Consciousness and Quantum Theory: Strange Bedfellows
Consciousness January 23, 2003 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780199241286.003.0019 (opens in new tab)
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe author reflects on why the global quantum correlations that appear in the formalism of quantum mechanics vanish when a conscious observer interacts with a measurement apparatus. They argue that this puzzle about consciousness should not be conflated with the task of understanding quantum mechanics as a theory of correlations among nonconscious subsystems. The author declines to speculate whether the vanishing of these correlations is due to consciousness lying outside the scope of quantum mechanics, having infinitely many degrees of freedom, or obeying special superselection rules.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key finding | Argues that the puzzle of why global quantum correlations vanish upon connecting with a conscious observer should not be conflated with understanding quantum mechanics as a theory of subsystem correlations in the nonconscious world. |
Abstract
Abstract When I look at the scale of the apparatus I know what it reads. Those absurdly delicate, hopelessly inaccessible, global correlations obviously vanish when they connect up with me. Whether this is because consciousness is beyond the range of phenomena that quantum mechanics is capable of dealing with, or because it has infinitely many degrees of freedom or special super selection rules of its own, I would not presume to guess. But this is a puzzle about consciousness that should not get mixed up with efforts to understand quantum mechanics as a theory of subsystem correlations in the nonconscious world.