Beyond the Stalemate: Conscious MInd-Body - Quantum Mechanics - Free Will - Possible Panpsychism - Possible Interpretation of Quantum Enigma
arXiv Preprint Archive October 7, 2014 via arXiv
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe author argues that contemporary neurobiology and post-Cartesian philosophy of mind assume humans are classical-physics machines, leaving mind either absent or epiphenomenal and causally impotent. The paper contends this conclusion is not forced, provided we abandon total reliance on classical physics. Much of the discussion is speculative; some claims are testable, others not. The author assumes quantum measurement is real and rejects Bohm's interpretation of quantum mechanics.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Physics.hist-ph Quant-ph |
| Key finding | Argues that the assumption that humans are classical-physics machines, leading to mind being epiphenomenal, is not forced if classical physics is not relied upon entirely. |
Abstract
I wish to discuss a large, interwoven set of topics pointed at in the title above. Much of what I say is highly speculative, some is testable, some is, at present, surely not. It is, I hope, useful, to set these ideas forth for our consideration. What I shall say assumes quantum measurement is real, and that Bohm's interpretation of Quantum Mechanics is not true. The Stalemate: In our contemporary neurobiology and much of the philosophy of mind post Descartes we are classical physics machines and either mindless, or mind is at best epiphenomenal and can have no consequences for the physical world. The first main point of this paper is that we are not forced to this conclusion, but must give up total reliance on classical physics.