Human Beings in Quantum Anthropology: A Paradox of the Discontinuous Experience of Quantum Spacetime

Henry Pierce Stapp

Lazar Mayants

The cat paradox a little about paradoxes more about Schrodinger's cat what is probability? concrete objects classes of concrete objects abstract objects the key principle Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen's (EPR's) paradox angular momentum and spin Bohm's paradox polarization of photons aspect's experiment a short stop for reflections properties of concrete human beings mutual understanding an individual and society social sciences, utopias and doctrines how reliable is a poll? probabilities revisited states and beyond what is quantum physics? the Schrodinger equation - its origin and meaning what is a particle? Is it a corpuscle, a wave, or both? the double-slit Gedankenexperiment - what does it prove? Wheeler's delayed choice experiment a brief discussion of the Heisenberg's uncertainty principle is the world real? the mystery of the photon.

Brandon Carter

Henry Pierce Stapp

A profound change in our scientific understanding of the role of human beings in the unfolding of our streams of conscious experiences was wrought by the 20th-century switch from classical mechanics to quantum mechanics. The streams of consciousness thoughts of human beings were converted from causally inert passive witnesses of the unfolding of a mechanically controlled and causally self-sufficient physical universe into logically needed dynamical inputs into the physical aspects of nature. These physical aspects, as they are now understood, contain causal gaps that are neatly filled by inputs from the realm of our conscious thoughts in a way that allows our conscious intentions to tend to produce their intended consequences.

Henry Pierce Stapp

Copenhagen is the perfect setting for our discussion of matter and information. We have been charged ‘to explore the current concept of matter from scientific, philosophical, and theological perspectives’. The essential foundation for this work is the output of the intense intellectual struggles that took place here in Copenhagen during the twenties, principally between Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, and Wolfgang Pauli. Those struggles replaced the then-prevailing Newtonian idea of matter as ‘solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, moveable particles’ with a new concept that allowed, and in fact demanded, entry into the laws governing the motion of matter of the consequences of decisions made by human subjects. This change in the laws swept away the meaningless billiard-ball universe, and replaced it with a universe in which we human beings, by means of our intentional effort, can make a difference in how the ‘matter’ in our bodies behaves. The role of mind in nature Unfortunately, most of the prevailing descriptions of quantum theory tend to emphasize puzzles and paradoxes in a way that makes philosophers, theologians, and even non-physicist scientists leery of actually using in any deep way the profound changes in our understanding of human beings in nature wrought by the quantum revolution. Yet, properly presented, quantum mechanics is thoroughly in line with our deep human intuitions. It is the 300 years of indoctrination with basically false ideas about how nature works that now makes puzzling a process that is completely in line with normal human intuition. I therefore begin with a non-paradox-laden description of the quantum universe and the place of our minds within it.

Matteo Morganti