Quantum Physics Meets the Philosophy of Mind PDF Download

Author: Antonella Corradini
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110351064
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Quantum physics, in contrast to classical physics, allows non-locality and indeterminism in nature. Moreover, the role of the observer seems indispensable in quantum physics. In fact, quantum physics, unlike classical physics, suggests a metaphysics that is not physicalism (which is today’s official metaphysical doctrine). As is well known, physicalism implies a reductive position in the philosophy of mind, specifically in its two core areas, the philosophy of consciousness and the philosophy of action. Quantum physics, in contrast, is compatible with psychological non-reductionism, and actually seems to support it. The essays in this book explore, from various points of view, the possibilities of basing a non-reductive philosophy of mind on quantum physics. In doing so, they not only engage with the ontological and epistemological aspects of the question but also with the neurophysiological ones.

Author: Shan Gao
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197501664
Category : Consciousness
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description
Consciousness and quantum mechanics are two great mysteries of our time--and recently scholars have postulated a deeper connection between them. Exploring this possible connection can be fruitful: an analysis of the conscious mind and psychophysical connection can be indispensable in understanding quantum mechanics and solving the notorious measurement problem, and there is also likely some kind of intimate connection between quantum mechanics--the most fundamental theory of the physical world--and our efforts to explain, naturalistically, the phenomenon of consciousness. The seventeen newly written chapters in this volume are divided into three sections: Consciousness and the Wave Function Collapse, Consciousness in Quantum Theories, and Quantum Approaches to Consciousness. This is the first volume to provide a comprehensive review and thorough analysis of intriguing conjectures about the connection between consciousness and quantum mechanics. Written by leading experts in physics, philosophy, and cognitive science, Consciousness and Quantum Mechanics will be of value to students and researchers working on the foundations of quantum mechanics and the philosophy of mind.

Author: Lily Splane
Publisher: Anaphase II Publishing
ISBN: 9780945962113
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
"Quantum Consciousness" explores the reasons why Creation myths are astoundingly similar throughout the world, and reveals the role of consciousness and intelligence in the universe.

Author: Alexander Wendt
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107082544
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 367

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Book Description
A unique contribution to the understanding of social science, showing the implications of quantum physics for the nature of human society.

Author: Craig Callender
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521664455
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 380

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Book Description
Was the first book to examine the exciting area of overlap between philosophy and quantum mechanics with chapters by leading experts from around the world.

Author: J. Acacio de Barros
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030219089
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
This edited volume examines aspects of the mind/consciousness that are relevant to the interpretations of quantum mechanics. In it, an international group of contributors focus on the possible connections between quantum mechanics and consciousness. They look at how consciousness can help us with quantum mechanics as well as how quantum mechanics can contribute to our understanding of consciousness. For example, what do different interpretations aimed at solving the measurement problem in quantum mechanics tell us about the nature of consciousness, such as von Neumann's interpretation? Each interpretation has, associated to it, a corresponding metaphysical framework that helps us think about possible “models” of consciousness. Alternatively, what does the nature of consciousness tell us about the role of the observer and time reversibility in the measurement process? The book features 20 papers on contemporary approaches to quanta and mind. It brings together the work of scholars from different disciplines with diverse views on the connections between quanta and mind, ranging from those who are supportive of a link between consciousness and quantum physics to those who are very skeptical of such link. Coverage includes such topics as free will in a quantum world, contextuality and causality, mind and matter interaction, quantum panpsychism, the quantum and quantum-like brain, and the role of time in brain-mind dynamics.

Author: Henry P. Stapp
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662053691
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
"Scientists other than quantum physicists often fail to comprehend the enormity of the conceptual change wrought by quantum theory in our basic conception of the nature of matter," writes Henry Stapp. Stapp is a leading quantum physicist who has given particularly careful thought to the implications of the theory that lies at the heart of modern physics. In this book, which contains several of his key papers as well as new material, he focuses on the problem of consciousness and explains how quantum mechanics allows causally effective conscious thought to be combined in a natural way with the physical brain made of neurons and atoms. The book is divided into four sections. The first consists of an extended introduction. Key foundational and somewhat more technical papers are included in the second part, together with a clear exposition of the "orthodox" interpretation of quantum mechanics. The third part addresses, in a non-technical fashion, the implications of the theory for some of the most profound questions that mankind has contemplated: How does the world come to be just what it is and not something else? How should humans view themselves in a quantum universe? What will be the impact on society of the revised scientific image of the nature of man? The final part contains a mathematical appendix for the specialist and a glossary of important terms and ideas for the interested layman. This new edition has been updated and extended to address recent debates about consciousness.

Author: Henry P. Stapp
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3540724133
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
The classical mechanistic idea of nature that prevailed during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was essentially mindless: the physically described aspects of nature were asserted to be completely determined by prior physically described aspects alone, with conscious experiences entering only passively. In the last century these classical concepts were found inadequate. In the new quantum mechanics theory, conscious experiences enter into the dynamics in specified ways not fixed by physically described aspects alone.

Author: E J Squires
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 9780367403270
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 552

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Book Description
We have seen remarkable progress in our detailed understanding of the physical world, from the smallest constituents of atoms to the remotest distances seen by telescopes. However, we have yet to explore the phenomenon of consciousness. Can physical things be conscious or is consciousness something else, forever outside the range of physics? And how does consciousness interact with physical things? A lively account of quantum theory and its puzzles, Conscious Mind in the Physical World examines two developments in particular that have altered the context of discussions about consciousness. One is computer technology, which allows us to make machines that can calculate at speeds far greater than the human brain, while the other is the study of the microscopic world. The book explores philosophical issues such as idealism and free will and speculates on the relationship of consciousness to quantum mechanics. This resource will stimulate physicists with an interest in philosophy, philosophers interested in physics, and anyone fascinated about the waking state of the mind.

Author: Michael B. Mensky
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814291420
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 271

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Book Description
The phenomenon of consciousness includes mysterious aspects providing a basis for many spiritual doctrines (including religions) and psychological practices. These directions of human knowledge are usually considered to contradict the laws of science. However, quantum mechanics ? in a sense, the mysterious direction of science ? allows us to include the phenomena of consciousness and life as well as the relevant phenomena in the sphere of science.Wolfgang Pauli, one of the pioneers of quantum mechanics, together with great psychologist Carl Gustav Jung, guessed about the relation between quantum mechanics and consciousness in the beginning of the twentieth century. However, only ?many-worlds? interpretation of quantum mechanics, proposed in 1957 by Hugh Everett III, gave the real basis for the systematic investigation of this relation.Roger Penrose, one of the apologists of the relation between quantum mechanics and consciousness, claimed in his Last book ?The Road to Reality? that the Everett's interpretation may be estimated only after creating the theory of consciousness. Thereagainst, the author has proposed in 2000 and further elaborates in this book, the so-called Extended Everett's Concept, that allows one to derive the main features of consciousness and super-consciousness (intuition, or direct vision of truth) from quantum mechanics. This is exposed in this book in a form intelligible for a wide audience.