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Consciousness and the Paranormal — Part 2


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moved from another thread




Nice pictures, but one is a fake. Can you spot it? ;)


To be serious, though, I never said I believe all UFOs are figments of the imagination, psychic intrusions, discarnate consciousness flying around or messing with our heads (which is what I mean by "consciousness phenomena"). I know about the landing marks cases, I've seen the Australian witnesses talking about the water-sucking UFO, the Westall case, etc etc. These people are obviously not describing phantasies but physical craft with physical effects.

But there are some reports which might be totally unrelated, and which remind me of "lightshows" reported in poltergeist and haunting cases. That's what I was talking about. As you have had your experience, I have had mine, and it seems to indicate that there's something more than a purely material reality. And I think, many of the ball of lights cases might be evidence. But even that is nothing but speculation, to quote myself:



..or just natural phenomena.

How did i know the "fake" dodge would be thrown in here

Yes its a CGI image, but it represents the classic narrative reported the world over. It is representative of what people see and report

Thanks for the reply though, and i agree some cases especially those that leave trace evidence like landing marks are likely to be physical craft.

Im a materialist as many would have surmised,

a supporter of the philosophical theory that physical matter is the only reality and that psychological states can be explained as physical functions

I dislike supernatural explanations, especially when they are used to fill in a knowledge gap. I prefer to say "i dont know" rather than invoke a answer that has no tangible mechanism that can be used to demonstrate whats happening.

The odd stuff.... High strangness anomalies that seem to be conciousness based.

Im convinced our own technology is demystifying these aspects.

This thread Substrate-independent minds | The Paracast Community Forums

Contains example after example of technology thats able to cause, with a technological mechanism the effects we often ascribe to conciousness phenomena


Given our own technological advances

The following is taken from a current military document, "The Information Revolution and the Future Air Force" by Colonel John A. Warden III, USAF, which clarifies their position in the emerging area of research, taking a much different direction than the one described above:
"We’re currently experiencing, on an unprecedented global basis, three simultaneous revolutions, any one of which would be more than enough to shock and confound us. The first revolution, a geopolitical revolution, sees a single dominant power in the world for the first time since the fall of Rome. The opportunities that are inherent in this situation are extraordinary, as are the pitfalls. Unfortunately, there is no one around that has first hand experience in how to deal with that kind of single power dominant world.

"The second revolution, and there’s a lot of discussion about this so far, is the information revolution. As other people have mentioned, it is following inexorably in tandem behind Moore’s law of computing power. Attendant to it, though, is not the creation of new ideas and technologies, but also an exponential growth in the velocity of information dissemination, and for us that is of extraordinary importance. A key part of this information revolution has an awesome impact on competition. The business that introduced a new product ten years ago could count on probably five years before it had to look seriously at potential competitors based overseas. Today, you’re lucky if you can count on five months or even five weeks before you are facing the overseas competitor. In today’s world, success simply demands rapid introduction of successively new products or military systems. Success now goes to the organization which exploits information almost instantly, while failure is the near certain fate of the organization which tries to husband or hide ideas. Real simple—use it or you’re going to lose it.

"The third revolution, which is a little bit more complex, is the military/technological revolution, or in some places called the revolution in military affairs. I’m convinced that this is the first military technological revolution ever because we now have, for the first time, a conceptually different way to wage war. We can wage war in parallel now. In the past, communications and weapons technology, especially weapons accuracy, have constrained us to waging serial war. This changes almost everything.

"Biological Process Control:
As we look forward to the future, it seems likely that this nation will be involved in multiple conflicts where our military forces increasingly will be placed in situations where the application of full force capabilities of our military might cannot be applied. We will be involved intimately with hostile populations in situations where the application of non-lethal force will be the tactical or political preference. It appears likely that there are a number of physical agents that might actively, but largely benignly, interact or interfere with biological processes in an adversary in a manner that will provide our armed forces the tools to control these adversaries without extensive loss of life or property. These physical agents could include acoustic fields, optical fields, electromagnetic fields, and combinations thereof. This paper will address only the prospect of physical regulation of biological processes using electromagnetic fields.

"Prior to the mid-21st century, there will be a virtual explosion of knowledge in the field of neuroscience. We will have achieved a clear understanding of how the human brain works, how it really controls the various functions of the body, and how it can be manipulated (both positively and negatively). One can envision the development of electromagnetic energy sources, the output of which can be,
  • pulsed, shaped, and focused
  • that can couple with the human body in a fashion that will allow one to prevent voluntary muscular movements
  • control emotions (and thus actions)
  • produce sleep
  • transmit suggestions
  • interfere with both short-term and long-term memory
  • produce an experience set
  • delete an experience set

Why wouldnt an advanced technology be able to mess with our minds too ?

It may look like "conciousness phenomena", but appearences can be deceiving. We already have the basic technological mechanisms to create the effect


Interspecies telepathy: human thoughts make rat move - tech - 03 April 2013 - New Scientist


If we can do it to rats.........
 
Last edited by a moderator:
How did i know the "fake" dodge would be thrown in here

Yes its a CGI image, but it represents the classic narrative reported the world over. It is representative of what people see and report

Thanks for the reply though, and i agree some cases especially those that leave trace evidence like landing marks are likely to be physical craft.

Im a materialist as many would have surmised,



I dislike supernatural explanations, especially when they are used to fill in a knowledge gap. I prefer to say "i dont know" rather than invoke a answer that has no tangible mechanism that can be used to demonstrate whats happening.

The odd stuff.... High strangness anomalies that seem to be conciousness based.

Im convinced our own technology is demystifying these aspects.

This thread Substrate-independent minds | The Paracast Community Forums

Contains example after example of technology thats able to cause, with a technological mechanism the effects we often ascribe to conciousness phenomena


Given our own technological advances

The following is taken from a current military document, "The Information Revolution and the Future Air Force" by Colonel John A. Warden III, USAF, which clarifies their position in the emerging area of research, taking a much different direction than the one described above:
"We’re currently experiencing, on an unprecedented global basis, three simultaneous revolutions, any one of which would be more than enough to shock and confound us. The first revolution, a geopolitical revolution, sees a single dominant power in the world for the first time since the fall of Rome. The opportunities that are inherent in this situation are extraordinary, as are the pitfalls. Unfortunately, there is no one around that has first hand experience in how to deal with that kind of single power dominant world.

"The second revolution, and there’s a lot of discussion about this so far, is the information revolution. As other people have mentioned, it is following inexorably in tandem behind Moore’s law of computing power. Attendant to it, though, is not the creation of new ideas and technologies, but also an exponential growth in the velocity of information dissemination, and for us that is of extraordinary importance. A key part of this information revolution has an awesome impact on competition. The business that introduced a new product ten years ago could count on probably five years before it had to look seriously at potential competitors based overseas. Today, you’re lucky if you can count on five months or even five weeks before you are facing the overseas competitor. In today’s world, success simply demands rapid introduction of successively new products or military systems. Success now goes to the organization which exploits information almost instantly, while failure is the near certain fate of the organization which tries to husband or hide ideas. Real simple—use it or you’re going to lose it.

"The third revolution, which is a little bit more complex, is the military/technological revolution, or in some places called the revolution in military affairs. I’m convinced that this is the first military technological revolution ever because we now have, for the first time, a conceptually different way to wage war. We can wage war in parallel now. In the past, communications and weapons technology, especially weapons accuracy, have constrained us to waging serial war. This changes almost everything.

"Biological Process Control:
As we look forward to the future, it seems likely that this nation will be involved in multiple conflicts where our military forces increasingly will be placed in situations where the application of full force capabilities of our military might cannot be applied. We will be involved intimately with hostile populations in situations where the application of non-lethal force will be the tactical or political preference. It appears likely that there are a number of physical agents that might actively, but largely benignly, interact or interfere with biological processes in an adversary in a manner that will provide our armed forces the tools to control these adversaries without extensive loss of life or property. These physical agents could include acoustic fields, optical fields, electromagnetic fields, and combinations thereof. This paper will address only the prospect of physical regulation of biological processes using electromagnetic fields.

"Prior to the mid-21st century, there will be a virtual explosion of knowledge in the field of neuroscience. We will have achieved a clear understanding of how the human brain works, how it really controls the various functions of the body, and how it can be manipulated (both positively and negatively). One can envision the development of electromagnetic energy sources, the output of which can be,
  • pulsed, shaped, and focused
  • that can couple with the human body in a fashion that will allow one to prevent voluntary muscular movements
  • control emotions (and thus actions)
  • produce sleep
  • transmit suggestions
  • interfere with both short-term and long-term memory
  • produce an experience set
  • delete an experience set

Why wouldnt an advanced technology be able to mess with our minds too ?

It may look like "conciousness phenomena", but appearences can be deceiving. We already have the basic technological mechanisms to create the effect


Interspecies telepathy: human thoughts make rat move - tech - 03 April 2013 - New Scientist


If we can do it to rats.........

We've been through a lot of this material. (Several times) on the thread and it doesn't appear to be directly related to our current discussion. The Substrate Independent thread might be a better location.
 
We've been through a lot of this material. (Several times) on the thread and it doesn't appear to be directly related to our current discussion. The Substrate Independent thread might be a better location.

Its a direct reply to Polterworsts post regarding nuts and bolts vs conciousness phenomena

My point being we can demystify "conciousness phenomena" with technological explanations, advances in our own technology might give plausible explanations to what has been a mystery till now
 
Its a direct reply to Polterworsts post regarding nuts and bolts vs conciousness phenomena

My point being we can demystify "conciousness phenomena" with technological explanations, advances in our own technology might give plausible explanations to what has been a mystery till now

Yes I just sent a PM to Poulterwurst, apparently he moved the discussion to here in the first place.
 
Okay, the discussion of emotions right now is excellent, and I'm not purposefully trying to get the thread sidetracked. However, I just stumbled upon a paper about Nietzsche that seems to pull all of us together: @Constance, @smcder, @Pharoah, and myself.

Thinkers' thoughts noted in the paper include: Darwin, Heidegger, Dennette, Kant, Merleau-Ponty, Evan Thompson, FranciscoVarela, and, of course, Neitzsche. I was looking for more information about Nagel's idea of Naturalistic Teleology, and found this absolute beauty!:


I'll admit, I don't quite grok all the ideas presented in the paper, but I'm fairly certain I see all of our various viewpoints apparently unified here... Is that possible!?

Very interesting premise ... I need to read the entire paper .. do we want to discuss this here or on the MM group?

Does anyone know if @Constance is back on this forum? She had technical issues yesterday.
 
I must have missed the newsflash that promoted you to moderator giving you power over who can post what and where ;)

Lol you probably did ... it's on one of these pages somewhere if you'll just scroll through patiently ... ;-)

Poulterwurst said he moved it off the other thread because he wanted to avoid another debate on the materialist/spiritualist debate ... I'm not sure we want it here either! And a heads up would have been nice.

We've covered this topic from many angles on part 1 and 2 so that's why I think it belongs on another or a new thread.

As to comfort zone - I think reading this thread you'll see it's been an extended exercise in being out of the comfort zone!
 
@Soupie
@Pharoah

@Constance asked me to post this too:

"I also want to pass along this link to a very good review of Panksepp's recent book, which provides a few additional links about him and the book:

Review of “Archeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions,” by Panksepp and Biven – IEDTA

I'm going to cross-post here and on the MM group until we decide if we're moving everything over or keeping some of it here.

Constance isn't on the MM yet... what to do about that?
Not sure that MM should replace this - One of the ideas of the MM as I see it, is to lift from the forum, key discussion topics that would otherwise get lost in the threads. Then to use MM to generate clearer analysis on those select topics (for those interested specifically in them). In other words, the forum is the melting pot and the MM is the more disciplined focus. These are just my thoughts. The MM topic 'goals for participation' should be used by all to clarify these points.
 
Constance isn't on the MM yet... what to do about that?
Not sure that MM should replace this - One of the ideas of the MM as I see it, is to lift from the forum, key discussion topics that would otherwise get lost in the threads. Then to use MM to generate clearer analysis on those select topics (for those interested specifically in them). In other words, the forum is the melting pot and the MM is the more disciplined focus. These are just my thoughts. The MM topic 'goals for participation' should be used by all to clarify these points.

Very good - did you get my goals? I sent this morning or last night ... I just got a note from @Constance and I believe she is set to get on the MM group.

@Soupie
What do we want to post up for discussion on MM, Nietzsche or Panksepp, I'm thinking Panksepp since we've developed that and leave Nietzsche on here to see if it goes anywhere ...? very interesting interpretation of Nietzsche though.
 
@Soupie
What do we want to post up for discussion on MM, Nietzsche or Panksepp, I'm thinking Panksepp since we've developed that and leave Nietzsche on here to see if it goes anywhere ...? very interesting interpretation of Nietzsche though.
Yes, I think we could focus on Panksepp and Barrett and their conceptions of affect for now. Maybe afterward, we could discuss Naturalistic Teleology, as I think there's something in that approach that we all appreciate.
 
Gonna chop this thread off at 100 pages and start, you guessed it, Part III! One of the more substantial threads in the forum and one that has covered a butt-load of information. Really. The combined knowledge is humungous. So well done to all contributors for demonstrating why this forum is nothing like ATS.
 
Thank you, Goggs. This thread has recently had a serious non-attendance problem occasioned by the start-up of a google forum on the same core subject of consciousness. That google forum is far less active and productive than this thread has been, occasioning my suggestion that we move it back here, and with perhaps more material of interest to paracast readers in general than has been the case in the past.
 
@Constance Maybe this thread should be closed and you could start up a Part 3. Take this break as a natural end to this thread. I think you should be the one (or Steve) to start the new thread. :)
 
Hi Tyger. Our skeleton crew is moving back here to pick up discussion where we left off, developing an understanding of the significance of Panksepp's affective neuroscience, and then broadening the range of topics to be discussed toward anomalies in consciousness and Eastern insights into consciousness. We hope you'll be here to help explore these topics. :)
 
Copied from @Dave M's thread entitled "Cosmonauts and the Space Whisper" at Cosmonauts and the Space Whisper | Page 2 | The Paracast Community Forums


Burnt State said:
The idea of hearing voices in your head is treated differently from culture to culture. In Ethiopia not hearing voices is considered abnormal whereas in North America if you tell people you hear voices you're likely to get incarcerated or forced onto meds.

Learning to Live With the Voices in Your Head - The Atlantic

The whole concept of auditory hallucinations and inner voices is much more common than we think, especially among children. Perhaps under stress or while climbing mounting that inner monologue may feel like it's coming from somewhere else, but perhaps that knowledge of personal info points to a simpler point of origin for such voices."

"The whole concept of auditory hallucinations and inner voices is much more common than we think, especially among children. Perhaps under stress or while climbing mount[ains] that inner monologue may feel like it's coming from somewhere else, but perhaps that knowledge of personal info points to a simpler point of origin for such voices."

And perhaps not. I think most of us are interested in pursuing the second possibility, and if so it seems clear that we need to begin, not with what passes for explanation in currently dominant materialist/physicalist presuppositions in science and philosophy, but by surveying as much as we can of accounts of anomalous experiences in order to recognize the extent of the database of these experiences. The quantum physicist Henry Stapp has provided many scientific and philosophical papers laying out an interpretation of such experiences in terms of quantum mechanics and quantum field theory. While these papers are daunting for us non-physicists, they are worth reading to the extent we can because they challenge the reductive physicalist presuppositions (based in classical physics) that incline us to accept reductive 'explanations' for recurring phenomena that clearly challenge reductivism. Here are two links, the first to a scientifically clarifying paper by Stapp that is accessible to non-physicists and the second to a list of papers by Stapp gathered in an online bibliography of papers in philosophy of consciousness and mind.

Stapp, “Quantum Interactive Dualism: The Libet and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Causal Anomalies” at CORRECTED LINK: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/52c7q39m

STAPP, PHIL PAPERS Henry P. Stapp, Henry P. Stapp - PhilPapers


I'm going to copy this post to the Consciousness and the Paranormal thread, where we might explore the significance of Stapp's work to that thread's original dual focus, long neglected while we surveyed a range of perspectives from philosophy of mind applied to the interdisciplinary contemporary field of consciousness studies.
 
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Continuing and clarifying Stapp's approach (including as Stapp does references to experimentation and evidence from parapsychology):

A Quantum Theory of Consciousness
Shan Gao

Abstract -- The relationship between quantum collapse and consciousness is reconsidered under the assumption that quantum collapse is an objective dynamical
process. We argue that the conscious observer can have a distinct role from the
physical measuring device during the process of quantum collapse owing to the
intrinsic nature of consciousness; the conscious observer can know whether he is in a
definite state or a quantum superposition of definite states, while the physical measuring device cannot ‘‘know’’. As a result, the conscious observer can distinguish
the definite states and their quantum superposition, while the physical measuring
device without consciousness cannot do. This provides a possible quantum physical
method to distinguish man and machine. The new result also implies that consciousness has causal efficacies in the physical world when considering the existence of quantum collapse. Accordingly consciousness is not reducible or emergent, but a new fundamental property of matter. This may establish a quantum basis for panpsychism, and make it be a promising solution to the hard problem of consciousness. Furthermore, it is suggested that a unified theory of matter and consciousness includes two parts: one is the psychophysical principle or corresponding principle between conscious content and matter state, and the other is the complete quantum evolution of matter state, which includes the definite nonlinear evolution element introduced by consciousness and relating to conscious content. Lastly, some experimental schemes are presented to test the proposed quantum theory of consciousness.

Keywords Quantum collapse _ Consciousness _ Causal efficacies of
consciousness _ Quantum effects of consciousness _ To distinguish man
and machine _ Panpsychism _ Unified theory of matter and consciousness

Minds & Machines (2008) 18:39–52
DOI 10.1007/s11023-007-9084-0


http://image.sciencenet.cn/olddata/kexue.com.cn/upload/blog/file/2010/9/2010910142946571464.pdf

Extract:

“. . . Consciousness is a Fundamental Property of Matter

Consciousness has a basic quantum effect that is lacking for mere matter. This
means that consciousness has causal efficacies in the physical world, and the
physical world is not causally closed without consciousness. What does this imply
for the nature of consciousness? In this section, we will further argue that
consciousness is not reducible or emergent, but a fundamental property of matter on
the basis of the quantum effect of consciousness. This may provide a quantum basis
for panpsychism, and make it be a promising solution to the hard problem of
consciousness.

If consciousness is reducible or emergent, then consciousness will have no causal
efficacies in the physical world, and the physical world will be causally closed. But
this contradicts the existence of the above quantum effect of consciousness, which
implies that consciousness has causal efficacies in the physical world, and the
physical world is not causally closed without consciousness. So consciousness must
be not reducible or emergent, but a new fundamental property of matter. We can
reach this conclusion by another concrete argument. If consciousness is reducible or
emergent, then the matter with consciousness should also follow the basic physical
principles of matter such as the principle of energy conservation etc. According to
the existing quantum principle, the nonorthogonal states cannot be distinguished.
However, as we have argued, the conscious observer or the matter with
consciousness can distinguish the nonorthogonal states in principle. This indicates
that consciousness violates the existing quantum principle, which is a basic physical
principle of matter. Thus consciousness should be not reducible or emergent, but a
new fundamental property of matter, which is defined as the ability of being
conscious of something. It should be not only possessed by the observers, but also
possessed by atoms as well as physical measuring devices. The difference mainly
lies in the conscious content. The conscious content of a human being can be very
complex, while the conscious content of a physical measuring device, if it exists,
may be extremely simple. Such simple conscious content cannot help to distinguish
the nonorthogonal states. In order to distinguish the nonorthogonal states, the
conscious content of the measuring system should be complex enough to contain the
conscious perceptions of the nonorthogonal states. If the conscious content of a
system is null, we usually say that it has no consciousness.

On the other hand, if consciousness is a new fundamental property of matter, then
it is very natural that it has causal efficacies in the physical world, and it may violate
some existing basic physical principles of matter, which don’t include it as a
fundamental property of matter. It is expected that a complete theory of matter must
describe all properties of matter, thus consciousness, the new fundamental property
of matter, must enter the theory from the start. Since the distinguishability of
nonorthogonal states violates the basic linear superposition principle in quantum
theory, the consciousness property of matter will introduce a new nonlinear
evolution element to the complete equation of the wave function when the
conscious content is complex enough. The nonlinearity is not stochastic, but
definite. It has been argued that the nonlinear quantum evolution introduced by
consciousness is logically consistent and may exist (Czachor 1995; Gao 2004a). In
addition, we may use the definite nonlinearity element in the complete evolution
equation of matter to define the consciousness property of matter. Then just like the
other properties of matter such as mass and charge etc, consciousness is also a
fundamental property of matter that can be strictly described in mathematics to
some extent.

The above argument provides a possible quantum basis for panpsychism (Gao
2003a, 2006c), which may be a promising solution to the hard problem of
consciousness. As we know, a severe problem of panpsychism is the apparent lack
of evidence that the fundamental entities of the physical world such as electrons and
protons possess any consciousness features. Certainly, such ‘‘no evidence’’
argument can be reasonably disputed by noting that there may not exist any signs
of complex consciousness at the simplest level (e.g. the conscious content is very
simple or even null), and it may be very difficult to see them even when they do
exist there. The existence of gravitation is a good example. Its extreme weakness
between the fundamental entities doesn’t disconfirm that gravitation is not a
fundamental feature of the physical world (Seager 1999, 2001). Now the existence
of the definite nonlinear evolution introduced by consciousness may further help to
solve the above problem. Since the definite nonlinearity can be experimentally
tested even for the evolution of the fundamental entities such as electrons and
protons, it may provide a possible physical method to test the panpsychism doctrine.
It should be noted that the above argument for panpsychism depends on an
assumption that the wavefunction collapse is an objective dynamical process. In
fact, the conclusion is independent of the origin of the wavefunction collapse. If the
wavefunction collapse is caused by the consciousness of the observer (von
Neumann 1955; Wigner 1967; Stapp 1996), then consciousness will have the basic
quantum effect of collapsing the wave function, and thus consciousness should be
also a fundamental property of matter. In addition, we stress that the above
conclusion is also independent of the interpretations of quantum theory (Gao
2004a). It only relies on two firm facts: one is the existence of indefinite quantum
superpositions, the other is the existence of definite conscious perceptions.

A Unified Theory of Matter and Consciousness

Since consciousness is a fundamental property of matter, it is expected that a unified
theory of matter and consciousness will essentially comprise two parts: one is the
psychophysical principle or corresponding principle between conscious content and
matter state, and the other is the complete quantum evolution of matter state. The
complete evolution may include three evolution terms: the first is the linear
Schrodinger term as in the existing quantum theory, the second is the stochastic
nonlinear term resulting in the dynamical collapse of the wave function, and the last
is the definite nonlinear term introduced by consciousness and relating to the
concrete conscious content.


Undoubtedly, it is very difficult to find the corresponding principle between
conscious content and matter state. Some primary analyses have been presented
(Crick 1994; Chalmers 1996; Edelman and Tononi 2000). It is expected that the
corresponding principle will naturally solve the problem of combination for
panpsychism. Here we will mainly discuss the definite nonlinear term introduced by
consciousness. Although the final form of the definite nonlinear evolution term has
not been found, we may give a primary analysis of its possible characteristics. As
we have shown in the previous example, the definite nonlinear evolution appears in
the following quantum process:

ðw1 þ w2Þv0 ! w1v1;s þ w2v2;s ¼ ðw1v1 þ w2v2Þvs; ð1Þ

where vS denotes the state in which the conscious being is conscious that the input
state w1 + w2 is a superposition state, and its appearance indicates that the
evolution is nonlinear. First, as we have noted, the definite nonlinear evolution
introduced by consciousness will result in the distinguishability of two given
nonorthogonal states. This will further permit the existence of nonlocal communication

between two entangled quantum systems (Gao 2004a, 2006c). Especially,
the nonlocal communication can exist between two entangled conscious systems
such as human brains.
It seems that some primary evidences of such communication
have been found in experiments (Duane and Behrendt 1965; Targ and Puthoff 1974;
Wackermann et al. 2003).


Next, since the definite nonlinear evolution doesn’t preserve the orthogonality of
states, the evolution can change the coherence of the branches of the state of an
external system entangled with the conscious system, and can further change the
statistic behavior of the external system. As a result, the definite nonlinear evolution
introduced by consciousness may in principle influence the statistic distribution of
the measurement results of an external random process, and there may also exist a
correlation between the influenced results and the conscious content.
We note that
some experiments may have primarily revealed this kind of quantum effect of
consciousness (Radin and Nelson 1989; Jahn et al. 1997).


Lastly, it can be seen that during the definite nonlinear evolution consciousness
results in some special change of matter state, which cannot be brought by the usual
properties of matter. Since the change of matter state generally corresponds to the
change of energy distribution among the parts of the system, the definite nonlinear
evolution introduced by consciousness will change the energy distribution inside the
system.
If a conscious observer is entangled with another system, the definite
nonlinear evolution introduced by consciousness may then change the energy
distribution among the parts of the entangled system; especially it may change the
energy of the external system in a nonlocal way. Some primary evidences of this
effect might have been found in experiments (Radin 1997).


The above analysis presents a very primary framework for a unified theory of
matter and consciousness. Especially, it implies that the definite nonlinear evolution
term introduced by consciousness may possess some kind of fundamental form, and
the corresponding evolution may also bring some more basic effects. The unified
theory, if it is available, will not only tell us how the matter state evolves, but also
tell us what conscious experience the matter state corresponds to. As a prediction of
the theory, since consciousness is a fundamental property of matter, and there exists
a corresponding relation between the conscious content and the matter state, a
conscious machine can be constructed in principle. It can be reasonably guessed that
a very simple conscious machine can also distinguish two given nonorthogonal
states. Certainly, in order to build up a complete theory of matter and consciousness,
we need the organic combination of quantum theory, information science,
neuroscience, cognitive science and psychology etc. This may be the biggest
challenge to science in the 21st century.

. . .

Conclusions


The relationship between quantum collapse and consciousness has been debated
since the founding of quantum mechanics. Quantum collapse is a big puzzle, and
consciousness is another great riddle. It might be expected that discovering their
actual connection may help to solve both problems. There are two main viewpoints
which assert that quantum collapse and consciousness are essentially connected.
The first view holds that consciousness causes quantum collapse (von Neumann
1955; Wigner 1967; Stapp 1996). The second view holds that quantum collapse
generates consciousness (Hameroff and Penrose 1996). It can be seen that these two
completely contrary views are actually two extremes concerning the relationship
between quantum collapse and consciousness. It seems more natural and reasonable
that quantum collapse and consciousness are essentially independent with each
other. In fact, this point of view is held by most physicists. But does this mean that
quantum collapse and consciousness have no connection? The answer is surprisingly
negative. As we have argued, their combination will generate an unexpected
new outcome, which can indeed help to solve both puzzles.


Although quantum collapse is an objective dynamical process, and its origin is

irrelevant to consciousness, the conscious observer can have a distinct role from the
physical measuring device during the quantum collapse owing to the intrinsic nature
of consciousness. A conscious observer is able to be conscious of his own state,
while the state of a physical measuring device can only be measured by another
measuring system. As a result, the conscious observer can know whether he is in a
definite state or a quantum superposition of definite states, while the physical
measuring device cannot ‘‘know’’. This then results in the existence of a definite
nonlinear evolution element in the complete quantum evolution of matter state,
which is introduced by consciousness and relates to the conscious content. The
definite nonlinear evolution can generate some quantum effects of consciousness,
for example, the distinguishability of nonorthogonal states, nonlocal communication,
and consciousness influencing random process etc.


The existence of the definite nonlinear evolution introduced by consciousness, if
it is confirmed by experiment, will help to solve the hard problems of quantum
collapse and consciousness, and have some profound implications for physics
(including quantum theory and relativity), the science of consciousness and the
research of psi phenomena (Gao 2006c). First, it implies the actual existence of
objective quantum collapse, and will help to complete the existing quantum theory.
Besides, its resulting nonlocal communication will reveal the limits of the principle
of relativity. Next, it implies that consciousness has basic causal efficacies in the
physical world. As thus, consciousness is not reducible or emergent, but a new
fundamental property of matter. This will establish a quantum basis for panpsychism,
and make it be a promising solution to the hard problem of consciousness.

Lastly, it may provide a possible scientific explanation for the psi phenomena. This
will help to mitigate the enmity between the scientists with different viewpoints, and

further facilitate the study of the nature of consciousness."


Note: see the references following this paper to papers and books providing additional support for this theory of the relationship of consciousness and matter..
 
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QUANTUM COLLAPSE, CONSCIOUSNESS AND
SUPERLUMINAL COMMUNICATION
Gao Shan

http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/1643/1/qscfpl.pdf

Abstract:
The relation between quantum collapse, consciousness and superluminal com-
munication is analyzed. As we know, quantum collapse, if exists, can result
in the appearance of quantum nonlocality, and requires the existence of a pre-
ferred Lorentz frame. This may permit the realization of quantum superluminal
communication (QSC), which will no longer result in the usual causal loop in
case of the existence of a preferred Lorentz frame. The possibility of the exis-
tence of QSC is further analyzed under the assumption that quantum collapse
is a real process. We demonstrate that the combination of quantum collapse
and the consciousness of the observer will permit the observer to distinguish
nonorthogonal states in principle. This provides a possible way to realize QSC.
Some implications of the existence of QSC are briefly discussed.

KEY WORDS: Quantum collapse, nonlocality, preferred Lorentz frame, con-
sciousness, superluminal communication, special relativity

Extract:

". . . It should be mentioned that Einstein, the founder of special relativity, also
realized the possible limitation of the principle of relativity. He thought[21],
"As long as one was convinced that all natural phenomena were capable of rep-
resentation with the help of classical mechanics, there was no need to doubt
the validity of this principle of relativity. But in view of the more recent devel-
opment of electrodynamics and optics, it became more and more evident that
classical mechanics affords an insufficient foundation for the physical descrip-
tion of all natural phenomena. At this juncture the question of the validity
of the principle of relativity became ripe for discussion, and it did not appear
impossible that the answer to this question might be in the negative."

THE POSSIBLE EXISTENCE OF QSC
In case of the existence of a preferred Lorentz frame, QSC, which uses the
quantum nonlocal influence to transfer information faster than light, will not
result in the usual causal loop. This may open the door for realizing QSC.
In this section, we will further analyze the relation between quantum nonlocal
influence and QSC. Given that the minimum ontology is valid, it will be shown
that the existence of the quantum nonlocal influence may actually result in the
availability of QSC. . . ."
 
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