The assertion by Yu and Nikolic that the delayed choice quantum eraser experiment of Kim et al. empirically falsifies the consciousness-causes-collapse hypothesis of quantum mechanics is based on the unfounded and false assumption that the failure of a quantum wave function to collapse implies the appearance of a visible interference pattern.
Consciousness and quantum mechanics of macroscopic systems
我们提出复杂系统的量子力学描述应该使用两种类型的因果关系:序关系($x\prec y$)和子集关系($A\subseteq B$)。在量子引力的背景下,已经提出了具有两个有序操作的结构,称为因果位点(Christensen and Crane,2005)。我们认为它们在生物物理学中也很常见,可能描述了大脑的工作方式。在彭罗斯思想的精神中,我们把时空的几何学与普遍的意识场等同起来。后者在古印度哲学中有明显的对应物,并为物理和心理现象的统一提供了一个框架。
Ever since the early days of quantum mechanics it has been suggested that consciousness could be linked to the collapse of the wave function. However, no detailed account of such an interplay is usually provided. In this paper we present an objective collapse model (a variation of CSL) where the collapse operator depends on integrated information, which has been argued to measure consciousness. By doing so, we construct an empirically adequate scheme in which superpositions of conscious states are dynamically suppressed. Unlike other proposals in which "consciousness causes the collapse of the…
This paper aims to invalidate the hypothesis that consciousness is necessary for the quantum measurement process. To achieve this target, I propose a considerable modification of the Schroedinger cat and the Dead-Alive Physicist thought experiments, called 'PIAR', short for Physicist Inside the Ambiguous Room. A specific strategy has enabled me to plan the experiment in such a way as to logically justify the inconsistency of the above hypothesis and to oblige its supporters to rely on an alternative interpretation of quantum mechanics in which the real-world phenomena exist independently of ou…
This paper aims to falsify the hypothesis that the observer's consciousness is necessary for quantum measurement. To achieve our target, we propose a variation of the Schroedinger's cat thought experiment called "DAP", short for "Dead-Alive Physicist", in which a human being replaces the cat. This strategy enables us to logically disprove the consistency of the above hypothesis and to oblige its supporters either to be trapped in solipsism or to rely on an alternative interpretation of quantum mechanics in which the role of the conscious observer has to be reviewed. Our analysis hence provides…
Quantum measurements are physical processes. Comment on "Consciousness and the double-slit interference pattern: Six experiments," By Dean Radin et al. [Physics Essays 25, 2 (2012)]
I start from the fundamental principles of non-relativistic quantum mechanics, without probability, and interpret them using the notion of coexistence: a quantum state can be read, not uniquely, as a coexistence of other quantum states, which are pairwise orthogonal. In this formalism, I prove that a conscious observer is necessarily a physical object that can memorize local events by setting one of its parts in an exactly specified constant quantum state (hypotheses H1, H2 and H3). Then I define the probability of a future event as the proportion of initial observers, all identical, who will …
We suggest a contextual realist interpretation of relational quantum mechanics. The principal point is a correct understanding of the concept of reality and taking into account the categorical distinction between the ideal and the real. Within our interpretation, consciousness of the observer does not play any metaphysical role. The proposed approach can also be understood as a return to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, corrected within the framework of contextual realism. The contextual realism allows one to get rid of the metaphysical problems encountered by various interp…
The "measurement problem" of quantum mechanics, and the "hard problem" of cognitive science are the most profound open problems of the two research fields, and certainly among the deepest of all unsettled conundrums in contemporary science in general. Occasionally, scientists from both fields have suggested some sort of interconnectedness of the two problems. Here we revisit the main motives behind such expectations and try to put them on more formal grounds. We argue not only that such a relation exists, but that it also bears strong implications both for the interpretations of quantum mechan…
There has been an upsurge of interest lately in developing Wigner's hypothesis that conscious observation causes collapse by exploring dynamical collapse models in which some purportedly quantifiable aspect(s) of consciousness resist superposition. Kremnizer-Ranchin, Chalmers-McQueen and Okon-Sebastián have explored the idea that collapse may be associated with a numerical measure of consciousness. More recently, Chalmers-McQueen have argued that any single measure is inadequate because it will allow superpositions of distinct states of equal consciousness measure to persist. They suggest a sa…
Quantum mechanics in the Wigner-von Neumann interpretation is presented. This is characterized by 1) a quantum dualism between matter and consciousness unified within an informational neutral monism, 2) a quantum perspectivism which is extended to a complementarity between the Copenhagen interpretation and the many-worlds formalism, 3) a psychophysical causal closure akin to Leibniz parallelism and 4) a quantum solipsism, i.e. a reality in which classical states are only potentially-existing until a conscious observation is made.
Originally conceived as a theory of consciousness, integrated information theory (IIT) provides a theoretical framework intended to characterize the compositional causal information that a system, in its current state, specifies about itself. However, it remains to be determined whether IIT as a theory of consciousness is compatible with quantum mechanics as a theory of microphysics. Here, we present an extension of IIT's latest formalism to evaluate the mechanism integrated information ($φ$) of a system subset to finite-dimensional quantum systems (e.g., quantum logic gates). To that end, we …
Understanding the mechanisms underlying general anesthesia would be a key step towards understanding consciousness. The process of xenon-induced general anesthesia has been shown to involve electron transfer, and the potency of xenon as a general anesthetic exhibits isotopic dependence. We propose that these observations can be explained by a mechanism in which the xenon nuclear spin influences the recombination dynamics of a naturally occurring radical pair of electrons. We develop a simple model inspired by the body of work on the radical-pair mechanism in cryptochrome in the context of avia…
A physical approach to qualia and the emergence of conscious observers in qualia space
Center for Mathematical Analysis, Geometry and Dynamical Systems, Department of Mathematics, Instituto Superior Técnico, University of Lisbon(数学分析与动力系统中心,数学系,技术高等学院,里斯本大学)
Quantum Superpositions of Conscious States in a Minimal Integrated Information Model
Chapman University(查普曼大学);Institute for Quantum Studies, Chapman University(查普曼大学量子研究所);Saint Anselm College(圣安塞尔姆学院);Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences(奥地利科学院量子光学与量子信息研究所);Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics(理论物理 perimeter 研究所)