The Subjective-Objective Collapse Model
Elias Okon, Miguel Ángel Sebastián
Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics July 18, 2022 DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780197501665.003.0003 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the Subjective-Objective Collapse model, in which the collapse operator depends on a physical property identical to or perfectly correlated with consciousness, can address worries that consciousness-based collapse is mysterious and in tension with physicalism, and can yield an empirically adequate model of wave function evolution. The paper reviews the model's advantages, commitments, and challenges. |
Abstract
Abstract: The idea that “consciousness causes the collapse of the wave function” has never been popular among physicists. The main reason being that the alleged interaction makes the resulting theory mysterious and in tension with physicalism. The Subjective-Objective Collapse (SOC) model attends these worries. SOC is an objective collapse model where the collapse operator depends upon a physical property that either is identical to consciousness or perfectly correlates with it. This allows the construction of an empirically adequate model of the evolution of the wave function in which the collapse depends on consciousness. This paper reviews the SOC model, discusses its advantages and evaluates its commitments and challenges.