Physical Requirements for Models of Consciousness
WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooks August 31, 2022 DOI: 10.1142/9789811241147_0009 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Citations | 2 |
| Key points | Argues that the physics of consciousness cannot rest exclusively on classical physics, since classical properties are always "Humean like a mosaic" and cannot explain consciousness unity. Proposes that an entangled quantum system, able to perform at least part of the functions of a quantum computer, is needed to generate a unified inner aspect and to couple with a classical system that provides access to preprocessed neural information and produces events generating neural firings. |
Abstract
Consciousness presents a series of characteristics that have been observed through- out the years: unity, continuity, richness and robustness are some of them. It manifests itself in regions of the brain capable of processing a huge quantity of integrated information with a level of neural activity close to criticality. We argue that the physics of consciousness cannot be exclusively based on classical physics. Consciousness unity cannot be explained classically as the classical properties are always Humean like a mosaic. One needs an entangled quantum system that can at least satisfy part of the functions of a quantum computer to allow to generate an inner aspect with the unity of consciousness and to couple with a classical system that gives it simultaneous access to preprocessed information at the neural level and to produce events that generate neural firings.