Consciousness and the Measurement Problem in Quantum Mechanics
Paavo Pylkkänen, Gustaf Malmberg
Journal of Physics: Conference Series June 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/3017/1/012052 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | The paper revisits the idea, emphasized by Eugene Wigner in 1961 and recently discussed by David Chalmers and Kelvin McQueen, that consciousness is somehow needed to collapse the wave function. It reexamines why the idea was originally proposed and considers Chalmers and McQueen's discussion, without reporting empirical results. |
Abstract
Abstract The idea that consciousness is somehow needed to collapse the wave function was emphasized especially by Eugene Wigner in 1961 and has recently been discussed by e.g. David Chalmers and Kelvin McQueen. We revisit the reasons why the idea was proposed in the first place and briefly consider Chalmers and McQueen’s discussion.