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arXiv:2604.06450

Agent Choice via Quantum Flux in Living Systems

R. E. Kastner

quant-phphysics.bio-phSubmitted Apr 7, 2026• Announced Apr 9, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

A basic model is provided that places active, intentional choices by biological organisms on a solid physical footing. The model is provisionally called "Agent Choice via Quantum Flux." It brings to bear specific physics on living systems in a way that allows for intentional choices not pre-determined by physical laws, but remaining consistent with those laws. It does so by exploring a possible many-to-one relation of quantum states to agent choices, with a parallel to the relation of thermodynamic microstates to macrostates.

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A basic model is provided that places active, intentional choices by biological organisms on a solid physical footing. The model is provisionally called "Agent Choice via Quantum Flux." It brings to bear specific physics on living systems in a way that allows for intentional choices not pre-determined by physical laws, but remaining consistent with those laws. It does so by exploring a possible many-to-one relation of quantum states to agent choices, with a parallel to the relation of thermodynamic microstates to macrostates.
A basic model is provided that places active, intentional choices by biological organisms on a solid physical footing. The model is provisionally called "Agent Choice via Quantum Flux." It brings to bear specific physics on living systems in a way that allows for intentional choices not pre-determined by physical laws, but remaining consistent with those laws. It does so by exploring a possible many-to-one relation of quantum states to agent choices, with a parallel to the relation of thermodynamic microstates to macrostates.
Introduction The central claim of this book is that all intentional phenomena are quantum mechanical. That goes both for the private thoughts inside our heads and for public or collective intentions like norms, culture, and language, which we might generically call institutions. I suggested in Chapter 1 that by virtue of their dependence on consciousness, a classical, materialist ontology cannot explain these phenomena, and as such from that perspective they must be epiphenomenal or illusions. In the rest of this book I show that a quantum, panpsychist ontology can provide a physical basis for what we all know to be true, which is that both private and collective intentions are part of the natural order. The elementary parts of social ontology are human beings in their biological individuality, which in this Part I consider in abstraction from their lived social contexts. By taking humans out of their natural habitat I aim to focus attention on what we bring to the social table simply by virtue of being organisms of a certain kind. The abstract individual is a common enough starting point in classical social theory (think Hobbes and the state of nature). However, it might seem an odd place to begin a quantum social theory, given the holism of quantum phenomena, both “all the way down” in having no elementary parts, and “all the way across” in universal non-locality. What look like separate organisms are just local decoherence effects of quantum fields; everything really is related to everything else. In that light the abstract individual appears not just as an abstraction, but as positively occluding what “the individual” really is. However, there is a difference between what is true of a universal ontology and what is practically relevant to specifically socialontologies, which are constrained by the properties of their constituent organisms. Unlike some organisms, humans live in highly interdependent societies, and most of what is interesting about us is socially constituted as well.
Quantum mechanics is traditionally associated with microscopic systems; however, quantum concepts have also been successfully applied to a diverse range of macroscopic systems both within and outside of physics. This book describes how complex systems from a variety of fields can be modelled using quantum mechanical principles; from biology and ecology, to sociology and decision-making. The mathematical basis of these models is covered in detail, furnishing a self-contained and consistent approach. This book provides unique insight into the dynamics of these macroscopic systems and opens new interdisciplinary research frontiers. It will be an essential resource for students and researchers in applied mathematics or theoretical physics who are interested in applying quantum mechanics to dynamical systems in the social, biological or ecological sciences.
Causality is fundamental to agency. Intelligent agents learn about causal relationships by interacting with their environments and use their causal knowledge to choose actions intended to bring about desired outcomes. This paper considers a causal question that is central to the very meaning of agency, that of how a physically embodied agent effects intentional action in the world. The prevailing assumption is that both biological and computer agents are automatons whose decisions are determined by the physical processes operating in their information processing apparatus. As an alternative hypothesis, this paper presents a mathematical model of causally efficacious agency. The model is based on Stapp’s theory of efficacious choice in physically embodied agents. Stapp’s theory builds on a realistic interpretation of von Neumann’s mathematical formalization of quantum theory. Because it is consistent with the well-established precepts of quantum theory, Stapp’s theory has been dismissed as metaphysical and unfalsifiable. However, if taken seriously as a model of efficacious choice in biological agents, the theory does have empirically testable implications. This paper formulates Stapp’s theory as an interventionist causal theory in which interventions are ascribed to agents and can have macroscopically distinguishable effects in the world. Empirically testable implications of the theory are discussed and a path toward scientific evaluation is proposed. Implications for artificial intelligence are considered.
This chapter focuses on the notions of classical instruments and of classical measurements. It reviews the theories, based on the concept of macroscopic properties, that is, on the essential complexity of the measuring apparatus. One of the most distinctive features of quantum mechanics is the fact that it often assigns precise structures—or discrete "choices" among possible different structures—to the physical systems it describes. Hisenberg's uncertainty relations bear on the dispersions of ensembles as a whole, whereas the limitations that serve to define "classical measurements" essentially concern our possibilities of actually performing measurements in different elements of the ensemble. Thus from the uncertainty relations alone one can certainly not derive the conclusion that nonclassical measurements are impossible. The chapter considers the restricted set of observables. It is convenient to use the word "macrostate" to designate the whole set of microstates on which all the classical observables forming a definite complete set have definite values.