Does consciousness really collapse the wave function?

Igor V. Cherepanov

Fred H. Thaheld

An analysis has been performed of the theories and postulates advanced by von Neumann, London and Bauer, and Wigner, concerning the role that consciousness might play in the collapse of the wave function, which has become known as the measurement problem. This reveals that an error may have been made by them in the area of biology and its interface with quantum mechanics, when they called for the reduction of any superposition states in the brain through the mind or consciousness. Many years later Wigner changed his mind to reflect a simpler and more realistic objective position, expanded upon by Shimony, which appears to offer a way to resolve this issue. The argument is therefore made that the wave function of any superposed photon state or states is always objectively changed within the complex architecture of the eye in a continuous linear process initially for most of the superposed photons, followed by a discontinuous nonlinear collapse process later for any remaining superposed photons, thereby guaranteeing that only final, measured information is presented to the brain, mind or consciousness. An experiment to be conducted in the near future may enable us to simultaneously resolve the measurement problem and also determine if the linear nature of quantum mechanics is violated by the perceptual process.

Henry Margenau

Elias Okon, Miguel Ángel Sebastián

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.

David J. Chalmers, Kelvin J. McQueen

Abstract Does consciousness collapse the quantum wave function? This idea was taken seriously by John von Neumann and Eugene Wigner but is now widely dismissed. We develop the idea by combining a mathematical theory of consciousness (integrated information theory) with an account of quantum collapse dynamics (continuous spontaneous localization). Simple versions of the theory are falsified by the quantum Zeno effect, but more complex views remain compatible with empirical evidence. In principle, versions of the theory can be tested by experiments with quantum computers. The upshot is not that consciousness-collapse interpretations are clearly correct, but that there is a research program here worth exploring.

J. Acácio de Barros, Gary Oas