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"Consciousness causes collapse" is the name given to the claim that observation by a conscious observer is responsible for the wavefunction collapse in quantum mechanics. It has been summarised as: For other uses, see Observation (disambiguation). ...
Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ...
In certain interpretations of quantum mechanics, wavefunction collapse is one of two processes by which quantum systems apparently evolve according to the laws of quantum mechanics. ...
For a less technical and generally accessible introduction to the topic, see Introduction to quantum mechanics. ...
The rules of quantum mechanics are correct but there is only one system which may be treated with quantum mechanics, namely the entire material world. There exist external observers which cannot be treated within quantum mechanics, namely human (and perhaps animal) minds, which perform measurements on the brain causing wave function collapse [1] The framework of quantum mechanics requires a careful definition of measurement, and a thorough discussion of its practical and philosophical implications. ...
It can also be seen as 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" [citation needed] and cannot be considered separate. Opponents assert that it is unfalsifiable, and also does not simplify our physical understanding of the universe, and is therefore scientifically uninteresting. Wigners friend is a thought experiment proposed by the physicist Eugene Wigner; it is an extension of the Schrödingers cat experiment designed as a point of departure for discussing the mind-body problem as viewed by the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. ...
Look up paradox in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Substance dualism is a type of ontological dualism defended by Descartes in which it is claimed that there are two fundamental kinds of substance: mental and material. ...
Falsifiability (or refutability or testability) is the logical possibility that an assertion can be shown false by an observation or a physical experiment. ...
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[citation needed]. It also meshes well with the views of the New Thought Movement. Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ...
Taoism (or Daoism) is the English name referring to a variety of related Chinese philosophical traditions and concepts. ...
A statue of the Sakyamuni Buddha in Tawang Gompa, India. ...
The Dancing Wu Li Masters by Gary Zukav is a popular new age book from 1979 about quantum physics interpretations. ...
The New Thought movement, a religio-metaphysical healing group, was founded by Phineas Parkhurst Quimby[1](1802-66) of Belfast, Maine, an American mental healer, student of mesmerism, and practitioner of hypnosis, who claimed he could heal by mere suggestion. ...
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. What the Bleep Do We Know!? (also written What tнe⃗ #$*! D⃗ө ωΣ (k)πow!? and What the #$*! Do We Know!?) is a controversial 2004 film that combines documentary interviews and a fictional narrative to posit a connection between science and spirituality based upon the Ramthas School of Enlightenment of...
The Secret redirects here. ...
Greg Egan (August 20, 1961, Perth, Western Australia) is an Australian computer programmer and science fiction author. ...
Quarantine is also a novel by Jim Crace, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. ...
Charles David George Stross (born October 18, 1964) is a science fiction writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. ...
The Atrocity Archives (2004, ISBN 1-930846-25-8) is a collection of two stories by British author Charles Stross, consisting of the short novel The Atrocity Archive (originally serialized in Spectrum SF) and The Concrete Jungle, which won the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novella. ...
Proponents With the publication of Die Mathematischen Grundlagen der Quantenmechanik (The Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics), it was John von Neumann 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".[2] For other persons named John Neumann, see John Neumann (disambiguation). ...
Walter Heinrich Heitler (02. ...
Fritz Wolfgang London (March 7, 1900–March 30, 1954) was a German-born American physicist for whom the London force is named. ...
Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul Wigner (Hungarian Wigner Pál Jenő) (November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian physicist and mathematician who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and...
This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
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. Fred Alan Wolf (December 3, 1934– ) is a theoretical physicist (Ph. ...
William A. Tiller, Ph. ...
Dr. John Hagelin Dr. John Hagelin, scientist, educator, and three-time third-party candidate for President of the United States, is Professor of Physics, Director of the Institute of Science, Technology and Public Policy at Maharishi University of Management, and Minister of Science and Technology of the Global Country of...
Stuart Hameroff, MD, is an anesthesiologist and professor at the University of Arizona known for his promotion of the scientific study of consciousness, and his speculative theories of the mechanisms of consciousness. ...
Bernard J. Baars is a senior fellow of the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, CA. He is best known for his book, A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness (1988) in which he outlines his view of Global Workspace Theory as a model for consciousness. ...
An Indian physicist whose book, the The Self-Aware Universe, makes a good case for equating the validity of materialist and idealist approaches to consciousness and the world. ...
Russell Targ is an American physicist and author who was a pioneer in the development of the laser. ...
Nick Herbert is an American physicist, best known for his book After receiving his Ph. ...
Jeffrey M. Schwartz, M.D. is a well known American scientist in the field of Neuroplasticity, and its application to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ...
Menas Kafatos is a quantum physicist and writer on science . ...
The Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) program was established at Princeton University in 1979 by Robert G. Jahn, then Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, to pursue rigorous scientific study of the interaction of human consciousness with physical devices, systems, and processes common to contemporary engineering practice. ...
The Reverend Professor (John Stephen) Keith Ward (born 22 August 1938) is a British cleric, philosopher, theologian, and scholar. ...
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: Werner Karl Heisenberg (December 5, 1901 – February 1, 1976) was a celebrated German physicist and Nobel laureate, one of the founders of quantum mechanics and acknowledged to be one of the most important physicists of the twentieth century. ...
Bernard dEspagnat (b. ...
- "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."[3]
For a less technical and generally accessible introduction to the topic, see Introduction to quantum mechanics. ...
Criteria for consciousness This interpretation, attributes the process of wave function collapse (directly, indirectly, or even partially) to consciousness itself. However, it is not explained by this theory which animals, living creatures, or objects have sufficient consciousness to collapse of the wave function ("Was the wave function waiting to jump for thousands of millions of years until a single-celled living creature appeared? Or did it have to wait a little longer for some highly qualified measurer - with a PhD?"[4]). It is also not clear whether measuring devices might also be considered conscious, though generally measuring devices are considered by proponents of consciousness causes collapse to be in the same indeterminate state as what they measure until observed by 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. Solipsists would assert that they are the only conscious entity, and therefore only they cause wave function collapse upon objects. In quantum mechanics, quantum decoherence is the process by which quantum systems in complex environments exhibit classical behavior. ...
Solipsism (from the Latin ipse = self and solus = alone) is the metaphysical belief that only oneself exists, and that existence just means being a part of ones own mental states — all objects, people, etc, that one experiences are merely parts of ones own mind. ...
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. Falsifiability (or refutability or testability) is the logical possibility that an assertion can be shown false by an observation or a physical experiment. ...
For the House television show episode called Occams Razor, see Occams Razor (House episode) Occams razor (sometimes spelled Ockhams razor) is a principle attributed to the 14th-century English logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham. ...
Wim De Muynck comments that
The human observer is as dispensable in quantum mechanics as he (short for `he or she') is in classical mechanics. He sees only the macroscopic parts of his measuring instruments. In present-day practice of the physical science of the microscopic domain human observation is largely restricted to the tables and graphs that have been printed on the basis of data obtained by the scientists computer from a measuring instrument of which the measurement results are sent to the computer without any human interference. An influence like the reduction (collapse) of the wave packet, allegedly exerted by a human observer on a microscopic object by means of observation, would be equally miraculous as killing a fly by just looking at ones fly swatter. [5] Some commentators question how the interpretation copes with the epochs of history before any conscious observer.[6] One response to this, as given for example by Peter Russell, is that our definition of consciousness is too limited, and that we should instead make the philosophical posit that consciousness is fundamental.[7] Peter Russell (born May 7, 1946) is a British author of books on consciousness, spiritual awakening and their role in the future development of humanity. ...
Consciousness is a quality of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and ones environment. ...
Panpsychism, in philosophy, is either the view that all parts of matter involve mind, or the more holistic view that the whole universe is an organism that possesses a mind. ...
Recent study of quantum decoherence casts new light onto the problem by reducing the importance of the "macroscopic observer" originally introduced in the language of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory. Modern scientific discourse has evolved to try to quantify how quantum systems decohere due to their interactions with the surroundings. In this manner a unified view of all quantum interactions can be developed that treats neighboring quantum systems, thermal baths and the measurement apparatus on the same footing. In quantum mechanics, quantum decoherence is the mechanism by which quantum systems interact with their environments to exhibit probabilistically additive behavior - a feature of classical physics - and give the appearance of wavefunction collapse. ...
The Copenhagen interpretation is an interpretation of quantum mechanics formulated by Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg while collaborating in Copenhagen around 1927. ...
While the process of einselection can explain the appearance of distinct outcome states and the onset of classical reality, the apparent random selection of which outcome state remains one of greatest mysteries of science. Einselection is short for environmentally-induced superselection, a nickname coined by Wojciech H. Zurek. ...
See also The Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness is a scientific membership organization that aims to encourage research on consciousness in cognitive science, neuroscience, philosophy, and other relevant disciplines in the sciences and humanities, directed toward understanding the nature, function, and underlying mechanisms of consciousness. ...
Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP) is defined as ability to acquire information by paranormal means independent of any known physical senses or deduction from previous experience. ...
Participant of a Ganzfeld telepathy experiment. ...
It has been suggested that Quantum mechanics, philosophy and controversy be merged into this article or section. ...
The Mind Science Foundation is a private operating scientific foundation in San Antonio, Texas. ...
The many-worlds interpretation or MWI (also known as relative state formulation, theory of the universal wavefunction, many-universes interpretation, Oxford interpretation or many worlds), is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that claims to resolve all the paradoxes of quantum theory by allowing every possible outcome to every event to...
Panpsychism, in philosophy, is either the view that all parts of matter involve mind, or the more holistic view that the whole universe is an organism that possesses a mind. ...
Quantum indeterminacy is the apparent necessary incompleteness in the description of a physical system, that has become one of the characteristics of the standard description of quantum physics. ...
The framework of quantum mechanics requires a careful definition of measurement, and a thorough discussion of its practical and philosophical implications. ...
Quantum metaphysics is concerned with exploring the nature of all reality by using quantum mechanical theories and idea. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Quantum brain dynamics. ...
Notes and References - ^ Schreiber, Z. The Nine Lives of Schrŏdingers's Cat
- ^ Wigner E.P. 1967. Symmetries and Reflections. Cambridge MA. MIT Press. p.171-184
- ^ Bernard d'Espagnat, Scientific American, Nov. 1979. The Quantum Theory and Reality 158-181
- ^ Bell, J.S., 1981, Quantum Mechanics for Cosmologists. In C.J. Isham, R. Penrose and D.W. Sciama (eds.), Quantum Gravity 2: A second Oxford Symposium. Oxford: Clarendon Press, p.611.
- ^ Quantum Mechanics as Wim de Muynck sees it
- ^ The Nine Lives of Schrödinger's Cat
- ^ Russell, P. - The Primacy of Consciousness
Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul Wigner (Hungarian Wigner Pál Jenő) (November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian physicist and mathematician who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and...
Bernard dEspagnat (b. ...
Scientific American is a popular-science magazine, published (first weekly and later monthly) since August 28, 1845, making it the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States. ...
Further links and references Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...
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