Collapse and Measures of Consciousness
arXiv Preprint Archive September 28, 2020 preprint
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Quant-ph Quantum consciousness Quantum measurement theory |
| Key points | Argues that Chalmers-McQueen's objection to associating a single measure of consciousness with quantum collapse does not apply to human observers because it requires a precise symmetry between brain states for different experiences that is unlikely to hold. |
Abstract
There has been an upsurge of interest lately in developing Wigner's hypothesis that conscious observation causes collapse by exploring dynamical collapse models in which some purportedly quantifiable aspect(s) of consciousness resist superposition. Kremnizer-Ranchin, Chalmers-McQueen and Okon-Sebasti\'an have explored the idea that collapse may be associated with a numerical measure of consciousness. More recently, Chalmers-McQueen have argued that any single measure is inadequate because it will allow superpositions of distinct states of equal consciousness measure to persist. They suggest a satisfactory model needs to associate collapse with a set of measures quantifying aspects of consciousness, such as the "Q-shapes" defined by Tononi et al. in their "integrated information theory" (IIT) of consciousness. I argue here that Chalmers-McQueen's argument against associating a single measure with collapse requires a precise symmetry between brain states associated with different experiences and thus does not apply to the only case where we have strong intuitions, namely human (or other terrestrial biological) observers. In defence of Chalmers-McQueen's stance, it might be argued that idealized artificial information processing networks could display such symmetries. However, I argue that any theory (such as IIT) that postulates a map from network states to mind states should assign identical mind states to isomorphic network states (as IIT does). This suggests that, if such a map exists, no familiar components of mind states, such as viewing different colours, or experiencing pleasure or pain, are likely to be related by symmetries.
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| Looking for the Self: Phenomenology, Neurophysiology and Philosophical Significance of Drug-induced Ego Dissolution | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |