The difficulty in solving the measurement problem may derive from a lack of thorough understanding of the nature of consciousness. Recent findings from parapsychological research and confirmed reports of veridical perceptions during near death experiences (NDEs) show that consciousness can acquire non-local information and may act as an independent entity outside of the body. But how apparent nonlocal properties of consciousness correlate with the measurement problem is unclear. Starting from the assumption that discrete states of consciousness are entangled with corresponding superposed eigenstates of an observed system, the findings of the double-slit experiment and delayed-choice quantum eraser experiment are reanalyzed and the non-locality of consciousness entity is derived from first principles. I propose experimental designs aimed at testing non-local entanglement between multiple consciousness entities that may help explain anomalous phenomena including telepathy, the role of “which-path information” in a measurement, and the nature of consciousness in non-human animals. Finally, I discuss the origin of the perception of time and the relationship between time and consciousness.
The difficulty in solving the measurement problem may derive from a lack of thorough understanding of the nature of consciousness. Recent findings from parapsychological research and confirmed reports of veridical perceptions during near death experiences (NDEs) show that consciousness can acquire non-local information and may act as an independent entity outside of the body. But how apparent nonlocal properties of consciousness correlate with the measurement problem is unclear. Starting from the assumption that discrete states of consciousness are entangled with corresponding superposed eigenstates of an observed system, the findings of the double-slit experiment and delayed-choice quantum eraser experiment are reanalyzed and the non-locality of consciousness entity is derived from first principles. I propose experimental designs aimed at testing non-local entanglement between multiple consciousness entities that may help explain anomalous phenomena including telepathy, the role of “which-path information” in a measurement, and the nature of consciousness in non-human animals. Finally, I discuss the origin of the perception of time and the relationship between time and consciousness.
The space‐time is empirically perceived as a pre-existing property of the universe. However, a special kind of perception that takes place in near-death-experiences (NDEs) is challenging this idea. Here, I will illustrate how understanding of this particular state of consciousness (named the bodiless consciousness) helps us re-think the space‐time structure of the physical world. I first speculate that the bodiless consciousness perceives the physical world as nonlocal 4D. I then propose that the space‐time is a “derived” feature subsequent to the emergence of perception of the bodiless consciousness, rather than a pre-existing and unchangeable property. Next, I explain that the space structure only takes place in the classical (or macroscopic) world rather than in the quantum (or microscopic) world, due to its intrinsic imperceptibility to the bodiless consciousness. Without a presupposed structure of the space, the strangeness of the quantum world is expected. Then, I bring up the old measurement problem. I will argue that it is the bodiless consciousness that may entangle with the superposed state of an observed system and trigger the collapse. Finally, I will briefly discuss the potential relationship between electromagnetic wave and consciousness.
The measurement problem — the question of why quantum superpositions appear to collapse to definite outcomes upon measurement — remains one of the most consequential unresolved questions in the foundations of physics. Despite the extraordinary empirical success of quantum mechanics, the field has for decades operated under an unofficial norm of interpretive silence, a posture Sean Carroll and others have identified as both intellectually dishonest and scientifically costly. This paper argues that the experimental evidence, properly understood through the framework of quantum entanglement and decoherence, provides strong grounds for rejecting the hypothesis that consciousness plays a causal role in wavefunction collapse. Three tiers of experimental evidence are examined: the double slit experiment with which-path detection, Bell inequality tests confirming non-local entanglement, and the LIGO gravitational wave detections demonstrating macroscopic quantum coherence at cosmological scales without any role for conscious observation. The paper concludes that the consciousness hypothesis is not supported by experimental physics and that Carroll's call for serious investment in foundational research is scientifically justified and philosophically urgent.
Cumulating evidence suggests that anomalous correlations occur between mental (conscious and non-conscious) states and apparently unrelated physical or mental phenomena at a distance in space and time. In spite of the fact that the evidence is very strong, these correlations are difficult to replicate. Several examples are given of ‘failures’ to empirically replicate1 original anomalies. It is speculated that this failure to replicate, rather than indicating that the original findings are due to statistical flukes or errors, suggests that when consciousness interacts with matter, an underlying reality arises. This reality is somewhere in between the purely objective shareable reality and the purely subjective reality of one’s individual consciousness. Efforts to ‘push’ anomalous phenomena observed in this intermediate reality into the objective one apparently destroy the phenomena. Possible explanations within a physical and within a system theoretical model are discussed. The physical model is based upon an analysis of the role of consciousness in the so-called ‘Measurement Problem’ in Quantum Physics. Based upon these discussions a new systematic experimental approach for the study of anomalous phenomena is suggested.
This work presents a conceptual and semi-formal analysis of quantum entanglement, locality, and determinism, motivated by a thought experiment involving double-slit measurements performed on entangled particles at spacelike separation. While quantum correlations appear instantaneous, the paper demonstrates that no superluminal information transfer or causal influence is required to explain observed outcomes.Building upon the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen framework and Bell’s theorem, the study distinguishes between local dynamical processes and nonlocal informational correlations encoded in the global quantum state. It argues that measurement outcomes are locally realized yet globally constrained, leading to an effectively deterministic universal description while preserving epistemic uncertainty for observers.The paper reframes quantum nonlocality as a manifestation of global consistency rather than physical influence, offering insights into the relationship between realism, free will, and relativistic causality. The discussion is interpretational in nature and does not introduce new experimental claims, aiming instead to clarify foundational assumptions underlying quantum theory.This work is intended for researchers and students interested in quantum foundations, the philosophy of physics, and the conceptual structure of modern physical theories.
In a number of experimental studies we explored the so‐called ‘radical subjective’, and rather controversial, solution of the measurement problem. This solution posits that an interaction with a conscious entity is required to complete the measurement. Thus the collapse of the wave packet is assumed to be causally linked to a conscious observation. Under the assumption that the brain is sensitive for the difference between observing a quantum (superposition) state and a classical state this radical solution can be tested. A radioactive source was used to trigger beeps that first were delayed for 1 second and then were observed by a (final) observer from whom a continuous recording of brain activity was made. In about 50% of the events, another (pre) observer got feedback of this quantum event before the final observer. In those cases, presumably the pre‐observer’s observation resulted in collapse of the wave‐packet while in the other half of the cases the final observer was ‘producing’ the collapse. The brain signals of the final observer for the two types of events were compared. The ambiguous results of the studies will be discussed. If consciousness is the crucial ingredient for ‘collapse’ to occur, then this might also give a new anthropocentric hypothesis with regard to the ‘arrow of time’. The projection postulate implies a irreversible process of reduction and hence can be seen as one of the few non time‐symmetric processes in physics. If consciousness is required to have a collapse then it might follow that consciousness introduces time asymmetry into physics. New neuro‐cognitive models of consciousness suggest that the neural correlate of conscious experience (rather than non conscious processing) is the occurrence of massive parallel recurrent (i.e. non linear) neural activation. Thus the collapse of the wave packet would become associated with a strong non‐linear process. This fits, at least in a metaphorical sense, with the theoretical results where an introduction on a non linear term in the Schr̈odinger equation results in an ‘objective’ reduction of the wave packet.
The question of what generates conscious experience has mesmerized thinkers since the dawn of humanity, yet its origins remain a mystery. The topic of consciousness has gained traction in recent years, thanks to the development of large language models that now arguably pass the Turing test, an operational test for intelligence. However, intelligence and consciousness are not related in obvious ways, as anyone who suffers from a bad toothache can attest—pain generates intense feelings and absorbs all our conscious awareness, yet nothing particularly intelligent is going on. In the hard sciences, this topic is frequently met with skepticism because, to date, no protocol to measure the content or intensity of conscious experiences in an observer-independent manner has been agreed upon. Here, we present a novel proposal: Conscious experience arises whenever a quantum mechanical superposition forms. Our proposal has several implications: First, it suggests that the structure of the superposition determines the qualia of the experience. Second, quantum entanglement naturally solves the binding problem, ensuring the unity of phenomenal experience. Finally, a moment of agency may coincide with the formation of a superposition state. We outline a research program to experimentally test our conjecture via a sequence of quantum biology experiments. Applying these ideas opens up the possibility of expanding human conscious experience through brain–quantum computer interfaces.