thus, to better understand humanHumanconsciousnessConsciousness, the alternative view for the brainBrain is all are wavesWaves. This view has benefited from quantum physicsQuantum physicsprinciplesPrinciple that consider a particleParticle, an atomAtom, or a moleculeMolecule as wavesWaves to offer a deeper insight into the brainBrain. The present chapter is an attempt to cover both the neuroscientificNeuroscientific and quantum physicsQuantum physics aspects of brainwavesBrainwave. In specific, it comprises the originOrigin of the humanHumanbrainwavesBrainwave; microgravityMicrogravity inside the craniumCranium; the seat of the human soulHuman soul that involves the greater limbic systemGreater limbic system, consciousnessConsciousness, and deathDeath of a personPersons; brainBrainor bodyBodytransplantBody transplant; quantum psychiatryQuantum psychiatry; dualityDuality of a particleParticle and light; illusionaryIllusionary and borderlessBorderlessuniverseUniverse; infiniteInfinite shape in our natureNature and brainBrain; and a shift in energyEnergy or dimensionDimension. TheArtbrainBrain, cosmologyCosmology, andImagequantum physicsQuantum physics: a, from the lowest quantumQuantum to the highest anatomicalAnatomical view for the brainBrain; b-c, Limited projectionProjection of realityRealities from infinite dimensionInfinite dimension or energyEnergy (wavesWaves) with some wavesWaves do intersect (c) while many of them do not (b); d, the intersection of some wavesWaves at certain anglesAngle with a newly formed physical universePhysical universe (light or glowing phasePhase after the big bangBig bang) create light, matter, and electric vorticesElectric vortex, the matter vorticesMatter vortex are infiniteInfinite in their shapes (corresponded to the infiniteInfinite shape in our natureNature); e, with the limited projected wavesWaves, the brain functionBrain functions is limited, i.e., in the qualityQuality of its consciousnessConsciousness; f, with the limited qualityQuality for both (physical universePhysical universe) and the brainBrain (observerObserver), the personPersons cannot see the true natureNature of the particlesParticle which are wavesWaves or energyEnergy (collapsing the waveWavesfunctionFunction of the particlesParticle and dualityDuality of them). The code of this chapter is 01,110,100 01,110,01001,100,00101,111,00101,110,11001,000,111 01,101,001.
Introduction
Quantum theory is the most successful physical theory ever. About one third of the gross national product in the developed countries results from its applications. These applications range from nuclear power to most of the high-tech tools for computing, laser, solar cells and so on. No limit for its range of validity has been found up to now.
Quantum theory has a clear mathematical structure, so a physics student can learn it in a short time. However, very often quantum theory is considered as being “crazy” or “not understandable”. Such a stance appears reasonable as long as quantum theory is seen primarily as a theory of small particles and the forces between them. However, if quantum theory is understood more deeply, namely as a general theory of structures, not only the range is widely expanded, but it also becomes more comprehensible (T. Görnitz, 1999).
Quantum structures can be material, like atoms, electrons and so on. They can also be energetic, like photons, and finally they can be mere structures, such as quantum bits.
Keeping this in mind it becomes apprehensible that quantum theory has two not easily reconcilable aspects: on the one hand, it possesses a clear mathematical structure, on the other hand, it accounts for well-known experiences of everyday life: e.g. a whole is often more than the sum of its parts, and not only the facts but also the possibilities can be effective.
If henadic and future structures (i.e. structures which are related to unity [Greek "hen"] and to future) become important in scientific analysis, then the viewable facts in real life differ from the calculated results of models of classical physics, which suppose elementary distinctions between matter and motion, material and force, localization and extension, fullness and emptiness and which describe any process as a succession of facts. From quantum theory one can learn two elementary insights:
1. Not only facts but also possibilities can influence the way in which material objects behave.
2. The elementary distinctions made in classical models are often useful, but not fundamental.
Quantum theory shows that there are equivalences between the concepts of matter and motion, material and force, localization and extension, fullness and emptiness, and so on, and these equivalences can be reduced to one fundamental equivalence: the equivalence of matter, energy and abstract quantum information.
Consciousness remains one of the major unsolved problems in science. How do the feelings and sensations making up conscious experience arise from the concerted actions of nerve cells and their associated synaptic and molecular processes? Can such feelings be explained by modern science, or is there an entirely different kind of explanation needed? And how can this seemingly intractable problem be approached experimentally? How do the operations of the conscious mind emerge out of the specific interactions involving billions of neurons? This book seeks answers to these questions on the underlying assumption that consciousness can be understood using the intellectual potential of modern physics and other sciences. There are a number of theories of consciousness, some based on classical physics while others require the use of quantum concepts. The latter ones have drawn criticism from the parts of the scientific establishment while simultaneously claiming that classical approaches are doomed to failure. The contributing authors present a spectrum of opinions from both sides of this on-going scientific debate, allowing readers to decide for themselves which of the approaches are most likely to succeed.
To make progress on the problem of consciousness, we have to confront it directly. In this paper, I first isolate the truly hard part of the problem, separating it from more tractable parts and giving an account of why it is so difficult to explain. I critique some recent work that uses reductive methods to address consciousness, and argue that these methods inevitably fail to come to grips with the hardest part of the problem. Once this failure is recognized, the door to further progress is opened. In the second half of the paper, I argue that if we move to a new kind of nonreductive explanation, a naturalistic account of consciousness can be given. I put forward my own candidate for such an account: a nonreductive theory based on principles of structural coherence and organizational invariance and a double-aspect view of information.
By combining neurobiological data with facts and ideas from psychology psychiatry and quantum mechanics, a new, multidisciplinary view is presented on the relationship between, and the origin of, brain and mind. This view, summarized in six propositions, substantially deviates from leading contemporary theories on this subject. Particular consequences of this view are that, from the very beginning, cosmic evolution is characterized by superdeterminism and, secondly, that by far the greater part of unconscious mental activity, including the storage of declarative memories, does not physically occur in the synaptic networks of the material brain but at a deeper, submanifest level. Propositions 1. The electrochemical functioning of the cerebral cortex, on the one hand, and the related subjective experiences, on the other, are two fundamentally different, but really existing and intimately related, equivalent, self-organizing phenomena: an objective-material and a subjective-psychic one. 2. The continuously changing deterministic chaotic electric/magnetic fields (virtual photons) along the dendritic trees in the cerebral cortex can partly be boasted to such complex, highly ordered time-spatial patterns that the latter give rise to subjective experiences (psychic functioning) including self-consciousness. 3. The whole, self-organizing, course of the universe, extending over the past, present and future, is in its relevant space-time configuration (causal and acausal) permanently present in a submanifest order of being. From this submanifest order of being, a small part continually actualizes itself via a continuous succession of quantum states and interactions in the manifest order of being. We experience this advancing, propagating present as the course of everyday life. 4. The electric/magnetic fields generated in the material cerebral cortex, on the one hand, and the corresponding psychic functioning, on the other, are two fundamentally different, but equivalent aspects of one and the same, self-organizing, energetic entity which, with the maintenance of both aspects, has its roots in a deeper submanifest order of being. 5. A retrieved declarative memory is nothing but a transient re-actualization in the functioning cerebral cortex of information arising from the unconsciousness located in a personal domain of the submanifest order of being. Thus, unconscious mental activity, including the storage of declarative memories, does not physically occur in the synaptic networks of the cerebral cortex or elsewhere in the brain, but somewhere in a personal domain of the submanifest order of being. 6. Each subjectively perceptible psychic process, such as a sensory perception, thought, emotion, dream, hallucination or memory, on the one hand, and the associated objectively perceptible electric/magnetic fields in the cerebral cortex, on the other, should be regarded as two different, but equivalent and intimately related aspects of one and the same self-organizing structure, which has been formed as a certain acausal configuration in space and time from a submanifest order of being in which everything that was, is, or is still to come, is enclosed (contained) in 'mutual reflection'. This submanifest order of being can be subdivided into a personal and a collective domain which are in line with each other.