Consciousness causes collapse

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Further information: quantum mind

Consciousness causes collapse', also known as the 'spiritual interpretation', is the claim that observation by a conscious observer is responsible for the wavefunction collapse in quantum mechanics. It is an attempt to solve the Wigner's friend paradox by asserting that collapse occurs at the first "conscious" observer. Supporters assert this is not a revival of substance dualism, since (in a ramification of this view) consciousness and objects are entangled and cannot be considered as separate. Opponents assert that it is unfalsifiable, and also does not simplify our physical understanding of the universe, and is therefore scientifically uninteresting.

It has been claimed that the theory meshes well with ancient Eastern mysticism and philosophy, including that of Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism which includes a belief in the transitory, interconnected nature of all things and the illusion of separation of thought and existence. This is one of the major themes of the book The Dancing Wu Li Masters. It also meshes well with the views of the New Thought movement.

The view is also presented in the popular and controversial documentaries What the Bleep Do We Know!? and The Secret, alongside some unrelated biological discussions, and is a major plot point in Greg Egan's novel Quarantine, as well as playing a significant role in Charlie Stross's novel The Atrocity Archives.

Contents 1 Proponents 2 Criteria for consciousness 3 Counterarguments 4 See also 5 Notes and References 6 Further links and references 6.1 Articles and links in support of Quantum Consciousness 6.2 Articles and links against Quantum Consciousness 6.3 Related organizations, centers of research, conferences, and further information

[edit] Proponents

Esse est Percipi ("to be is to be perceived"): The idea of consciousness somehow being related to the creation of reality was first proposed by Bishop Berkeley. With the publication of Die Mathematische Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik, it was Von Neumann however who became the first person to hint that Quantum theory may imply an active role for consciousness in the process of reality creation. Others, such as Walter Heitler, Fritz London, Edmond Bauer, and Eugene Wigner further carried Von Neumann's argument to a claimed logical conclusion that consciousness-created reality is the inevitable outcome of Von Neumann's picture of quantum theory. Wigner concluded from his own arguments about symmetry in physics that the action of matter upon mind must give rise to, as he put it, a "direct action of mind upon matter".^[1]

Among the more recent followers of consciousness-causes-collapse, or other consciousness-based theories, one can find Fred Alan Wolf, William A. Tiller, John Hagelin, Stuart Hameroff, Bernard Baars, Amit Goswami, Russell Targ, Nick Herbert, Jeffrey M. Schwartz, Menas Kafatos, and the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Lab in New Jersey. The British Philosopher-Theologian Keith Ward is also a major proponent of this idea.

More than one notable scientist has hinted at a belief in the existence of some form of connection between contemporary physics and metaphysical concepts related to consciousness, mind, our role as the observer of reality, or a deeper meaning of reality by itself:

"Some physicists would prefer to come back to the idea of an objective real world whose smallest parts exist objectively in the same sense as stones or trees exist independently of whether we observe them. This however is impossible." Werner Heisenberg

This sentiment was echoed by French physicist Bernard d'Espagnat:

"The doctrine that the world is made up of objects whose existence is independent of human consciousness turns out to be in conflict with Quantum Mechanics and with facts established by experiment."^[2]

[edit] Criteria for consciousness

Here, the process of "measurement" in quantum mechanics is attributed (directly, indirectly, or even partially) to consciousness itself. However, it is not explained by this theory which animals, living creatures, or objects have consciousness, and thus, the ability to cause the collapse of the wave function ("Can undergraduates collapse the wavefunction?"). It is also not clear whether measuring devices might also be considered conscious, though generally measuring devices are considered simply a "chain of observations" that only ends at a conscious entity. Some even suggest that some beings have a "higher consciousness" and therefore more capability to collapse the wavefunction, whereas others believe all conscious entities have an equal capability.

[edit] Counterarguments

Most physicists regard this theory as a non-scientific concept, claiming that it is experimentally unfalsifiable, and that it introduces unnecessary elements into physics, rather than simplifying.

[edit] See also

• Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness
• Extra-sensory perception
• Ganzfeld experiments
• Interpretation of quantum mechanics
• Mind Science Foundation
• Quantum indeterminacy
• Quantum measurement
• Quantum metaphysics
• Quantum mind

[edit] Notes and References

1. ^ Wigner E.P. 1967. Symmetries and Reflections. Cambridge MA. MIT Press. p.171-184
2. ^ Bernard d'Espagnat, Scientific American, Nov. 1979. The Quantum Theory and Reality 158-181

[edit] Further links and references

[edit] Articles and links in support of Quantum Consciousness

• Discover: "Quantum consciousness - physicist Roger Penrose's theory of consciousness based on non-computable quantum-mechanic brain processes"
• "Quantum Consciousness is Cybernetic"
• "Quantum computation in brain microtubules? The Penrose-Hameroff "Orch OR" model of consciousness"
• "The Quantum Mind/Classical Brain Problem"
• "Quantum Collapse, Consciousness and Superluminal Communication."
• "Why Cognitive Scientists Cannot Ignore Quantum Mechanics"
• "Why Classical Mechanics Cannot Naturally Accommodate Consciousness but Quantum Mechanics Can"
• "Why Quantum Correlates of Consciousness Are Fine, But Not Enough"
• Papers on Quantum Consciousness by Henry Stapp
• "Quantum approaches to consciousness"
• IOP on Henry Stapp on QM and consciousness
• Challenge and rebuttal between Koch and Stapp on Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics
• Donald Hoffman on Consciousness created reality
• Brian Josephson on QM and consciousness
• Mindful Sensationalism: A Quantum Frramework for Consciousness.
• Is Quantum Mechanics Relevant To Understanding Consciousness?
• David Bohm: A new theory of the relationship of mind and matter
• Robert Boyd on William Tiller: "Consciousness Alters Space"
• "Time, the mind/body problem and the semiotic state vector collapse in quantum mechanics" and other related papers presented at TSC-1998.
• "Comparison of a teleological model with a quantum collapse model of psi"
• PHYSICS TODAY: "Is the moon there when nobody looks? Reality and the quantum theory" (pdf)

[edit] Articles and links against Quantum Consciousness

• "The Myth of Quantum Consciousness"
• "On the End of a Quantum Mechanical Romance"
• "Why the Difference Between Quantum and Classical Physics is Irrelevant to the Mind/Body Problem"
• Christof Koch: "Quantum Mechanics in the Brain"
• "What is an Essentially Quantum Mechanical Effect?"
• "Quantum Quackery", Victor Stenger
• "Quantum Quackery", Michael Shermer
• The Skeptics Dictionary on PEAR
• Skeptic James Randi attacking PEAR
• "Quantum mechanics and free will: counter-arguments"

[edit] Related organizations, centers of research, conferences, and further information

• Center for Consciousness Studies, University of Arizona
• International Conference: "Quantum Mind", University of Salzburg
• Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research labs
• David Chalmers' links to consciousness papers