From Electromagnetic Fields to Free Will: A Unified Perspective on Physics, Life, and Consciousness
PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation) February 14, 2026 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18643915 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Consciousness Perspective graphical Trace psycholinguistics Natural archaeology Field mathematics Energy signal processing Free will Epistemology Cognitive science Order exchange Qualia |
| Key points | Proposes that free will and consciousness are emergent properties of self-stabilizing processes in nature, arising from fundamental physical laws. |
Abstract
This paper presents a unified perspective on the emergence of free will from fundamental physical laws. Starting from Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetism, we trace the progression from energy fields to photons, matter, atomic stability, life, and complex neural systems. Consciousness is interpreted as the internal observation of a self-organizing, dynamically stable system. Free will arises as the subjective experience of internal decision-making in a brain operating at the edge of order and chaos. The discussion integrates physics, neuroscience, philosophy, and systems theory to demonstrate that free will and consciousness are natural emergent properties of self-stabilizing processes in nature.