Abstract Recent advances in mathematical physics reveal that statistical mechanics, quantum decoherence and quantum measurement share an identical mathematical structure: a filtering mapping acting on the system’s degrees of freedom. The filtered information becomes irrecoverable, giving rise to the arrow of time and irreversibility within the reduced description. This paper argues that such filtering operation constitutes a precise physical counterpart to the “discriminating mind (vikalpa)” discussed in Eastern philosophy. The “dim indistinctness” in Laozi, the “Primal Chaos” in Zhuangzi, and the Buddhist notion of “unborn and unextinguished” all characterize the unfiltered state ; while “that which can be named”, “borrowing apertures” and “conceptual imputation” correspond to the implementation of filtering mapping . The essence of spiritual cultivation — attaining ultimate emptiness, mind fasting, samatha-vipassana — lies in gradually reducing the filtering ratio parameter, until both the reference frame and the agent performing filtering vanish entirely, allowing awareness to recognize its primordial nature. This article establishes a unified framework with rigorous scientific foundation and philosophical profundity for the mind-body problem in quantum mechanics, the modern interpretation of Eastern philosophy, and the validity of spiritual practice.
Abstract Recent advances in mathematical physics reveal that statistical mechanics, quantum decoherence and quantum measurement share an identical mathematical structure: a filtering mapping acting on the system’s degrees of freedom. The filtered information becomes irrecoverable, giving rise to the arrow of time and irreversibility within the reduced description. This paper argues that such filtering operation constitutes a precise physical counterpart to the “discriminating mind (vikalpa)” discussed in Eastern philosophy. The “dim indistinctness” in Laozi, the “Primal Chaos” in Zhuangzi, and the Buddhist notion of “unborn and unextinguished” all characterize the unfiltered state ; while “that which can be named”, “borrowing apertures” and “conceptual imputation” correspond to the implementation of filtering mapping . The essence of spiritual cultivation — attaining ultimate emptiness, mind fasting, samatha-vipassana — lies in gradually reducing the filtering ratio parameter, until both the reference frame and the agent performing filtering vanish entirely, allowing awareness to recognize its primordial nature. This article establishes a unified framework with rigorous scientific foundation and philosophical profundity for the mind-body problem in quantum mechanics, the modern interpretation of Eastern philosophy, and the validity of spiritual practice.
Abstract Fundamental discrepancies exist among the foundational postulates of classical mechanics, relativity and quantum mechanics, leaving long-standing open physical puzzles including the origin of the arrow of time, quantum measurement collapse and the nature of spacetime. This paper proposes a self-consistent unified physical paradigm: the physical essence of a reference frame is the selective filtering of the full degrees of freedom of a system. All classical, relativistic and quantum physical theories constitute effective reduced descriptions of degrees of freedom under specific rules imposed by reference frames. Core phenomena such as temporal irreversibility, wave-function collapse, the constancy of the speed of light and the quantum-classical transition are not fundamental ontological properties of the universe, but emergent effects arising from filtering mappings introduced by finite-bandwidth observers. This work establishes an axiomatic framework for reference frames and degree-of-freedom filtering, defining projection filtering mappings, the principle of vanishing relative degrees of freedom, and the dimensionless filtering ratio. Within this framework, we reconstruct classical mechanics, special and general relativity, quantum decoherence and quantum measurement theory. Three categories of irreversible mechanisms — statistical coarse-graining, environmental partial-trace decoherence and time-domain sampling truncation — are integrated into a single mathematical structure. A universal dimensionless filtering ratio is defined. We clarify that the continuity of the control parameter does not imply that observables must evolve smoothly. Conceptually, the system can exhibit three regimes: quantum superposition, intermediate transition and classical state. Experiments on quantum bits at the Weizmann Institute provide preliminary observational hints, yet further verification is required; no specific form of the response curve is assumed in this paper. Three falsifiable quantitative predictions are put forward, involving attosecond spectroscopy, decoherence of superconducting qubits and cold-atom interferometry. We compare the present paradigm with relational quantum mechanics, QBism and consistent histories, discuss the ontological implications of time, observers and irreversibility, and outline extensions towards quantum gravity and cognitive science.
Abstract The transition from microscopic reversible dynamics to macroscopic irreversible thermodynamics in statistical mechanics, the transformation from pure states to mixed states during quantum decoherence, and the transition from quantum superposition states to classical definite states in quantum measurement have long been regarded as three independent fundamental physical puzzles. This paper demonstrates that the three processes share a unified mathematical root: the filtering, truncation or projection of system degrees of freedom renders the information carried by partial degrees of freedom unreconstructable within the reduced description framework, and irreversibility spontaneously emerges in the remaining description space. Based on the rigorous derivation of Hilbert’s sixth problem proposed by Deng et al., Zurek’s environment-induced decoherence theory, and the three-stage model of temporal relativity proposed by the author, this paper extracts the mathematical structure of the three types of physical processes and constructs an axiomatic unified framework. This paper further clarifies that various filtering operations are essentially equivalent to the selection of reference frames by the observation system; any descriptive subject with finite information bandwidth must select a reference benchmark, and the arrow of time is an emergent characteristic of this selection behavior under reduced description. This paper distinguishes between global information conservation and local unreconstructable information, emphasizing that the theoretical framework does not violate unitary quantum evolution, and proposes quantitative predictions verifiable by attosecond physics and superconducting quantum experiments.
Abstract The century-long Bohr–Einstein debate over the foundations of quantum mechanics appears to be an ontological dispute concerning whether physical reality exists objectively. In essence, however, it stems from the two sides implicitly adopting different hierarchical reference frames without explicit clarification. Based on the degree-of-freedom filtering framework, this paper proposes a hierarchical reference frame model. At the birth of quantum mechanics lies a fundamental reference-frame amnesia: the theory first defines eigenstates within the abstract Hilbert space, which mathematically refer to global possibilities without introducing any reference frame (Level 0). Nevertheless, concrete calculations rely on space-time reference frames to construct wave functions, and the superposition exhibited by the latter is then termed “quantum superposition”. The transition from toconstitutes a genuine, irreversible introduction of a reference frame, realizing a filtering mapping from to . Insufficient sampling rates in early experimental instruments statistically lent superficial support to this amnesia. Recent high-precision experiments gradually reveal that the so-called “superposition state” is largely an apparent phenomenon arising from limited measurement bandwidth. Within this model, Bohr’s “indeterminate state” requires dual judgment: his intention points to Level 0, yet his practical standpoint resides at Level 1. Einstein’s “determinate state” corresponds to physical states presupposing space-time as the reference frame. The century-long arguments surrounding the EPR paradox and Bell inequalities are essentially deepened manifestations of this hierarchical confusion. This paper further demonstrates that the framework offers a unified account of the measurement problem, wave–particle duality, the Fourier limit relation and quantum Zeno effect, delayed-choice experiments, quantum entanglement, quantum tunneling, and other phenomena. Without introducing extra dimensions or parallel worlds, the framework merely elevates “reference frame” from a background assumption to a core variable, providing a self-consistent, intuitive and unified epistemological foundation for the foundations of quantum mechanics.
English Abstract Since its inception, quantum mechanics has been troubled by the "measurement problem": why does observation cause the wavefunction to collapse, and what role does consciousness play in this process? Building upon von Neumann's measurement chain theory[1] and integrating the concept of "discrimination mind" (vikalpa) from Eastern philosophy, this paper proposes a testable novel hypothesis—consciousness, through its discriminative function, determines the manifestation of quantum system determinacy via its own temporal resolution. This hypothesis redefines the boundary between classical and quantum mechanics from "object size" to "the relative relationship between the sampling rate of consciousness and the rate of change of the observed object," and provides three progressively layered, mutually complementary, and falsifiable experimental designs. It offers an explanatory framework for the foundational problems of quantum mechanics that possesses both philosophical depth and scientific operability.
The measurement dilemma derived from the quantum mechanical observer paradox, together with the Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Origination and Emptiness, collectively points to the constructive nature of the dual cognitive framework in shaping the phenomenal world. From the perspective of modern philosophy of science, this paper conducts a preliminary sorting and discussion at the epistemological level, and briefly elucidates the ultimate original meaning of Dependent Origination and Emptiness. This doctrine is by no means the superficial emptiness interpreted as the deconstruction of material objects in mundane understanding, but refers to the arising, ceasing, opening and closing of cognitive discrimination generated by the objectifying grasping of cognition. All dharmas inherently possess immutable pure nature; apart from observation and discrimination, there exist no fixed attributes or boundaries of all phenomena. The concrete manifestation of all worldly phenomena arises and occurs relying on the activation of cognitive discrimination. Centered on the core perspective of "Observation-Dependent Dependent Origination", this paper argues that quantum superposition state corresponds to the inherent empty potential transcending subject-object discrimination, and wave function collapse corresponds to phenomenal manifestation arising from the initiation of cognitive discrimination. The observer presupposed in physics is essentially the institutionalized and standardized academic embodiment of the subject-object dual cognitive structure. This paper introduces the bifocal lens model as a concise visualized thought tool to interpret the underlying operational mechanism of cognitive shaping and manifestation. Meanwhile, it constructs subject-object discrimination as a general meta-epistemological analytical framework, aiming to break the research misunderstanding of simple analogy between Chinese and Western thoughts, and establish a rational and equal interdisciplinary dialogue path between quantum physics and Eastern mind philosophy.
This article explores the profound epistemological and philosophical intersection between modern quantum theory and ancient Chinese Laozi’s philosophy to navigate the complexities of chaos and uncertainty. By challenging the limitations of classical Newtonian reductionism, which assumes the whole is merely the sum of its parts, the author argues that macroscopic life, cognitive processes, and human consciousness inherently operate under quantum-like laws characterized by wave-particle duality and state superposition. The framework map parallels the foundations of quantum mechanics and Taoist ontology, interpreting the core principles of Yin-Yang complementarity and the mutual creation of being ( yo u) and non-being ( wu ) as classical reflections of quantum dualities and entanglement. Furthermore, the study reinterprets Laozi’s cosmological principle that "Three gives birth to all things," aligning it with modern chaos theory and quantum mechanics, in which a threefold orthogonal superposition serves as the minimal source for resolving complexity and indeterminacy. Through this interdisciplinary dialogue, the article advocates for a paradigm shift from rigid, fragmented academic mindsets to an integrated, wave-like, holistic worldview—unifying Eastern wisdom and Western science—to foster cognitive evolution, innovative educational models, and sustainable human development in the era of artificial intelligence.