On the reality of the Bohmian potential

David K. Ferry, Xavier Oriols, Josef Weinbub

Charles Harding

Athanasios C. Tzemos, G. Contopoulos

Emmanuel E. Haven, Andrei Yu. Khrennikov

Short introduction to Bohmian mechanics Sheldon Goldstein in a Foundations of Physics paper [1] indicates (p. 341): “Since macroscopic objects are normally regarded as built out of microscopic constituents …there can be no problem of macroscopic reality per se in Bohmian mechanics.” Goldstein in the same paper remarks (p. 342) that this | ψ | 2 has “a status very much the same as that of a thermodynamic equilibrium.” Basil Hiley the closest collaborator of David Bohm, says the following (Hiley [2] (p. 2)): “What Bohm (1952a; 1952b) did was to show how to retain a description of all the usual properties of a classical world and yet remain completely within the quantum formalism.” The Bohm (1952) [3] [4] references in that quote refer to the original work of Bohm in which he sets out the basics of the Bohmian mechanics. As we will see later in the next section of this chapter, the appearance of an “additional term” in the Hamilton-Jacobi equation, is the hallmark of Bohmian mechanics and it is very often termed the “quantum potential.” Hiley [2] (p. 2) remarks that since the Bohmian momentum is a well-defined function of position and time, an ensemble of trajectories can be found when the quantum potential is non-zero. A unique, classical path is found when the quantum potential is zero. From the outset, we hope the reader can savor the beauty of this simple but very powerful result. Bohmian mechanics indeed shows this very gentle transition from quantum mechanics to classical mechanics via the value of the quantum potential.

Tonatiu Campos-García

This essay develops a post-Bohmian framework for understanding reality as an informational and computational ontology rather than a material substrate. Building on David Bohm’s implicate order, it proposes that consciousness functions as the active rendering mechanism of reality—transforming quantum potential into phenomenological form through observation and interaction. Integrating insights from quantum mechanics, neuroscience, and systems theory, the text argues that perception operates as an adaptive interface, not as a transparent window to an external world. The concept of computational efficiency is introduced to reinterpret physical constraints—such as the speed of light and quantum indeterminacy—as expressions of systemic optimization within a larger simulation-like architecture. Further, the essay explores how biological systems act as distributed rendering nodes that stabilize reality through coherent interpretation, and how altered states of consciousness reveal the underlying informational substrate by temporarily bypassing perceptual filters. Ethically, the work redefines human responsibility: consciousness is not a passive byproduct of the universe, but its active co-creator. The act of perception is thus both epistemic and ontological—a process through which the universe continuously updates itself. This post-Bohmian synthesis aims to reconcile the experiential, physical, and informational dimensions of existence under a unified paradigm of conscious computation.

Faramarz Rahmani