Quantum-like Qualia hypothesis: from quantum cognition to quantum perception.
Naotsugu Tsuchiya, Peter Bruza, Makiko Yamada, Hayato Saigo, Emmanuel M Pothos
Frontiers in Psychology 2024 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1406459 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Bell inequality Bistable perception Quantum cognition Similarity Quantum consciousness Attention and perception Cognitive science Qualia theory |
| Citations | 8 |
| Key points | Proposes that qualia can be mathematically modeled as quantum-like observables that are affected by measurement, predicting that qualia are sometimes indeterminate. |
Abstract
To arbitrate theories of consciousness, scientists need to understand mathematical structures of quality of consciousness, or qualia. The dominant view regards qualia as points in a dimensional space. This view implicitly assumes that qualia can be measured without any effect on them. This contrasts with intuitions and empirical findings to show that by means of internal attention qualia can change when they are measured. What is a proper mathematical structure for entities that are affected by the act of measurement? Here we propose the mathematical structure used in quantum theory, in which we consider qualia as "observables" (i.e., entities that can, in principle, be observed), sensory inputs and internal attention as "states" that specify the context that a measurement takes place, and "measurement outcomes" with probabilities that qualia observables take particular values. Based on this mathematical structure, the Quantum-like Qualia (QQ) hypothesis proposes that qualia observables interact with the world, as if through an interface of sensory inputs and internal attention. We argue that this qualia-interface-world scheme has the same mathematical structure as observables-states-environment in quantum theory. Moreover, within this structure, the concept of a "measurement instrument" in quantum theory can precisely model how measurements affect qualia observables and states. We argue that QQ naturally explains known properties of qualia and predicts that qualia are sometimes indeterminate. Such predictions can be empirically determined by the presence of order effects or violations of Bell inequalities. Confirmation of such predictions substantiates our overarching claim that the mathematical structure of QQ will offer novel insights into the nature of consciousness.
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Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Editorial: Quantum and quantum-like effects across neuroscience Frontiers in Human Neuroscience April 8, 2026
- Now is the time: operationalizing generative neurophenomenology through interpersonal methods. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2025
- Temporal Quantum-like Cognition in a Free-Energy Variational Framework. Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) July 29, 2026
- Qualia structures collapse for geometric shapes, but not faces, when spatial attention is withdrawn. Neuroscience of Consciousness 2025
Cites 34
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- Theories of consciousness. Nature Reviews Neuroscience July 1, 2022
- Introduction to Research Topic – Binocular Rivalry: A Gateway to Studying Consciousness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
- Stratification of unresponsive patients by an independently validated index of brain complexity Annals of Neurology September 22, 2016
and 29 more in the library