The article analyzes the problem of the relationship between consciousness and physical reality in the context of some multi-world models. It is shown that the adoption of many- worlds models imposes certain restrictions on the criteria of scientific theory, as well as on the concept of what is considered a “theory of everything”. Based on the original criticism of solipsism and the properties of the second law of thermodynamics, it is proved that consciousness can be considered as a derivative of the fundamental principles (laws of nature) of the physical reality in which it operates. From this follows the conclusion, considering the adoption of the many-worlds hypothesis, that different types of consciousness should correspond to different worlds (with different sets of basic principles). Conclusions are also made about the role and status of mathematics in the considered hypothetical conditions, and the possibility of creating a “theory of everything” is questioned.
The article analyzes the problem of the relationship between consciousness and physical reality in the context of some multi-world models. It is shown that the adoption of many- worlds models imposes certain restrictions on the criteria of scientific theory, as well as on the concept of what is considered a “theory of everything”. Based on the original criticism of solipsism and the properties of the second law of thermodynamics, it is proved that consciousness can be considered as a derivative of the fundamental principles (laws of nature) of the physical reality in which it operates. From this follows the conclusion, considering the adoption of the many-worlds hypothesis, that different types of consciousness should correspond to different worlds (with different sets of basic principles). Conclusions are also made about the role and status of mathematics in the considered hypothetical conditions, and the possibility of creating a “theory of everything” is questioned.
The article analyzes the effectiveness of quantum theories of mental experience in relation to two ontological problems - the problem of the existence of consciousness in the material world and the problem of the interaction of consciousness and body. A critical analysis of the quantum theories of consciousness by Penrose-Hameroff, M. Tegmark, G. Stapp, M. Fischer and M.B. Mensky shows that they fail to fully explain how complex physical systems generate mental experience without violating the principle of causal closure of the physical world and the principle of epistemological completeness of physics. Quantum mechanics provides specific processes that are the physical basis of the psyche, but do not explain the phenomenal aspect of subjective reality. Nevertheless, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle gives an understanding of how the interaction of consciousness and body within the scientific picture of the world can be carried out without violating the law of energy conservation. It is shown that the quantum theories of consciousness currently being developed have a predominantly panprotopsychic character, which faces a problem due to the fact that the protomental property of physical systems must be expressed quantitatively and correspond to the value included in the physical equations. As a result, it is concluded that in order to develop quantum theories of consciousness more effectively, it is necessary to give an emergent character, not jumping from the quantum level to the psychic, but explaining the mechanism of the emergence of systemic properties during the sequential transition between different ontological regions of existence, including physical, chemical, biological, neurophysiological and psychic.
Abstract The article presents the possible role of consciousness in quantum-mechanical description of physical reality. The widely spread interpretations of quantum phenomena are considered as indicating the apparent connection between conscious processes (such as observation) and the properties of the microcosm. The reasons for discrepancies between the results of observations of the microcosm and macrocosm and the potential association of consciousness with these reasons are closely investigated. The mentioned connection is meant to be interpreted in the sense that the probable requirement for a complete understanding of quantum theory is the adequate description of consciousness within it and that the correct theory of consciousness should include quantum-mechanical theoretical apparatus. In this context, the question about the methods of scientific cognition is discussed, in particular, the problem of the place and the importance of intellectual intuition in science and philosophy of science. The author draws the conclusions about the current state of the “measuring” consciousness. problem in its relationship with
The article discusses the problem of a correct description of reality in science and philosophy, taking into account the acceptance of the many-world hypothesis. Many-worlds are understood as modern physical hypotheses that allow the existence of other universes (many-world interpretation, chaotic inflation, string landscape, and others). It is shown that these models are likely to challenge the traditional intellectual intuition on which classical science is built: they require new methodological approaches, and perhaps a new epistemology in general. Some requirements of classical logic, based on principles such as the laws of non-contradiction or the excluded middle, may turn out to be incorrect and even counterintuitive under many-world hypotheses. It is suggested that some logical systems (paraconsistent logic, quantum logic) may in the future become an ontological and epistemological foundation for the concepts of many-world physical reality. It is concluded that the considered multi-world models in conjunction with the indicated logics are more intuitively acceptable, since they allow getting rid of not only a number of cosmological problems (for example, fine tuning), but also problems of a logical and mathematical nature arising from the considered traditional requirements for formal systems.
The article deals with the relationship of ideas about the quantum-physical foundations of the functioning of consciousness with quantum computer science. The fundamental question of the nature of consciousness as a unique phenomenon characterized by self-development, adaptive functions, nonlinearity and openness remains debatable. Modern research on the so-called “quantum concept of consciousness” opens up the prospect for subsequent discoveries of new, unsolved patterns. At the junction of quantum mechanics, psychophysics and neurobiology, an interdisciplinary field of knowledge is now being formed and dynamically developing. The comprehension of the methods and formalisms developed within its framework in application to the ontological aspect of the essential nature of consciousness is chosen as the subject of research in this work. The universal laws of quantum mechanics, the concepts of quantum entanglement and the nonlocality of the wave function are important tools for understanding the role of the observer's consciousness at the quantum-molecular level (nanoscale) of consciousness functioning. The article shows that the principles of quantum data processing have a certain superiority over traditional methods of information processing and can become a significant analogue in the development of the quantum concept of consciousness. The characteristic processes of the “work” of consciousness are revealed, which cannot be comprehended without reference to entropic processes and quantum jumps at bifurcation points, entailing stochastic choice, i.e. information generation. The hypothesis of the quantum concept of consciousness is considered in relation to the macroscopic nature of consciousness, its synergetic complexity. The main conclusion is connected with the idea that the modern understanding of consciousness is undergoing many changes due to the widespread introduction of new knowledge in the field of computer science, quantum physics, and neuroscience.
The essay provides an overview of current scientific and philosophical publications on quantum physics and interpretations of quantum mechanics. Based on the ideas of British physicist David Deutsch and American theoretical physicist Sean M. Carroll, the substantiation of a multi-world interpretation from the point of view of physical theory, its consistency and ability to explain the paradoxes of quantum physics without involving additional auxiliary concepts and unknown laws of physics is presented. The author suggests that the rejection of a multi–world interpretation should be attributed to a psychological barrier – the refusal to look at reality from a different angle, or the "illusion of common sense". The mechanism of quantum computing (quantum computing) and the possibility of the quantum nature of the functioning of consciousness of living organisms based on the concepts of Roger Penrose and Mikhail Mensky and their ambiguity are considered. Using analysis and general scientific research methods, a mechanism for the interaction of biological organisms and the quantum nature of the world is proposed based on the principle used by quantum mechanics to solve the Elitzur-Weidman problem. The conclusion is made about the possibility of functioning of a biological quantum mechanism that provides a significant gain in environmental competition between living beings by increasing the effectiveness of their predictive behavior. Arguments are given both in favor and against the existence of such a mechanism based on the analysis of publicly available research materials on this topic. In conclusion, an attempt is made to determine the place of man in the expanded picture of the universe in this way. It is shown how important it could be whether human beings are able to exchange information with their invariants in the Multiverse, from the point of view of the concepts of personality and self-awareness. A brief overview of the influence of the ideas of quantum physics in general and the multi-world interpretation in particular on modern religious movements, philosophy and media culture is given.
In the first part of the paper a new interpretative principle for quantum mechanics is applied to two kinds of experimental situation. Applied to situations involving distinctions between regions of space, it implies that the spatial differentiation of the physical world is incomplete. This makes it possible to rigorously define the term “macroscopic” and to attribute measurement-independent reality to the positions of macroscopic objects. Applied to situations involving distinctions between things, it warrants the conclusion that intrinsically each fundamental particle is numerically identical with every other fundamental particle. Reality therefore cannot be modelled from the bottom up. Quantum theory’s explanatory arrow points in the opposite direction: from unity to multiplicity. It is the manifestation of an intrinsically undifferentiated Being. In the second part of the paper the work of the Indian philosopher Sri Aurobindo is made use of to explain how consciousness is present in this Being, how it is involved in each fundamental particle, and how it has evolved into our mental consciousness. The role played by the laws of physics in this evolutionary manifestation of Being is discussed, as is the evolution of free will.