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Quantum Information Self-Organization and Consciousness: a Holoinformational Model of Consciousness

Francisco Di Biase

Published Dec 25, 2013• 8 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Abstract. The author proposes a holoinformational view of consciousness based on the holonomic theory of brain function and quantum brain dynamics developed by Karl Pribram, Sir John Eccles, Hameroff, Jibu and Yasue, and on the quantum-holographic and holomovement theory of David Bohm. This conceptual framework is integrated into the non-local information property of the Quantum Field Theory of Umesawa, to the concept of negentropy, order, and organization developed by Shannon, Wiener, Szilard and Brillouin, and to the theories of self-organization and complexity of Prigogine, Atlan, Jantsch and Kauffman. Wheeler’s “it from bit” concept of a participatory universe, and the developments of the physics of information made by Zurek and others with the concepts of statistical entropy and algorithmic entropy, related to the number of bits being processed in the mind of the observer, are also considered. This new synthesis gives a self-organizing quantum non-local informational basis for a new model of consciousness in a participatory universe. In this synthesis, consciousness is conceived as a meaningful quantum non-local information interconnecting the brain and the cosmos, by a holoinformational field (a field at the same time non-local holistic (quantum) and local (Newtonian). We propose that we are this very non-local quantum-holographic cosmos that manifests itself through our consciousness, interconnecting in a participatory holistic and indivisible way the human brain to all levels of the self-organizing holographic multiverse.

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This article presents a basic concept for a comprehensive, unified theoretical framework for the mechanism of consciousness by synthesizing four cornerstone advances in quantum foundations and information physics: John Archibald Wheeler’s participatory universe and “It from Bit” paradigm [1], Quantum Bayesianism (QBism) with its participatory realism [2], Melvin Vopson’s Infodynamics (encompassing the mass-energy-information equivalence principle and the second law of infodynamics) [3,4], and Wojciech Zurek’s decoherence theory together with Quantum Darwinism, which accounts for the “loss of quantumness” and the emergence of classical objectivity [5,6]. In contrast to objective-collapse models such as Penrose and Hameroff’s Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) [7], we propose that consciousness is not a secondary emergent phenomenon arising from physical processes within an already-objective spacetime but the „primary participatory agent” that actively extracts and renders the classical, observable, and subjectively experienced reality - including particles, mass, energy, frequency, and spacetime geometry itself - from a deeper, pre-spacetime, purely informational substrate we denote as Φ. A mathematically consistent model is constructed in which consciousness functions as an information-optimizing, self-referential agent within Φ. Quantum states are interpreted as an agent’s subjective Bayesian probabilities (QBism); information entropy is dynamically minimized according to the second law of infodynamics; environmental interactions select robust pointer states through redundant copying (Quantum Darwinism); and participatory measurements actualize definite “its” (Wheeler) from underlying “bits.” The Einstein–Planck–de Broglie equivalence E = mc² = hf, which implies that every massive particle possesses an internal “metronome” ticking at the Compton frequency f ≈ mc²/h, appears only as a stabilized, experienced feature „after” this participatory extraction process. The framework preserves all empirical successes of quantum mechanics while naturally accommodating a simulation-like virtuality of macroscopic reality. We derive explicit mathematical relations, testable predictions, a detailed comparison with Orch-OR, followed by an extensive discussion of potential criticisms, and - crucially - a new extension exploring how the same mechanism may enable the emergence of consciousness in advanced artificial intelligence systems, particularly agentic large language models (LLMs). The result is a physically operational, information-theoretic vision of consciousness as the co-creator of the observable cosmos.

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The study examines a problematic hypothesis of possible approaches to identifying the quantum physical foundations of the functioning of consciousness. The authors proceed from the fact that in modern conditions, not a single science, nor all sciences taken together, gives a final answer to the question of the “mechanism” of the origin of thought. However, this does not mean at all that research in this direction needs to be stopped. The authors express confidence that modern and subsequent research into the “quantum concept of consciousness” will lead to the identification of previously unknown patterns, opening the way to the formation of new principles and approaches. As an example, the corresponding Penrose - Hameroff concept is considered. Quantum mechanics complements the tools of neurobiology and other branches of neuroscience, which together form an interdisciplinary field of knowledge that is dynamically growing and developing. The authors are not apologists for the omnipotence of quantum physics. Quantum correlates of consciousness actually mean that it is not today’s quantum mechanics itself that explains the emergence of mental states, but the fact that in the birth of these states it is essential that in the very process of the formation of neurodynamic impulses in the neurons of the cerebral cortex that generate mental states, there are processes of quantum nature. It should also be recognized that the quantum-molecular level (nanolevel) of processes in the neurons of the brain really exists and it is this that is the source of proto-consciousness. Science strives to move forward, new research programs are emerging within the framework of quantum biology, quantum psychology, quantum information science, which in turn can shed light on the hypothesis of the “quantum concept of consciousness.”

RUDN Journal of Philosophy•Dec 15, 2023•0 citations
Abstract. The author proposes a holoinformational view of consciousness based on the holonomic theory of brain function and quantum brain dynamics developed by Karl Pribram, Sir John Eccles, Hameroff, Jibu and Yasue, and on the quantum-holographic and holomovement theory of David Bohm. This conceptual framework is integrated into the non-local information property of the Quantum Field Theory of Umesawa, to the concept of negentropy, order, and organization developed by Shannon, Wiener, Szilard and Brillouin, and to the theories of self-organization and complexity of Prigogine, Atlan, Jantsch and Kauffman. Wheeler’s “it from bit” concept of a participatory universe, and the developments of the physics of information made by Zurek and others with the concepts of statistical entropy and algorithmic entropy, related to the number of bits being processed in the mind of the observer, are also considered. This new synthesis gives a self-organizing quantum non-local informational basis for a new model of consciousness in a participatory universe. In this synthesis, consciousness is conceived as a meaningful quantum non-local information interconnecting the brain and the cosmos, by a holoinformational field (a field at the same time non-local holistic (quantum) and local (Newtonian). We propose that we are this very non-local quantum-holographic cosmos that manifests itself through our consciousness, interconnecting in a participatory holistic and indivisible way the human brain to all levels of the self-organizing holographic multiverse.
This article presents a basic concept for a comprehensive, unified theoretical framework for the mechanism of consciousness by synthesizing four cornerstone advances in quantum foundations and information physics: John Archibald Wheeler’s participatory universe and “It from Bit” paradigm [1], Quantum Bayesianism (QBism) with its participatory realism [2], Melvin Vopson’s Infodynamics (encompassing the mass-energy-information equivalence principle and the second law of infodynamics) [3,4], and Wojciech Zurek’s decoherence theory together with Quantum Darwinism, which accounts for the “loss of quantumness” and the emergence of classical objectivity [5,6]. In contrast to objective-collapse models such as Penrose and Hameroff’s Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) [7], we propose that consciousness is not a secondary emergent phenomenon arising from physical processes within an already-objective spacetime but the „primary participatory agent” that actively extracts and renders the classical, observable, and subjectively experienced reality - including particles, mass, energy, frequency, and spacetime geometry itself - from a deeper, pre-spacetime, purely informational substrate we denote as Φ. A mathematically consistent model is constructed in which consciousness functions as an information-optimizing, self-referential agent within Φ. Quantum states are interpreted as an agent’s subjective Bayesian probabilities (QBism); information entropy is dynamically minimized according to the second law of infodynamics; environmental interactions select robust pointer states through redundant copying (Quantum Darwinism); and participatory measurements actualize definite “its” (Wheeler) from underlying “bits.” The Einstein–Planck–de Broglie equivalence E = mc² = hf, which implies that every massive particle possesses an internal “metronome” ticking at the Compton frequency f ≈ mc²/h, appears only as a stabilized, experienced feature „after” this participatory extraction process. The framework preserves all empirical successes of quantum mechanics while naturally accommodating a simulation-like virtuality of macroscopic reality. We derive explicit mathematical relations, testable predictions, a detailed comparison with Orch-OR, followed by an extensive discussion of potential criticisms, and - crucially - a new extension exploring how the same mechanism may enable the emergence of consciousness in advanced artificial intelligence systems, particularly agentic large language models (LLMs). The result is a physically operational, information-theoretic vision of consciousness as the co-creator of the observable cosmos.
This study offers a comprehensive analysis of David Bohm’s article “A New Theory of the Relationship of Mind and Matter” (Philosophical Psychology, 1990) — one of the most original attempts of the twentieth century to overcome Cartesian dualism on a physical foundation. The paper proceeds in sequence through the historical context of the mind–body problem, the physical basis of the causal interpretation of quantum mechanics, the central concept of active information, and the implicate order. Bohm’s framework is then compared with several major contemporary approaches: Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Hameroff & Penrose, 2014), the holographic brain model (Pribram, 1991), Integrated Information Theory (Tononi, 2004), and the Global Workspace model (Baars, 1988; Dehaene, 2014). A dedicated section examines the relationship between Bohm’s ideas and Rovelli’s Relational Quantum Mechanics (Rovelli, 1996), as well as Loop Quantum Gravity (Rovelli, 2004; Rovelli & Smolin, 1995), and Qbism, developed by Christopher Fuchs, Rüdiger Schack, and Carlton Caves (Fuchs, 2002; Fuchs et al., 2014). The concluding section evaluates the compatibility of Bohm’s ideas with quantum field theory and modern quantum information science. The principal conclusion is that Bohm’s 1990 article does not constitute a complete theory of consciousness, yet it anticipates with remarkable prescience the information-ontological tendencies of the twenty-first century and may best be understood as a philosophical-physical metatheory whose relevance has only grown since its publication.
A scientific explanation of consciousness and its evolution has become possible by a generalized quantum information concept. Crucial to this is a new understanding of matter and energy. Our consciousness, being an information structure, processes the information that we absorb from our bodies and our environment. This information reaches us as properties of material objects and the massless quanta of light, the photons. One of the properties of matter is motion – physically, kinetic energy. Einstein's E = mc 2 shows that motion can be converted into matter. Matter is thus equivalent to one of its properties. The mathematical-physical structure of quantum theory has opened up a comprehensive view of the construction of complex systems from simple structures. Such a construction can and should begin with the simplest quantum structure , a quantum bit . Matter and also photons can thereby ultimately be understood as manifestations of abstract quantum information. Abstract, i.e. still meaning-free, and absolute, i.e. cosmically based, bits of quantum information, AQIs, provide the common basis for consciousness, energy and matter. This explains the mutual influences between matter, energy and the information that is meaningful for a living being.
The article proposes a non-dual informational ontology to dissolve the “hard problem” of consciousness. It argues that modern physics (quantum field theory, holography, and emergent gravity) undermines classical materialism, showing that reality is not made of local substances with intrinsic properties but of relational and informational structures. Within this framework, essential operators generate integrated trajectories whose intrinsic aspect is phenomenality (consciousness) and whose extrinsic aspect, under holographic projection, appears as physical dynamics. Thus, mind and matter are not separate substances or universal properties but two aspects of the same informational process. The model avoids reductionism, dualism, and panpsychism, while offering falsifiability criteria: it would be refuted if fundamental information loss, restored locality, or primitive materialism were demonstrated. This approach presents a coherent, scientifically compatible alternative for unifying consciousness and physics.
This paper proposes a novel framework for understanding consciousness as an active participant in a quantum-informational universe.Through the lens of quantum epistemology, we introduce the concept of Epistemic Entanglement, positing that cognition is a non-local process wherein observer and observed co-create reality.Challenging representationalist views, we argue that consciousness functions as a generative component in cosmic quantum computation, shaping reality through entangled acts of knowing.Drawing on quantum mechanics, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind, this model redefines cognition as a distributed, participatory process with implications for scientific observation, artificial general intelligence (AGI), brain-computer interfaces, and metaphysics.Our framework suggests a unified ontology where consciousness is integral to the unfolding of the cosmos.
The study examines a problematic hypothesis of possible approaches to identifying the quantum physical foundations of the functioning of consciousness. The authors proceed from the fact that in modern conditions, not a single science, nor all sciences taken together, gives a final answer to the question of the “mechanism” of the origin of thought. However, this does not mean at all that research in this direction needs to be stopped. The authors express confidence that modern and subsequent research into the “quantum concept of consciousness” will lead to the identification of previously unknown patterns, opening the way to the formation of new principles and approaches. As an example, the corresponding Penrose - Hameroff concept is considered. Quantum mechanics complements the tools of neurobiology and other branches of neuroscience, which together form an interdisciplinary field of knowledge that is dynamically growing and developing. The authors are not apologists for the omnipotence of quantum physics. Quantum correlates of consciousness actually mean that it is not today’s quantum mechanics itself that explains the emergence of mental states, but the fact that in the birth of these states it is essential that in the very process of the formation of neurodynamic impulses in the neurons of the cerebral cortex that generate mental states, there are processes of quantum nature. It should also be recognized that the quantum-molecular level (nanolevel) of processes in the neurons of the brain really exists and it is this that is the source of proto-consciousness. Science strives to move forward, new research programs are emerging within the framework of quantum biology, quantum psychology, quantum information science, which in turn can shed light on the hypothesis of the “quantum concept of consciousness.”